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Showing content with the highest reputation on 12/08/16 in all areas

  1. I'd like to share a few of my Citizen Divers with you..... First up on the left is what else , but a Citizen "Lefty ". Next is a 150m 51-2273,... I actually have 2 of these . I wear this one , and have a more pristine one put away . I like the high crown guards on these . Third and far right are two identical Aqualand Divers . Both work great and the one with the SS bracelet actually had a newer movement installed by my Amigo from the Seiko Citizen Watch Forum that goes by the user name of "Longbiker" . He is also a resident here in Hawaii . Below on the left is the same Aqualand as above , but with new batteries installed . In the middle is an Eco-Drive model nicknamed "ORCA" . I had been on the lookout for this watch for a while and lost a bid on the first one I saw come up . After a while this one came up and I made sure I got it . Being titanium , this watch is like a feather on the wrist . Last is another Eco-Drive that I picked up at a collectors show here in Honolulu . Like the Aqualands , it has a depth sensor and alarm . I bought 3 watches from the seller so he gave me a discount for this diver and I picked it up for $100 . I later traded this watch to Longbiker for several Seiko Tech manuals . I got 2 Seiko binders , a Seiko Technical Guide and a Seiko Watch Parts Catalogue for 60's and 70's calibers . Also 2 manuals of Seiko Watch Parts Interchangeability List . 1 is dated 1968 , and the other is dated 1972 . These two have proved to be handy references in finding interchangeable parts between calibers .
    4 points
  2. I have tried many methods & all work to a degree. However unless it is a small scratch, if available I just change the crystal.
    2 points
  3. You need to check the focal length of the eyeglasses. The "magnification" is often meaningless.
    2 points
  4. Yes Sir , It's funny , but I never noticed the connection . We have the same name and both have motorcycles in our Avatar . I'm the good looking one .
    1 point
  5. I use jisma for cannon pinion and for the keyless work i use 9504. Which is recommended for metal to metal. And for mainspring i use this http://www.ebay.com/itm/Moebius-Fils-Blechose-mit-Vaselinfett-Klauenol-fur-Federhauser-Halbvoll-/191843023714?hash=item2caabc3b62:g:ZGUAAOSwI-BWP4BL
    1 point
  6. No, no, no! The 1970's G10 is a tonneau case. Front-loader. Remove the crystal using a crystal lift. Stem is a removable type, so just pull hard on the crown. The later Quartz G10 from 1980 onwards has a snap-on back. Use a strong case opening kife for this.
    1 point
  7. The movement used in the model you have is a marvin 580c which was common in the Flying Dutchman model, http://s1020.photobucket.com/user/Achraf_03/media/MARVIN/Marvin automatic 580C/MarvinautomaticNOScal580C-2.jpg.html?sort=3&o=3 As far as I know this was Marvins own inhouse movement and not shared with other manufactures Wayne
    1 point
  8. Thank you both for the further comments; highly useful. I'll be having a weekend of watch repairing with some decent light and magnification!
    1 point
  9. I would hazard a guess that an AS 1700/01 movement would fit. Here's a dial for an AS1700/01 from a Rado Green Horse.. as you can see, one dial foot is slight before 12 (as viewed from the front and the other one is slightly before 6. Hope this helps! Anil
    1 point
  10. Thanks to all for the additional comment. Now that I'm following the actual 7S26A tech guide the prior glitches are less likely. It will be some time before I get to reinstalling the rotor as I'm now at the early stage of reassembly and finding it a bit more difficult than the strip down. Much practice needed to reinsert small screws etc. Trying to assess the degree of wear on parts will also be problematic for me the novice. More study needed! Cheers
    1 point
  11. Hello Andy couple of nice vintage watches you have there. If you need help with anything just ask there's always someone here to help. Mick
    1 point
  12. Hi Andy! Welcome to the forum. This is a very friendly bunch and eager to help. I'm rather new to the forum, too. I've been around watches for a while, though. I'm from Pearland, Texas USA. Love the watches, especially the Illinois. I love the shape of it. The Rolex is a unique piece, too. Have fun with them!
    1 point
  13. Welcome Andy! Beautiful timepieces there. I particularly like the the inscription on the back of the Rolex- so much history there.
    1 point
  14. Yes your right, I'm one of the independents who charge a fraction of their prices, but the big corporations as always trying to push out the little people! I only hope that open source movements take off. I had a customer in the shop today who has a Longines watch. He was telling me that he wished he never bought it, he said that when he bought it, no one mentioned he would need to have it serviced every few years and now with Swatch restricting parts he said he would never buy a Swatch branded watch again. I make sure to tell all of my customers what is happening with Swatch and advise against buying their brands unless they want to have huge bills every time everytime anything goes wrong.
    1 point
  15. I thought I'd prove you wrong and give you an example of a 99 pence watch, and what that can buy you ( not quite true £3.00 postage and packing as well ) This is a West End Watch Co Sowar, this watch was listed for a week on a 99p start auction, listed as a non runner, I have not yet serviced the watch but on arrival the reason it didnt run was obvious the picture below shows the hour hand, a piece of the luminous paint from it had come loose and lodged itself under the small minute hand and stopped the watch, The watch is pre war water proof Borgel cased watch, in stainless steel with inner dust cover, Its all original and is fully stamped, The movement is a 15 jewel with shock protection, And on close inspection is very clean with little dirt any where, There is very slighty rust on the crown wheel, The watch is bone dry and crying out for a service which I will be doing shortly. My advice is dont get bogged down on what to buy or wether its a runner or not this would be a ideal watch to start on it's a simple 15 jewel movement even if you bought something like this and it did need more than a service, just practicing taking it a part and getting a feel for using screwdrivers and tweezers and getting used to where things go and how they fit would make the £3.99 a sound buy. A list of some of my last years purchases, Rado purple horse (runner) needed new crystal £17.90 Perona automatic (runner) £7.99 free postage Nivada Aquamatic (runner) £8.55 Kienzle combitime (non runner) £3.53 now working frame from date aperture had come off and was wedged under seconds hand glued back in place Luxor automatic (runner) £15.00 nice watch adjusted 6 posistions look out for these usually have very good adjusted movements in. Take inspiration and keep your eyes open it dosnt have to be an expensive hobby, Wayne
    1 point
  16. Best is to have overall good light and more concentrated light on thw workbench. It is less tiring for the eyes. The swivel of the lamp I mentioned, in all directions...is a big advantage. I was lucky to have 2 orginal watchmakers lights in a heritage I bought, but the swifel lights do a perfect job also.
    1 point
  17. I've found that the wheels are the same if anyone wants to know. Exactly the same so no idea why there's a price difference. Typical overpriced because of the name.
    1 point
  18. Any clues on the watch case such as model number engraved on or inside the watch case ?
    1 point
  19. That Zodiac is something else Im not a fan of gold watches but that's really nice Today's new arrival from Japan, a little xmass prezzie to my self In my favourite colour and a retro design but with a hacking 4R37 movement ( handwind too ). I want the Black & gold version also but they are harder to find
    1 point
  20. I guess most of you would have been frustrated not having an exact size crystal for pocket watch repair. I got an idea from a tool I saw on eBay and made a simple sizer. I have found it works really well. Using a slip fit cement chuck I had on hand I bought a 10mm bearing from eBay ($1.49) and in the first picture you can see that I made a small cap to fit over the bearing from 12mm aluminium rod, I used some lock tight to secure it with an interference fit and them turned down a cement chuck to fit the inside of the bearing. I then glued some rubber (probably an old bike inner tube would do, its best if it slightly compresses and then you can see how tight it is) to the bearing end and did the same to the other chuck end and its good to go. Simple slide up the tail stock and carefully place your crystal so that it is held. You will need to adjust several times to centre it, then in the last picture I use a small diamond file like this to take a shaving off. I was amazed how much control you actually have and the slightly rough finish from the file aids glueing or you could sand for a smooth interference fit with the pocket watch. Not my idea really, I got it for nothing from Ebay!
    1 point
  21. Okay here is my first, (virginal) walkthrough, I got this 17j Hampden for less than $30, it's not uber rare scarce or anything uncommon, anyway upon arrival, I immediately noticed some rusty hands and lack of winding (AAAARRRGGH), fortunately it was just from cheap crystal, (I think) the seconds hand is almost gone!) Next off they came and things still looked pretty good. I don't like dust shields and read somewhere they are not recommended/necessary on Hampdens anyway. when I got under dial, the cannon pinion and hour wheel were pretty toasty, otherwise it was pretty clean. Next, off comes balance assm and out comes pallet bridge and fork. Just in case, I did try to let down mainspring, but that appeared to be part of problem. Then comes main barrel bridge, winding wheel, third and fourth wheels and bridge, note steel escape wheel and white/clear jewels on pallet fork. Out comes barrel and arbor And just as suspected, mainspring is a goner! Note the serial number inside barrel, matches the rest of watch Dial cleaned up pretty nice, lot's of hairline dirt removed. Still has some nibbles between the 10 and 11, that's what I call character! New spring In goes the new spring, I did this by hand, (too cheap to invest in winder!) Just a pinch more to tighten up arbor and greased. Patiently awaiting their return after cleaning. The cannon and hour wheel were replaced, I got lots of parts, so no issues there. Now with everything tidy, back goes barrel and bridge Third and fourth wheel bridge, plus touching up pivots/jewels with oil as we go. This last part can be a bugger if you don't line everything up, I give it a "soft screw", pardon the expression, but I'd rather check everything before it gets tightened, (learned the hard way on that one) New Cannon Pinion, hour wheel and dial washer on and dial ready for replacement. A few more touches of oil on dial side pivots. ( a bit heavy handed on the barrel, did clean that up a bit) I picked out new hands, pretty fancy scmancy and had to replace second hand too. Now I know I didn't show all that boring stuff with the keyless works, set springs and winding wheels and mainplate cleaning, but it all had to be done, I just wanted to show how relatively simple these movements and others like them are to work on and hopefully get some others to try their hand. One quick vid, she's running like a scalded cat! DSCF0401.AVI
    1 point
  22. A few months back, I purchased online this Breitling Navitimer for a fair price despite the fact that the watch was non-functioning at the time. I did this without seeing the movement which was a bit of a risk as there was the possibility the insides were rusted out, but the price was right and the I figured I could resell the case and dial if the rest turned out to be a disaster. Things looked bad when I received the watch as it wouldn't run at all and the pushers were jammed. I noted on inspection that the dial didn't sit flush either which caused me quite a bit of concern. Removing the caseback revealed one of the case screws had broken off and gummed up the works. Extracting the screw head brought the watch back to life and allowed the chronograph to function properly as well. Knowing I would need to extract the remains of the broken screw from the plate in order to properly secure the movement and seeing that the watch clearly had not been serviced in a while, I added it to my queue. It would be a few months before I would have time to work on it, but I must admit to being anxious. I don't often work with watches of this vintage that aren't terribly weathered but the dial and hands here were in quite good condition. Removing these gave my heart palpitations but with a bit of patience and caution I was able to get to the engine without damaging any of the paint. The video Mark posted earlier of a Navitimer service was a quite a help also as I was a bit stumped when it came to removing the bezel. The watch movement is a Venus 178 which is a fine manual wind chronograph movement that was produced in the 1950's and 1960's. Contemporary chronographs movements would be the Valjoux 72 and Lemania CH27. Disassembly was pretty straight forward. The chronograph mechanism is bolted piecemeal to the barrel plate so each lever needed to be removed separately. I would remove each spring first to release tension then proceed with the removal of the accompanying lever. Each screw was then returned to its hole so that I wouldn't mix them up later. Pictures were taken throughout the process for reference. The dial side received the same treatment for the hour recorder and keyless works. I had assumed I would need to dissolve the broken screw in a bath of alum in order to remove it from the plate but found this not to be the case. Once the barrel plate was removed, enough threads poked above the main plate to allow me to grab it with my tweezers and slowly unscrew the remainder. I have an old L & R machine for cleaning movements, so the parts were separated and packed in small baskets before undergoing a cleaning in the appropriate solvent and rinse. The case, caseback, and pushers were cleaned separately in small ultrasonic cleaner. Since the shafts of the pushers are not the same length I snapped a pic before disassembly for later reference. Following cleaning, each piece was inspected under the loupe before reassembly. I can't stress the importance of this step! Reassembly was the reverse of disassembly. I referred heavily to the images taken during the disassembly process and also used the published technical sheets and representative Esemble-O-Graf. Before reassembling the chronograph the base movement was completed and properly adjusted. Despite having already procured a replacement, I reused the original mainspring as it seemed to have quite a bit of life still in it. My assessment turned out to be correct when I placed the base movement on the timegrapher and discovered the amplitude was fairly high. This is not a problem I've had before but since the watch had a full wind I felt there wasn't much need to replace the spring with a weaker one. The beat error was initially on the high side (3.1ms) but a bit of adjustment brought that down. I suppose I would be remiss if I didn't point out that adjusting the beat error was difficult as there is no beat corrector and the Breguet hairspring sits so low that it's difficult to see the position of the roller jewel. Assembly of the chronograph mechanism is laborious as each piece needs to be checked for movement and properly lubricated before moving on to the next. I had inadvertently mixed up a few screws on the dial said which added another hour of labor to the job as well. The toughest bit was the actuating lever for the hour recorder- it passes from one side of the plate to the other and likes to fall out when you try to thread the screw to secure it. Otherwise reassembly went as I hoped- no parts lost or left over! I cleaned the dial and slide rule with a bit of Rodico. The slide rule is set in the bezel before the crystal is dropped in. A new crystal was needed as well since the original was damaged beyond repair. Lastly, a replacement case screw was procured to reset the movement and a crystal press was used to reset the crystal and caseback. I added a black leather band as the expanding bracelet wasn't really my taste. For my next chronograph project I'm hoping for a Valjoux 72 movement or perhaps an Excelsior Park EP40. We'll see what comes along though.
    1 point
  23. Guys, I fixed the crown, I simply pushed the clutch inside the crown and then pinched the outer part with tongs (pliers, whatever it's called), now it has less spring action but at least it won't split from the clutch and I can pull it out to set the date with no problem.
    1 point
  24. Thank you jdrichard ,i watched the link just now. good sharing. you have done a good job.
    1 point
  25. It can be done as I did one for my 6139B for which new Seiko crystals are hard to come by a very expensive. Just needs plenty of patience and work through the wet&dry papers, then diamond pastes to get the final polish. Mine took about 4 hours in total so maybe not cost effective for a pro. I got about halfway through and decided that as it was a nice sunny day (1 one we had last year) I would continue on the patio. You guessed it, just about to give it a final polish when I dropped it, and yes it broke into 3 pieces. I nearly cried !! Just had to cough up for a new one but settled for a Sternkraus which was a perfect fit.
    1 point
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