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I just use acrylic matt lacquer as a binder. Cheap as you like and has never been challenging to use.

Well I got my mince pies today all the way from england! I want to thank @atimegoneby for his generous gift on this Three Kings Day. Boy are these pies are great!I don't know why they don't have these here in the U.S. Truly a LUXURY!! Thank you! J

The solution is to check if the click is working correctly if not check why if working Ok then check the mainspring & if broken it will need replacing.

Hello and welcome to the forum! It looks like this is a Venus chronograph175 based movement. This would make it manual winding movement, and there are a few things that could cause what you've described. If the watch offers a tactile resistance when winding, but unwinds on its own, it is probably the click spring. The click is supposed to hold the wound spring (and its power) in place. If the watch winds somewhat, but slips as it winds, then its either broken or its the mainspring arbor. There is a little hook at the end of the mainspring that attaches to a center arbor which is attached to the barrel if the little hook is worn, then there will be no full winding of the watch--but you should feel the slipping as you wind unwinds. Maybe a closer picture of the movement will show if its the click spring? J

What's on your "to do" list for 2017? Just been through my project box and wondering if I will be able to get to "repair rate greater than buy rate" in 2017??! Job 1 - rebuild Pierce 134 now I've tracked down a new pallet fork. Job 2, work out if I have enough bits for 1, 2 or 3 more... After that, it might be one of the 2 Omegas I bought for the wife - each cost me about £30 and one is 9ct gold! Then my Trench watch needs a jewel replacing... I bought a box of 7 junk movements for £35 to get the jewel, but also now have a proper blued minute hand to replace my modern painted one, and some rubbed in jewels to practice with. Then I have this interesting early Record auto, which looks like a standard Record caliber with a bumper winder added on the back! Another Pierce chrono and a Landeron 51 Then I suspect it will be Christmas again before I get to this one...

Glad you are enjoying one of our traditions... but a mince pie without cream is like a watch without oil. And just like oil, you will get many opinions on the correct type to use, but if you ask me, it has to be either double or clotted and whilst the brandy is optional, the mince pie has to be fresh from the oven! Unless you have a friendly local dairy farmer, I believe that fresh double cream is not available in the US, and it's somewhat harder to post than mince pies. You need to get yourself over to England to enjoy your next mince pies in the approved manner :-) While you are here, give the steak a miss, for some reason you guys are way better at that than we are.

The truing calipers look quite large - maybe more suited to clocks (or maybe bicycle wheels) than watches. The next item is for drilling out staffs to fit a new pivot. See here http://mb.nawcc.org/showthread.php?118580-Escape-wheel-pivot-repair and you will note that there are some key bits missing. The jewelling press looks to be in good condition, but it's very rare to set sets of stakes second hand without the press. You can buy stakes new, but they are not cheap. https://www.cousinsuk.com/category/jewelling-tools-for-bergeon-kif-inca-seitz. I bought a used set including press for less than £100 about 18 months ago

My pleasure ! glad you like them : )

Besides my original watch makers lamp I bought 2 of these: https://www.lidl-shop.nl/LIVARNO-LUX-LED-tafellamp/p100200309 The power and the colortemperature is adjustable....only around 25 euro each.

Not the easiest of repairs. Make sure you have the right type/shape of impulse pin, you will know what I mean when the old has been removed and the hole is nice and clean, careful with the length, you need it to engage in the pallet fork but you don't want it dragging. Good luck and keep us posted with your progress.

Tried all. Nitrocellulose nail polish, UV nail polish and akrylic lacquer. All are good but the nitrocellulose nail polish is convenient to use. Never bought a branded (expensive) lume paint but it would be nice to see a side-by-side comparison of sample spots made with the same binders and solvents in the same amounts. I have brought my relumed watch to a local watchmaker to compare its lume with a good lumed watch. It was a TAG Heuer F1. The initial brightness was about the same, but the most interesting would how the brightness changes with time. Could You or someone else make this comparison? I dont want to buy that expensive set just for this

i bought some lume from an ebay seller a while back. i am reasonably pleased with the lume quality, but the binder has an objectionable smell. chemical smells usually won't bother me, but this does. i hate working with it. what i've been thinking about using is UV activated nail polish. it won't harden until exposed to UV light - which is sunshine.

Thanks everyone. I got the response I was kind of expecting, everyone has their own preference and there is no one clear better lume. I'll get the Bergeon lume since that is what Cousins sell and I will be placing an order with them tonight anyhow.

Ah, another Pierce aficionado! I'm working on another Pierce right now- everything seems to be about right but I have to put a new post on the sweep second hand (not pictured) then give it a coat of paint. Next will be a neat little Sprint chronograph (Venus 170). I have the case but will need to source a caseback and pusher. Then I have this cute little Delmar watch which I bought for a song off eBay only because I thought the case would fit a Unicorn movement I have. It didn't but the watch is pretty enough to restore just the same. A Navitimer- which I'll have to find a case for. A Junghans automatic, which cost me nothing, but will require quite an investment to restore. And my favorite of the bunch- a Favre Leuba Bivouac. The bezel ratchet is missing and the barometer hand is wrong and doesn't fit but otherwise it looks straight forward. It's going to be a busy year.

Oh I do like a good Christmas mince pie! What a cracking gesture Phil.

George Daniels shows a neat little jig in his book to help with this

To be honest even if the H/S is distorted beyond rescue (which I doubt is the case) it would be far from disastrous as it would appear that replacement could be relatively inexpensive if the link below is representative. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3133-BALANCE-WHEEL-spring-spare-part-for-chronograph-POLJOT-OKEAN-SHTURMANSKIE-/282305942559?hash=item41babed41f:g:EBEAAOSwNRdX2sEY

The balance is not the easiest to play around with no mater what movement they are from. You know what they say practice makes perfect.

If you are looking for "necessary" in horology, you're looking into the wrong industry

I spent the day literally watching paint dry. I was using black lacquer to fill in the engraving on a pocket watch case to make it stand out. I will send pictures when it is finished. In the mean time I was looking for screwdriver sharpening stone holders on the net. The sticker shock was amazing. So i said to myself, "Self" your only watching paint dry, make your own, you have a sharpening stone and some wood. So I made this from scrap wood while watching paint dry. I'm happy with it & it cost nothing. It is perhaps not as pretty as Bergeon but they have enough money.

Ok, so when I adjust this screw for the spring that seems to affect whether it will engage wind or time set. Tighten it right up - no wind function Loosen it off - no time set position being achieved It's half way between now and all functions work [emoji848] Would this suggest the spring is damaged bent or something else to you guys? (I'm really sorry this isn't all in one post) (This is the screw I adjust)

This should put your mind at rest. Click on this link. http://members.iinet.net.au/~fotoplot/sdriver/sdriver.html