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No, it has a foot pedal which gives a smooth control of speed from 0 to 7000 rpm. I don’t use a countershaft pulley system, just a single belt (long rubber o-ring) onto the lathe pulleys. I’ve never struggled for torque from the motor but have had the belt slip. Sewing machine motors vary in power output. This one is 120W which is about 1/6HP, although I suspect the rating is the electrical input with only 75% of that converted to mechanical output. I’ve not dismantled the controller but it’s presumably just a rheostat.

A bit like oils, this is one of those hot button issues. I don't think anyone is necessarily 'wrong' but my perspective - whatever it's worth - is much in line with JDMs, proper/best practice for case/bracelet refurbishment relies on buffing, which removes microscopic amounts of material and simply moves the vast majority of the metal into its original shape, when that's an option i find it hard to justify sanding and removing significant amounts of metal to remove the appearance of scratches. It does have risks and skill/knowledge requirements like a lot of things, however. If you have the knowledge, skill, and experience there are very few cases (no pun intended) where it would be unavoidable for you to smooth a sharp edge, mostly on bracelets i think. What some people don't realize is that you can sometimes even buff a sharp edge back, at least to an extent, though you may not exactly be able to shave with it.

Probably the case is designed so that date will align. That happens when the crown is placed at angles distanced every 11.6 degrees, e.g. 4h 15min. BTW, there is a section in this forum where people likes to introduce themselves before asking questions.

I picked up some of these for about £6 each. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Major-Brushes-Wooden-Holder-Capacity/dp/B00XDO2CF6 The small holes are perfect for holding screwdrivers suspended so the blades don't touch the bottom and you can clearly see the sizes, larger holes are great for tweezers, levers, lots of other tools. I prefer to put every tool I use away in storage at the end of each day/session to avoid dust etc. and these are great for that and for keeping things together. In fact I ended up buying more and using them in my workroom for other small tools. They would probably not be that difficult to make but at that price it wasn't worth it to me in time and materials, easier to buy. Stephen

The way to remove them is to loosen the dial screws and lift the dial up thus lifting the discs, see full explanation here: http://www.crazywatches.pl/zodiac-astrographic-oval-sst-mystery-dial-1971

Restored by myself . Had deep dings on bezel and case side, but made one more happy owner now. Something which I still need to perfection is the very peculiar non-directional satin finish that is proper for the top of lugs, and the circular finish on the case back, for which a lathe will be enough.

I found it took me over an hour to put this back together, must be old age poor eyesight and having the shacks. It’s a 250 piece jigsaw

Hi I am David, a retired engineer and have just joined your forum. I am near Oxford in the UK. Been playing with watches and clocks for many years. I am secretary of Oxford Branch of the British Horological Institute and still have lots to learn. Cheers

Hi all I have been working on this lovely Zenith pocket watch, dating from the early 1900's. I am intrigued by the case, it is made of 0.800 silver (it has a Swiss hallmark inside). However it is the first time I see a "two tone" case like this, there is what looks like a very hard wearing coating, gun metal colour on the outside of the case. Would anyone know what it is? See pics below:

Thanks, I will take a look on that. However, I do not have any machine available. Hope I can do something only by hand for now.

If i'm understanding your question correctly , you want to put a 2824 movement with the date and crown at 3 in a case with the crown at 4 ? If this is so then with the crown at 4 unless you remove the dial feet the dial will be at 5 past instead of 12 and the date window would be at 4 instead of 3 . As i say if i have understood you correctly the dial feet will need removing and dial sticky spots using to hold dial in new position , with date window at 3 and 12 o clock at 12

I use the bergeon round one, full set picked up at auction for £20!!!!, but I do have a job lot of other screw drivers that sit in a section in my engineers chest that holds all my bits and bobs including tweezers etc

I have one similar from a Fossil that is still sitting in pieces...can't tell where anything goes once it was apart....lol Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

Of course they are. If you read my postings and watch the video (by the premier watchmaking school in the USA) above, you will notice that the idea is to abrading less, and move material with heat. These are the main advantages of buffing over a pure abrasive action.

Machinery consist in an rotary tool or even a just a drill , which you can jury rig to a vice, even a proper suppor will cost few Euros. For the rest I don't agree with using abrasives, which remove more material which can never be put back. Of course, if at the end of the process one finds that polishing compound works better when applied by hand, that is fine, but so far I've achieved the best results with small felt wheels, some are knife shape, etc.. Cousins has a lot of these. The supposed damage to sharp edges is a vastly exaggerated issue, for one not all cases have sharp edges, or damage near to the edges. I've successfully repaired or refinished tens of case, and some were badly damaged. Of course as in everything which involves manual skills, one has to use judgement and control of the technique.

Because it's not needed. As shown in the video above, buffing does not just remove material, but it also moves it. It is a much less aggressive method with a reduced number of passes, and associated mess.

Never use abrasive paper on a watch case, is very bad for a (self appointed) watchmaker to suggest that. As mentioned, buffing and polishing with a rotary tool is the proper technique. There are few more valid YT videos on the subject.