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Just letting you guys know. I have been off the internet for about a week due to something wrong at the exchange. I will have to go through the forum and see what I have missed. I apologise if people were expecting an answer from me. It will take me a little time.

good call! IF; you can learn how to spot a fake ( or frankenstene [ which may be a good parts watch]), you will save yourself tons of cash. vin

It's a fake/repainted dial at the very least. Completely wrong font used on Seiko badge. Put up a few pics of the movement itself please.

Make sure the movement tabs has good contact with the piezo in the caseback. You maybe need to bend it out a little. How did you mount the hands if you didn't now the alarm hand was in the right position?

Scaling from your photo of the screw on a Dumont pair of tweezers I estimate the thread diameter to be 0.6mm. If this is corect PM me and I shall mail you a suitable screw. The best way to repair the damaged enamel is to use white UV setting nail varnish now available everwhere and on eBay. You set it in sunlight or under a cheap UV light as used for detecting forged banknotes. Even less expensive UV LED chips can also do the job. Cousins sell a similar UV varnish for dial repair but at 10x the cost.

First of all, I'm not sure if this is a fully legit Seiko. I don't think that I've ever seen one with a big JAPAN MADE written on the dial... There are a couple of marriage/franken Seikos out there but usually the expensive collectible ones. Yes, you should service the watch and then it will most likely function properly, unless there are inner components that might be damaged... The day wheel alternates between english and arabic so that you can either set it to display english OR arabic days. That's why it changes "normally" on its own.

Pip, There are examples of dials fastened by screws from the top but these are usually wristwatches and in practically all cases they would be hidden by the case when its put together. Anilv

Dials screwed to the movement from the front are uncommon but not unheard of I have two Jaeger pocket watches with dials that are screwed to the movement from the front but this is obviously not a good way to attach enamel dials as chipping would be a problem if extreme care is not used, screws are not usually of a standard set size in cases where I have had missing screws I have a large stock of scrap movements and have usually been able to find a suitable replacements. Buying a replacement pocket watch dial from Cousins is not a option you have because no one makes them now. Another option you have is to use dial pads which are small adhesive dots that can be used to fix the dial to the movement.

Hi Pip, dials usually have feet or posts which go into holes in the movement. These feet are then secured, usually by a sidescrew. In you watch I believe the feet broke off and someone in the past has used a screw to secure the dial. If you can get the feet replaced the damaged can be visually repaired by some epoxy and white paint. Not perfect but not immediately noticeable as there is very minimal damage to the minute track. Anilv

Sand paper [emoji16][emoji16]. You'll need a decent fine cut file. Remember when sized, to bevel the tip. This prevents stripping the thread on the crown when screwing on. Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

Just checked a couple of my Smiths Astrals & there is no kink in either spring, they appear the same as yours & run fine. Have you demagnetised or is the spring in need of further degreasing?

One note about the crystal lifts: There are different schools of thought on whether to buy a good brand-name used lift/vise, or an inexpensive non-branded lift. I went with a Vigor that was sold as new-in-box. It ended up working well, but not until after I had to take apart the vise and replace a part. The Vigor has a rubber ring/band that applies spring-pressure to the jaws. They get old and set, and will not serve their purpose. I used an O-ring in it's place and it worked fine. I think that the condition of the end of the jaws is very important. The jaws on mine were nearly perfect, and it did a hassle-free job. I paid fair amount for mine, but it was 1/3-1/5 the cost of a new Vigor or Bergeon. Your mileage may vary. Good luck with your Wostok. Cheers.

I have a pair of straight cutters ... nothing special e.g. item P36103 from https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/end-or-top-straight-cutters# . You could use normal cutters just above the desired cutting mark and then gently file down any 'peak' caused by a non-straight cut to your mark. Because extenders are so cheap (around a pound for five) you can always practice on an extender itself i.e. cut and file on an extender and then check another extender will easily screw on. This may be a better option for you than buying special cutters if this is a one off job.

You may get away with just trimming the extension. As mentioned by "Watchmaker" Geo's article is just about the definitive work on this subject. Wirecutters for the stem but the type you cut straight onto rather than to the side of the stem are best. Try Cousin's or Esslinger, as they stock replacement stems suitable for Seiko that are threaded their hole length and makes life a lot easier Sent from my SM-T585 using Tapatalk

I"ve used these before to good effect. I just put a crown on the extension and a drop of glue on the original stem. Now holding the original stem in a pair of pliers twist the extender on using the crown to screw it on. You don't need to use a lot of force. In terms of then shortening your new extended stem then approach this no differently than you would a normal stem situation. This is a great posting: It''s sometimes necessary to shorten the original stem so that when the extender is fitted and shortened there's appropriate thread on the extender to fit the crown. Trial fit everything before the drop of glue!

Just finished refurbing a tired Smiths TY believed to be from 1965: Before: After: Case, dial & hands cleaned. Crystal polished. Movement serviced & broken click spring replaced (thanks to John at Obsolete Clock & Watch Parts). New strap. The timegrapher readings were a little variable, however it kept good time all weekend. I am getting a bit of a thing for Smiths (the watches, not the designer-misery band from the 1980's) and have got myself a 1960 Astral to do after the next Seiko.

We're all now used to second hands that operate from the centre of the watch but older watches used to have a small second hand that operated above the six o'clock position. Your watch is interesting in that it is the development of what was called the ETA 900 with a sub second hand into having a centre sweep second hand and renamed the 926. This would most likely date it to the early 1950s. Also cross reference the Bulova 10BAC. It would not take a lot to replace the damaged crystal and polish the case plus get a new strap. Do not be tempted to clean the dial (too risky) ... keep the lovely patina and have a nice looking heirloom!

I'm new to horology but have been fascinated with watches for some time. Wife and kids bought me a bunch of tools last Xmas and I'm finally buying old watches in junk shops and goofing off. I travel a lot for biz so tough to commit to a course. Looking forward to making some friends, learning, and my apologies for any stupid questions in advance. Cheers, h.

Like 4:20,…wink wink ?

Nice watch Wesley . It is similar to the Hamilton 505 . The Hamilton 500 has 2 fingers that provide power to the coil on the balance . You can go to Electric Watches UK and see the Hamilton electric movements and also the different models . I didn't see Rockford listed as a maker/manufacturer on the list provided .

Ahhh there's nothing like that first repair feeling. I remember mine to this day a Timex Cinderella watch that was my cousins that needed a new mainspring too with alot of help from my grandad who was a proper watch repairer used to make staffs and cogs the lot i got it up and running i was about 8 or 9 ohh happy days . Mick

I know it's been awhile since anything was posted to this thread but for me...I have an exciting update. THE VOSTOK WAS INDEED BROKEN AND I FIXED IT!!! MY FIRST ACTUAL REPAIR! So basically the other day when I was winding it, I heard the snap that the previous own did and it would not wind. As a matter of fact I shook it slightly and heard the rattling he spoke of as well. I thought this is strange because it had worked just fine for 3 weeks. I decided to open it up and see what had happened. it was really probably the easiest fix possible but it was still exciting to me because this really was my first "repair". When I opened a screw fell out and I noticed the gear on the main spring barrel had popped loose. Set it back in place, screwed her down and the watch is working as good as new. It seems that probably what happened was that the screw had been loose and the gear had popped but not completely off. When I had gotten it to work originally, I must have somehow gotten the gear to reset on its post and the teeth engaged the the other, allowing it to work fine. Gradually though the screw worked itself loose and POP, the gear had come off completely. Working well now though!

welcome to the forum. check battery voltage. vin