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Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/18/18 in all areas

  1. Finally finished my Vostok Generalskie extensive overhaul: No other watch have I serviced, cleaned, polished, and lubricated as meticulously as this Vostok Generalskie; the movement, case, dial, hands, and crystal. Case and crown gaskets were of course replaced and silicone greased. I even cleaned and polished all train wheels by hand (a bit over the top, I know, but I just couldn’t help myself). I had many good reasons to be thorough though; This Generalskie was a spontaneous gift to me from someone who made a deep impression on me (I’ll always remember you T). I think it’s one of the most impressive looking Vostoks I’ve seen, and I just love that dolphin case back lid. And, it was my first serious attempt to (somewhat) understand and successfully service a 31 jewel automatic watch. The service spawned some pretty interesting discussions on WUS and watchrepairtalk.com. First, it was established by our "comrade" experts over at WUS in the “Q&A Expertise thread: Is this watch legit or a Franken?” that it is indeed legit. The first and major challenge for me was to understand how to service the automatic mainspring barrel. As I learned, this is not entirely trivial when it comes to automatic watches (thank you all!). Secondly, I was puzzled by the state of the reversing wheels and how to lubricate them. This too was eventually sorted out. For my personal use, I made a "reassembly plan" using pictures from the disassembly. It was only meant for me personally, but for anyone interested click here. I should mention that during the assembly I figured out that it would be most convenient to assemble the parts for the automatic winding as late as possible, so this does not show in my "reassembly plan". The quality of the movement and the entire watch is the best I’ve seen in any Vostok, Raketa, or Poljot so far. The movement contained some surprising details I haven’t seen before. The centre wheel held a very small (micro) brass cylinder right in the centre of the arbor to hold or guide the seconds hand pivot (see the picture below). Let me tell you, it was not easy to handle, not even with my finest tweezers. Most shims, like under the balance cock, were gilded, and so on. I believe this watch was meant for export and made to impress. It was sold in Stockholm, Sweden sometime in the early 90-ties. I wear it with pride!
    4 points
  2. Hi Guys. Just thiought I would share. I made a new work station last week and have just got myself settled. I made this 150mm higher than the old table and it feels much better.
    1 point
  3. Hi, I'm Jon from London and have recently caught this watch bug. It's like my eyes have been opened to these beautiful objects that I had taken for granted for so long. I started collecting some watches and learnt how to repair and service them. Only mechanical and automatic watches for now until my skill set grows. (and my pocket...) I'm about to start on a watch and clock course for the next year which I'm very excited about. I'm quite pleased with my very first watch a short while ago which had a seconds hand and day and date wheel. I got this to 0 B.E. and +2 secs a day with the timegrapher I bought. I couldn't wait to tell my girlfriend of my achievement, but her eyes glazed over. At that point, I realised I needed to be around like-minded people who understand and appreciate what I'm talking about. It's good to find you guys!
    1 point
  4. Hi Rick and welcome. I call my self a watch jobber. I was very privileged 60 years ago to get 3.5 years part time evening training from a close friend who had been a Vacheron Constantin Geneva trained watchmaker. Now gone; but I used the knowledge only occasionally until about 16 years ago. I have no certified academic watch Quals. I was an electronic engineer until I retired. You can do it very well with this fine forum for help and a copy of de Carles and/or Frieds excellent manuals on watch repair. Mark Lovick is an excellent watch repairer and he offers courses which are no doubt very informative. All good wishes to you. Mike Southampton.
    1 point
  5. I don't suppose you can do a before and after for us of a watch? In other words show us why it's not clean afterwords. watch cleaning fluids are made up of a variety of chemicals to do a variety of things. Ideally they take all the bad stuff and put it in the solution than with each progressive rinsing they reduce the concentration of that solution on the plates and we end up with a bright shiny clean watch. The Ammonium Hydroxide found in the solution takes off the tarnish makes the plates look shiny but it has a problem? Once you go beyond bright and shiny it starts to etched the plates. if the solution is hot then it's going to start etching much faster. Personally I think 12 minutes is too long. try five minutes and see if the solution turns blue or green like it's doing now and see how things look. I've attached the material safety sheets see you can see the chemicals in your cleaning fluid. I would really like to see a material safety sheets from 20 or 30 years ago as I don't think the cleaners today are quite as aggressive that cleaning than they once were. then if you're cleaning old watches pocket watches for instance the lubricants tend to harden up really hard. They're not just going to wash off in the cleaning machine they have to be mechanically removed with peg wood. http://www.lrultrasonics.com/msds/Extra Fine Watch Cleaning Solution.pdf
    1 point
  6. FOOLS! Never look her in the eyes! You need to learn diversionary tactics! And should she become physical, then you must keep your left up and beat her with superior footwork.
    1 point
  7. Thank you. Cousines site is a good source too.
    1 point
  8. I found that some of the arms unscrewed themselves. I used loctite on all of the threads and no issues since.
    1 point
  9. I've had one that lasted 2 years but I did notice that the cable had gotten tangled with one of the arms which kind of knackered the gearing. I now have a 2nd one and have tidied the cable. Mistake learned.
    1 point
  10. Hi vwatchie. The watch looks superb, well done,
    1 point
  11. It truly looks absolute pristine !! I initially thought that you were pulling wool over our eyes and presented a brand new watch Also congrats with servicing your first 31-jewel automatic, surely more to come ....... It looks stunning in every sense and it comes even with a matching strap....... I would wear it with pride too ! Hats off !!
    1 point
  12. I can see the hairspring is not correct. It is to near to the balance and could be rubbing (red arrow) You will need to free it from the regulator. if you need to adjust the hairspring, bend it down a little here (yellow arrow) it is a trial and error so be careful. You might need to drop the stud a little here (blue arrow) You need to have the hairspring level all the way round. See how un-even where the red arrow is pointing to the green arrow.
    1 point
  13. Sometimes when buying parts it is useful to know the names in other languages or to know the standard swiss part numbers which can be found here https://www.cousinsuk.com/document/category/factory-symbols-trade-marks-ebauches-swiss-part-numbers
    1 point
  14. Here is a link to P/W parts photos these came from IHC185 club by John D. Duvall https://www.dropbox.com/sh/27ej5vl7etzaqzi/AADuOsY6QNnl8heHIweN3OcGa?dl=0
    1 point
  15. Just my 5 cents as a good oil to stop rust. Many years ago I bought a bottle of Camellia Oil to stop my Japanese woodworking saws from rusting. It is a very light oil that doesn't leave the item sticky. The japanese used to use it for protecting their swords first and then when the swordsmiths turned to making woodworking tools it was used on these high quality tools. I now use this oil on anything precision that I want to protect from rust. This is the stuff https://www.kriscutlery.com/other-weapons/camellia-oil-for-knves-swords-and-tools Of course this only helps you after you have cleaned the items.
    1 point
  16. The external surfaces of a collet are easily cleaned up, however the real issue (at least for watchmaker sized ones) is corrosion in the bore. Obviously very difficult to get at mechanically. You could use an appropriate sized bit of brass wire as a lap but then there's the potential to start changing the collet dimension or bell mouthing it. Some of the rust removal solutions work really well, I would try a soak in them. They should remove the rust and only and on the inside and out. With the rust removed, the best idea is to take steps to prevent it. Rust requires oxygen and water. A great deal of the water that causes rust comes from condensate. Getting a dehumidifier will make the biggest difference, and keep the room a constant temperature. Most condensate falls of the the air when there is a temperature change -i.e. dew. The idea is to keep well away from the dew point. The other thing is keep all tools covered, in drawers etc. It minimizes the amount of air around the tool and hence how much condensate there can be. Keping things oiled can help. Oil doesn't protect so much from direct water like condensate, but it does provide a temporary barrier from the air, air that contains both water and oxygen. Last thought, the volume of iron oxide is many times that of steel, so if there is just a bit of rust on something, don't despair. If the rust is light, you likely won't even be able to measure a dimension change
    1 point
  17. Bigger collets (5c) I spin the in the lathe and polish them with a red (medium) scotch-brite pad. Inside as well if I can get in there. Then I spray with aerosol Precision oil- sold for micrometers etc. it just sprays on and leaves a light film as it dries. Will not affect tolerances. If the back side taper is rusty, I polish that by hand with the red pad. It is as critical as the bore so be careful. Any burrs get knocked down with a stone. Threads are easily cleaned with a wire “tooth” brush. Stainless bristles are fine. But you can use brass. Spray threads with the oil too. Some of the 5c collets have an internal thread for a work stop. These I clean with a bottle brush. Smaller bottle brushes can be used to clean inside the collets too. Small bores can be cleaned with brushes for cleaning baby straws etc. but lab supply places have tons of sizes and materials. You can also cut a slot in a dowel and slide the piece of red pad in there to polish the id of collets.
    1 point
  18. I'd really appreciate your opinions on the following. I've just started the "Level 2: Maintenance Servicing" course on https://www.watchrepairlessons.com. Before this I have successfully serviced about a dozen Russian Vostok movements (2409, 2414, 2415) so my choice of movement for following the course is probably not critical as long as it is a manual movement without any complications. Anyway, I wish to follow along as closely as possible so I've decided to pick up the same kind of movement as used in the course. My idea is that once I'm finished with the course I will build my own watch around the movement like Mark Lovick shows in this video. Now, I can't make up my mind whether to buy a Chinese clone like the one in the image above available on cousinsuk.com (CODE: CHI3620M) and of course on eBay (I suppose) or... whether I should go with the above "Nastrix" movement found in a pocket watch on eBay. To me the "Nastrix" movement looks "more attractive" (I wonder what alloy that is?). I think it would look better inside my own watch as I have a glass case back in mind. I have negotiated the price to about £61 for the Nastrix which is quite a bit more than the £36 for the Chinese clone. The following info is from the ad on eBay, and from my mail correspondence with the seller: " (---)in pristine condition--never, ever used. BRAND NEW!(---) This has the highly reliable, full size ETA6497 movement. (---) Movement is approx. 36.70mm; that would be American size 8; 16 lignes. Case is 48.95mm approx. The movement is stamped "Nastrix Corp, Seventeen Unadjusted", and "17 Jewels SWISS". If you look inside this watch at the movement, you will find that it is a 17 jewel incablock made by "Nastrix." These were made by a man called Claude Wollman in Swizterland between 1970 and 1990. Arnex was the name of the manufacturer. Other good names which exist for these watches are Neiman Marcus, Kellner, La Cloche, Bucherer, and others. There is a good article on these watches which you can find on Google called "What is the value of an Arnex Pocket Watch." The article is not exactly clear about the cases. But the parts are Swiss and under a special treaty to keep US labor in the US they may have been assembled in the US Virgin Islands (St Croix.) A most convoluted history. " Really can't make up my mind so I'd really appreciate some input on this! Would the Nastrix be a as good as the Chinese clone, or is this a scam? I should mention that the seller has 100 % positive feedback.
    1 point
  19. Hello Bob, Well, it's usually easiest to replace the entire balance assembly if the hairspring is missing or damaged beyond repair as the hairspring has been vibrated for particular balance. When you replace just the hairspring on a balance you'll usually have to cut the replacement to the proper length to ensure it swings the balance at the right frequency. This can be particularly difficult if you are replacing an overcoil hairspring. Fortunately complete balance assemblies are not too difficult to come across for most 20th century watches. Unfortunately, they are usually pricey. For much older watches (19th century and earlier) I think you would probably have to either find a parts movement to scavenge a balance complete from or vibrate are replacement hairspring. There are tools out there to assist in vibrating hairsprings but again they can be pricey and you would need to find the tool which is tuned for the watch frequency you'll be working on (ex. 18,0000 bph). There are also tools out there for forming an overcoil- I've been trying to score some Dumont tweezers for this purpose but again they are pricey. If you are working on American pocket watches, I know some of the manufacturers did produce replacement hairsprings. Many NOS Elgin hairsprings can be found on eBay. Some suppliers also sell uncolleted hairsprings which can be used by an advanced watchmaker to replace a damaged or missing spring. I believe Otto Frei sells uncolleted springs. Personally I always try to fix a damaged hairspring. If it's already broken then it's hard to feel bad about making it worse- especially if there is no other option. You'd be surprised what can be accomplished if you just keep plugging at it. The first watch I repaired involved mangling the hairspring and then sorting it out. I also think it's the greatest thrill in watch repair- bringing a dead hairspring back to life.
    1 point
  20. Yes. As the power runs down, eventually the balance amplitude reduces to almost nothing, but its neutral position with no power is with the roller jewel in the middle of the pallet fork horns, with the pallet fork centred. In this position, the pallet jewel angled face rests against the face of a tooth on the escape wheel, and a little torque on the escape wheel will push the pallet fork away setting the watch in motion. When the roller jewel is disengaged from the pallet horns, the pallet lever mechanism is essentially bistable and should flick to one side or the other where the pallet jewels just lock the lever in place. For this reason, it is important to set the hairsping on the balance wheel so that in its neutral position it would hold the roller jewel in the centre of the horns as described above, otherwise (amongst other problems), it will be necessary to shake the watch to move the balance and set it in motion. in practice the neutral position is best tested with the watch in motion. A timing machine can listen to the noises the escapement makes and reports any misalignment as a "beat" error. This is resolved by rotating the hairsping attachment (collet) to the balance or to the balance cock, depending on the watch.
    1 point
  21. these are the kind of symptoms that require " open and inspect" or send it out for service. vinn
    1 point
  22. Don't forget there could be many reasons why this might not happen. You should expect this in a well serviced watch, even with a new mechanical watch, dirt is the main reason why a watch stops, gummed up oil is another and wear so unless the movement is squeaky clean don't expect it with every mechanical watch.
    1 point
  23. you may have noticed, when the main spring is totaly wound down, 3 or 4 turns of the crown will start it running. .with out shaking ! if it dosent you need to go to work on it or perhaps it a cheep watch welcome to the forum, vinn
    1 point
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