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Hi I Have actually made some of these tools , I fitted mine into some three eights dowel rod, I like the OP have found these useful as I think they give greater control, but like all balance spring work with either tweezers or these tools it requires great care and a steady hand.

When it comes to buying cheap tools,I am like a dog chasing a skunk..I never learn.

Hi Gary. I’ve been watching your updates. There is a very strong possibility there will be other contaminants inside the works of this piece in addition to the visible rust. If you can address the keyless works and get some semblance of performance out of it, that would be excellent. If you cannot, the it is no longer a chronograph. It is an opportunity to learn and possibly restore it to being a chronograph. If you decide to tear it down, take pictures every step of the way. Then, if you are able to clean it an repair ir replace malfunctioning parts, you will be able to rebuild by going through the pictures in reverse order. I don’t know what you are capable of doing. I’m merely suggesting that perhaps you are not fully aware as well. Do keep us updated and geed luck! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hi Gary Looks decidedly rusty in there, been following this post and watchmakers advise has been spot on, nothing to add but follow the advise given and you will be ok.

That looks like some nasty corrosion; the watch must have had water ingress at some stage. Fortunately it doesn't look like the moisture progressed beyond the keyless works as the rest of the movement looks okay. If the broken stem is still rusted in position it might be best to strip the rest of the movement to just leave the base plate with the rusted-in stem (and what looks like the trapped or rusted-on winding pinion and clutch parts too) and then soak in a proper penetrating oil. Also called 'release agent' or 'liquid wrench' this stuff can be picked up relatively inexpensively from an auto store.

You learn something new every day.

Found!!! I've downloaded a new video editor program, and I was playing a bit to get used to it. Then I saw someting below the balance that shouldn't be there...

Hello, Have someone had experience using sewing needles for recoiling springs? I saw a comment on youtube, his a veteran watchmaker and have been recoiling springs for about 60 years. This was his original post "Thank you for your honesty, only I am nearly 80 years old and have been recoiling balance springs for about 60 years. I don't use tweezers, I use two VERY small sewing needles with the tip of the eye end ground back leaving what looks like a two pronged fork then with the pointed end pushed into a piece of peg wood. These fine eye ends of the needles fit nicely between the coils of the spring with the spring sitting in the forks. It works well for recoiling and flatting the the spring. But you do have to be very calm with steady hands. Good luck." - Keith solloway I think this would be a very interesting topic.

Hello everyone! I have had this watch for more than 10 years, it was one of my first at $5 from Village Des Valeurs (thanks for the find dad) I can find info about the maker (Pryngeps) or the model, ive never been able to find even a picture or anything about the model. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

hey Got the courage up and i have removed the chrono works from the watch. hope pics explain.

Clamp from the above after 2 months straightening a cabinet door. Looks like is made of recycled rust and dross.

Looks like the you should do the same ti increase or decrease the play . remove by using a 60 degree cutter inside the tube. Think they mean the tube on the rotor. I think it's a drill or a cutter that has a 60 degree angle. Must be special tool for that? I have only took an other screw when the rotor has been to loose. and it usually solves the problem.

Hey Yer you are right I will strip and photo it. It's no good the way it is now. Cheers Gary

That winds and runs good is not an indication that servicing can be neglected. Since after various decades all the oil is gone, friction is all on metal of the pivots which wears out and cannot be restored. That leads to a very expensive service or repair at a later time.

Hi Jheric, Most use EBAY to source tools and parts, but Iam sure if you have a look on the web there will be suppliers in The Phillipines. Threr are a few in America, Jules Borel, Esslinger both used by our American cousins ou Cousins.uk , AG Thomas,HSWalsh,Meadows and Passmore (clock parts) Gleave & Co in England. Hope you find this info useful.

With this sort of repair, which you have successfully managed, is making sure the rivet doesn’t rub against anything, yet still holding the spring together.

It is a corollary of Murphy's law,where the chance of the bread landing jam side up is inversely proportional to the price of the carpet.

So happy I just gotta share some new adds to my collection... Tisso seconds hand needs to be put back on, which I’ll do today, but it’s running with all the rest of them. I’m pumped! Gonna but a lottery ticket next. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

good score ! when i go; all the good stuff will in the box with me.

My wife has had a jumbo size jar of pickles of the bench for the last 2 months that has defied all efforts to open it. Bought a new Silicone jar opener, made no difference. Holding the jar at 45 degrees and slapping the bottom of the jar to use the 'water hammer' effect didn't work. Me holding the jar and my son trying to open it didn't work. Heating the jar lid with me holding the jar and my son trying to open it didn't work. After coming home tonight from the pub I could see my wife had tried to open it again without success. I gave up and searched the web for how to open stuck pickle jars and one suggestion was use a bottle opener on the side of the lid. I very carefully used my best bottle opener (Hand forged by a blacksmith) on the edge of the lid and 'pop' went the lid without the lid being damaged. The jar is now open after 2 months of trying, is there anything the web can't help you with?

Thanks Gary. At least you've managed to get the movement out which is good. I'll be very interested to see a pic of the keyless works when you get to them. The works can get grubby for sure but for the setting lever to be so jammed is unusual and what is this mystery hard black stuff! A really good resource for various movement breakdowns is Christian Dannemann's WatchGuy website. If you do a web search for the term 'watchguy' and then the movement ID you're interested in he often comes up trumps. So for your 920 look at https://watchguy.co.uk/cgi-bin/library?action=show_photos&wat_id=2542. In this case Christian has removed the spring first but actually you could have removed the retaining plate first. [For most movements you'll deal with springs are held captive by the plate and are not removable through the front like this 920. A top tip when starting out is therefore to take the plate off with the movement in a clear plastic bag. You can poke a screwdriver through the bag to undo the screws and this way if there is a spring under tension ready to make a bid for freedom you've trapped that sucker in the bag!]. Christian's other photos should hopefully help out but obviously come back if you run into difficulty. Certainly please come back with the keyless works pic so we can see this!

Hmmm, how about the 6 positions, and after 24 hours? Just kidding, that looks awesome. Makes it worth all the time spent crawling on the floor looking for parts (one of my teachers called it the watchmaker prayer time).

Thanks. Looks like a Peseux 320. Regards.

Got the parts car today....Interestingly it is a close serial to mine but a year or two older. The pins are apparently pressed in with no sign of the other end on the dial side of the plate and obviously no screw slots. Also they are straight so no adjustment would have been possible. My old movement's pins were curved. Nice parts, but the pilot hole for the pin end of the stem is missing, appears to have been a bodged repair whereby someone ground the plate away and stuck a chunk of metal in it's place with a ready made hole... OK. Maybe I can do something similar. The stem was broken flush with the movement. Whoever had it must have been hell on stems! Is there a mathematical formula for how many movements a fellow would need to purchase on eBay to finish a watch? Variables would likely be related to age of caliber and amount available to spend plus or times the total desire to see it play again

welcome to the best forum.! as far as parts will fly; a painting by Norman Rockwell shows a "vintage watch bench". cheers, vin

Thank you for your introduction and welcome to this friendly forum. A lot of hours finding tiny objects on the floor. Ha Ha Ha that brings back memories. My knees would hurt.

Hi Jheric welcome to the forum, Checkout a site [email protected] A watch school run by Israel Angeles in Manilla a very knowledgeable man in the horological world has some useful tools for quartz watch repairs.

Hi Jheric, Welcome to the forum.

How do you know it is the wrong stem? From what I can see I suspect rust is preventing it from being removed. So as not to damage the movement, put penetrating oil on the stem and let it run into the keyless work. Have you tried to unscrew the button from the stem?

The most effective way to not loose parts is about your bench. You need it large, uncluttered, nice smooth light finish with raised edges and you have to sit do that it's at shoulder lever. The plus is having inclined arm rests. And work far from the edge for as much is possible. You must have at least some of the above. That will make you be comfortable and relaxed, physically and mentally. When something slips it won't go far and you will see it right away. You need to prevent pinging at any cost. First, identify the parts which will ping and how they will. Don't remove anything under which holds a potentially pinging part before having studied what comes next with diagrams or videos. Always work with a stick or Rodico in the left hand. Of course the safest way is to work in a bag.

I have a cleaning machine that was designed to use isopropyl as the rinse, and it has a built in distiller. Clean, go in the rinse, push a button and it drains into the reservoir, then about 6 minutes later there's fresh alcohol in the rinse container. It's slick! Hasn't been made in about 50 years (Greiner told me people were using it for other alcohols... the distillation temp of ethanol is close enough to work haha).

I bought some cheap ones (angled and straight) and ground them down to finer points which I keep for HS only. I also put a small elastic band around the arms which I can move up and down to 'set' the gap of the points. This stops me inadvertently letting them open too far too soon!!! BUT I still mess some HS up, hands not steady enough, and I can't mod them!!

Here is my quick video for making a leather belt for a Watchmakers Lathe. Enjoy. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Just had a look through my draw of projects awaiting my attention and found that 4205, ive fitted a miyota 6L12 movement, admittadly ive only attached the dial to the movement, but the date wheel lines up exactly with the window the hands ca me from the donor watch and are diver style hands so work well with the seiko dial