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Hi Esslinger web site gives a good insight to the fitting and measuring of crystals in the from of a tutorial. well worth a look before going any further.

Those diagrams are of non-capped jewels, which are not to be used for balance wheel pivots. Here is a diagram of what we are talking about: The dome is there to keep the oil in the center with capillary action when brought to contact with end stone. There should not be any shoulders on balance pivots, but a gradual slope. Only surfaces acting as bearing surfaces are around the tip of the pivots. Otherwise there would be too much friction.

The problem with timing machines are there not magical crystal balls that make predictions of what your watch is going to do 24 hours a day. There only a device that shows you what the watch is doing at the exact moment it's on the machine in that exact position. Or simplistically timing machines are instantaneous the watch is averaging over time. Out of curiosity did you just turn your machine on and put the watch on it or have you changed any of the settings? For instance you can change the averaging time which will help 20 seconds works fine. Then I notice it looks like a diving style case? The problem with Seiko cases like this is their heavy and they use plastic movement rings to hold the movement in. It does not make good for transmitting sounds out for the timing machine and you can get bad timing because of that. Which means sometimes the best way to time a Seiko movement is out of the case. So if you want to see more realistic numbers from the timing machine you need to time in more than one position.The first link explains multiposition timekeeping and how to do the calculations start with just the rate. Set your machine to 20 second averaging and I would time at least 30 seconds per position. Allow 30 seconds between changing positions for the watch to settle down. Then the other two links have technical specifications. Your 4R36 is equivalent to the OEM time module NH36. So the last link is the tech sheet time module usually does a better job of explaining the timing specifications than the equivalent Seiko tech sheet. https://www.witschi.com/assets/files/sheets/X-D-DVH-Di-Im-N_EN.pdf' http://calibercorner.com/seiko-caliber-4r36/ https://www.timemodule.com/upload/PDF/NH36_TG.pdf

I agree, the quality of lighter fluid does seem, from my limited experience, to be a little variable. The named brand stuff does appear to be slower to evaporate than the really cheap pound shop stuff and sometimes leaves behind an oily sheen. Presumably the pound shop brand contains none of the "refinements" of the named brand, so for this application at least, the pound shop stuff may be a better bet. Having said that, I've used both, and both appear to do the job, and I haven't seen any negative effects, but then again, I don't really have enough data to support that statement.

Hi I understand where you are coming from, but I would follow the Esslinger advice that way having fitted the gasket to the case you then measure again for the crystal that way there is less margin for error and better chance of a perfect fit.

It takes 10mm size collets with a 20 mm shank. Try ebay.

Welcome Dave, Enjoy the forum

Welcome back Dave,

In the constant battle for cheap, glue is not unheard of. Ronda for example were not above such practices. http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&&2uswk&Ronda_1233_21 From memory I think some of the Q&Q stuff is also glued. I don't think Timex ever went down that route, they tend to use pins, but given the low cost nature of the EB 88XX series, and the number of different balance variants I've seen, it would not surprise me to find an example with a glued hairspring end. I guess the idea was that since the thing was so cheap, you were unlikely to bother stripping down the balance, and would simply replace the whole thing, or more likely, scrap the movement, or indeed the whole watch.

And even if you don't https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_time_in_Europe

Does a brass desk clock count as Watch of Today? Well this one kind of does, since it is actually a Seiko quartz watch movement, complete with stem and crown. The "watch" part is held in to the body with a silicone band which allows it to press fit into a recess on the very heavy brass body. The whole thing is about 4" high and surprisingly heavy, and no doubt cost a pretty penny when new. Needless to say, it is yet another member of the 404 club. Don't forget to put the clocks/watches back tonight if you live in the UK.

From your observations its imminently possible the pallet/fork has at some time been changed in the past. If the replacement supplied by Cousins is the same as the one which gives you correct readings ie (guard pin) and depending on cost, myself I would change the fork/pallet, that being the logical thing to do as moving the jewels is an art and could lead to further problems. I am afraid the choice is yours,

You can access, remove, (by means of 2 small screws underneath, (where you see what appear to be pins beside the cap jewel), clean and lubricate as you normally would by removing the balance complete. Care must be taken as the stud appears to be pinned rather than held by a screw as you typically see and likewise care in refitting and repinning as this task is fiddly.

The domed side of the hole jewel faces the cap jewel, the oil sink faces away.

No, install it after oiling.

You oil it assembled. Put a little oil in the cup of the hole jewel, then feed it through, add until the circle on the cap jewel is big enough. An auto oiler should work as well.