Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 03/29/20 in all areas

  1. 1940 14K rose gold Elgin driver. Polished up well. I upgraded the movement to a 675 from the 559 that came in it. The stretchy bracelet is a very early Speidel that was in amazing condition and polished well also. Her response: "that's pretty." Ho-Hum. RMD
    7 points
  2. Cracked jewel - if it reaches the inner edge will score the pivot and introduce friction. This is a modern movement built to tight tolerances and from the sounds of things, minimal sideshakes - get the same jewel as a replacement. Finally, listen to Nickelsilver. The most likely cause for issues is at the lower torque end of the movement, ie. the faster end, ie. towards the escapement. Mainspring barrels do not have to have so little friction that they can spin under their own momentum. They have greater side-thrust and hence have thicker, stronger pivots with more friction. But that matters less as there is more torque and less velocity..... One thing which I didn't see mentioned - did you check that your hairspring is not just "flat in the round" but also flat in general? When it breathes, you should not see any rippling up and downwards, and obviously no coils should ever touch. Sorry if that's obvious, but it's a very common issue on watches which have been mishandled. A hint can sometimes be that the balance oscillates faster than expected, especially in particular positions. The balance clearly swings freely which you demonstrated. You can experiment with adding friction at the different wheels - stick a fine oiler in the escape wheel oil sink and push against the pivot. You may be able to stop the movement entirely. Try the barrel.... see much difference? Probably not. When you observe the action of the escapement, check that with a few winds of the crown that the pallets are consistently getting the same amount of draw when they lock. If they don't draw inwards properly then it's most likely lack of torque getting through the train (friction?) or the sides of the pallet stones or escape teeth are not clean enough. You will sometimes need to inspect the stones and peg them or dip into pith wood to clean the sides.
    3 points
  3. I've attached a picture of of the variable power supply that I use of my own design. The meter on top is a Seiko meter of course not made by Seiko and citizen also use the same identical meter. Really nice it has a 12 µA full scale can easily read a quarter of a microamp. There is a minor modification though to get stable readings when looking at current going into quartz watch you need a capacitor so I modified an additive toggle switch on the front of the meter to turn that on and off. Then I found a couple of other links for you first one is the bowl of a meter and a variable voltage power supply. The second one is Building a Variable Voltage Power Supply - Martin Catt. http://members.iinet.net.au/~fotoplot/accps.htm http://www.pocketwatchrepair.com/catt/pwr-supply.php
    3 points
  4. This little escapement information could be of some help? (hope it's readable)
    2 points
  5. Hi The white tester is the Martin Catt build, The one with the meter attached is from Th AWCI and the other is a mini scope all got for less than £30 apiece the scope comes as a self build kit the other two are again assembled from others plans/drawings so food for thought. cheers
    2 points
  6. Thank you for your introduction and welcome to this friendly forum. I always recommend you start with a pocket watch. Just practice taking it apart and putting it together. Most are like a watch movement. Get to know the names of the parts as well. Don't touch the fusee pocket watches as those are completely different. Some thing like this is a good start.
    2 points
  7. Welcome, If I might suggest, that you don't go pulling apart your vintage, rather expensive watches you named in that list, until you buy some £10 - £20 watches and played around with those to get a feel for what you are doing. We are all here to help and before long you will have the confidence and a little more experience to tackle those watches you mentioned
    2 points
  8. Hello everyone, My name is Julian and I am new to the forum and new to the hobby of watch repair (although I would not call myself a watch repairer!). I have been trying to read and research my way to being able to repair pocket watch movements as a starting point, so bear with me if anything I say is incorrect. I'm happy to have a forum like this to get the advice of people much more knowledgeable and skilled than myself. Anyways, enough of the introduction, let me explain what I have. I recently been given an old Omega Trench watch. The watch has certainly seen better days (see attached movement photo). Based on the serial #, the watch is approximately from 1914-1918. The case is likely silver nickel due to the absence of any hallmarks. The dial has a few faint cracks but nothing of major concern. The hand are oxidized and I am considering replacement or refinishing. The movement appears to have rust on many parts of the train. Before I take things apart (waiting on the appropriate tools), is there anything that can be done about the 3rd and 4th wheel or will they need to be replaced? Worst-case scenario, if I recall, these movements are the same as early Omega Ladie's pocket watches and they could be used as a donor movement? Thanks for any help/information that can be provided, Julain
    1 point
  9. SII main distribution (TMI) is based in Hong Kong but Seiko claims that these are made in Japan, probably thanks to their permissive regulations, for which it's enough to have Japanese directors in a foreign factory. The ones from China may come with a slightly different packaging and a Chinese day wheel. Just be careful in removing and fitting them.
    1 point
  10. Do any of you have ONE particular customer that keeps coming back with watches that you just serviced, and claim that it's not working? Regardless of whether it's a manual wind, automatic or quartz analog or digital. Then you adjust the time and leave it on your bench and it seems to work just fine for a couple of weeks. You return it, only to have the customer come back to tell you that it still not working? I have ONE. It's a family member and I don't get paid for it.
    1 point
  11. Perhaps you should try to wear it for a couple of weeks? Just to make sure! Are you sure your "customer" knows how to supply power to the watch (if it is an automatic or mechanical)?
    1 point
  12. Hi There is a fair amount of filth around and the ratchet wheel and intermediate wheel are a bit grotty, but, If you have a screw driver, First led down the power on the mainspring then remove the wheels and dunk them in coke or vinegar for a few mins then brush repeat as required you will be able to clean them up abit, Once you get hold of the tools then work will commence. It looks a nice little watch, definitly worth a go for sure watch first released around 1910..
    1 point
  13. Could you get a high magnification shot of the keyless. The photos don't really show the winding pinion clearly. I suspect the winding pinion has slipped and the yoke and hacking lever is out of place.
    1 point
  14. I knew an optician who used to have people come back in with glasses saying, "I just can't see with these new glasses." As his story goes, after the second time of adjusting various things on the fit of the specs, he'd just nod and take them in the back. He said that he'd put the specs down on a table and dance around them, chanting various mystical chants that implored the spectacle gods to make them right. He'd then hand them back to the patient, who would often smile with acceptance before walking away happy, and without knowing the miracle they had just been a part of. Yours must be frustrating because it's easy to prove that the watch is working, which you do. With eyeglasses you can't experience what the wearer is. Perhaps you should suggest that they get their eyeglass prescription updated. I know a guy...
    1 point
  15. Couldn't agree more and remember that Russian movements are more like the Swiss movements in design unlike the Japanese movements. You might find my walkthrough of the Vostok calibre 2409 useful. Other than that, I agree a lot with @oldhippy. I think the most ideal movement to get started with is a Unitas calibre 6497 or 6498 (or a clone), and once you've finished servicing it you'll find hundreds if not thousands of options on eBay if you wish to case it and wear it. It is also the movement used on watchrepairlessons.com which in my opinion is the best and most affordable way to learn about basic and semi-advanced repairing and servicing. Good luck!
    1 point
  16. As promised.. These from an ETA 2836. Here with the clamp closed... and open. Be careful not to rotate the clamp beyond the little stop post on the main plate. @watchweasol, definitely more of a sickle than a banana...
    1 point
  17. Didn't think of it, but what I can and will do is place the pivot in the original jewel (mounted in the main plate) to see what it feels like. That should give me a good indication of which is the correct hole diameter when compared to the jewels in the jewel gauge. OK, so that is what a crack causes. Good to know. I'll take a close look at the pivot in my stereo microscope (40X) and see if I can see any damage done to it. I believe there's an absolute consensus around this and it is what @Mark teaches (fault finding course) at watchrepairlessons.com. However, @Endeavor pointed out that in one of the videos I've published it looks like there could be a friction problem in the train and as I had been so focuses on the escapement I had completely forgotten about the train and the mainspring barrel. As someone wrote "Good amplitude starts at the mainspring barrel, so scrub and spin that sucker.", and now that I found a cracked jewel I had all the more reason to start my investigation with the train rather than the escapement. So, I hope that explains what could appear as having the wrong focus. No I didn't so I'll will take a very close look at this too. Not perfectly sure what this would look like, but I guess having a look at several movements using this method over time should at some point make it clear to me what it is right and what is wrong. Any illustrations or more detailed explanations out there? Finally, thanks for your very informative post, much appreciated!
    1 point
  18. Hi If you want cheap wrist watches look for the Russian ones Wostock, Racketa etc usually pick them up non working for a pound or two. No great shakes if you ruin them just get used to the names and the parts. You might find the attached doc useful TZIllustratedGlossary.pdf
    1 point
  19. Not on this movement, which is an ETA of some sort (or derivative thereof). There are 2 cut aways in the bridges which I think are what you are referring to. They should expose a banana shaped lever or cam at the edge of the main plate, with a pip at one end and a pivot at the other. Gently lever out the pip end away from the movement so that it pivots around the other end. As you swing it out it will release the dial foot. Once both dial feet are released the dial can lift off. I will try and post pics later if I can find a similarly equipped movement.
    1 point
  20. As mentioned above, I recently added another Luch 3055 to the fleet... and surprisingly, I didn’t have to do very much to it when it arrived from Ukraine. The date was changing over at around 8:30, so it was off with the hands for a reset. While I was at it, the second hand, which had faded from its original red to a dirty gold, received a lick of paint. And now, after a bit of futzing with the battery clip, it’s running dependably and has become my daily. I was lucky to find one with the original strap, carrying a little “spark” logo on the clasp. With the repainted second hand, it looks quite pristine and wears very nicely. Gryf
    1 point
  21. thanks, I also founds this. Rolex 3035 and Rolex 3055 oiling service sheet 3035-3055-Tech.pdf
    1 point
  22. The reason why there is confusion over lubrication is because there is confusion. Before the electronic timing machine starting with paper tape first onto a digital machines. You wouldn't know the effect of lubrication so many of our early technical references or places where people don't have a timing machine things can get interesting for lubrication. But as soon as you get a graphical display you can tell if you've under lubricated that does show up. The add-in amplitude and they can really see the effect of poor lubrication. Always amusing if you have a group of watchmakers that supposedly should know what they're doing and to discuss escapement lubrication. Then there is another problem are you timing your watches properly? The reason I ask if you know how to time your watch is when you initially wind it up you can wind it up really tight if you're not careful and even if you do wind it up to the end it's going to have a little more power. If you look at a variety of the manufacturers such as Omega's recommendation "Measures to be made between 30 and 90 minutes after fully winding.". Or time module which is Seiko's OEM division their recommendation is "Measurement should be done within 10~60 minutes after fully wound up.", ETA Is interesting in that it has its technical guides but it also has for a lot of their watches manufacturing information sheet where you find all sorts of interesting technical specifications like this "All check are made without the calendar in function and chrono not coupled. The check has to be done at full winding, referred to as 0 h, after 1 to 3 hours running." Then yes like lubrication of the escapement there does seem to be some minor variations in how to do timing. So it appears to be the quickest would be 10 minutes followed by 30 then one hour depending upon who you look at. Personally I usually find 15 minutes to 30 minutes works fine. Then the other aspect of this is what is the watch doing at 24 hours later. Most the watch companies not all will publish what they expect that 24 hours and not always concerned about when it's wound up but they are concerned about whether it can run 24 hours without an issue.
    1 point
  23. It's amazing what you can do with basic electronic test equipment. For instance I use a $20 digital volt ohm meter to check coil resistance. Or battery voltage can be checked I'm not usually concerned about doing battery voltage with load testing. To understand quartz watch testing I've attached a file and a couple of links. The first link is here because I wanted to see a picture of the watch you're working on. You'll notice that conveniently test points have been marked which is more common to find on Swiss watches. The second link talks about quartz watch theory and a test procedure which I recommend a minor deviation from. The attached file unfortunately is not your watch but similar physical size. In the attached PDF the first test is checking the battery voltage with the battery in the watch. That is the variation from the witschi's removing the battery and checking it. It's always best if you can check that powers actually getting to the circuit board versus checking the battery out of the watch. One test it's missing is checking for impulses because on this particular watch you can't get to the coil leads from the outside. If you can actually get to where the coil leads are an analog meter works really well much better than a digital. I like an analog meter because when it receives the impulse the needle will switch one direction or the other depending upon the polarity. Where digital meters just tend to jump because the pulses too short. Then for the rest the testing in a little more complicated perhaps. Measure current consumption you need a really sensitive meter typically today everybody is using digital because it's hard to get really sensitive analog meters. Not that they didn't exist At one time Bulova had a really nice meter citizen and Seiko had meters. But finding an analog meter they can read a fraction of a micro amp is challenging today. Then it be really nice to the variable voltage power supply to complete the rest of the tests. You could use the watch battery for at least the current consumption test. http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&0&2uswk&ETA-ESA_978_002 http://www.witschi.com/assets/files/sheets/Knowledge Quartz Watch.pdf ETA_ETA 976.001.pdf
    1 point
  24. Reminds me of an ancient Scottish joke. There were two escaped lions sauntering down Sauchiehall Street. One turns to the other and says "Its awfully quiet round here for a Saturday afternoon".
    1 point
  25. I have one of these:)And one of these. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
    1 point
  26. No problem getting eggs here, I'm surrounded by farms, getting fresh veg too. I only live about 200 yards from our little village shop which is quite well stocked. One of the parish councilors has set up a system, you can phone him and he will do shopping for you and he leaves it at your door, he phones you first, you leave the money out side. My brother-in-law lives about 6 miles from me, he has offered to shop for me and bring it over. Still got plenty of booze in so I'm all right.
    1 point
  27. No, I don't have experience enough to say whether a barrel should spin freely around the arbor when just puffing some air. In the end of the day it's of course a friction-bearing and even a very bad one too; metal-to-metal. Next to that, even if it would rotate freely (as it also may do when there is too much play), it's hard to tell how the bearing would behave under load, i.e. with a spring under tension in the barrel. Given the fact that it is a (used) friction bearing, to stay within reason all you can do, IMHO, is to ensure that there is enough play such that the arbor can rotate (which it seems to have), that the bearing surfaces are as clean & smooth as possible (you pegged the heck out of them) and to ensure proper lubrication to reduce friction between the bearing surfaces. With to stay within reason I mean to see how far you get working with the materials you currently have and the way the watch was designed. Next is of course to ensure, or try to achieve a as smooth as possible power release by the main-spring. Since it is an old movement, again to stay within reason, there are many things over which you have no control or can't alter. You can work your way from the arbor down to the escapement and do your best in checks, cleaning and lubrication. Than the escapement itself which is (at least to me) a complicated matter and lots can go/be wrong or misaligned (even ever so slightly) reducing the amplitude. It takes a very deep understanding on how the escapement exactly works, interconnects and should be aligned; something which I try to grasp (too?). Once you get down to that, it would get very interesting & educational if a forum member has that deep understanding and is willing to spend the time & energy to guide not only you, but hopefully lots of others here, through that process. Only than we will find out whether something can be / could be done to increase the amplitude ..... (?) I follow with interest your proceedings / progress
    1 point
  28. You have to think very, very deeply before you start doing things like that. In fine-mechanics all is done to reduce tolerances. That you can't feel it doesn't mean it isn't there. In fact, if all else stays the same, a few thousands of a millimeter play is enough; play=play. Increasing the hole sizes, as I understood of the barrel, and the barrel will tilt (even more), meaning altering the arbor/barrel contact area which could lead to more wear or in the very worse case gouging of the materials. Next to that, probably through the years, the current contact surfaces have worn smooth. I doubt if you can achieve the same smoothness again and if not, more friction & wear.
    1 point
  29. With all this Seiko talk today, I Coincidentally wore my 1969 vintage DX with a striking green dial. It's in great shape other than the crystal.
    1 point
  30. Based upon experience ,I would tell you that all the virtues we call human were learned from the dog.
    1 point
  31. Qui in Italia siamo allo stremo delle forze, Laboratori e negozi di ricambi tutto chiuso. Un disastro Sono aperti solo supermercati e farmacie.
    0 points
×
×
  • Create New...