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Showing content with the highest reputation on 06/30/20 in all areas

  1. 4 points
  2. My first 'real' watch... IWC Aquatimer Chronograph “Cousteau Divers” REF 3783, 2006
    3 points
  3. Look at it this way: if you aren't supposed to open it and must replace the whole barrel, it's trash anyway. If you open it and it's not salvageable, you've lost nothing and probably learned something in the process. If you open it, and it's not really all that special after all and totally serviceable, you've saved yourself the time and money of a new and probably difficult to find barrel assembly.
    2 points
  4. Maybe below and again, many others. In fact the forum search function works only for a single term on phrase in double quotes. For a better intelligence use Google "site search".
    2 points
  5. Can you line them up so you can slide the split stem on from the top when you put the movement back in the case .
    2 points
  6. Seiko Engineer today Yes, still haven't painted the bezel numbers https://i.imgur.com/uiTmZuP.jpg
    2 points
  7. Hi guys … I had promised that I would make a « custom decal dial tutorial » on another thread there So here we are … There are many variations of decal dials, the best IMHO being the « negative gilt » dials which gives the best results. The process I’m showing today is aabout how to make a dial with black printings on a one color background. I had a cheap quartz diver waiting in my drawers so I’ll make a Heuer diver hommage based on the 980.016 model (quartz one too). DAY 01 : It’s 4:30 AM (I’m an early bird) and I have 2 hours to kill before a business trip to Paris (I’m French) so I decide I have time enough to begin. The first part of the process is to prepare the dial plate : - stripped it, removing all the lumes bars and dots - soaked the dial for some minutes in acetone to remove the paint - filled the tiny holes where the bars and dots go with cyanolite glue - sand everything flat I sand with 800 and don’t try to get a smooth surface as I want the paint to adhere perfectly to thedial plate. Here is the result … Then I want to spray paint. I make a tube with some painter’s tape, from a « curve » with it and place it on a plastic bottle cap. I want it curved so that I can stick the dial on it without any risk of bstructing the center hole or the date window of the dial plate. So I stick the sanded dial plate on the tape tube. As you can guess from the pic below … that’s not the first time a make an orange dial. Then I place the bottle cap and dial plate on a paper sheet and spray paint in orange. I use street art spray paint as it is « water resistant ». As you can see on the next pic, I don’t try to get a smooth surface, or even to perfectly cover the dial plate at first. I will let this coat dry, sand it with 2000 grade, then spray 1 or 2 coats until I get a perfectly smooth orange dial plate, ready for receiving a decal. So I place the bottle cap and dial under a shooter glass and will let it dry for about 24 hours before sanding and spraying the second paint coat. The 24 hours drying time is really important (though it could depend on the paint you use). The paint I use looks perfectly dry after about 5 hours but if you spray the second coat without waiting enough, that coat won’t perfectly adhere to the first and you could get a granular surface like an orange peel. And here is the dial waiting under the shooter glass. On the right is a « negative gilt » dial (third and last matte varnish coat) On the background there are two Raketa 2609 movements from the 70ies, quietly (really loudly to be honest) ticking for test after I‘ve recently serviced them. Now it’s 5:45 AM so I will have a and go to the train station. I’ll sand the dial plate this evening and spray the second paint coat tomorrow morning. Then sand it in the evening and spray the third coat (if needed) the day after. DAY 02 - DAY 03 : So here's what you get after the first paint coat … doesn't look really good but no matter as there's still some work to do to get a better result. And here's what you get after 3 coats of paint, each one sanded with 2000 grade, to get a perfect finish, flat and smooth. Now the dial plate is eady to receive the decal. DAY 03 : I won’t explain anything about Photoshop and Illustrator here … I’ll only explain how I print my decals. One thing really important, from my own experience, is the definition of the design. I’ve tried several, from 1200ppp to 6000pp and the best results I’ve got on printing decal sheets were with a 4000ppp definition. So all my dial designs are done in 4000ppp. The result is really BIG files … for example an A6 template with 12 dial desings ready to print is about 800Mo. As that dial is black printing only I open it with Photoshop and let the softwre (so ont the printer) deal with the printing quality. My printer is an old Epson Picturemate with a 1200 maximum definition. As the good quality decal sheets are not cheap and as I’m a « skinflint» I often print on A7 sheets … 6 dial designs on one sheet. When printed you should let it dry for about 4 hours then spray 2 really thin coats of matte varnish, letting each coat dry for at least 12 hours (24 hours is better). DAY 04 - DAY 05 : 2 days of speed-hiking with my wife so I didn’t worked on that tuto. You can check on the net what speed-hiking is, but to summarize it’s hiking as fast as you can with really light backpacks, trying not to run (or only short runs). On a good day you can walk 5 to 6 miles/hour … when trained you can walk up to 6,5 miles/hour … and while I trained for my first 62 miles ultra I achieved to walk (no running) up to 6,85 miles/hour (11 km/heure). DAY 06 : Today is Monday 6:00 AM. It’s been 5 days since I begun that tutorial and … my legs ache and all my body is painful (see Day 04 - Day 05) The dial plate is ready and the decal sheet too. You can see that the decal sheet looks matte now. That is because I have sprayed 2 coats of matte varnish on it, to protect the inkjet ink while I’ll soak the decal in water. Of course if you print with a laser you won’t have to spray varnish as the laser inks are (almost) water resistant. First thing to do is to chose the best item on the decal sheet and cut it round. Then you are ready to go. On the next pic you can see all you need now : - dial plate … fixed on a foam board using the dial feets - decal dial … nicely cut round - tweezers - thin and smooth brush (mine’s a watercolor brush) - some « micro set » … or just vhite wine vinegar (it helps the decal to set on the dial plate) - cold water Now you put the decal in cold water and while it soaks you brush some micro-set (or white vinegar) on the dial plate. Then you put the decal on the dial plate. Here you can see why I prefer using clear decal sheets on coloured dial plates … because it’s much easier to « perfectly » positionate the decal, using the central hole and the date-window. When you’re happy with the position of your decal you use a paper tissue to absorb the excess of water. Do that carefully as you don’t want to move the decal on the plate. And here we are … everything worked fine while absorbing the water and the decal position is OK. I’ll let it dry for about 12 hours before I cut the central hole and the date window, before I proceed to the varnish finish. Still Day 06 but 7:00 PM The decal has dried for about 13 hours so now I can proceed on cutting the decal sheet That's what I do then I : - fix it back on the foam board - apply some « micro set » around the center hole, the date-window and the outer diameter - gently press with a paper tissue so that the decal is perfectly applied (no more «air bubbles) And I let dry for 3 hours more Evening … 10:00 PM Now the decal is « perfectly » applied and dried and ready for the finish Last pic for today is after spraying the first coat of glossy varnish I will let it dry for 12 hours, sand it with 2000 grade paper and apply the 2nd coat. DAY 07 : 20:00 AM … only 1 pic today just after finely sanding with 2000 grade the 2nd varnish coat I applied yesterday DAY 08 : Yesterday evening I applied the 3rd and final varnish coat after finelt sanding and cleaning And today I can show you the final result … and say I'm pretty happy That dial is so glossy it’not easy to get a good pic, even on close-up. May I say that me hpone is nit the best at shooting pics (just like me) and the actual dial is much much better that it looks on the pictures below. I hope that you liked that tutorial and that it could be helpfull to members who want to try to build their own watch dials. I’ll try to make better pics with a real camera and a better lens … next week of the week after, after luming the dial together with the hands. Then I will still have to get a case and rework it so that it could be a 980,016 lookalike. Some of you may wonder how much time did I spend to make that dial. It took 8 days to achieve the all process but I spent only 1 hour the first day then only from 15mnm to 5mn the days after. So, apart from the design work on Illustrator and Photoshop (which took me hours), I would say that the whole process is about 2 to 3 hours. I must say that it's not my first try at dial making and I've trained for 2 years now. So if you want to try you should consider spending a few more hours but it's really worth the time spent as at the end you get your unique DIY dial.
    1 point
  8. I just recently sold this aaaabsolute stunner!
    1 point
  9. I called GS Supply, sounded as credible as I could and got dimensions for a crystal that sounds like it'll fit the bill. Ordered, and hopefully when it gets here I can report success!
    1 point
  10. Welcome to the confusing subject of lubrication. That is why I suggested that you have a good read on the many topics on the matter, with particular attention to the posting by Master nickelsilver and JohnR275. What is recommended in one sheet or book is not the same in another. Equally good watchmakers would do things slightly differently. Not even all what our Host Mark Lovick is teaching is carved in stone. The best approach is that one reads, consider, digest and then chose with an eye to the wallet. Even if a product is canonized it would make little sense for a beginner / hobbyist to spend $500 of lubricant to service few watches a year. But that amount is what apparently manufacturers want one to spend.
    1 point
  11. Lubes are sure to have dried in a vintage NOS barrel. Same with reversers.
    1 point
  12. I'm also a bit confused about oiling auto systems. Marks course doesn't cover lubrication of automatic winding mechanisms. I'm eagerly awaiting part 4... I'm ordering some V105 specifically for the reversing wheels. The Moebius oiling chart says to use 9010/9020 or D5 but elsewhere is says use 8141 in "certain parts". Currently working on 2 autos, an ETA 2452 and a F 1560.
    1 point
  13. I think only Bergeon has them, and they give no indication what the actual sizes are. In the pic, the foreground is two commercial one (old, I believe Bergeon but unmarked), you can see what the two ends look like. The other two are shop made and double ended just for turning; I needed an extra small one and a larger one with an extra fine "finger". I don't know what they cost but I'd say just buy the 5 that Bergeon sells, if you just get one or two you'll always need one you don't have.
    1 point
  14. I'm not quite sure what tool you are talking about, but if you are working on hairsprings and you haven't already got yourself one find yourself a good condition second hand staking tool as you can use this to refit hairsprings. Then to adjust the hairspring hang it on a balance tack And finally make this tool for adjusting the hairspring. Mine was made from blue steel approx 2.5mm in diameter. I went a bit crazy with the grinding on mine, you really just need to grind / file about the last 15mm from the end take it off from both sides so its is about 0.3mm thick (this can be bigger or smaller depending on the hairspring collet size) and then file the end as shown in the photo so it looks a bit like a tiny hockey stick. The idea is you have worked out already if you want to rotate the hairspring to the left or the right and then you hang it on the balance tack and hold the balance wheel. As the tool is only 0.3mm thick turning it on its side you can slide it between the hairspring coils and then turn it 90 degrees so the end of the 'hockey stick' is facing towards the slot in the collet and you push it in the slot which loosens the collet and you can rotate the hairspring and then the remove the tool. It may help to put a little wedge into the very end of the tool so it goes into the slot on the collet easier. I hope that all makes sense.
    1 point
  15. absolutely amazing timepiece connected to a historic man and vessel.
    1 point
  16. Is there a reason not to get a longer spring bar and curve it further?
    1 point
  17. I'm not sure if this will help you or not, but when you're removing a canon pinion it is friction fitted onto the pivot. It fits into a notch on the pivot, and not the entire length of the pivot. So when you're attempting to remove it, it's really only the first mm or so, and then after that it is loose. While using your tweezers may seem like there is a high percentage of bending the pivot, for me, in reality, it's just a matter of popping it up. After that taking it off the rest of the way is no problem. If you use lever hand removers, those can also work in a pinch, you just have to make sure you're using equal pressure when popping up the canon pinion. I hope this make sense. Just trying to instill a little confidence in taking it off. It's really nice to have the proper tool, but you can get the job done other ways and likely will not damage the watch as long as your careful. Good luck! Cheers
    1 point
  18. The Mikrolisk website is also useful: http://www.mikrolisk.de/
    1 point
  19. Last part of this walk-through. Pallet, pallet bridge, and screw make 3 parts. This is a replacement pallet, and it has a large end-shake. I did not investigated further at the moment, as I wanted to see if it runs reliably in first place. I touched two of escape teeth with 9010. Cap jewels plate and its screw, 2 more. Balance, cock and screw consist actually of at least 10 parts, even if I haven't take them all apart. Balance jewels, end stones and springs make 6 more parts. For the occasion I bough the KIF Trior tool (largest size) which made installation significantly easier and safer. Lubrication is just 9010 under the end stone. Time to check that is running strong in all positions before moving on. For the record I got about 180° amplitude with the default lift angle. Beat error was 2.5 ms, pattern barely acceptable, and large positional error. Last are the date wheel, hour wheel, inner plate, date jumper, date ring, outer plate and its two screws. The date finger spring can be inserted conveniently and safely from outside. 9 more parts. I used HP-1300 on all arbors and contact parts. There are actually 2 last parts to fit, that's the dial screws (not pictured). It's probably a bit easier to fit them them as the very first thing. I have been counting parts to get to a total is 67 or thereabout, or 90 if we count the jewels separately. Not a small number for an economical, unsophisticated mov't. I hope that this no-pretense document can be useful somehow, thank you for reading so far.
    1 point
  20. It is high risk but we should encourage him to learn how to work on the escapement. It’s risky I know I have been there I was always so nervous to mess with balance or escapement but I finally got tired of not doing things right and I got the tools and learned. Many more running movements in my drawers now.
    1 point
  21. My restored Seiko Kinetic purchased and worn since 2004 SMY093P1 Rotor removed and running from a non rechargeable battery. Sapphire crystal fitted. Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk
    1 point
  22. My space has been adjusted to fit the addition of a vintage watch bench. It also helped create the space for the turntable. That too adds to the nostalgic feel of living in the past. Today's list of artist included The Sex Pistols, Golden Earring, CCR and The Doors.
    1 point
  23. Hi all, Glad to join this watch forum. I've been servicing and making repairs to my own watches for a couple of years now and just finished my latest time piece, only to discover after all my careful cleaning and refitting the drive train, escapement and locating a balance complete.....I'm not done yet.....broken jewel on the main plate. The watch in question is a Molnia 3602, full hunter pocket watch and the damaged jewel is the dial side balance jewel. Ah well, back in the box you go
    0 points
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