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Short vid I made a while ago. IMG_2268.mov

I picked my one up on eBay. There is another copy of this machine named a "Janta" Both of theses machines are just a copy of the Elama machine. The biggest difference between the Vari-matic and these machines the baskets just spin in one direction, the Vari Matic baskets revolve in both directions when washing.

Victorinox Swiss Army Men's 241302 Alliance Sport Chronograph Another black face from my practical collection. Purchased in 2014 on one of my house swapping holidays in USA. I changed the bracelet for a leather strap. Cost at the time USD $324.

Here we have a bonus watch I got in a lot a few weeks ago, thought it was quite interesting since it is a SLAVA watch made in Russia for import to Sweden. The dial shows EXACTA SLAVA 21 jewels imp. The watch is powered by the double barrel SLAVA 2414, a quite nice movement by the way.

Well, I finished the Jacques pocket watch, and my old friend is happy. And a female friend has been waiting patiently with her pendant watch. (Ever since I gave a thought to moonlighting at this, I have had a fairly steady stream of clients - weird.) BUT FIRST! - A big THANK YOU to you wonderful chaps here on the forum! You taught me the trick of using the degausse setting on an old CRT monitor, until I get a regular demagnetizer. Thanks for that. I found I needed that with this watch. This poor little thing barely survived a car wreck that had followed her house fire. It's one of the few nice things she treasures that she didn't lose in the back-to-back tragedies. So yeah, I don't think I'll be charging that much for the services this time. Its front cover got bent open so far that it won't close. I'll need to reform/reshape it without cracking it. I will probably need to heat it, but if the hinges are soldered on this will be all kinds of fun. And she will *need* a cleaning, oil & grease, and demagnetizing, then regulating.

Spotted a Bulova - not sure of the model but looks similar to a Princine - so probably 1930's. Could make an interesting project as a keeper or flip. Can anyone see anything else of value. Seller looking for USD$35-40 3 Waltham, Wittnauer, Gruen, Bulova, Caravelle , 2 mickey mouse - probably none working. Bulova should be white gold case, missing bracelet might be an issue Interested in opinions re brands and values Regards BSW

I have recently got the holder made by VTA but not tried it yet. The seller describes it working for both movements, considering Adrian's reputation I have no reason to doubt.

Back in the 70's and 80's when parts for Seiko movements were plentiful, Seiko recommend you changed the barrel complete I think every 5 or 7 years. These days you have to take the barrel apart and clean it all and put back as parts are more likely to be obsolete.

I suspect if the white filler (nail polish or whatever) is inclined to sit proud of the surface, and need to be polished flat, then you need to thin the material first. In the case of nail polish, the most likely thinner is acetone. One other trick, when cleaning a porcelain dial initially, use a little bleach to clean the cracks. Some people use denture tablets (which I believe contain bleach). The dirt in the cracks should become far less obvious this way. Clean off any excess with water as it may react with the copper in the dial plate over time, and form blue copper salts. Do not attempt to use bleach on any metal surface, as it will almost certainly react badly. For these, you could try a little white vinegar. I have cleaned a few dials, but so far I've not had much success filling the larger damaged areas on porcelain. The whiteness it the major problem. If I find something that works well, I'll let you know. I have a bunch of test pieces to experiment on.

If you have suspected this to be an FHF 1146 I think you are right. There is a spring new at Cousinesuk you could try out.

I've been watching some nail art videos on YouTube. There is a technique called nail stamping where a silicone pad is used to transfer nail varnish from a pattern etched in a metal plate. Looks very similar to pad printing which is used to print watch dials. I wonder if it can be used to reprint the design on a watch dial. Might be worth investigating. Could anyone of you nick a nail stamp from your boss or GF and give it a try?

I can't find them on Ebay anywhere, only on Alibaba. According to the manufacturers website they do one with a reversible motor now.

. Very annoying. Its always a mystery how/why these packages go mission. I always wonder where they are now. Someone somewhere has them. I sent 2 vintage coins to USA -well packaged, and they never arrived. Always wonder if x-ray machines pick out recognisable shapes and someone decides they may be of value and steals them.

Just before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, I won the bid for a watch lot that had a Breitling hiding in the pile. On closer inspection, the back cover said "Made in Switch internet". I was really looking forward to opening it up to see the insides. But the package went AWOL in the midst of all the chaos.

I havent found a proper techsheet prmanual. Its 3am, and I cant sleeping. But I found this old thread! Some problems seems to be the same as I have. And, Im sure my watch is a Mumbai special. If I got the ”term” correct. Same scratchas at the screw for the stem. Stripped screw for crownwheel. My also comes with a lowbudget silkscreen dial, glued to the movement. otherwise. Movment looks good. Exept some small corrotion.

Hi, firstly, it's worth mentioning that these are absolutely fantastic machines and well worth renovating. It takes a while to get your head around their operation, but this is simpler when the two halves of the casing have been removed to allow you to observe the workings. One of the most common faults is synchronisation, which is when the main cam which sits underneath the turntable which holds the jars moves such that it is rotated slightly compared to the turntable position. However, it does not sound like you have this fault. The obvious symptom with this fault is that the turntable tries to move when the basket is either in the low position, or rising/lowering. You describe the basket as spending literally no time in each jar, despite the time duration knobs being set to maximum. This makes me wonder if the "timer assembly" unit has failed. Can you have a look at it? It's an odd device which is a simple switch which has a lever that's motorised which very closes very slowly. The knurled screws which adjust the timing length push the lever on the timer assembly open by varying amounts, and the further they are screwed in, the longer it takes the timer unit to close the switch.

Hi clockboy, where did you get your Pearl from? I will watch this closely as im considering a Varimatic?!? Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

I'd concur with @HSL making this specifically a Helvetia 81-24. In which case you might find this of interest: https://www.helvetiahistory.co.uk/movements

My idea with this one was to fix it and flip, but I dont want to be selling fakes having had a bad experience in the past with Dolce & Gabbana fake.

Grease is best not oil.

Hi Closest Tech sheet is the 97 which i have attached, FHF 97, 974 (1).pdf

I have that exact machine sitting in my garage waiting to be repaired. It ran out of hydraulic oil and the timing went belly up. Just have not had the time to fix. In the mean time I purchased the cheapest Chinese machine named a Pearl (see below) Mine has no timer but considering the price it works incredibly well.

Hi I found this operator/maintenance maunual might it be of some use to you L&R VariMatic & VariMatic III Operator Manual (1).pdf

I think the set lever screw goes on before barrel bridge dose, did you not get a datasheet for this? If too many missing parts, a scrap/spare movement hurts wallet less. ST96 has been made in India for sometime now, cheap and good for spare. Lighter fluid is available in supermarkets( you save on shipping) inexpensive and works real well. I keep like 10mml in small jar, cork keeps the fluid from vaporizing and leaving the jar. Good for final clean and rinse of complete balance& cock, fork and all gears/ pinions.

The only thing I can say is; "Try it."

Home Depot sells a white appliance chip repair paint in a very small bottle with a brush in the cap. I wonder how that would look.

Also: I know almost nothing about this little store-branded watch, so anyone who can correct my data or add to it - feel free. I would like to know more. I put it in about early- to mid-'70s. It bears the maker's name of Emile Jobin (who may or may not be affiliated with Paul Jobin and B. Jobin) and I learned that he not only put together movements for Higbees, as with this watch, but also for Lazarus, and I think O'Neill's was the other one. Mall store watches. It has 17 jewels and shock protection. It's not too bad for what it is. And it's a pretty little thing; I could see why my friend is loathe to part with it or mothball it. So here I go rescuing another treasure. Wish me luck guys.

For those who saw Snatch, "Got anything to declare?" "Yeah, don't go to London." No offense to my friends in the UK. It's a line from a movie. For those who want a watchmaker's bench, "Pay whatever it costs and have done with it!" Now that it's done, I can say I have fond memories of dozens of hours in the garage. Really, I do.

I have one about like that coming in but has the 7019 movement. Knowing how Seiko numbering is from what I can tell mine was made in Oct of 79.

Just dropped through the letter box, Seiko 6319-7010. It is in pretty good condition and appears to have its original faceted crystal. Hands only set if you go backwards !

Just finished servicing my Zodiac Rotographic containing an AS 1624 automatic movement. 35mm and a really nicely coloured dial.

I will be attempting to build a fully functional, cased Elgin size 6s Grade 206 pocket watch. This all began a short while ago, when I watched a video about getting in to watchmaking as a hobbyist in which the watchmaker being interviewed suggested starting with a scrap pocket watch movement, which can be found on the cheap on eBay. I found the ubiquity and low cost of American movements to be counter-intuitive, as I would think 100+ year old watches would be quite valuable. This led me down the rabbit hole of the history of pocket watches, and America's former status as the worldwide leader in production volume of watches. The Watch Flipping through eBay listings for non-running movements I ended up buying an Elgin one for about $20 shipped. Here is a photo of the movement-side, and here is a link to more info on Pocket Watch Database. An interesting thing about this particular piece is the lack of a seconds sub-dial. None of the examples I see online on Pocket Watch Database share that, which is a bit weird to me. Phase 1: Irresponsibly Hacking Away When the movement first arrived, I decided to just take a stab at taking it apart. I figured, hey, it's a scrap movement that didn't cost me too much money, what's the worst that can happen? Well, I have to say I'm glad I learned the lesson of why NOT to do that, I just wish I'd been maybe a little more careful. As some fine folks here let me know, with a pocket watch or very old vintage movements, unless you're sure what you're dealing with isn't rare or valuable, don't treat it like trash. I went at the movement with the smallest screw drivers I had available and started to take it apart. Here are the mistakes I made: Not releasing the power from the mainspring: parts flew all over the place and I lost the center wheel for a couple weeks until recently I was looking for a fallen screw and came across it on the floor Not taking pictures - there are a couple missing parts from the setting mechanism, so I am a bit unsure about exactly what was originally going on since I didn't do step by step photos (it's also hard to photograph step by step when the whole thing blows up ) Unscrewing the banking pins not knowing what banking pins are During re-assembly, after trying to set the banking pins so the watch might run, I gave the balance wheel a spin with a toothpick with what I KNEW was too much force, and broke off the impulse jewel - this also is a lesson I knew in theory but learned in practice all too clearly, not to force ANYTHING, and also not to treat any part as if it's scrap or garbage So with all that in mind, and with some insight from the community here which got me reading about the different Elgin models and parts, I've decided to source another identical movement, and a 6s-sized case + movement. Hopefully between the 3 I'll have enough good parts to have a fine working watch. I'd also love to hear anyones thoughts about "switching," I intend to attempt to use all parts from the same grade and model movement. The case I'd be using would probably not have originally contained this movement, as I see lots of 6s pieces w/ case and movement for sale but not with this particular movement. Note: since the horrific events described above, I've amassed a bunch of tools (most of them cheap versions from eBay) for watchmaking, including a screwdriver set, tweezers, movement holders, parts trays, cleaner with baskets and jars, hand levers, lubricants, Rodico, and probably some more stuff I'm not mentioning. Will be in a bit of a better position to attack this next challenge. Anyway, stay tuned for Phase 2, when I will make what will hopefully a more measured and informed attempt at the build.

yes I went back and looked at the pictures and they really are very desirable are they. But the seller did try to photograph all of them. fortunately I remember where I hid my set and I've gotten pictures for you. So the worst ones in their picture are the worst ones of mine the smallest ones. You can see the size perspective there really tiny. then the close-up shows the problems. watchmaker taps are not the same as machinist So there flat on two sides they almost look like a drill but their threads on the outer edge. Starting on the left-hand side the smallest one it looks okay and the one next to it is okay except it's on the flat side up which makes it look shiny not like a tap. The attitude though definitely look like they're broken. Looks like the tips are missing.

Even if I don't have much interest in electronics, I love Mr Carlson's Lab, he makes everything look so easy! I am posting this because there may be some similarity with clocks in this video, beginning g few seconds after clicking below. And what I was thinking is that 3D printing some of these parts could really make a difference.

Spent a bit of time in my workshop. https://youtu.be/RYNeRiDdPQE

Thanks so much for the insight, I'm a new pocketwatch collector and I have started taking them apart to clean and oil. ..... but now I think I might be completely hooked. So much to learn and understand, but once you put that little beauty back together and it starts to tick WOW! what a feeling. Thanks again Rick.

Hello. Somewhere on here, a year or so ago, I reported an experiment where I purposely placed a scrap pallet fork into ipa (that’s not Indian pale ale[emoji16]) For several hours between me leaving home in the morning for work and then returning midday it was left soaking. I inspected it at midday (5 hours later) and probed the shellac with a sharpened oiler. There was no sign of softening nor where the pallets moveable. I put the pallet fork back into the ipa, and returned to work. After returning from work in the evening (some 10 hours after initial immersion) I probed the shellac again. This time it was sponge like and degraded. The pallets moved when pressed. A watch maker whom was giving me lessons at the time always used ipa for final rinse with the ultrasonic action as well. He bought ipa in bulk to save money. He was horrified that I implied its use was frowned upon by some some watchmakers. In 30+ years of running a watch repair business he claimed he had not ever had an issue with ipa softening shellac. So, I think as long as you don’t submerse the parts for hours, then ipa is fine to use for a quick final rinse, and will not effect the shellac.... imho. Personally, I use it for only 3 minutes then put the parts straight onto absorbent paper to dry. Regards Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

How many other watches have lifetime barrels? And is it 100 yr?