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Showing content with the highest reputation on 12/25/20 in all areas
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If my dad were still alive, he would be 105 yrs old. When he passed, I got the majority of his gear--watch bench, lathe, staking sets, hand tools, etc. These are in one room of my house--I call it the lab...you see...I am an electrical engineer (Ph.D). The other stuff in the room are electronic in nature (soldering/desoldering station, parts bins, microscope, oscilloscope...etc.) My dad owned a business in Houston, TX for 50+ years. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps but I chose engineering. In addition to all of the tools, I inherited lots of old watches. Many were left at his business and never picked up for reasons unknown. Some, I think he may have bought from customers as an investment--mostly pocket watches. Not sure. So as time has crept up on me, I have felt this urge to return to my roots. I am retired (although I do sell some of my time as a consultant--expert witness). I have been digging through the old watches and finding a few gems. One, in particular, inspired me to open it up to investigate a problem with the date ring. The process has given me a deep appreciation for the life my dad lead as a watch technician. The problem is not solved yet, but I will not give up!! It is fun, though scary!! When I was a kid, my dad gave me all of his clock work. I would repair clocks to earn money to buy guitar strings, music, and other things a 15-yr old would buy in the 60's. Wonderful memories. Now I have discovered this forum and am looking forward to reading about the experiences of watchmakers and hobbyist on this site. Thank you for having me!!!3 points
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Watches of the day, thanks to my wife for the display case, a fantastic Christmas gift. Seiko 7006-8002 1971, Orient Star modern semi skeleton, Ricoh R61 70s, Seiko Kinetic 2004, Tissot Swissmatic, Seiko Premier quartz.
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The clock strikes Christmas 1975 and these two sister were each given a watch which they are, here on a picture, proudly showing off. Their last parent recently passed away and in the parents "jewellery-box" one of the thought long lost watches emerged again. Inside the back-lid was the name S.Kocher stamped, a Swiss company long gone, went begin 1980's during the "Quartz"-crisis under. The watch was in their line of the "Royce"-watches and had an undisturbed Swiss 21.600BHP, 17-jewels AS1726 cheased /non-running movement. I serviced the movement, which now runs with a 0.0ms beat-error and a 270 degrees amplitude (DU & DD), polished the acrylic-crystal and case. It gets presented back to the owner on Christmas 2020, exactly 45 years later, in a nearly as new condition ? I'm sure for her a happy X-mas with some old memories ? For me another fulfilling job done ? Happy X-mas !
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I page flip of the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking Instruction Manual. Enjoy.1 point
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I've heard rumors that if you had a timing machine that Japanese watches can be regulated closer then they come from the factory?1 point
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Happy Christmas bern. Would Seiko 6309 ring sound familiar.1 point
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Why mad, that is normal for watch owners messing with a piece they own and like, without having take any kind of training, or practiced on something else first. No one can't repair that hairspring but you can buy a brand new mov.t for about €25. That is the best solution as a new balance complete would cost maybe €5 less and would expose you to the real possibility of breaking things again. FYI our introduction section is meant for that, not to post duplicates of other postings, as such it has been removed.1 point
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Welcome to the forum! It can be very inspiring to follow in the footsteps of a parent or ancestor. It sounds like you got to see a little more of your father through his eyes, as it were. My own great-grandfather was a tailor, and his father before him, going back to when most of us lived in München. And I found I had a bit of talent for that. On the side, I do a bit of costuming and tailoring; my clients mostly belong to the same Middle-ages reenactment group that I do, so my work is well known in that circle. But there are no clockmakers or watch repair people in my lineage. That was all me. When I was a little kid, I had an unsupervised moment with my mom's alarm clock and my dad's small screwdriver set. I managed to get it back together and working as before, so mom still doesn't know. Been tinkering with timepieces ever since. And more recently, I found this forum. These fine folks have been patiently elaborating on the proper ways to undertake this kind of work. I have learned far more than I started with. I believe you will too. Enjoy!1 point
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Great Xmas story, happy Holidays to you.1 point
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I purchased an Amscope zoom stereo microscope: model SM-4B. If you watch, they have sales regularly, I got it for $351 for a Labor Day sale. It's been great. The nice stand costs more, but it's really convenient to be able to move it around and rotate it out of the way and then back. It's also nice to be able to adjust the view from straight down to at an angle easily. You can look straight down jewel holes or see a screwdriver in a screw without being obscured by your hand. The zoom head has 0.7x - 4.5x magnification, and seems to be the same basic design as most zoom stereo microscopes. You then get more magnification from the eyepieces, which are interchangeable and a standardized size. It comes with 10x, but they range from 5x - 25x. I think 10x is probably the most useful size. Then you can put a barlow lens on the objective to change the magnification and the working distance, with less than 1x lenses increasing the working distance and depth of field. The eyepieces don't change the distance but the barlow lens does, while both change the magnification. You need this if you want to get any tool in there other than tweezers from the side held nearly horizontally. I use a 0.5x barlow the most but use a 0.7x some too. You also need a light ring that attaches to the lens. It's going to be too dark otherwise, especially as the higher magnification. The LED ones don't cost much and don't get hot. AmScope also sells the barlow lenses (48mm) and lights, but you can get them from ebay/amazon for about half the price. With the 0.5x barlow it's possible disassemble a movement entirely while looking through the scope. Which is what I've been doing. Compared to the eye loups and optivisors I've tried, it's got a better field of view, is more clear, better light, and more comfortable since your head doesn't need to be nearly so close to the work and one can easily zoom in to take a better look at something. I kind of wish I had gotten the more expensive trinocular model so it would be more convenient to take pictures, which has been fun to do.1 point
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I hardly every see the split stems. In this case, the case was very basic - two parts. The entire crown with outer winding step was missing. I purchased a suitable crown and the outer Stem 0.9mm, adjusted the stem length and voila! I've decided not to push it in (what if it breaks! ? ). Instead, I rotated the inner stem and the outer stem up to align "tongue and groove) and simply dropped the movement in. Once it was in, two-part stem was securely locked. Same procedure for removal - no need to pull the crown with pliers, etc. Simply remove the bezel and rotate the crown while lifting the dial until you able to pull it straight up.
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Hi all, Since it was impossible to find a how-to guide for servicing a tourbillon (in this case the seagull ST8000) on the internet, I decided to create one myself and share it on a couple of places on the internet. I hope you guys enjoy it and it will help you in the future. There are basically 2 types of tourbillons (other than multi-axles ones) 1. The brequet carroussel type (big balance wheel, turns 360 degrees around his own axle in 1 minute) 2. the blancpain flying type (the whole escapement and balance turn 360 degrees in circles like a planet in a minute) This is the blancpain version and is made by Seagull. I purchased this watch myself, both for the beautiful looks of an tourbillon and to do a service Conclusion: The tourbillon cage can be tricky as it requires balancing multiple loose parts before they can be screwed tight. Timegrapher cannot be used on tourbillons as the moving of the cage+balance will give readings going up and down at the same time, same goes for amplitude. Current timegrapher are just not made for tourbillon timing. It can only be timed in an old fashioned way, after 24h's checking. The ST8000 is very well made, be it Chinese. Finishing of gears and plates together with the thickness of materials makes it sturdy and built to last.
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Might that bezel need to be removed first??1 point
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Thank you! My dream watch for a long time... Plexi is Sexy, that's for sure!1 point
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Perhaps this page? https://www.facebook.com/AmateurWatchmaking/posts/hi-watchfriendsfinaly-i-have-totally-remade-my-hompage-you-are-most-welcome-with/2083826425001416/ http://watchmaking.se/BOOK/Shop/shop.htm1 point
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I us TT to read 8 forums on 5 subjects. TT allows me to navigate the forums in a uniform way, no matter which forum I am on or what software is being used to run the forum. As you pointed out, there are a number of things TT does not allow one to do, or does not do well. I only read and post on forums, thus, I only need basic forum functionality. Even so, TT can be a pain. I guess the conclusion to this thread is that I need to learn how to use a web browser to read my forums. Thanks everyone for your responses.1 point
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You will not like this. My master who taught me , when we wanted to let off steam would gather the Timex watches that customers dumped on us and smash them up with our small watchmakers hammers. Then out to the rubbish bin.1 point
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Hi I think there are more being worn out there than we think but how many of you would admit to that ? not enough street cred in a Timex. Me if it works and you like it wear it I have several including a micky mouse one and keep them for postertity. My daily watch cost me a tenner and is a good runner and quartz. At my age Iam past street cred. It looks reasonable keeps good time and glows in the dark what more do you need. Long live common sense.1 point
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very good show ! did you know? , the lathe is the only machine that can rebuild it self. vin1 point
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Yes I did it 4 times but the fourth time went wrong.(I’m interested in movements) I did it purely bc I was tired of the inaccuracy of this movement (40 secs a day) I have another vintage watch with an eta 2824, it’s going to be my new daily I guess. No more japanese for me.0 points
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