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For those who see my posts here in the clock section will know I have been working on two vintage ships clocks. One has been returned to the customer and the one remaining had a severely faded dial and the customer said I could do what I wanted with this movement so I thought I would experiment in re- furbing the dial. I did do a test re paint and it was poor to say the least so I originally decided to draw the dial using ‘Indesign” and use water slide decal film. It did take me a few hours to actually draw the dial but after following many YouTube vids I managed to achieve what you see in the pics. However it is not perfect but does give it an authentic look. I cleaned the old dial with mentholated spirits which removed some brown substance but still left it with a patina look.. I used “Safmat” self adhesive printing film as it is thicker than the water slide film which allowed greater control when positioning.. I coated with a clear acrylic coating.

I was able to open the case but the screws were so small I did end up marking them a bit. But they're so tiny I don't think anyone would notice. Good news is the movement is real.

Unless something went down, and things got heated real quick, it would have to be a glitch. There was nothing remotely controversial going on there unless someone has tissue paper skin... Even then, you'd think taking an otherwise constructive thread down entirely over something so trivial would be a pretty dramatic overreaction.

That’s a very good tip, thank you. Suffice to say I’ve had the cock jump off the plate when trying to lift it off the steady pins, only for it to land next to the movement with hairspring attached. And a few more grey hairs in my beard

So does Stian Lofstad of Vintage Watch Services (another good YouTuber). I believe that he uses a purchased all-in-one plating "kit". Stian is Norwegian but I believe he's in Switzerland. He has an interesting/subtle sense of humor.

I'm shocked! The Pobeda showed up today!

I thought @JohnR725 answered with his thoughts in your other thread: "...in other words a company that makes modular chronograph movements independent of the watch company and then they're brought together..." This would be my assumption as well. Company "A" buys the chronograph module from Company "B" (and like @spectre6000 I realize that I wasn't asked for an opinion but I've commented anyway so I'll watch the rest of the comments to see what other opinions emerge).

I love these sorts of musings. I wasn't tagged as, what I'm assuming are considered the experts here, and for good reason. It's an internet forum though, and what would it be without unrequested opinions? Like most things, there's a spectrum of integration. On the "modular" side of the spectrum, you have plates that bolt onto existing movements with little to no modification whatsoever. On the "integrated" side, there are movements that may not even function without at least some parts of the chronograph section. For anything in between, the marketing department stumbles in shouting about page imprints, demographics, and product niches, spilling coffee all over everything, knocking piles of various schematics and correspondence into a shower of confusion, and generally making life miserable for everyone around them and all their loved ones and pets. Sorta like the "manufacture" movements where the spectrum runs the gamut of making everything from each wheel and spring all the way to "Hey! I made a stem!". Another good example would be "Swiss Made" meaning a spectrum from making everything from each wheel and spring all the way to "Hey! I got paid more than the cost of this whole movement to install this stem!". TL;DR Marketing.

Hi All, I am quite new to the watch repair world. Aside from eBay, are there other online places were one might find parts specific to a watch movement. I recently posted about a main plate in which I screwed up a gear post because a screw had broken off. I would like to obtain a new main plate for the same watch (Montilier 60). Is this a movement that is so old that I am dreaming? Thanks in advance, Don

I am a retired physician and have taken up watchmaking. I have completed Mark's course. I have a lathe, Jacot tool, staking set and a stereo microscope. I successfully service about half the watches I touch and the other half I break or lose the parts on the floor. Knee pads might be might next acquisition.

Likewise - whilst trying to fix the overcoil on the hairspring of my Universal Geneve Cal 267, I released the tweezers too early and trashed the whole thing. Had to wait 2 years before I found another movement I could use the balance from.

Just plunked down $94. We'll see how it goes - but to answer your original question: I won't be going to Dayton. Maybe they'll have something out my way (although until my wife tells me that Covid is gone, she probably won't let me go anywhere).

I think its possible, but the various ways this can be done require, the tools and the skills. But as mentioned as the plate is its scrap so its a case of choosing the method which suits your level and proceeding with caution.

No need to watch, just set a new llisting notification (using an external website or app may be more efficient that Ebay itself). That, and bid sniping services, are serious buyer's best tools. As it happens, watch repair is an hobby or profession that requires a great amount of patience, both at bench and not. But I guarantee that there will be always something on the bench waiting to be taken care of, while you're waiting for other parts or tools.

You must be patient. Watch ebay daily for a donor. It may take two days or two years, or maybe never, Join NAWCC forum and ask there (I have had no luck there so far). As @jdmsaid, you may have to adapt what you have, or ask a watchmaker to do it for you.

Battery is 3V is case of these Timex. So there has to be a miniature inverter in there, interesting.

The voltage required to drive the electro luminescence is between 100 qnd 200 vac. the 1.5 volt battery voltage is fed through a 1:100 transformer to acheive approx 150vac. this is used to drive the dial.

Manufacturers didn't and don't make the main plate available as spare. That may or not make sense, but so it is. Have you considered that it can be that others either buy a donor watch (searching and waiting for as much is needed), or may never get the part alone. The other possibility is that skilled watchmaker make or adapt what is needed by themselves. Surely not. There is no secret place for parts, everyone can make the same online searches with the same results. And for those that have parts to sell best and fastest way is online as well. Nowadays more than before, if you bring a broken watch to a professional repairer, the answer will be that he can't repair it because can't get parts.

The NAWCC is primarily hobbiests. Amateurs. That they don't make a living* from watch/clockmaking doesn't mean they're slouches though- there are some extremely knowledgeable folks in the organization. One of the great things is the meetups, which could be a local chapter, or a regional event, or bigger. The regional events and their "marts" are a great place to find tools and equipment, I got my first decent lathe at one last century. The magazine is excellent, both in print quality and the level of effort that goes into the articles. *many professionals are also members, but as far as I know they are the minority

So, after I lost both the stone and spring on the balance side I was extra careful taking the stone/setting out of the main plate. Kept the spring in place. While I was worrying about how I was going to lube the stone, I wanted to make sure that I had the flat side up so I stuck the stone to some Rodico so I figure out which side was flat and prying it off the Rodico, I (again) lost the stone. All of this is OK, I'm working on the Seagull ST36 (actually the first of 2). Before I go bugger up any other shock spring set stones I think I ought to get a bunch of junk and take the shock set stones out, clean, lube and replace them. I did get the setting back into the plate and secured the spring. This lot looks like it ought to have 7 shock-mounted balance staves. It should be here within 30 days. Coming from the UK.

Maybe I'll but a quantity of 1.2mm stones and practice lifting and turning them over. Probably would have been cheaper than buy a load of junk. I'm amazed that my wife still seems supportive of my folly...

I can even set the hands and the second hand goes... ...not for long but it goes. Anxious to open it up.

Or it just shows how little beginners are thought of here Just kidding obviously Just checked and I to get the you don't have permission message as well, hope it's just a glitch

The use of a separate stepper motor like this does give it a bit of character. In 1973 a watch with this Tissot calibre would have been relatively expensive. This Limit branded design may have been produced a little later, so perhaps more like 45 years old rather than nearer 50. I did find this picture of a very similar designed Tissot with the same movement. Ignore the fact that it is on an Omega display stand. Setting the movement is a little odd, and confused me at first. Here is a translation of an article I found about the how the setting mechanism works. Of course if I had taken the time to read the instruction leaflet that was with the watch, I could have saved myself the confusion, but who ever reads the instructions. A better description of the minute setting process is given here. Once set, things work as expected. Setting to the exact second is pretty trick though, as you need to set it slightly fast, then stop the mechanism with the crown and release again at the correct second. It didn't quite make the 404 club, but at six pounds plus shipping I am more than pleased with it. I suspect this is going to be on my wrist for a while. I just need to be very careful not to scratch it.

Wow, a real motor! Very cool!

correct. for the price the information is brilliant. well worth the money as is the adjuster tool for the block as it allows fine adjustment of the upper block.

I’ve just finished one here, be very careful of the torsion spring ok, ( suspension spring )they are very apt to being bent or twisted. Once bent or twisted they are useless and you’ll need to order another. If you order a horolover one then they do come with blocks and forks attached at the correct height. If you intend to work on these then the horolover book is essential, so well worth buying it now as it has a Q&A section and so much info in it.

Hiya watchie . Yes i had that yesterday. A 500 error code, then i couldn't log on for an hour. Maybe the thread had become controversial so an attempt to prevent an argument

I have a reasonable vocabulary but sometimes an expletive best. Boll#£ks is quite mild but works in multiple cases.

I swear all the time. Apparently it's a sign of a weak mind - clearly I'm in vegetable territory then. But it's like telling an Italian he needs to keep his hands still while talking, not gonna happen

You might pry a bit but should use a case knife instead to prevent leaving marks. Your finger nail will do it most likely. Don‘t touch the screws at the front! As a beginner you‘ll risk leaving visible marks and won‘t get new screws from anywhere. Watch youtube videos beforehand where the right fit between screwdriver blade and screw slot is shown!

We can remove the balance- cock assembly safer than the bearded guy. Do not remove the cock screw, just loosen it enough to loosen the cock, once you have partially unpinned the locating pins, proceed with removing the cock screw. With this approach you have the cock secured on the mainplate by the cock screw( not fully unscrewed, not removed) , preventing cock from falling off as you are unpinning it. Better safe than to look pro.

Wow, that’s awesome. There’s still something to be said for reliable postal service. In our country that’s not the case, hence why everything is so expensive for us South Africans here at the a$$ end of the earth…

It's really too bad that some manufacturers in China feel that they have to use inferior materials - they have such an advantage in labor costs and apparently a (virtual) lack of labor laws. They ought to be able to make a good version of anything and still be competitive.

So do I. A lot after loosing springs, jewels and screws...

If you've ever watch Jo. Nekkid watchmaker, he sometimes does plating. Once did a deplate and was just a case of switching the electrodes over which pulled the plating off the watchcase onto a base material. This stuff is a bit experimental anyway. Calculating the subject area is always a guess ( you could try volume displacement) . Its something you will just need to keep an eye on while its doing its thing. Take beer and chocolate with you to stop yourself wandering off .

I think you're overestimating the amount of time, money, and patience I have.

Good job @LittleWatchShop. I just hate KIF springs. Whether it's Elastor, Trior, Duofix.... I just lost a tiny Trior spring last week. I placed it in a tray while I cleaned the jewels and then oiled them. When I wanted to replace the spring, it just wasn't there anymore! Luckily I found a spare from a scrap movement.

OK, this one is done. For the upper jewel, I was UBER careful not to unhinge the spring. Note...in the picture, the hairspring upper left is not part of this watch. I was happily surprised to see my Dad's mark on this watch. He worked on it four times between 1966 and 1978.

Have a look at this video.

Something you can do when you have a lathe is make a "false" setting. You bore/ream out to the perimeter of the original sink, then make a bushing to fit, with a bore for a friction jewel that's about the same diameter as what was visible of the old rub-in jewel. Cut the sink so it hits the border where the bushing meets the bridge/plate. It's quite invisible, especially if you have german silver or brass for different color bridges- if the watch warrants it you can also plate the bushing. This is also useful for rub-in balance jewels just to be able to fit available jewels in what might be an otherwise too large opening.

Always a good place to start from!

Please do, it’s great to see! I have the watch running, not GREAT but running. The jewels are certainly going to be an issue. Also, the post above I misspoke, it’s a caliber 19 not 19ligne, I also see your balance is different, and mine looks like the one found on the “19’’’ “ (3 apostrophes after the 19) which was a 125yr anniversary movement that came out recently.

This is very true anilv. I adjusted a couple of cheap ones when I started repairing. Spent a good hour taking the thickness out of the back ends of them. Made a big difference to the feel, but then acquired a couple of full sets of Dumont and a few others from a job lot sale. These are far superior to the cheapos that I was using. It probably is you G, but you just need to practice mate. Don't let it bother you, you will get better honestly. What specifically are you having trouble with ? Pin down the exact issue then work on that. I've strength trained for 15 years and did body building and martial arts on and off during that time. Researched and studied endlessly how muscle fibres, tendons and ligaments all work in synergy. Understand how our motor skills adapt and learn to cope and compensate for different situations. That process is less adaptive as we get older we have to accept that that is a part of aging. But I've trained with men and women in their mid seventies and it blows my mind what they were capable of, age is just a number, accept that number is never going to go backwards but not that it is going to hold you back. Believe that you can do much more than you think you can. Just practice G everyday with a good pair of tweezers, choose the set you are most comfortable with now and stick to that set, don't chop and change because that will disrupt your fine motor skills learning. Our motor learning takes on a similar path to our muscle memory ( we never forget to ride a bike, bit rusty to start with but we quickly improve ). It takes around 300 repetitions to get a form down, if those repetitions are of a crap form because they were rushed or we weren't concentrating on making them good to start with then we've got stuck with a bad habit. It then takes another approx 5000 repetitions to correct that form and make it work the way we want it to. Basically to save a shit load of time get it right first time. This applies massively to bodybuilding as an extreme of our physical abilities but it also applies right down to our finest motor skills. I think what you might be experiencing G is the bad habit of gripping your tweezers too hard in an attempt not to drop anything, unfortunately this has the effect of pinging tiny parts away. Do what I suggested a little while ago, slightly roughen the inside surface of your tweezers to give them a little surface friction, ask me what or how to use or do it if you are unsure. Then just practice everyday for half an hour picking up different sized screws, twist and turn your tweezers while holding the screw adjusting your grip to stop you dropping the screw. Keep your touch very light, never overgripping as this will pull you back into that bad habit that you are trying to get out of, it's far better to drop the screw in front of you than it is to ping it off into oblivion . It will take a little time G so don't get frustrated if it isn't working overnight but it will come and you will become really good at holding screws and springs etc without dropping them or shooting them off.

The unfortunate thing about that question is that I don't think there is any treatment known to man yet. Oh, and welcome to the forum.

rolex oil chart 3135.PDF Rolex-3135-tech.pdf

The notion that additional sub-forums would be nice could be construed as "policy". Absolutely! I disagree! Well, I know that Mark L had been active since he specifically responded to and locked a thread to him at about the time others commented the thread we're discussing became unavailable.