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Showing content with the highest reputation on 07/12/22 in all areas

  1. When they are this loose it's not certain you can re-rivet it, but it's always worth a try. You want a hole in your staking tool's die that allows the pinion to sit squarely on the leaves, passing the pivot and shoulder through the hole. The stake should be round faced, with a hole that passes the shoulder and securely sits on the leaves that form the rivet. You'll want to be firm with your hammer strikes, and after 6 or so check to see if anything is happening. If it's not, you might need a bigger hammer, seriously. I have 3 main hammers at the bench, one is about 20 grams (really light), the one I use most for staking staffs and such is about 45 grams, and another that's 60 something grams. I would go for my 60 gram for this job.
    4 points
  2. Hi Paul Attached a couple of sheets on the 6365. Will give you the part numbers. Unitas 6360, 6365.pdf Unitas 6365N, 6480N, 6487, 6488.pdf
    3 points
  3. that is one of the most important lessons to learn in watch repair when not to repair a watch. it's a very common problem for people to try to repair things beyond their skill set and if it doesn't end well it could either be very expensive or have another problem. The other problem is friends and family will find out your repairing watches and they will have watches for you to work on. Seemingly it may start off innocent enough but break grandpa's watch will your family and friends be understanding be happy or will you lose family and friends? then excellent pictures. This is definitely not a beginner's watch. The cylinder makes things complicated because they're just a pain to do anyway. notice the simple design makes it look easy doesn't it? But at simple plate is covering a lot of gears and mysteries? Basically can as we can't see what's under the plate. When you go to reassemble all those gears and everything has to be exactly where it's supposed to be or you could break things like pivots. When you're new to repairing watches getting pivots in alignment is difficult and if you get lots of pivots in alignment that is very difficult. This is why watches like this are misleading they look easy when in reality they're not. then your hands look really pretty unfortunately they tend to be delicate they do not like to be bent and they will definitely break if you're not careful. this is actually a really excellent idea. If the replacement movement you have looks identical to the one you have now just swap the movements. this way of actually repaired the watch as it's now functional providing your donor movement is functional. It is actually a valid repair replacing a movement is done all the time in modern watches. Then it gives you time to get your skill set up and find suitable parts to repair the original watch.
    3 points
  4. I've been told it really takes ten years to become proficient. Bah. I just hope I last long enough
    2 points
  5. I don't know anything about atmos clocks but i am sure no damage was done. Sometimes these warnings are decided by someone which knows less but takes the extra caution because it's free. If damage was possible they would have placed a protection against it. It also reminds me of a discussion with someone very knowledgeable about setting time backward on a watch: Statement: never do that, as may damage the escapement. My observation: besides that my Seiko, as millions of others, takes no damage in setting it backwards, (actually can make it run backwards for many seconds), what about my other watch that hacks seconds on setting? It is just so convenient when going one hour back for legal time. Answer: none given.
    2 points
  6. In reality,there is nothing very difficult in taking apart and putting back together a pocket watch if one is a just a bit careful. [EDIT: except fitting many pivots under a single plate as John said]. The hairspring is thicker and a lot more robust compared to a modern wristwatch. Beside, in your case it's broken already. On the other hand, anyone that repair watches knows that the most terrible damage is done by owners, including ones that had an high opinion of their own abilities, that includes myself starting age 12. And as soon you need something better than beauty salon tweezers or generic small drivers, you don't have it, which increases the already high chances of damage or loss are further amplified. So, improvisation is never the right approach to watch repair. Just like a loved or expensive piece watch commands respect, the same should be with the trade of their repair. Not quick, not cheap and not particularly easy to learn. These are the basic notions that one must accept before starting with it. Of course, we know well that giving a cheap watch to a reputable professional (good luck finding one) it's not always a viable alternative, as it was maybe 50 years ago. He may not be interested in taking the work, or have an extremely long waiting list, and of course the cost can be easily 10, 15 or even more times the material value of the watch. Unfortunate facts that nobody can change. Personally I consider myself very lucky in having received quite a few nice pieces from my family. Most are working. The very nice one that had a small issue (just a fiber that I could not see) has been set right in front of myself by someone a lot better than me, for free, I was very luck again. I do not even think about going to mess with it again in my life. Same for the vintage pieces that don't work, I gladly leave them alone. They are what they are, and tell me the same story, working on not.
    2 points
  7. Can i ask a question and make a suggestion loei ? Did you take plenty of photos while you were disassembling. I do mean plenty of photos at every stage and of the orientation of every train wheel, part spring etc etc. If you did not and will not be returning to this soon, you may very well forget what goes where and how it fits. Believe me as a beginner you can forget within the space of a few minutes unless you took very close notice and even then a hour later that memory can fade. So as a suggestion if you have no photos to help you walkthrough your reassembly i would be tempted to carefully reassemble while you still have some recollection. If you are lucky and you are in your 30s or 40s you may still have good recall, if you are knocking on in years and cant remember when you last had a pee or an airhead teenager that cant remember when he last ate then i think you're probably screwed and will need a tonne of help here
    2 points
  8. Really, as said above, one needs experience and tools to undertake any watch work. Handling a balance wheel is not like replacing brake pads on a car. Beside, if the mov.t that you buy work and fits the case, then it would be wiser to swap it entirely. If you still have doubts try that, take a an cheap quartz watch value like 3 euros. Take it apart down to the smallest part then put it back. If it was working before, check if it still does.
    2 points
  9. That's a Unitas 6365N http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&2&2uswk&Unitas_6365N
    2 points
  10. As noted in this thread, there's no standard between makes (and even within makes) for tailstock bores. Checking with my normal supplier here, they have 7.50mm and then 7.70mm, haha, McMaster in the states only has whole metric sizes and then in inch they get close with 02.969", which would be sloppy, or 0.302" which would require lapping off almost 0.003" and that's a lot more than it sounds. Just a note on drilling "perfectly concentric" holes- it's much harder than it seems. You have to think in terms of percentage; if I center and drill an arbor for a 0.15mm pivot, and the drilling wanders off center 2 %, that's a total of 0.003mm, which is almost imperceptible under 10x magnification and wouldn't adversely affect anything unless it was some crazy tiny watch. At circuit board drill size, 1/8", that 2% would be over 6 hundredths of a mm, and that's starting to be a lot. In the precision machining world if you want a hole on-size and on-location there are a number of steps you can take, from using highly specialized drills in awesome machines (with speeds and feeds optimized etc.), or you would drill undersize, bore about 1 diameter deep to just the next drill size, which would be maybe 0.10mm undersize of final, and then ream to final size. You can also bore to final size if wanted. Sometimes the drill really does stay centered, and even drill on size, and even make a round hole, but if you're counting on it it usually doesn't, haha. I have a drill chuck that pretty much stays in my collet holding tailstock. It's not perfect; under the scope I can see it almost always holds the drill slightly off, but when drilling (using the scope), I just nudge the chuck with my finger and regularly drill 0.10mm holes without issue. I keep the drill chuck as it's fast, and otherwise the tailstock doesn't reach far enough with the slide rest in place, which I use as much as humanly possible. The fellow's idea isn't bad though. If you want to do it, you could find an easily available rod size like maybe 1/4", and make up some rings out of Delrin that fit the front and back of the tailstock bore, so the rod is a light sliding fit. As for a set screw, there won't be much material to thread, and if the bore in your rod is just a little loose the screw will skew the drill. You could make a clamp that's just a ring with a set screw; if the bore is close (easy to get a 1/8" reamer) it should clamp fine without splitting the end, but you could also run a slit down the middle of the rod along the bore, and the clamp will squeeze the two sides together on the drill.
    2 points
  11. yes the secret of where to look and what to look for. on my bookmark toolbar for the most part there is no individual bookmarks there are just folders of bookmarks. Watch repair related stuff takes up to folders otherwise the list goes down the page too far and it did allow me to categorize a variety of things. Then of course it's really nice that computers have much bigger hard drives than they used to have sizable quantity of PDFs accumulated over a very long time and continuously being updated with more and more of them. I just happened to be the first person here there are others on the group that will post tech sheets also. so I don't work alone here this is a team effort there iare other people on the technical supplying team. although that's an unofficial team we don't officially exist.
    2 points
  12. Hi all I have just started working on a Mondaine Branded ladies watch which need a setting lever spring, I have been unable to identify the movement on the usual sites with lists of swiss Trademarks, anyone recognise it from the picture below. Thanks Paul Ignore that, just as I posted the question I found it. its a Unitas
    1 point
  13. Vwatchie, I'd say anything 40-50 grams is fine.
    1 point
  14. 1 point
  15. I was finally able to locate one. As always, thanks for pointing me in the right direction
    1 point
  16. Hello and welcome to the forum. You have started out on the right foot with the course and will soon gain experience. good luck with the course. cheers.
    1 point
  17. If I remember correctly the regulator moves the regulating sleeve up or down to lengthen or shorten the active length of the spring.
    1 point
  18. There are issues with that method, not yet mentioned: - after having bored the tailstock rod, you have to use it always in that same position (use a mark for alignment). With turning the rod, you will lose your center.
    1 point
  19. Not very very stupid loei so dont beat yourself up about it. Just a beginner's mistake that has been done over and over by many. If you intend to do more repair you will make more mistakes, its the nature of the hobby. Hell you would gringe at the things I've done lol. Just start reassembling the watch it will be good practice, and if the other watch is identical you also have that as an assembly assistant. Its all good loei there are ways and means around mistakes dont worry fella. Aw JDM a beautiful story , i enjoyed reading that thank you for sharing
    1 point
  20. Thank you very much for all your advice! I have not made any photos while dissasembling, very very stupid on my part. The swap with the working donor sounds like the way to go, the watch is nog very valuable money wise but the goal is to get it running and perhaps the donor movement will do that. Thank you all, when I get started on this watch or another I will make a new topic. Cheers!
    1 point
  21. That looks like a nice old watch and best kept untill you feel confident enough. Practise on many working movements. If it works before hand is should work afterwards if no you have just goofed, we have all been there done that and got the T shirt all the best and good luck.
    1 point
  22. And you are all very much appreciated John thank you . Without all the help that we are receive us beginners would find it so much more difficult. So you may not exist officially, but you are most definitely recognised my friend.
    1 point
  23. Thank you for the advice. I think I will try my luck on something else first then. I just found a cheap Ruhla pocket watch that is not running. You guys talked me out of destroying a family watch so thank you! Here is the watch, it is currently disasembled though.
    1 point
  24. Which is an advanced task for master watchmakers, based not only on vast skills and tools, but also on the availability of a set of hairsprings containing the one needed. Not the sort of work possible for an absolute beginner, or pretty much any repairer for that matter. I think that setting expectations right for people is extremely important.
    1 point
  25. It's very unlikely that you can find an hairspring which matches the existing balance wheel and cylinder combo.Itvwould need to come from an identical mov.t.. In fact it would be good already to get it to merely run without any regard to timekeeping. It exisits a specific and very tight relationship between the size, material and natural oscillation of an hairspring, and the weight if the balance wheel. On top of that, cylinder escapement repair is pretty much a lost art today, it has not been cultivated anymore because it was so inferior to the lever escapement, that buyers and watchmakers quickly lost interest in it when presented with affordable alternatives.
    1 point
  26. Welcome here. Do you have any previous experience? When a watch is precious by material or sentimental value, it is a definite mistake for a total beginner to attack it. The chances of a good outcome are small, despite the better intentions of the individual. One should practice first on pieces of small or little value, that will allow to get a realistic grasp of what is involved in terms of knowledge, skill, and tools.
    1 point
  27. Today I took a crack at the three Jappy Beaucourt pocket watches I picked up around the start of the year. Arguably this one needs a replacement glass, but I think 150 years of scratches give it a bit of character. I may try to polish the scratches out some time, but successfully polishing glass is a lot more hard work than polishing acrylic. The one with the roughest dial became the parts watch, and I have this one running well (within a minute per day, which is acceptable in my book for an ancient cylinder movement), and a second one running, but still not quite in beat. In fairness the poorly running one had a pretty bad case of hairspring salad, so the fact that runs at all is pretty good going. It has an acrylic crystal, so it has obviously had some work done to it in the past. The one I am wearing is almost completely original, but for the winding click mechanism which was too far gone to be saved, so the donor (which also had a broken mainspring) provided that. The donor also provided a minute hand, following a minor calamity where the original one experiences some strange quantum entanglement event and winked out of existence. It may wink back in to existence again when I clean the area under my work bench, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for that. I've already crawled around on my hands and knees there for the required half hour trying to appease the horological deities, but nothing quantum related occurred. I grant you, the Beaucourt it is not quite as elegant as the "Defiant" in the previous post, but it is ticking away nicely, and I rather like it.
    1 point
  28. Well, just to complete the loop - here’s what moved those screws in the end. A bit of heat and a bit more torque moved 7 of them. The 8th was very difficult. I tried heat, followed by cold, lots of torque applied bravely, but to no avail. In the end I used DeOxit applied with an oiler to the margins of the screw head. I presume capillary action drew it under and into the thread. I left it a couple of hours and then tried again - this time with success. Now all 8 are removed. I was sweating on the last one, because the slot was already damaged from where people had been in before and I knew I had a high chance of wrecking it. The heads are surprisingly soft. Anyway, mission accomplished. Thanks for everyone’s input.
    1 point
  29. Just done one of these. The day wheel sits on top of the finger labelled B and cannot sit flush. So slip a fine oiler just under the edge of the day wheel at point A and push in a bit. This causes the finger to move out of the way and the day wheel can then be pushed down flush. Hope it helps. Steve.
    1 point
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