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Which staff did you use to replace the broken one? I see 3 options on balancestaffs.com. The obvious fault I see is the roller table has been crushed. The safety roller should be in line with the guard pin, and below the roller jewel; it very well could be that in dial down it is sort of doing its job, but likely rubbing, but in dial up with the endshake on the balance it moves away far enough that there's zero safety action and the fork moves to overbanked condition. I would replace the roller table and see how it runs, if there are still issues related to the balance endshake then address that.

Thanks guys, interesting spring loaded tool. I've not seen one of those. In the end I took the plunge and things worked out ok. I held the seconds hand between finger a thumb while still inside it's little poly bag. I then cut the end off with small nail scissors. Still holding it via the poly bag I rubbed the end a touch with 3000 grit paper just to take off the sharp corners. Steve.

Yesssss My work today : Job for a friend (watchmaker) of a friend (also watchmaker), just need to replace roller jewel on an ancient 6x9"' omega. "Just"... -new staff installed by friend, not staked properly, balance out of true, fix -new staff 0.02mm oversize for roller table, turn and fix -staff too long, reduce pivot length -they kindly gave several roller jewels, all too small, find correct width and install, it's too long, grind to length, install (finally, it's fixed, right?) -bend in 2nd coil of tiny overcoil hairspring, fix get it ticking, great, 1200 seconds Delta in verticals, ok amplitude is low but... -poise balance by moving around numerous timing washers already in place on the abused screws, full service, replace mainspring (original was steel, coned, and set) Amplitude up to 275 flat, Delta down to 40, that's it for this one. I'm keeping the roller jewels they sent, that's my tip.

Glad to hear it. Give its arse an extra kick from me.

Nice looking watch Gert . Generally if your wrist is wider than the lug to lug regardless of wrist circumference then you are ok. Is this one of your own making ? I think i will have to move away from swiss vintage and have a play with some Seikos, there are some gorgeous dials like the one in your video restoration. Btw I've kicked Covid's arse.

I don't think that most of the concern is for your movement or its value. I believe it is focused on what you can get from your experience. The movement and your intentions for it's disassembly can always come together after you find out if the spring just needed a good cleaning or untangling. If you cause other problems you may never know and it's YOUR lost opportunity to learn that we care about. Let us know how you make out either way. Shane

Hi peeps. Record high temperatures expected here today in Uk 104 ' F . So I'm twagging work although still registering on covid richter scale besides. My WoTD. Not enough Seiko divers on here. So heres my Seiko Padi chrono solar. A little large for my meager 7 1/4 wrists at 44mm but i just about pull it off.

I realized I wasn’t getting email notifications anymore on responses - sorry I just saw this! I received Guy’s parts and the watch is now repaired. I replaced setting lever and stem, as both looked different/less worn than what I had. Problem rectified. What a lovely collection of parts, hopefully one day I will be so lucky!

Awesome! Now you can go have a pint to celebrate - on me! Thank you sir! That one I bought a few weeks back actually. I just love the Seiko Save The Ocean dials and I couldn't resist getting that one. It's also my first Samurai so was keen to try something different than what I normally wear. This one I did myself. As in everything is aftermarket, including the case. As you'll notice I have a thing for interesting dials. Once you start messing with the Seikos you'll see how addicting it can be. There's a massive modding community so your imagination is pretty much the limit.

Hey Rich, I hear that you're getting record high temps there in the UK. It must be a shock to your system seeing as you don't know what the sun usually looks like I can't wear a watch for the next few weeks as I was naughty over the weekend, but I usually sport a diver on my wrist most days. In fact, I'll post one from last week seeing as you signaling a trend here. It looks big but isn't IRL, it wears just perfect on my 7 3/4 wrist

You've had some very good advice so far, so I won't belabor it further. You've asked earlier what I found challenging initially and to be honest, well, all of it haha. Any automatic movement with day/date complications is going to be harder to work on than a larger traditional manual wind movement. Thing is, you don't know what you don't know so practicing on something that's easier helps build the confidence. But hey, if you up for servicing that 7S26 as your first project then I'll be the last to take the wind out of your sails. It's certainly not impossible because that's how I started, but that's because I'm pigheaded Only real gotcha with those are the two train wheel cap jewels on the top plate. My advice is to leave those well alone as they are incredibly difficult to clean/oil. I eventually got an auto oiler for those as doing it manually just took too long. Outside of that it's not an overly difficult movement, there's just a lot of parts to to keep track of and can be intimidating when you beginning. As far as amplitude is concerned there's a pretty large range of what is good for that movement. I routinely get them to around 270'ish degrees, but anything over 250 and you good. Getting it higher than that is less of an experience thing and more of a luck of the draw - bear in mind these are mass produced movements with a large amount of tolerance they need to operate in. Too much below 250deg is a sign that something isn't right and can be anything from needing a service or a tired mainspring through to excessive play in the main spring arbour holes and a chewed up top plate. The train itself doesn't have any wear that I've experienced so as long the movement is running, you should be ok there. Note that I'm talking about a mechanically sound movement here, not something that had a dip in the pool. As far as beat error is concerned it's more a thing of how patient you are adjusting it than an indication of the quality of your work. Only advice I can give here is to let that movement run for about two days after it's serviced before doing any kind of adjustment. Things need time to settle down after a service so resist the temptation to mess with it too soon as you'll likely have to adjust it again after a few days. So if you pigheaded like me then go ahead, just understand that it's not a beginner movement.

Traditionally in English watchmaking if the plate that holds a wheel rests on two or more sides it's called a bridge, if overhangs from one support only it's called a cock. That is good but I think that a watch enthusiast should have respect for any piece of mechanical precision, and approach the learning of its repair according to certain steps and principles, not taking chances lightly.

Removing an Etachron stud (like the OP has) from the balance cock is easy, but refitting it without any damage it's not. Seiko balances and hairsprings are not meant to be ever separated from the staff. They are really one single assembly, balanced at the factory. Of course an experienced watchmaker might be able to do that, and more. Even the act of removing and refitting in a 100% safe manner a Seiko balance is not immediate for a beginner. The hairspring is very delicate, it won't resist any mishandling, mistake or prolonged dangling without being deformed. At which point the person will have another, possibly bigger problem than the original one. In these and all other tasks it's not an overpriced Bergeon driver that does a good job, it's your trained hand, eye and brain. Then any well dressed driver and tweezers will do just fine. If a beginner gives any value or importance of preserving his own semi-working mov.t he should learn and practice first on something else, bigger and of no value. I am speaking from experience, do not want to curb enthusiasm but simply setting expectations right.

You said you wanted some advice. The two above are both pretty solid. Ask questions politely and graciously listen to your responses. If you can do that almost anyone will be willing to help you. The second I feel is key here. In trouble shooting, the fewer variables that you introduce, the easier it will be to see if you have found the root cause, understand the problem and effect real improvement. The luring curve is steep. Make the most of your efforts. The rest of your approach towards watch repair seams pretty sane. At the end of the day, it's all just advice and you will be alone with your watch. Good luck. Shane

Ouch, yeah suspicion confirmed bud. Before stripping the complete movement I’d only remove the balance cock and sort it out on its own. Try and get to the bottom of the issue. If that is sorted out and the watch runs fine again, then you can possibly progress to stripping it all again to service. The reason I suggest the above is because the 7S36 is far from a beginner friendly movement. Not to say it’s overly complicated, but they not basic. Don’t make the same mistakes I did by picking these as a first project. It can easily kill whatever potential passion you might grow for the hobby. There’s many videos about servicing these on YT; in fact I’ve posted an SKX one myself. It only becomes easy with practice and practicing on something less complex is the best way to build confidence. I would strongly suggest buying an ST36 movement (they real cheap) and build your chops with that before tackling that 7S36. All that being said, it’s up to you. Only you know you and your appetite for pain ;D EDIT: I know you said you demagnetised the movement, but to me that still seems like the most likely culprit. Either that, or the balance spring has somehow overbanked or, as I said before, the hairspring somehow got contaminated with oil.

I have a set of these Chinese winders. Not the most intelligent design and not that useful. I recently serviced an ETA 2836 and picked up the winder meant for the 2836 and found that the barrel and arbor fitted quite nicely but the winding direction was wrong. They could have used a bidirectional design for the arbor or at least get the direction correct. I have done so many movements that no winder seem to fit. So learning how to wind a spring by hand is essential. Unfortunately, small barrels are extremely difficult to wind and unbelievably painful on the fingers.

As do I yours Andy. Most of what i base my opinion on has nothing to do with what any government politicians or scientists tells us. I have friends in the NHS that were due to lose their jobs, the same week that it was about to be made mandatory for their staff the idea was withdrawn. I dont know what the reasons that they gave are as i dont watch the news, in fact i dont have a tv licence or an ariel. My friends tell me its because too many staff were refusing the injections, my friends there are all radiographers. Not the menial staff refusing it, but the staff that the NHS can not afford to lose or are able to replace. Paramedics, pharmaceutical staff, doctors and surgeons. This alone tells me that something is not right and that I have made the right decision for myself. Like i say the same as you I fully respect anyone else's opinions and decisions. This was just to highlight my decision.

For the most part, I agree with that. I rarely take medicines, and only if absolutely necessary. I grew up playing in the dirt and exploring in the wilds of Scotland. Cooking over wood fires, sleeping in tents in all weathers, and in all sorts of remote spots, you get the idea. I've probably got a much stronger immune system as a result. I met my wife climbing mountains, and in general we have been lucky to be relatively fit and healthy over the years. We don't drink (except very occasionally) or smoke. We eat well, but healthily and try to maintain good fitness. We are both the wrong side of 50. In general I would avoid anything that is not demonstrably medically effective. However looking at the odds in this case, I felt that the risk of no inoculation was higher than the risk of inoculation. Its a much closer call than some people suggest, but on balance inoculation is the better option. However I would not suggest making it mandatory. Everyone is free to make up their own mind, and I fully respect your choice, and your right to choose. If the benefit of inoculation was less clear then I might well have come down on the other side of the fence.

Do the injections work . I had one day with a headache and sore joints, two days of congestion and no loss at all of taste or smell, i didn't stay in bed and i carried on eating . The thing is i haven't had any injections. I wonder what is actually going on

Thanks Tom, I twisted them off but then had to file down the stubs as the stubs were preventing me being able to glue the dial securely to the dial spacers. I placed the dial on polythene to prevent damage during the operation. Steve

Hello All! My Grandfather was, among many things, an avid watch collector and neighborhood watch repairman. Although he hasn't worked on a watch in over a decade due to his health he still has a watch room filled with dozens of cigar boxes of old watches he has accumulated over the years. The watches are not valuable nor coveted; they are mainly American vintages with a few crusty Swiss watches in between. However, a majority of them still have working movements and a deep yearning for a fresh service. I first began tinkering with a few of these watches about a year ago and since then my tinkering has grown to a full blown hobby (much to my wallet's disappointment). It has given me a common interest with my Grandfather and a few gorgeous vintage watches to wear on my wrist. While I like to say I know my way around a watch, I am still an absolute novice so I will be undoubtedly pestering you all with questions in the future. Anyways, thank you in advance and a pleasure to meet you all! - Zee p.s. Wrist check!

I think I can relate to that! (Sorry, I just had to get it out!)

What specifically was the things that gave you a lot of issues? I imagine much of it is related to simply being able to manipulate such small things with tweezers, the rest of it doesn't really look much more difficult than putting together or taking apart a thing of legos haha, maybe i'm being naive but theres just great step by step stuff in video form to follow from this site owner and many others. the things that look the most difficult are removing the diashocks and cap jewels, removing the balance cock and getting the train bridge back on and lined up properly. I've watched these vids a bunch of times, i've studied the seiko tech sheet on the thing and have a very good understanding of how it all works and how and where to lubricate it. Also i have a pretty high tolerance for pain, i generally just dive into complex things and bang my head against them till i figure it out. My day job is an artist so i have quite a steady hand and good attention to detail. If i fail I fail and will try again. This is an easy and cheap movement to find if i wreck a part or destroy the whole thing i'm really not worried. Since you struggled with this as a newbie outside of "Don't do it" what is some specific advice you might have as a warning before trying this to help me avoid catastrophe? Things i should be extra careful about that might be pit falls.

I am suprised no one mention Lubeta V105. For who doesn't know it's a special type of oil developed by ETA to lubricate their reverser wheel. On ETA movement the tech sheet says not to oil these wheel at all and if they failed you should replace them but we know that option is not always possible. So here is my experience with these wheels. Reverser wheel, differential wheel, reversing wheel... I consider them all the same. When they failed you often notice it's hard to hand wind and the rotor spins along hand winding and/or the rotor became stiff. At this point I will try to fix the wheel first by clean and lubricate. I clean the wheel using ultrasonic, then I dip the whole wheel in V105 for about 15 seconds then let the wheel dry normally. If you don't have V105 you can make an alternative version of it by mixing 3% 9010 with 100% naphtha. This method allows you to easily lube the internal, provides just enough lubricant it needs. And yes I believe all these wheels need to be lubricate when servicing, unless you can always buy the new freshly lubricated wheel from manufacturer. There are cases when the only option is to replace the wheel. I have a Seiko 2409 that I found the differential wheel is rusted inside when I was cleaning it. The rotor is hard to move even after all the cleaning and oiling. I replace the wheel with one from a donor movement and then the rotor spins when hand winding. Finally I clean and lubricate the new wheel and it works silky smooth since. So even if you replace the wheel, you still have to clean and lubricate it if the replacement wheel is old.

Welcome, Usually we'll ask for photographs. There could be something you're doing wrong if EVERY watch you take apart isn't going back together. We'll likely want to see close-up photos of the ends of the pivot shaft of the escape wheel as well as the jewels (top and bottom). Are these "cheap" movements from working watches? or are you buying cheap, un-cased Chinese movements (like a Seagull ST36)?

There's always these guys: https://billandsons.co.uk/services I don't remember how/why I ended up with their link saved, possibly due to conversations with a Swiss watchmaker who used them to refinish a dial on a watch he did a video service on YT.

Awesome thanks for the link....

This is what i use ross from cousins only a little bit more expensive than shop bought lighter fluid. Also in an ultrasonic as well as a homemade rotary machine. The tub of ipa for a rinse. Which is much cheaper than elma rinse. Dont let the balance or pallet fork soak in the ipa though, a couple of minutes only. And maybe not at all on a new watch that may have a different adhesive for holding the jewels in place. And btw I'm loving your enthusiasm mate

In the "THAT NEVER HAPPENS!!!" category of watch repair, I have this new story to add: I picked up this old, dirty Helbros Invincible at a flea market because I liked the style and wanted to see if I could do anything with it. I got it home and took off the back...and it was like opening Pandora's box! Looking over the Helbros-branded Lorsa P72 movement, I could plainly tell that someone had been allowing a stray screw or metal component to just freely go romping about amongst the wheel train. Damaged wheel teeth, scratches, broken staff, messed up hairspring, a couple cracked jewels, but no sign of a loose screw or part - although!...there were two empty screw holes, one in a bridge and it was missing one of the dial foot screws. So I picked up another Lorsa P72 movement off Ebay that seemed to have everything I'd need (it had rust on the parts near the stem hole, but I was not worried about that). When the donor movement came, I just cleaned everything and rebuilt choosing the best parts of each. Ended up replacing the balance complete, center wheel, third wheel, two jewels, and the missing screws. Miraculously, the other wheels were undamaged; teeth, leaves, and pivots were fine. Once assembled and oiled, I set the stud carrier as close to where it should be as I could get it, and put the regulator dead center. Now, I only have a timegraphing app on my phone (limited funds you know). But the traces looked really good. So I've been wearing it off and on, and keeping it wound. Here's the dumb luck part - I haven't needed to regulate this thing yet! It's been two days, a shade over 48 hours, and it is now about 3 seconds faster over that time period. I need to read the specs on a Lorsa P72, to see if it can do any better but, so far, a gain of only 3 seconds over a 48 hour period doesn't sound terrible. I'm used to antique pocket watches and their eccentricities, so having a watch run this close to dead-on without having to regulate it six ways to Sunday feels a lot like a miracle to me. I'm starting to really adore this wrist watch.

Hello and welcome from sunny England. OK, it's raining again!

Thank you for your introduction and welcome to this friendly forum. We all look forward to your contributions and continued involvement. No gasket required for that case and movement.

Welcome to WRT forum.

OK, I am done. Got the dial back today--the Picasso dial. Yes, they admitted the error and had to remake their master plate. Their first attempt with the Picasso dial result, they did correctly petina lume. On their second attempt, they failed to patina the lume!! It is not as if they had no instructions...they did the lume correct the first time and then screwed it up the second time. Fixed one thing and broke another. It took them one year to achieve this result. Granted, I am responsible for ~4 months of delay because I had not gotten to use the dial, but when I started the work, discovered the screw up. Fortunately, I have a NOS solution, so I am moving on. Money down the drain. During this process, they lost my dial. Sent it to another customer by mistake. Happily, that customer sent it back. I do not plan any more dial refinishing with Kirk Rich Dial. I like the guy that I talk to on the phone...always feels like he is trying, but I have to judge by the results. International Dial is in the dumpster now, so I dont know of any US refinishers left.