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I have in the past pointed out actual glaring errors in listings, but generally these days I don't bother. It generally just results in a rude reply. If they want to tell me that a 17 jewel mechanical watch "just needs a new battery", or that an item is "untested, may work", when the pictures show it is obviously damaged, who am I to interfere. Move on to the next listing. There are plenty of other less dubious items to look at.

I couldn't agree more! That said, letting a seller on eBay know what you, as a buyer, think is a reasonable price, I don't consider interfering but negotiating. However, I wouldn't get in touch with a seller if I didn't have at least some personal interest in the item being sold. When I politely initiate a negotiation and let the seller know what I think the item is worth and why, I expect the seller to be cordial and respectful in his reply. I treat buyers the same no matter their offer, even if it's a crappy offer. Even in these cases, I thank the buyer for his interest and offer. Then I offer the buyer the price I can currently think of accepting and close with a friendly greeting. How hard can it be? Although I always try to be friendly and respectful, I have had buyers become aggressive and rude when I politely declined their offer. When sellers get angry and rude about an offer, I think it's because they have a hard time accepting that their item isn't worth as much as they hope. The strange thing is that they react as if someone tried to steal their money. Why not just politely decline? Unfortunately, money has a personality-changing effect on some people, and unfortunately never for the better.

@rossjackson01I would start with a perfectly working movement, that has the correct endshake of the gear train and balance, with a high amplitude and a perfectly new mainspring, so you are eliminating as many variables as possible to start with. You can then rule out any initial problems with the movement. Screwing down bridges and cocks tightly should/will have no bearing on amplitude. In fact not tightening them properly will give you problems! I would then move on to using proper cleaning fluid and rinse, rather than lighter fluid and IPA. They work fine, but it would eliminate that variable as well. Watchmaking is witling down what it can't be and you're left with the possibilities, then probabilities. Always do only one thing and measure the result of that change or adjustment. A good movement would be an ST36 from AliExpress, which I use for my teaching. Cheap as chips. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005872942857.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.23.55171802P4233F Measuring the endshake of a balance is vital. The more you do it the more you'll know what feels and what feels wrong. A lot of movements would be about 0.02 to 0.04 mm endshake of the balance, but the St36 is close to 0.08 to 0.09 mm, as it is a very big movement. I take a class on reducing and increasing endshake of the balance and seeing the huge drop in amplitude by adjusting the balance endshake by as little as 0.03 mm tighter or looser on the ST36. Usually the big drop will be in vertical positions, but also in horizontal ones as well, but not as much. At least using a new movement will eliminate that variable of too much or little balance endshake to start with, although I had an Incabloc setting move with a students watch this week and I had to increase the setting by 0.06 mm so the balance didn't stop when the balance cock was tightened. Checking the impulse face of the pallet stones is also vital, as they have to be mirror clean. I use Moebius 9415, but at a push you can get away with 9010. You'll get there, I'm sure!

When you have communed with the great man, don't forget to take a wander round the corner and across a few streets to Chambers Street to look in on my favourite clock in the National Museum of Scotland. They also do a nice cup of coffee there to warm you up after sitting a while with Mr Smith. True, but at least by that point he has probably stopped chasing you to try to recover his shoes.

I have to agree, a buyer will only pay the maximum amount that he thinks the item is worth to him. I get this all the time when i go to car boots, i ask the price and if it's above what i want to pay then i either state what i want to pay or say thanks and walk away. Quite a few take the ump and tell me "its worth every penny and more" of their price, my reply is the same every time " it might be, but not to me ". Its that simple, its what it's worth to you and not anyone else. If it comes in for less then thats a bonus for you. I dont think a little bit of education passed onto a genuine seller is doing any harm, if hes upset then its probably because hes been caught out or been wildy disillusioned. Either way that isn't your problem.

I haven't actually encountered anybody selling data from this site, but I do encounter people who are selling non existent electronic components, and flogging free PDF datasheets, so it wouldn't surprise me to find my ramblings from WRT wrapped up in a PDF and offered for sale on the "free market" internet. Don't get me started on the so called "free market" and all its pseudo-scientific mumbo jumbo. A near infinite number of euphemisms for "greed" dreamed up by the "Loadsa-money" generation. Don't worry that we are poisoning the planet, killing ourselves with corn syrup and cheep ass food and lining the pockets of the already rich, the "market forces" will fix everything, and "trickle down economics" will make us all rich. Everything else, we can fix it all with technology we haven't invented yet... and probably never will... carry on and consume, consume, consume! We won't be able to breath the air or drink the water, but we will be rich I tell you RICH!! Give me a moment, I think my medication might be wearing off..

In the past i have had them land on my side with seller issues, but this is the first time i have had something missing from a lot. Impossible for either of us to prove ( i should have recorded the unwrapping which i have done in the past with expensive buys. The seller has just told me that the complete listing was there when it was sent, asked if the parcel was damaged and has no idea how just one watch could be missing. Hmm i know exactly why it's fooking missing . Ebay is nearly always on the buyer's side, i spend a lot of money on ebay, so helping me out should be important to them. To add the seller's feedback isn't squeeky clean so i expect a good outcome.

Got one. Same colour. Yes, I do the 1/4 system. I did see from JohnR725's .pdf which way to put the crystal. See, I am reading folks. Getting there. Update. Completed service. All works well. Only problem, the balance spring is out of the regulator pin. Next job using the microscope. Tried it in just for the heck. -890s. Amplitude 197 degrees. BE 0.2 degrees. Not bad for a watch that would not even wind. Another tooth ache (age thing). Repair will need to wait now.

Pardon me. Is "policing" equivalent to "observing?" The marketplace is just fascinating. You have the person who happens upon these crystals for watches that most people do not care about, but he does not know it. He gets on ebay and finds somebody selling a Mido crystal for $30 (those are a pain in the @ss...I have had to buy a few) and thinks OMG, I have 2000 crystals!!! That is $60,000. I will offer a bargain at $1000!!! It is just funny. Then you have the case, in real time, where some dude gets a storage locker full of clock repair tools and takes no effort (I suppose) to search ebay and sells them to me for 1/4 the ebay value. Probably less than 1/4 because I have cataloged the collets in the deal--65 total of which 36 are Levin. That is at least $700. Add the Bergeon bushing tool plus bushings and the lathe with collet-holding tailstock...prolly $2000. This does not include the misc stuff. The market determines the winner. That is why I love capitalism.

Hello lovely watch people, i rarely post up my watches and i should do more of them because we all love to see and read stories about them. So today, i do have a little story of yesterday but first i ask to bend the rules and post not one but two watches side by side. The Sekonda in my picture i believe belonged to my dad's father, i found it while emptying my dad's flat after he died a few years ago. This is the watch that started it all for me, in terrible condition but after 2 failed attempts at restoration it now happily sits ticking away on my wrist most days. As for yesterday's story, i attended 100 miles away from where i live my 93 year old uncle's funeral my mum's brother, a kind and generous loving family man who will be sadly missed. Now his father my other grandfather worked for many years keeping the shipping lanes clear and safe for vessels coming into the Hull docks in the town where i live. After many years he retired and received the traditional retirement watch for good service often a Smiths watch was given. From my mum I became aware of his watch less than a year ago and obviously my interest was sparked so i began to ask questions of it's whereabouts and if possible could i have some photos of it so i could hunt down the same brand and model. Turns out my uncle had given it to his son 20 years ago and pictures promptly arrived on my phone from my cousin. It was indeed a Smiths Astral which by strange coincidence i had already collected 5 of but not that particular model. I began my hunt for the same one and by another strange coincidence i found the exact model for sale in the same 9ct gold case not 400 yards from my house, i was very happy. Back to the funeral, sat drinking with some of my family my mum takes my hand opens it and places my grandfather's watch in my palm " thats for you " she said. My cousin had given her the watch to do with it as she saw fit, six of my family including myself got hmm well rather emotional. As it happens my grandfather hardly wore it, my uncle never wore it and neither did my cousin who had kept it in a drawer for 20 years and could have quite easily given it to his son. I was told yesterday that " it's now in the right hands ". Coincidences are a strange thing, I'm a big believer in fate, my grandfather's brother was a watch and clock repairer and lived just 2 minutes from my house, my treasured new watch was given to my grandfather on his retirement the same year i was born. I kind of believe it's been making its way to me for the last 57 years. If you've stuck with me this long then i thank you and you need a bloody medal . Here is grandpa Jack on the left and grandpa Fred on the right. Soooooooooo happy today .

Hi. Soldering is quite straight forward, the main thing is cleaning the areas to be soldered treating with flux and using resin core solder all available fron hardware stores. Soldering irons come in all shapes and sizes. Pistol grip irons , straight tip, spade tip , round tip. I personally have a seller workstation with four interchangeable tips, probably best value because it covers most bases. But again depends how much you are going to use it, so it’s a cost thing, solder comes in reels or tubes with a few yards inside. remember to clean thoroughly the joint to be soldered for the best result.. If the point where the wee man fits has a projection requiring a butt joint fit a sleeve over the joint preferably of brass or copper.

Keep the IPA in a sealed glass container. IPA absorbs water rather quickly, the plastic containers the drugstores sell IPA in allow water intrusion. I used to work with high dollar optics and we used pump dispensers for the solvents. We found that we needed to change out IPA every 3 hours to control the water contamination. Extreme for watch cleaning, but opened my eyes to what can happen to solvents.

I know that statue on that little market-place, but never read what it said ...... I must have been more occupied with looking at the surroundings what "nature" had to offer

Be careful what you wish for.

Walk a mile in someone else's shoes and you still wont fully understand them.

I have to confess that Harry Enfield was much more amusing than my fellow Scot, and so called father of economics, Adam Smith. Smith did delve much deeper into what drives the wheels of trade than most people imagine. Its a pretty tough and stodgy read for modern tastes though. Most people have heard of his work "The wealth of nations." (strictly speaking its actually called "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations", but that is a bit of a mouth full), but far fewer have encountered "The Theory of Moral Sentiments". Smith's "Wealth of Nations" is much misquoted and rarely read by those who profess to follow the capitalist religion, but such is the way of blind faith followers. Few if any of these religiose zealots will have even heard of , nor be interested in his theory of moral sentiments, despite its in depth analysis of the very behaviours they indulge in. I doubt that he realised when he penned his works that they would be so often used to attempt to vindicate the baser inclinations of the greedy some 265 years later. If you are ever in the area, you might like to take a trip down the Royal Mile in Edinburgh to the Cannon Gate church, and ponder a while with him, the changes that have taken place since his time. As to actually reading his works... I suspect you may need to stock up on the extra strong coffee before you dive in, but they are, arguably worth the effort. "As we have no immediate experience of what other men feel, we can form no idea of the manner in which they are affected, but by conceiving what we ourselves should feel in the like situation. Though our brother is on the rack, as long as we ourselves are at our ease, our senses will never inform us of what he suffers. They never did, and never can, carry us beyond our own person, and it is by the imagination only that we can form any conception of what are his sensations. Neither can that faculty help us to this any other way, than by representing to us what would be our own, if we were in his case. It is the impressions of our own senses only, not those of his, which our imaginations copy. By the imagination, we place ourselves in his situation ..." Or as the great man never said, or even implied... "greed is good".. Rant over... normal service has been resumed.

I tried the heat trick, it got all but the two newest watches working, and each has been working fine since. The one that kills batteries takes out the 1025/3v battery in about 6 hrs, but I seem to recall it always was a bit hard on batteries, maybe lasting only a month or so when new. Both of the watches left are Indiglo models. The one that won't run at all is the newest of them, the original receipt is dated 1/3/2000 from Sears. I probably wore that watch for three or four months tops, then it got put away when I started to carry a cell phone full time. I probably hadn't planned for them to sit forever and simply removed the batteries to cut wear and tear on them just sitting figuring that they'd likely run a few years before the batteries gave out. (A few of the batteries were still holding voltage, and were put away with them in small plastic bags. A few were put away with new batteries in packages I kept around for spares, mostly from Radio Shack at the time. None of those still show any sign of power). The one that's not running is the one that sat the least amount of time, and the one I most expected to still work. None are worth much but they were at one time at least reliable. I wanted to start wearing one again as I tend not to carry my new cell phone on me all the time these days, its just too bulky to carry, so I was sort of looking to go back to wearing a watch.

I use petrol as a prewash for heavily soiled clock parts. I find that the smell of petrol has changed over the years. It used to smell better when I was young. My grandpa had a general store/liquor store/petrol pump in a small town in Malaysia. He had 6 underground tanks beneath his shophouse. I remember waking up to the smell of petrol and engine oil whenever we stayed with him during the school holidays. Maybe that's why I love the smell of petrol.

If watches could talk ... I gave my grandfather's pocket watch (Waltham) to my son on his 21st birthday. He wore it with his wedding suit and carried it with him to the hospital the day his son was born. I never thought it would mean that much to him. My other grandfather was a machinist so I got his tools.

Hi Guys. Old Hippy is correct. The old adage . Buyer beware. People have the conception that EBay is cheap it’s not. If it’s too good to be true back off and look twice before parting with money. Do your research.

That's a good point about getting the gasket bevel the right way round. Apart from that, they should push in easily. I have had no problems using my cheapo press like this one to fit them.

I have and still do see ludicrous asking prices on eBay, however I have seen recently lower winning prices for watchmaker tools. I just snagged a JKA Fientaster for less than half price and about a third of what they were going for. With the current belt tightening we will hopefully see something more sensible on pricing. Tom

The polishing worked out well. It only needed a bit of satin brushing on the sides and mirror polishing of the case back. The reason I got this watch (in dire need of a service) was because @nickelsilver spoke well of Peseux. Now this movement (Peseux 7040) probably wasn't their top-of-the-line but still performs very well after a service. No repairs (except replacing the scratched-up case and case back crystals) or adjustments were required so easy to work on. Here are the numbers. Fully wound minus 1 hour: Dial up: Rate: +5 s/d, Amp.: 310°, B.E.: 0.1ms Dial down: Rate: +3 s/d, Amp.: 305°, B.E.: 0.1ms Crown left: Rate: -1 s/d, Amp.: 260°, B.E.: 0.1ms Crown down: Rate: +8 s/d, Amp.: 265°, B.E.: 0.1ms Crown right: Rate: -5 s/d, Amp.: 275°, B.E.: 0.0ms Crown up: Rate: -12 s/d, Amp.: 265°, B.E.: 0.1ms Fully wound minus 26 hours: Dial up: Rate: +4 s/d, Amp.: 265°, B.E.: 0.0ms Dial down: Rate: 0 s/d, Amp.: 270°, B.E.: 0.0ms Crown left: Rate: -6 s/d, Amp.: 240°, B.E.: 0.1ms Crown down: Rate: +2 s/d, Amp.: 225°, B.E.: 0.2ms Crown right: Rate: -3 s/d, Amp.: 223°, B.E.: 0.0ms Crown up: Rate: -12 s/d, Amp.: 223°, B.E.: 0.1ms

I really don't think anyone is. I sometimes am interested in items where the seller believes they're sitting on a fortune whereas I know they are not. Letting them know the truth hopefully leads to a deal, but as Richard experienced more often than you might think it just annoys the seller. I even had an experience where the seller became very rude and threatened to block me for just very politely suggesting and explaining (linking to historical selling prices) that his asking price was way too optimistic.

Hi. Have another pill Andy sit back and dream of Margaret Thatcher the Queen of the market economy.

Mate you're just too clever, you'll never become a delivery driver.

Over approximately 87% mass ratio of IPA/water an azeotropic condition is formed, meaning that simple distillation wouldn't separate the two any further. That why the purer stuff is more expensive.

I posted in another thread about my big win on FB marketplace. The lathe is particularly interesting. Here I show a tailstock with a modified runner. That is a jacob's style chuck that is made by Dremel (I think)! Did the owner do this himself? I have not tried it for accuracy, but Dremel is NOT known for accuracy, so we shall see.

Turns out it was the incabloc. Not sure if the jewel was upside down on if it just wasn’t centred on the pivot. I took it out and the watch worked fine. So I cleaned and re-oiled it and carefully reinserted it, and everything works fine now. Problem solved.

Are we talking about the same thing @Nucejoe ? I too buy 99.9% IPA from ebay here in the UK. Isopropanol is relatively safe - according to Wiki "Small amounts of isopropyl alcohol are produced in the body in diabetic ketoacidosis". "Medical" Rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, and disinfecting pads typically contain a 60–70% solution of isopropyl alcohol or ethanol in water. Water is required to open up membrane pores of bacteria, which acts as a gateway for isopropyl alcohol. A 75% v/v solution in water may be used as a hand sanitizer.[23] Isopropyl alcohol is used as a water-drying aid for the prevention of otitis externa, better known as swimmer's ear.[24] Inhaled isopropyl alcohol can be used for treating nausea in some settings by placing a disinfecting pad under the nose.[25] Toxicology[edit] Isopropyl alcohol, via its metabolites, is somewhat more toxic than ethanol, but considerably less toxic than ethylene glycol or methanol. Death from ingestion or absorption of even relatively large quantities is rare. " I like the smell

I usually do it with drill in a pin vice, hand held, but I do put a rod in the tailstock that is a very loose fit in the backside of the pinvice. This keeps it more-or-less lined up. The main reason I do it like this is for very small diameters I freehand grind the drill, so not only are the lips not exactly equal (I do try to get them equal), the drill isn't really centered on the shank. Holding it in a well aligned tailstock just wouldn't work. The upside is you do have a terrific "feel" of what's going on, and also if the drill suddenly hangs up the pinvice can spin in my fingers hopefully saving the drill. For diameters over about 0.40mm I can make the drill on my tool grinder, and these end up well centered and can be used like normal drills, either in a live spindle like a drill press or jig borer, or in the tailstock of the lathe.

Watch this. https://youtu.be/ExfFlYFAffg?si=mywwUtungZnBRqOP

Steady watchie we are very greatful for that contribution buddy.

I was curious about parts cross references so looking at the link below we see the image I have below and another classic problem of movements reserved for specific companies. http://cgi.julesborel.com/cgi-bin/matcgi2?begin=ETA_937.681&end=ETA_&label=CALIBRES_MANUFACTURED_BY_ETA&flag=C what I was hoping for was or curious about as to whether any of the stator's cross reference to is kinda hoping of maybe it was like a basic it referred to all of them but it's hard to tell. Because that really is the key component in all of this http://cgi.julesborel.com/cgi-bin/matcgi2?ref=|[[GWGX then I found a better picture of the stator. Unfortunately it doesn't look like yours but it does actually show things in a more correct fashion. you see how the rotor is not actually in the center sort of and why put marks you can see is physically closer to the edge. In other words at rest these are where the north and south poles will be the whole design allows the rotor to turn in the correct fashion unlike yours which is now slightly distorted but as you can see from the spacing with extreme magnification it probably really doesn't take very much to screw that up.

I think if we survived COVID using copious amounts of hand sanitizer on a daily/hourly basis where, in the vast majority, the active ingredient is IPA (>70%) it would seem logical that we should be OK dealing with IPA for a few tens of minutes here or there when working with watches, either by skin contact or inhalation. On the other hand petrol is a soup of hydrocarbons and can vary from one supply to another, some of these hydrocarbons and additives are very nasty in terms of health impact. At least with IPA you know it is IPA and can evaluate the risk, and decide if you are comfortable with said risk, however, with petrol you are dealing with an unknown and often propitiatory blends and secret magical additives and therefore much more difficult to evaluate the health/safety risk. Other options like dedicated 'off the shelf' watch cleaning fluids and even naphtha the ingredients are well documented (MSDS sheets) and you know what you are dealing with and can evaluate the risk and take appropriate precautions. I can remember being up to my elbows in diesel cleaning engine parts, I guess I'll pay the price at some point! Same here, I remember reading somewhere that regarding petrol as a pleasant smell is genetic, a bit like white chocolate (some think it tastes like soap) and asparagus (makes some peoples pee smell and not others). Like me, my son likes the smell of petrol, but my wife hates it....maybe our postman likes the smell too?

Fascinating story and sorry to hear it wasn't all good. Passing on it's history in a way that can remain with it is such a wonderful idea . And as you said earlier if only they could talk, well actually.............. never mind .

I guess it depends how much you drink, the fumes dont seem any where near as bad as petrol. I've been using a version of ipa as a pvc cleaner for over 30 years, often in confined areas like toilets and bathrooms. My customers ask me if i ever get high on it, i think ive just become used to it and developed a tolerance, no ill effects as yet. Whereas petrol i could get addicted to that, I've loved the smell of it ever since i used to play with it as a child ( dont ask you wont believe what i got up to as a kid )

The bladder for another fountain pen arrived today. So here is the follow up. How now *not* to replace the bladder in your precious fountain pen. The process started innocently enough. I attempted to unscrew the cap. Instead, the stainless sheath parted company from the plastic of the top and started to rotate. This produced two new problems. First, I obviously now needed to re-secure the stainless sheath to the cap, but more importantly, I couldn't actually unscrew the top from the pen. I reached for some light oil and attempted to dribble it in to the threads. In the process, I managed to pour it down my leg. Nice. "Well.." I reasoned, ".. these jeans needed to go in the wash anyway." so I pressed on undaunted. Next I wrapped some masking tape around the body and the top, and carefully grasped them with mole grips, trying in the process to avoid crushing anything. This worked better than expected and the cap started to unscrew. Unfortunately however, the next problem became obvious pretty quickly. The pen still had ink in it, which it proceeded to vomit on to my leg... "Well.." I reasoned, ".. these jeans needed to go in the wash anyway." so I pressed on undaunted. I cleaned up as much of the mess from my hands and leg and the pen as I could, and set about replacing the bladder. With the pen now spotless, and no obvious possible source of further trouble in view, I set about securing the stainless cap to the body. The cap by now was considerably more stainless than I was. I poured out a small measure of shellac into a little plastic container, and started to dribble it into the gap between the two components, and ... promptly poured the contents of the container onto my leg... "Well.." I reasoned, ".. I am clearly an idiot." so I pressed on undaunted. The job is more or less complete, but I suspect the jeans may never quite be the same again. Now I need to sneak them into the washing machine before my wife sees them, and hope that a quick boil wash will hide the majority of the evidence.

Hi @Neverenoughwatches yes at heart we are but I believe that’s the purpose of these things is to continue their life, the monetary value is nothing tha fact it belonged to your Grandad does have value. The fact it’s almost new bears testament to the mindset of years ago. The cost was higher and as a rule it would have been worn for best like weddings and funerals etc, in between times it was cherished and put away till the next time a bit like the wedding suit

Thanks WW and thats a lovely sentiment that your granddaughter and her husband will remember forever. I think watches should have a life, this one i have of my grandfather's has never had one, its condition is immaculate, the 9ct gold case and bracelet has barely a mark on it, the dial has hardly seen the sun. A life is something i now have to give it, we're all big softies really aren't we

It’s expensive for sellers on eBay, buyers are often resellers trolling for bargains, international listings sometimes lead to interesting pricing…and that’s just the legit stuff. The crystals looks like the all too common ‘hail mary’… My fav scam is selling the pdfs from AWCI or free places online…including here…

Welcome to the forum, enjoy. The rivet needs to be drilled out, providing there is enough space between the barrel and plate I would use a flat headed screw rather than a rivet.

If we were to stop interfering with other peoples life, there would be a whole lot less wars.

I think the Lutheran prayer says it best. "God, grant me the serenity to accept the watches I cannot buy, the courage to buy the watches I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

Why policing eBay? Isn't it the free-market who determines the prices? And if it gets sold for a ridicules price, who's is the stupid one, the seller or the buyer?

Hmmmm- Glad things are working better, but you should be able to tighten the balance cock "fully" and still have endshake. If you get the cap jewels in upside-down (convex side toward pivot) you will remove endshake. Otherwise, over several watches, it would be strange for the endshake to disappear from properly tightening the balance cock screw. In school, if your screws aren't tight, like you think they might snap, you get your movement tossed in the sawdust box!

I've gone off on a bit of a tangent recently, but back to watches for this next post. To be exact, an Agat/Zlatoust 4282/4242 single button USSR era 15 Jewel, 1/5th second stopwatch, or to use its modern Agat designation, the СОПпр-2а-3-000 This is one of the few mechanical time pieces that is still produced to this day. I suspect this particular example is from around 1980, but it looks to have been little used. A quick clean and oil and it looks, and runs as well as it did the day it left the factory. @szbalogh did a full teardown of a very similar Agat 2482 here -> If you fancy browsing the Agat factory website, follow the link below. https://www.agatfactory.de/products/mechanical-stopwatch/soppr-2а-3-000-2 A little bonus content. Replacing the "bladder" on one my Platignum fountain pens. This is a pretty simple process. Pick a suitable size, based on the following chart. Nipple refers to the end of the section, where the bladder is fitted. Barrel diameter is the inside diameter of the barrel. These are best measured with calipers. Search ebay for something like "Latex Ink Sac Bladders for Fountain Pen". You will need something else that most of us have. Shellac dissolved in alcohol, to use as the glue to seal the bladder to the "section". You may need to cut the bladder to length. Once you are happy with the length, clean off any old shellac and rubber from the "nipple" with isopropanol or methylated spirits (don't use acetone, as it will damage the section). Ensure the nipple end is un-cracked, dry and clean (this also applies to cows). Paint a thin coating of shellac on to the "nipple" end of the section. Slide the open end of the bladder on to this coating of shellac. This should be a fairly tight fit. Paint around the "collar" on the section to seal the latex to the plastic, and leave to dry for 24hrs. Take great care to avoid getting shellac in the thread, or you may end up gluing the pen shut by mistake. Once dry, re-fit the section to the pen. You may need to dust the latex with talc, or coat with a thin coating of silicone oil to get it to slide in smoothly, without kinking or twisting. A little silicone oil or silicone grease on the section thread will make life a lot easier when it comes to removing the section in the future, as it should stop it gumming up with ink. Refill with your favourite ink and you are done.

Last time I had a similar bezel it was screwed on. For opening I used a 3D printed tool and double sided adhesive tape to get more grip at the bezel. chronoswiss-kairos-how-to-get-the-movement-through-the-front

"Give me the man and I will give you the case against him" The bottom line (as per the famous phrase above), if somebody wants to throw your @ss in jail, they will find the means to do it. This, of course, is playing out on the news every day here in the old USA. We are off topic, but what the heck. Public universities, are subsidized with taxpayer and student's money. Research is funded by public money as well as research grants from various entities. Researchers write papers at the public's expense and those papers are then pay-walled. That is one example of the grift that Aaron was fighting against. Yes, he trespassed. But it seems to me that is only prosecuted when the trespasser is bucking the narrative. If it is for a "good and noble cause" then justice turns a blind eye.

I don't think they've decided I think it's a long-term policy on their part. For instance the magazines you have I know of other people who have gathered them up and no hacking was required. In other words they are in plain sight their visible and while there's no sign that says free take them there is nothing to stop you from taking them. For instance out of curiosity I did a Google search and look what comes up Now if we click on this what do we find? we find a nice magazine with lots of nice articles. Surprisingly quite a few articles I remember the later years of the magazine there is still good stuff in there but not as much as the older magazines. So simple search magazine comes up I click it and there it is and I can read it it's not like it's a secure protected item. This not like I went to their headquarters smashed the window climbed in and stole that from a library is in plain sight. It's more of a stupidity of security procedures which isn't the first time with them.