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Hi everyone, I've been here two years now almost to the day and have loved every minute of it. During this time I've connected with folk that have suddenly disappeared leaving me sad and wondering why they left and what happened to them, its now my time to leave for a while. But first i want to thank everyone for all the help, advice and banter over the last two years I've met some incredibly kind and amazing guys. My time has become limited and precious, so watchrepair and visiting the forum is taking a backseat for the moment, although i may pop in occasionally when i have time. This is due to a personal life change regarding my 87 yr old mum who had a stroke on Sunday. My learning here is on hold while i do some teaching of my own, helping my mum to talk and communicate again . Thanks again for making my time here so enjoyable and i hope to join you all again soon. Take care and look after yourselves, make every minute of the day count, time is so precious x.

Well, the first attempt was a wash because I bought 22nF capacitors instead of 220nF. So after a second order, I soldered everything onto my SMD breadbaord. I de-soldered the electronics from a 218 movement that I had previous tested and hooked my little circuit up in its place, and hooked the whole thing up to 1.4v from my power supply. ...and realized I'd gotten the pinout of the transistor wrong. After I removed and re-soldered it in the correct orientation, I realized I had the connections to the coils backwards. Once I fixed that, THE FORK STARTED VIBRATING! I could not have been more excited!!! If you haven't guessed, my somewhat evil plan is to make a surface-mount PCB replacement for the resistor, capacitor, and transistor in the 218s. Why? Because why not? The transistor is in a SOT-523 package, the resistors and capacitor are 0402 (1005 metric) packages. I have to redo the circuit to get the transistor pinout correct, but here's what I have in mind:

I've had a quick bite to eat and would like to crack on with this if thats ok, i know its not watchstuff but its important, if even just one of you can avoid this happening to either yourself or a family member then it's 100 % worth my time and getting it out of my system really helps me as well and hopefully spurs some of you to make sure you and your family are ok. And please anyone that can add some input from knowledge or experience then just jump on. The stroke mum had is known as an Ischemic stroke of which there are more than one kind , mum's was an embolic stroke , these are caused by blood clots ( wandering clots or embolisms ) another type is a thrombotic clot that can block main arteries that may supply blood flow to the brain . From what i gather thrombotic clots are stationary, these are the type that cause pain and restrict blood flow in the particular area where they form ie. leg , chest. Mum's embolism travelled to her brain , so she had no experience of pain and no warning until it was too late. Many things play a part of clot formation, we can't change our genetics but we can edge our bets by leading a healthy lifestyle. My mum is 87 5' 1" and weighs around 55 kg, has always been extremely fit, goes out nearly every day into her village or the next town sometimes a town 40 miles away on the bus if she's buying presents. She eats healthy as far as mainstream guidance tells folk, fish chicken no red meat, fruit veg nuts etc, all the usual stuff thats considered healthy and no real crap like pastries sweets . Has never smoked and has never really drunk alcohol, but she is a stress head and worries about everybody and things she really does not need to. This is me to a tee, i worry about everyone and rarely myself. Being in hospital we've discovered she has an irregular heartbeat ( caused by the stroke ? the doctors seem to think not ) . Atrial Fibrillation, doctors have attributed the stroke cause to her irregular heartbeat, apparently clots can form in the upper chambers of the heart were irregularity occurs, brake up and become mobile to cause damage. Those are just one type of stroke, hemorrhagic stroke (less common than an ischemic stroke ) caused by a bleed in the brain generally thought of as more serious as not only is the brain being starved the bleed itself can exert pressure on the brain. Its important to know the difference which cannot be ascertained until a scan is carried out, and the treatment is different. Common thinking was to give someone experiencing a heartattack an aspirin to improve blood flow, this can actually worsen the effects of a bleed on the brain. There are lots of causes for a stroke, genetics for sure like i said, but getting the most from your genetics and nursing the weak areas by living healthily will not only extend our time but give us more quality time that we have left ( change just one thing if thats all you can manage for now ). Regular visits to see the quack will pick up warning signs early , just one visit for an mot might save not only your life but wont destroy the lives of your loved ones. Anyone here in their 50s not had an mot medical check up yet ? Er cough er maybe its time to make sure everything is working as it should, and not just your heart ( dont clench when the doc stretches on those latex gloves, and definitely dont have a smile on your face when you stand up straight again ) . A stroke can strike anyone of any age and of any lifestyle if there is something underlying going unnoticed, make that call and find out how you really are with your health. Love you people x Absolutely Richard, i cant help my mum if I'm not well myself. I have a habit of keeping going and draining my batteries too low ( maybe i need a wind up key in my back ). The Mrs cant figure out i get by with hardly any sleep or rest, calls me a robot with emotions. Thank you , very kind of you Del. Thank you rehajm Thanks OH, i know i can be a pain in the bum and have you watch over my antics but that means a lot. Thanks MSB , she'll keep kicking as long as I'm around , thank you. Thanks WW, i will make sure to do that, my time here is not done by a long chalk. Thanks Hector i take note of everything you say and completely agree, i cant do it all myself and my mum wouldn't want me to. Bit difficult to let go of the reigns though. Thanks Guy, i appreciate those comments . Thanks Nev, my mum makes it easy she is very resilient and very independent, she will get all the care she needs and wants thank you. Thanks so much , my mum and me aren't going anywhere, the forum will have to manage with a diluted version of me for a while. Thanks Steven really kind of you to say that, thank you for the times you have kept me straight, i dont forget that. Thanks Tom yep i know where you are at , very much appreciated. Thanks matey, at the rate my mum goes i won't be gone for very long. Thanks Steve i appreciate that. Thanks Ross i really appreciate that. If i helped you in any way then that makes me happy. I know we are not supposed to have favourites among family friends etc. But i think you are one of mine so just dont tell anyone Thanks Jon , there are others in my family, but i have always been the doggedly determined one that likes to get things done. Thanks Mike, thats really nice of you to say so.

Hello forum, i have some things i would like to say today if thats ok. Being here is something of a sanctuary for me, talking about something that i love doing with folk that i have become fond of ( yes quite surprisingly under all that craziness and verbal brawn lays a soft heart of gold ). I imagine that the same can be said by many of you , a certain number of us are here daily both learning and offering any advice that we are able to. Quoting our experiences both successful and failures for others to learn from. For me at the moment just making this post is a distraction from my current bubble but also from the world around me for various reasons. Its a place not just for teaching and learning but to make others laugh and smile and be part of a community. I would even go so far as to say we are a team, supporting and encouraging each other when needed and when we are down, my own situation with my mum being a perfect example of everyone's kindness. Thats the soppy bit out of the way . So my mum has been moved to a brand new facility after making amazing progress with her speech and word recognition in hospital ( poor mum has had to suffer my company and my teaching to the full extent of her visiting hours barring one day off for me that my sister insisted upon ) her consultant calls my mum his medical miracle , and will be starting her intensive speech rehab today after her initial assessment. Things I've learned about having a stroke, and I'd really like everyone to take note of the causes and outcomes of having one. Please do your own research I am a joiner and not a doctor , i just want to make everyone aware and just get checked out if you notice anything in yourself that you are unsure about, any risk of having one can be reduced with either medical intervention or/and a change of lifestyle ( which would be my own preference in an attempt to limit my risk, something i have now noticed in myself ). I do know a few of you here have experience but this is what i have become aware of and how it has affected my mum and me. First i want to touch on the effects of a stroke, not only to the sufferer but to the whole family, we all know how dementia affects lives. A stroke effecting language is almost instant non aggressive dementia. Like being in a foreign country where you can no longer read, write or speak to someone without some form of very basic sign language gesturing ( when annoyed i think everyone understands the middle finger ). But a stroke can affect movement ( fortunately my mum is virtually unaffected with her mobility, the nurses can't believe she is 87 and just had a stroke, she's like bloody Supergran, in fact she is a great great grandmother to 2 toddlers ) . Improvement after a stroke carries on for years afterwards, but from what i understand and now believe after being with my mum almost every day since it happened for 7 hours a day, language rehab should be started as soon as possible when the patient is out of danger and physically able. The brain is ready and set to go and rewire itself soon after injury, in a similar ready state to young children ( when we say kids brains absorb information like a sponge, thats pretty much true in early stroke patients) After the first few weeks maybe a couple of months things start to slow down and lesser progression carries on for the years following . After a day she could manage only one word, which was my cue to get on her back and start pushing her progress. Day two i wanted to see how capable she was so i had her writing on a whiteboard ( it wasn't great tbh ) . Day 3 and until she left the hospital most time with her was spent on picture/word recognition on my laptop, picture books, some writing and teaching her to play cards again ( i refrained from gambling for real money, though i was tempted, as I'm pretty good at poker , she has a few bob and i have space for another watchmakers lathe in my watchroom ) Now i suppose i have to back off as the rehab place is fairly intense focused and visiting times are crap as they interfere with all the physio and rehab going on . So i only have 2 hours max a day with her sometimes only 1 if her grandkids want to visit, but she is in good hands and i know she will get as much help as she needs , and as difficult as it is to admit i probably need a bit of a break and distract myself. I'll end this post for now but i want to come back and talk about what caused this and hopefully remind some of you to think about how we live , what to do in the event of a stroke and how we can lower our risk. I'm not a pussy by any means and very little frightens me, but seeing this first hand has put the fear of god into me if i ever had to suffer the outcome of a stroke. My mum is a tough old cookie and i imagine i will be just as tough, but watching the frustration on her face when trying to communicate completely tore my heart into pieces. Please dont let this happen to you, do everything you can to avoid it, I'll come back soon to talk more about as long as everyone is ok with it, take care for now x

Hi @Neverenoughwatches, I will keep you and your Mum in my prayers. A caregiver's job is a tough one. I have known nice little old ladies to undergo drastic changes in their demeanor after suffering a stroke. Patience and understanding is essential in all circumstances. Never lose your cool or be condescending. Try and enroll in a caregivers training course. It really helps. You cannot take on the role of a caregiver 24/7. You need to get a relief caregiver. You need to take care of yourself before you can take care of others. Do not be afraid to ask for help. Hope to hear from you soon.

I'm pretty sure the impulse pin is held in place by friction on this caliber, not shellac, so luckily that shouldn't be a problem. Of course, it doesn't hurt to take a look. BTW, I've been using Horosolv degreaser for my balance springs for several years now and I'm super happy with it. Yes, likely costs a fortune compared to KleanStrip but as an enthusiast, I use very small volumes.

Thank you all so much, i can't begin to express my emotion for your kind words. Finding just a lttle time to do other things besides thinking about my mum is difficult. Today has given me a slight break for some distraction and i will get around to thanking you all individually. Today my mum is leaving the hosiptal to stay in a rehab facility after making good progress with her communication, from being unable to speak at all to nearly stringing a sentence together in less than a week. Not everthing makes sense to us and she struggles to find certain words often substituting one with another that can be relevant but not always. Its a blessing she is still Physically good, the part of her brain affected is communication, so that is words through all aspects, speech, reading and writing. She knows in her head what she wants to say but doesn't fully know how to retrieve or form them in the correct order but she's a fighter and tough as old boots even at 87. Thank you so much again for the support, you are all so very kind. I will be back again to cause trouble so watch out . Bye for now x

I've got about 20 ml of Fixodrop epilame in a smoked glass pipette bottle and squirt a few ml into a small aluminium storage pot (32 mm wide X 18 mm tall) which is tilted on a staking block, so the epilame is just in a corner of the pot. I put my escape wheel in the pot so it is just covered and dip my pallet fork jewels into the liquid one at a time, which takes one minute in total. I draw the Fixodrop back up with the pipette and back into the bottle. I haven't noticed any real loss of liquid due to evaporation over the course of five years I have had this. Obviously there has been some evaporation, but it isn't to the degree that some make out. It has about the same evaporation rate as something like IPA, so I may have lost a millilitre or two. 10 ml in a bottle with a mesh in the neck will last you hundreds of watch parts over several years. The mesh is big enough for whatever you are going to epilame, including keyless work if you so choose. Personally I don't use a mesh arrangement because I don't dip the whole pallet fork into the epilame, because I don't want it getting in the notch and creating a dust when the impulse jewels hits. In my experience, it is definitely worth buying and using, especially with the escape wheel and pallet fork jewels. Lubricating the pallet fork becomes child's play once treated with Fixodrop.

Okay, What you may be experiencing is recoil, when the spring fully unwinds inertia from the train wheels causes the mainspring to it to overrun and then in runs backwards momentarily. I'm led to belive this is a good indication of a well cleaned and serviced movement. Others may have a better explanation. Regards CJ

Hi guys, I wrote a set of five lessons regarding the Landeron 248 chronograph, which I'm presently taking my second year students through. The lesson I'm posting here is the second of the five. It looks at disassembly of the chronograph mechanism focussing on the chronograph tension spring setting and understanding its importance. The first lesson explained how to set all the seven eccentric studs correctly, so the chronograph operates to its optimum. If someone can service a vintage chronograph such as this and set the eccentric studs properly, especially the minute register mechanism, then an ETA/Valjoux 7750 is child's play. I have posted this lesson as a PDF, but unfortunately the videos in the lessons don't play, as it was written in PowerPoint Here's a link to my cloud where you'll find the PowerPoint lesson. You'll need quite a new version of Microsoft Office to get the videos to play, otherwise they won't. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12gb3BRu0smAGK634YC1ZtZZ5XH-OtzlU/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107902587627140904870&rtpof=true&sd=true Enjoy Lesson 23. Landeron 248 Chronograph.pdf

Well, there aren't enough frames to count, but it oscillates for a good 30 seconds or so with a puff of air. I have to say, for my first balance staff replacement, I'm pretty pleased with these results. I know, show me other positions. Maybe after dinner \ Edit: well I was right about needing to see other positions. The hairspring is definitely hitting something in positions other than dial down--you can hear it when you put it to your ear. The overcoil probably needs more tweaking. Which I'm not going to do right now. Maybe some time in the future when I'm ready for more hairspring practice I did close up the minute hand, since it was freewheeling, and get it cased back up.

I was looking at your pictures and maybe this is an optical illusion but it appears to be you have hairspring issues Then one of the sources I like for watch parts is this http://cgi.julesborel.com/cgi-bin/matcgi2?ref=LON_19AS What would be nice to see the other side of the balance bridge because of give us an idea of what's holding in your balance jewel assembly as it will have to come apart to get the spring in. Plus we can have a look at your balance wheel and see how bad the hairspring really is then I found a listing of the balance parts Of the shock system Then they get a better idea of things I have an image of what the upper jewel assembly looks like Then looking online I found another source for parts https://www.ofrei.com/page1776.html

Best of luck and we hope to see you back here soon.

JohnR725, thanks so much for the amazing amount of information. That must have taken a bit of time and effort and I appreciate it. In addition to some great documentation which I have saved, I have some key takeaways from your comments which I’ll summarize here for the benefit of other new people: 1. Improper stem removal procedure may have knocked some parts (sliding pinion) out of place but most likely nothing is broken. I may have to disassemble the watch and keyless works to fix things. 2. In the absence of clear direction, default to the set position (#3) for removing the stem (I understand that is your preferred approach only and not a general documented recommendation) 3. When asking a question about a watch always include the movement number and a picture. People who are not familiar with the movement number may be familiar with the movement by sight. Also, identical movements can have different movement numbers. 4. Newbies need to learn how to distinguish the movement number and manufacturer from the watch manufacturer and model. It’s the movement that matters. 5. Available on line documentation is frequently saved in incomplete PDF files, with only portions of the parts lists and service information saved in the file. This requires multiple searches to obtain the complete information. 6. VERY IMPORTANT- don’t stick pointy things in screwdriver shaped holes. I have a feeling this is going to come back to bite me. I may have dislodged some keyless works parts. The setting lever to be precise. Oh well, more experience disassembling. Thanks for taking the time to help me along the path.

yes there is always a chance. or have enough friends and send the image and get the answer back I have below. then if you are in the Seattle area the person who gave me that occasionally gives lectures on these watches yes I remember the watch with the rubber clutch just didn't remember what it look like. This is a Pierce 130. Good luck with it. It has an internal rubber clutch that must be replaced when it is serviced. then now that we know what it is we can search for it. a little information is found at the link below https://mb.nawcc.org/threads/pierce-130-and-134.178909/

@Neverenoughwatches Rich I am so saddened to hear this bad news. Mum comes first and I hope to see you back here sometime. I am around if you ever need someone to talk to, I’ll DM my number mate. Tom

Hi @Neverenoughwatches sorry to hear about your Mum, only 7 older than me. Enjoyed the chats and look forward to your return when things get better. I might give you a blast now an then so keep the channel open.

How very sorry Neverenoughwatches to hear about your mum. I have always enjoyed your posts and knowledge and I will miss you. Please keep in touch and let us know how your Mum is recovering. Take very good care and I wish you both good luck.

Some updated pics after US cleaning and using dental pick to pull out the dirt, hair and DNA from the bracelet.

Can you post a few photos of the clock including the movement and the cracked piece and the case. You must make sure the clock is level. On this forum we like new members to post an introduction, say country where you live and a little about yourself.

I don't think it really matters for quartz movements as they have simpler keyless works which do not get accidentally displaced by inserting the stem. The movements to be careful of are ETA 2824 and ETA 2836 and their families. If these are not put into the setting position, pushing the winding stem back in could cause the sliding pinion to tumble off its precarious perch and foul up the keyless works. Guess how I found out.

Hello everyone, Caught a vintage watch collectors bug and decided on expanding my skills with basic watch servicing. Bough some cheap basic tools and non working Jaquet-Droz from 60's with AS 1767 movement and now off to find out what oils to get and where they go ( I think this is most confusing part for me so far ).

As the hammer is fixed in place by two shouldered screws, try to switch the places of the screws, as they can be a little different.

I was searching around for a Lord Matic or King Seiko, so of course I bought a Bulova Sea King. 1972, allegedly running. Not into the bracelet, but definitely feeling the case and dial.

I have already mentioned to Mozart that I can't find PDF of the book, and that he should buy it.

Hi. At least you found a contributory factor, it needs very little to stop a watch so a good clean should suffice, get some good oil the likes of 9010, it available on the net in small phials so no need to spend a fortune.

The wire should be usualy 0.3-0.4 mm hard brass and the gap should be about 2x-3x thickness of the spring

I couldn't resist Ross, and have started hacking some brass I have left over from the balance holder. Construction is under way ! What lapping paper do you use ? Alex uses 6, 3, 1, and 0.5 micron. Cousins don't have 6 micron, but they have 5 (4500 grit). I have 3000 grit wet and dry, so I'm wondering if I could go from that to 3 micron, 1 micron, and 0.5 micron (is this final one really necessary ?) I need to find some glass The hardest thing was finding the parts I knew I wanted, but had no idea what they are called. I found them eventually

Send the bloody things back. These are not expensive but they will get you started. https://www.hswalsh.com/jewellery-tools-equipment/jewellers-bench-tools/jewellers-watchmakers-pliers/economy

Well that moved along quickly. So its a Pierce cal.130, with a broken spring at least. Between my original post and now I was wondering how the movement accommodated driving the hands round and allowing the reset. I had come to the conclusion that friction must be involved and was going to look closer at all the leaf springs dotted around the main plate, seems there might also be a rubber or fibre component involved. I've attached photos of the dial side - plenty of wear there. Thanks for the links, time to start learning more. That's why we do this, isn't it?

I've just got a very strange Q&Q watch. The movement (Q&Q 2604) has several parts in ... plastic! I know this is the case in other watches, such as Seiko 5, but that caliber has an escapement wheel, a lever and a balance finger made of red plastic. That's incredible! The funny thing is that is works quite well. I disassembled partly the movement because it didn't work, and then reassembled it (6 pivots under the same bridge ...) and it's ok. I guess this watch won't work well for a long time, but this is an automatic watch which indicates the hour, minutes, seconds, date and day, and it was very cheap when produced. As I understand, Q&Q belongs to Citizen. Has anyone had the opportunity to see such a "plastic caliber"? Here are the details of that movement : https://17jewels.info/movements/q/q-q/q-q-2604/

You have to check if the post on which the hammer sits and is pivoted has not untightened. It is on thread and often gets loose and thus lets the hammer have significant free play. The bearing on the hammer also can get loose and has to be checked for tightening, but I don't remember if in this movement it is on thread or not. If there is no problem there, You must take care that the hammer falls on the heart not too high above the wheel surface and in the same time the wheel not to be able to go down as much as to be enough free place between the heart and the cock for the hammer to get in between. What I mean is if the cock is lifted up (like it seems looking at the picture) in order to place the wheel higher, it will not help as the wheel will go down easy. The axial free play of the wheel should not alow the hammer to get above the heart. So if the hammer hits the heart not in place, it must be solved by changing the hammer position rather than the wheel position. It can be achieved by bending the hammer or the post on which it sits, but both lead to risk of break. If such correction needed, I would rather anneal the hammer localy close to the bearing and polish it to clean the blued surface after. PS Now I see that what i have written about the post is not correct for this calibre, as the hammer has different bearing type here. But no mater, the hammer should not have significant free play

Saddened and pray for your Mum's fast natural recovery. Best wishes

That's very sad news and the forum will be poorer without you. We will keep your seat warm and look forward to welcoming you back when time allows. As others have said, look after yourself and get help sooner rather than later.

Take care of both of you mate. May good fortune be with you wherever you go and whatever you do.

This thread just saved me $. I was just about to buy one of those oilers. Thank you guys. I’ve been using a very fine beading needle honed to a fine point and it works pretty well. I guess I’ll just stick with that.

So sorry to hear it. Take care of Youself and You fammily, this the most important. Good luck and hope to hear from You soon with good news. I have this expirrience and I can say that recovering from stroke depends not only by the severity of the stroke and age, but very much on the care that is thaken for the person.

That's really sad news. Wishing you strength and peace as you navigate through this difficult time.

I do similarly to Jon; I buy the 100ml bottles, put about 10ml in a 30ml brown lab bottle with wide neck to use. I tilt it and dip the escape wheel in, and for the fork I use #5 tweezers, closed, to such up a little, then apply to the stones. It does evaporate a bit, but I toss it as soon as I suspect it may have dust or whatever in it-- long before it gets very depleted. The 10ml lasts ages. I think they reformulated it at some point; 20 years ago it evaporated much, much faster.

So sorry to hear about your mum, but glad she has you ready to step up and help her recover. All the best, and we'll see you when you're back.

Best of luck to your family…

probably wishful thinking for that one in that did you look at the inscription on the back? The 1935 is a bit of a problem I think any of the books that I have that use the fingerprint system the earliest one I have I think is 1950 and I don't know how far back the system goes with typically on vintage stuff we have issues. On the other hand taking the dial off might reveal a name often times there on the dial side on the vintage watches unfortunately I suspect wishful thinking on this one it looks like at least one spring is broken. I've circled the component it looks like it probably went farther and now it does not.

All the best for you and your mum.

Got my calipers and made the balance as flat as I could. So it was time to assemble, and when I pressed the hairspring on, I noticed it was super wonky. There was a pretty hard bend and a bit of a twist near the stud. At first I thought maybe it was supposed to be there, but after looking at the path of the regulating pins, it seems much more likely that it was bent to begin with, or I bent it taking it apart a few years ago when I was less experienced and even more prone to ruining parts than I am now. Which is saying a lot. So out came my #1 and #6 tweezers, my favorite hairspring bending tools. It also needed a little twist and adjustment near the overcoil to get the collet centered, but I'm pretty happy with the results. I know the terminal curve could be more perfect, but I had to call it at some point. Final assembly soon! Before: During: After:

one of things helpful to do with screws is to arrange them in groups of identical screws. Usually once you have them all together ill become apparent what at least most of them are for. A lot of the components like the pallet fork bridge will either have one or two screws and those screws will be different etc. so you usually have the bigger category the plates screws and it makes it a lot easier if things are in categories.

According to this video choose 0.1mm larger crystal than the gasket ID, I think this is how I've done it a couple of times.

technically they're all a balance staff that comes in a variety of sizes. Other than the size I don't think there's normally a difference in these staffs. So might be better defined the staff by watch size rather than a terminology of this watch is tiny for instance. but then there is the other minor issue of terminology. terminology in watch repair is interesting in that depending upon location there will be a different term for some of components. Then time also changes things as terminology even in locations has changed over time. So for instance a balance staff for an American pocket watch should be defined as a 18 size staff number something for an Elgin pocket watch for instance. With 18 size being a important factor versus the Swiss size definition of ligne. or there is the other thing like watchmakers are enthusiastic to embrace other people's tools that's why we have ligne as a measurement as I think it came from somewhere else. Or mainsprings they can come in a variety of measurements including millimeter, inches and Dennison all on the same package sometimes. Watchmakers definitely like their terminology of being confusing. Out of curiosity I looked up one of the other tools and sure enough at the bottom is bracelet. but they really do think some size definition with a number would be much better as I have actually be honest no idea what size that is other than I think of it as small but seeing as how everything and watch repair is small that doesn't really make for a good definition.

I just picked this up a couple of hours ago for $2US. Put in a new battery, pegged it just a bit and took these pics. I think 30-40 minutes in an ultrasonic bath and a little polywatch on the crystal and we have a beautiful nostalgic trip down memory lane for 1979. Maybe listen to Pink Floyd's The Wall and it doesn't get much better than that for a Sunday afternoon. Electric! This bracelet is just so comfortable on the wrist as well.

If the jewel cannot be disassembled, you have to rely on the cleaning machine, hopefully cleaning it out. If the jewel can be taken apart, then you need to do so, and make sure it's absolutely clean.

From a practical perspective, how many times will a staff need to be replaced on any balance in a watches' lifetime? If the answer is greater than 2, and replacement balances are not available AND the movement is worth repairing, then I could see the argument for cutting away the rivet rather than punching it out.