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Its 4 o'clock in the morning here in the Uk, i cant sleep, i dont sleep, not much ever really. My brain never shuts off to rest, I'm just a constant thinker, i have to be very tired to be able to sleep, i guess eventually it will be my undoing and my health will suffer because of it I'm sure. But while I'm here i want to get as much out of life as i can, and give as much as i can, to help,maybe to make a difference to someone's life if that is within my capability,recent events have made that need even more clear to me. I'm not sure where I'm going with this or why i bring it up , or if its relevant to want i want to talk about its just in my head right now. What i do want to talk about is something thats been on my mind for ages. I like to be prepared, I'm not fond of surprises because surprises take control away and i am a bit of a control freak at times. This forum, Our Forum if i can call it that, is here because of two reasons. The guy that created it and keeps it funded and the people that joined it. Without either, it would not exist, and lets face it one day it won't ( I'm a realist and i talk about things others dont or who are afraid to in other words folk that dont particularly prepare for the inevitable). How many of us visit here regularly ? How many among us almost depend on the forum as a way of socialising because they are stuck at home and how many of us has it become part of a daily routine to check in and see if they can offer advice or get help with something they are working on or just to have a chat and engage in some banter. The members here are in the thousands and thousands have disappeared over the years many had just a fleeting visit. But there are a good few of us that know each other quite well and visit regularly. I dont know about you but i wouldnt want to lose that communication with you all, in all honesty it has become an important part of that side of my life and helps to feed my passion for all things watches. Some of you may think differently and thats ok, some of may stop and think # what would i do " Without Our Forum " #

This forum is a big part of my life. When I retired from horology many years ago due to poor health I missed what I had trained for. On here I can still do my bit in helping and advising others and have a little fun as well.

Like losing Ranfft. That was a wake up call. We took his website for granted. Miss him terribly.

High frequency day: 36000 bph.

Casio MDV106G-1AV Gold DURO200 I'm going on a long family vacation to Southeast Asia this summer and wanted a cheap but reliable beater in case I lose it, break it, or get robbed. Quartz movements aren't my thing, but I'm not dogmatic and this was a cheap option. A few years ago you could buy it for under $50, but since this particular model with the Marlin fish has been discontinued, you have to pay about double that, but I still thought it was acceptable. Sure, I could wear one of my cheap and very reliable Vostok Amphibian divers watches, but I have a personal relationship with them (having put a lot of work into them) and don't want to risk losing them. Strangely, I feel very excited. Maybe because I haven't bought a brand-new watch in over 10 years! The only downside is that this is the watch Bill Gates has been seen wearing, and I'm not exactly a fanboy of Bill Gates. Anyway, who cares!?

Never and others. Yes, like you I do spend a fair amount of time reading the contents of this forum. I find it better that any other. Clear, lucid, no Prima Donas, and most of all an easy access without adverts. All thanks to Mark. God bless you mate. You give so much to many of us. What if? No Mark? Hypothetically. A forum. I did run a forum for a few years. Really enjoyed it, but became so engrossed that it did affect my health. I gave to to others to run. Not been back. It was very successful and rivalled a number of large paying sites. No adverts, no others but me. I did ask and listen to members comments and it worked well. Costs Having a domain name, £10 annually. Register the site with a forum company, free. Build the site using the forum company guide lines, free. It looked and ran almost the same a Mark's. All the same facilities. The cost was only £5 per month, but counted visits (views). If I recall, it was that price for 5,000 views. Each extra 5,000 views increased the price by £2 per month. Success was my own personal undoing. From £5 per month initially, it rose to £60 a month and looked like increasing. This was 10 years ago. I could not afford that, and asked it anyone would like to take over and someone did. I would assume that this is the price that Mark is funding for us all. His return is our continued comments on the internet about his course, and the fact that many of the big names on YouTube mention him as their Tutor. Those of us who have done, and are still using, his course, benefit. In comparison to other courses, I can't believe how cheap it is, and the value is exceptional. It is the structure that gives the value. Long may Mark reign. Ross

Hi guys, the question is what is a forum, a place for discussion and passing on information, idle chat and a bit of fun and I for one are the richer for it. When in Hospital last year with the Covid being force fed oxygen and feeling total sh1t and close to the pearly gates a daily look on the forum to see what was going down helped to keep me focused on the job in hand took my mind off the problem for a short while but it was a lifeline for sure. We chat to friends for that is what they become around the world read their posts help where we can post information where we can. I like @Neverenoughwatches some times think of members past and wonder if they are still at the watches or given up, some drop in for advise and drop out again never to be heard of again. The forum reminds me of Yorkshire hospitality, The door is always open and the kettle on the stove. Long may it continue. My two bobs worth.

I finished my polisher yesterday, and just tried it out. I'm surprised how easy it is to get a good result - just a couple of minutes. I thought it was going to be more difficult - a nice surprise as most things in watchmaking are harder than you expect. I bought self adhesive 3M lapping film https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/film-lapping-3m-261x266x , 9, 3 and 1 micron, and stuck it to sheets of glass. The 9 micron is course enough to remove large scratches. I'm glad I used the M6 thumb screws as the large heads allow for small adjustments.

Yes, I think I have one of these wormholes under my desk that spits my parts out into DS9: If you look carefully you can see my yolk spring exiting the wormhole!

Hi guys, I wrote a set of five lessons for my second year students regarding the Landeron 248 chronograph watch, which incidentally we are meeting tonight. They are going to be polishing pivots and pinion leaves of their 248s, before putting the movements through the cleaning machines. This is number one of five. I posted number two of five the other day HERE There are seven eccentric studs on this movement, so understanding what the studs do, how to set them, their actions and interactions with other parts of the chronograph mechanism is vitally important. I found there is very little out there on the internet to help understand the principles of these eccentric studs, especially video content to show various faults and alleviations, so I put together quite detailed walkthroughs of various complicated movements usually consisting of 15 to 18 hours of learning/servicing in the workshop per movement/module With any watchmaking, especially with complicated work, only make one adjustment and measure the results, if any. Be methodical in your approach. The lesson was originally in PowerPoint and I had to convert it to PDF to post here, so a lot of the video content won't play, but the PowerPoint version is in my cloud storage here. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/10KJJ58P0v2BglKZSilIv9o69xBsbrQPI/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107902587627140904870&rtpof=true&sd=true You'll need quite a newer version of Microsoft Office (PowerPoint) so the video content will play, otherwise it won't. I hope you find this lesson useful and begin to get a better understanding of how to set eccentric studs. Sometimes you'll come across a stud that is too loose, or even too tight. Usually if one is problematic it will be because it is loose. This can't be left, as the stud will turn whilst the chronograph is stopped, started and reset, throwing the chrono mechanism setting off which could lead to the movement grinding to a halt. Don't fool yourself in thinking it will hold. Either a replacement stud is fabricated to suit the enlarged hole, or the hole can be closed up. In turning and setting the eccentric studs prior to disassembly of the movement, we are able to set the chronograph mechanism, especially the minute register mechanism correctly and test for any faults, such as a bent wheel over fourth arbor, or incorrect depth of the dart tooth with the sliding gear, or a mis-set minute runner jumper spring, to name a few possible faults and mis-settings. Also in turning these eccentric studs we can gain a 'feel' for how tight they are in the mainplate or bridge. The more they are turned the more the chance of the stud becoming looser increases. So once set correctly prior to cleaning, the less chance they will need setting once the chrono mechanism is assembled, only if a stud isn't tight enough in its setting in the first place. This is for setting Landeron 248 eccentric studs, but once an understanding of their uses and actions is gained through theoretical aspects together with practical application, then this skill and knowledge can be used in most vintage chronographs to set their eccentric studs and even in modern timepieces where you'll find very few eccentric studs, such as an Omega Speedmaster or Tag Heuer Calibre 01 chronographs Enjoy! Lesson 22. Landeron 248 Chronograph.pdf

Recently picked this guy up, and took it apart for cleaning tonight. Looks super clean inside as far as wear and tear goes, but there are puddles of oil everywhere! Hopefully a good cleaning will bring the amplitude back up. I did learn that the automatic bridge is spring loaded, which you can see below in the yard sale of wheels and gears all over the place. Sorry in advance for all the pictures and if some aren't in perfect focus. I take a lot of progress pictures through my microscope, and I figure if someone is here looking for help, they might be useful to them. And this is where I stopped, since I got into the wine.

Just a heads up that the CousinsUK branded replacement forks and pins fit the Bergeon tool and look/feel exactly the same. I damaged my Bergeon one and found that the replacement Bergeon parts were almost the same price as a complete new tool, so I decided to try the cousins own brand version. Out of curiosity I tried the fork and pin in my Bergeon tool and found they were exactly the same, and to buy the CousinsUK replacement parts individually is far cheaper than the buying a whole new tool. Hopefully is will save someone some pennies!

Funny that you should bring this up. I was thinking about it just the other day. What happens if something happens to @Mark? The social bit is fantastic and I would miss it dearly, but I worry even more about the content. Together we have created a gold mine of information which would be more or less irreplaceable if the site should disappear. People (often with a lot of knowledge) come and go. I sometimes wonder what happened to them and miss them. We have no idea unless we have some private contact information. When I was new here I saw a lot of posts by @Lawson. He had a true fire in his heart for horology and was asking for an apprenticeship in his signature. I found that very inspiring and often wondered what happened. Is the fire still burning? Did he get an apprenticeship?

I would go for the dearer spring. You won't need to remove the spring from the carrier ring and then use a mainspring winder to get it into the barrel, for a start. Also that spring is closer to the needed dimensions, especially the length. The length plays a part in the mainsprings strength. If you double the length you will half the force (strength) of the spring and vice-versa. A spring with 20 mm less length would be about 7% shorter, so technically would be 7% more strength, but I find halving this number is closer to real-world findings, so the spring would be about 3 to 4% more strength/force. On a mainspring that ideally kicks out 300 degrees of amplitude, a 3% increase in amplitude would be 309 degrees. Increasing or decreasing the length of the mainspring will affect the power reserve to a greater or lesser degree. It depends how much shorter or longer it is. I've attached a lesson regarding mainsprings, focussing on the size and strength of the spring within the barrel, you might find helpful. Unfortunately it is a PDF converted from a PowerPoint presentation, but only a slide was lost that was originally a video of fitting a mainspring Lesson 5 The mainspring.pdf

You can use bombé jewels with regular pivots if you put the convex surface facing the shoulder. You see it on (primarily older) high end pieces, particularly nearer to and including the escapement.

They are for balance wheels only and wheels with similar pivots (B = bombé). You can use flat jewels for balance wheels (not recommended) but no bombé jewels for ordinary wheels.

I finally got around to replacing the clasp on my 1972 Seiko 6139B chronograph. One of the ears on the old one had completely worn away so it would randomly pop off my wrist, which is less than convenient. It did need a little percussive persuasion to get together, but I'm pleased to have it back on my wrist. I really love this watch.

All the best, family always comes first, and I believe you have made the right call that you mother deserves your full attention. However, when you need a little outside distraction the guys here will always be available for some banter or a heated discussion on lubrication .

So for the group your watch is a failure. As the amplitude is unacceptably too low. But as far as Omega is concerned they would be very happy.

Funny enough, I'm working on an Omega pocket watch which has an amplitude of over 300 and I'm planning to use 9415 to bring it down. So far, my experience with this "wonder-grease" 9415 has been rather poor, especially on older movements. When changed the oil on the pallet jewels / escape-wheel to Dr.Tillwich 1-3, which would be about the equivalent of Moebius 9010, the amplitude gain is remarkable. Try that ..... And as JohnR725 asked, what is the amplitude after 24hrs? My 50-years old Omega 861 runs 250-255 at best when fully wound, around 215-220 after 24hrs. It gains every day 1 second, day after day, week in, week out. Perhaps not an amplitude "high-flyer", but It's the best time-keeper I ever had!

I have a cheap version of this been using it for nearly 3 years now. Works fine, i sometimes reshape the fork and when i past reworking i fit another fork insert. I try to save the pennies with cheap general tools that add up to the pounds for the real goodies. Everything takes time Michael, you take it steady. Bet you cant wait to start setting up, I have a new room planned its been on the gonna list for ages. One day . Watch the recip saw and fibreglass spells , a grinder does the job but you will get covered in fine fibreglass dust if thats what the tub is made of.

You could use a clock key if you cant find the correct chuck key

See, what has happen is a normal consequece of the reducing the hammer size and changing it's shape by the removing metal from it. But here the hammer is adjustable and just adjustment is needed to correct, and this is what You have done. There is a rule for the adjustment and it is that the hammer must lay firmly on the seconds counter heart and there should be a litle free play in the same time of the minutes counter heart/hammer which alows counter movement of about 0.5 min on the small dial hand (+/- 0.25). Of course, there is no way to make one hammer to delay from the other, as they are one single part. What has changed too is the slope of the hammer head and thus the orientation of the heart has changed, and thus the switching finger position. This led to need of the finger position correction. The rule here is that switching of the minute counter has to start when the seconds counter hand is on '59'. Of course, the seconds hand must be positioned as so the resetting is at '0' exactly. If switching is earlier than 59, there will be no problem, but it will be wrong as reading can be not correct. If the switching starts later, the problems that You described can happen.

Been there. Worn that Tshirt. 'ping'. Hands and knees. Nothing. Nada. 20 minutes? Ha! I found it 7 month later. How? Well, after advice from a member, I invested in a £4 UV light torch. Hands and knees looking for a 'ping' from a Sekonda, found them both within 30 seconds. UV makes the jewel shine. easy peasy. Could have taken longer. Just lucky on the location of the search. Hope this helps.

Get someone local to tig it ,very easy fix and should only take a few minutes so probably wouldn’t cost much ,or failing that get it very clean and silver solder it. Dell

My email address is in my profile, feel free all to drop me a quick hello.

Hi all Thought I'd show my small and trying to keep under control watch collection! Apart from the Enicar all were under £12! At least if I destroy them in the process then I won't be too worse off. A few pics to start off with First of all my first attempt. A Thuya pocket watch. It was only running face down and would stop when vertical. So now it still works face down and only slows down when vertical so at least an improvement! I only have a generic watch oil at the mo so that won't help but I'm hoping to get some more appropriate oils in a couple of months for my birthday. I did have to get a crystal for it since it didn't come with one. It didn't look as though it would friction fit (and I don't have a crystal press in any case) so I glued it to the case with PVA. So far so good. Next up above are a sekonda and citizen automatic. Both non runners. Both with broken balance wheels amongst other things. I'm hopeful the citizen will start when I get the new one I ordered but the sekonda is being kept for spares and trial of new techniques. And finally the Enicar and the timemaster. Both running when I got them. I wanted to get running watches so that at least I stood a fighting chance of still having a running watch after the service! It was all going well on the Enicar until I dropped the balance wheel during reassembly.... Unfortunately they are quite expensive to get so for now I'll won't do anything with it but I would like to fix it at one point. The timemaster is still running (yeah!) but I managed to break a dial foot during the deassembly. First repair attempt failed so now I am looking at soldering it back on... So there we go. My initial foray into this great hobby. Thanks for sticking with this tale so far. I'm hoping that once the balance wheel arrives for the citizen I will be able to say I bought a non runner and fixed it! So fingers crossed. Thanks for looking, Nick

Yup watchie you are entirely on my wavelength with this , you actually said what i was hinting at, what if something happens to mark ? Will someone be able to take over ? Its not that long ago that the forum was down and Mark had to step in and fix it. And you are right a wealth of information that does not exist as a whole anywhere on the planet will be lost. Can that be archived elsewhere? It would be an absolute shame if the plug was pulled without warning, i would like to think Mark wouldn't do that to us. And like i said in my first post i talk about things other folk might be affraid to. So lets not skirt around anything. It might be nice to have a place where we can all drop our emails just in case so we always have that contact. Can you make that happen Old Hippy ? i kind of think of you as the pops of the forum

I dont like to give up things that i enjoy Tom. So my next question is how are we going to prepare for that inevitability and what are we going to do about it. Its not just about funding it but I did pick up on something that Mark said once. It doesnt run on fresh air , what if it becomes a burden or an unnecessary cost or for any other reason that i wont get into. We all know life can change in an instant, my life has been so up and down for about 8 years and was only just beginning to level itself out.

What I especially like is that this forum is not full of ads. There are some but they're not interfering. No ads between posts like one certain big watch forum. Browsing is also very easy and light for a mobile device. I'm glad there's still room for old school forums like this. I'm a member in many facebook groups but there's really no long term discussion and if you see an interesting post you might never find it again if needed.

@Neverenoughwatches Rich, I can only agree with you wholeheartedly. I spend a lot of time here learning all sorts and trying to make any little contribution to help others I can. Nothing can last forever and I wish I could do more to contribute to the forum financially and any other support I could. Tom

First thing this morning, make coffee, second, check the forum. I would really miss the forum, not on any social media, not interested in telling the world what I had for breakfast!!! I do consider most of the regulars friends and would wonder what had happened if they stopped posting.

This little story was very comforting to read for a "bungler" like myself. That success isn't a given even for a pro. Thanks for sharing! Plus the added foresight not to buy a watch with an AS 1012 inside it.

I forgot that I said I would do that. Will take some tomorrow and post them up post haste.

I've seen some really nice early 20th century pieces where all the jewels, including center wheel, were convex. Definitely to reduce friction. It can be quite hard to tell if a jewel has olive holes, especially on small sizes, but that again reduces friction- as well as accommodates small misalignments better. Why they aren't used more often? I imagine it was found that at a certain point in the train the actual advantage became negligible, and the added cost on high production movements is why it's not seen on those, just higher-end pieces. I did an experiment on a little 5x7"' AS 1012 a few years back. These things run OK sometimes, but often are absolute dogs. And AS made gajillions of them. I had a NOS novelty watch in for a service, ran OK flat, massive drop in amplitude vertical. Made like 3 staffs for it trying different pivot sizes, no change. Tried high quality (not Seitz) convex/olive jewels, no change- the original were flat, but could have been olive hole. Same for the pallet fork, then escape wheel, no change. Probably had 20 hours in the watch, new staff and new hole jewels through the escape wheel, no difference in running. Just a dog of a movement. But if I were making a watch I would use them, just because.

Hi All, I thought I'd draw a diagram to help me understand the motion works for an eta 6497 so I thought I'd share it here in case anyone else finds it helpful. Any corrections, please let me know! Hope it helps. Stirky.

Thanks for the replies. I did the job today and found that the oversized stem fitted just perfectly into the worn mainplate without any adjustment. Original stem diameter was 1.24mm and the oversized was 1.40mm. I did have to make an adjustment to the setting lever though. The small pip that engages with the groove in the stem hub was slightly to wide. I made that a bit smaller with a fine file. Don't ask me why that was too big, it just was. All working very well now. No wobble and not pulling out. New crown fitted as good measure.

I thought Bill wore the Bill gates watch.

Here you are a video by our good friend J D Richard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMxoZjRaH50

I recognize myself all too well. It takes a lot of experience and discipline to recognize when it's time to cancel and come back at a later time. Very well said! We should have a forum dedicated to this topic as it is critical to achieve success when working on watches. It's a lot more important than most other things related to watch repair. And yes, just a short break can make a world of difference!

Tips for how you can minimise the risk of pinging parts. Make sure you have a decent set of well-dressed tweezers. When you're new I'd recommend a new Dumont No.2 or Dumont No.3 (Fine Tips). Those are well-dressed from the start and don't require maintenance for many, many years unless you abuse them. Finer tips than No.3 increase the risk of pinging parts. When gripping a part never use more force than is required to hold it without dropping it. When moving the part keep the tip of the tweezers as close to the work mat as possible, and always try to minimize the distance the part needs to travel. Practice this by placing some small parts on your work mat and then moving them around to designated places on your work mat. You can also scratch up the insides of the tip of the tweezers for improved friction between the part and the tweezers as shown by Kalle Slaap here. However, be extremely careful not to overdo it as it will risk creating a gap in the tweezers. Don't ask me how I know! Relax! This is more important than anything else and something we talk too little about. Relaxing is especially important when we're doing something which we perceive as difficult like replacing a tiny, stiff spring. In those situations, we tend to become very tense and that's when disaster strikes. Relaxing physically and mentally is something we need to practice but once we get it we can say goodbye to shaky hands. You have to honestly ask yourself "Am I relaxed?" If the answer is no, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and relax. Then repeat the question until you can relax no more. Be especially watchful of your shoulders. Try to relax them as much as possible. If we don't relax watch repair can become exhausting and in the worst case can kill the interest. On the other hand, if we learn to truly relax it becomes meditative and extremely enjoyable. BTW, did I mention the importance of being relaxed when working on watches?

I took the leap into this wonderful hobby about 4 months ago! I've had some success in restoring cheap movements I've purchased at antique stores and flea markets, etc. My best result was a 1970 Spiro Agnew watch I picked up for 5 bucks. No strap or bracelet. It only ran sporadically and had a cracked crystal. It was a Ronda 1213 IIRC. I even had to retap the threads for the screw for the balance cock and surprisingly it worked! I still make a lot of mistakes and have had to abandon plenty of movements due to fatal mistakes. My technique is slowly getting better but still would be called "extreme novice." Hope to get to know you guys! mthomas

Quartz watches like mechanical watches need to be serviced from time to time. If they been exposed to foreign substances like leaking batteries getting into their gear train then they definitely have to be serviced. But servicing a cheap quartz watch does not make economical sense it's cheaper just to replace the entire movement.

Hi. When pulling the stem out to setting position look in the hole/s for a small tab moving into view this will br the release tab. Push gently. Attached is the user manual . You will need to skip through the Japanese version. Seiko 8B53 usermanual.pdf

Hi you could clean the contacts with a fibre glass pen brush and try again, or remove the battery and spin it up on a line release too just to free the train and hands then refit the battery with the clean contacts. Or a Richard suggested just change the movement, looks like a miyota 2030 or 2035. Cheap to replace fron cousins or HSWalsh.

Thanks waggy, group WhatsApp chat # # Nanna # was launched yesterday evening, 22 members already. Ps. By the way those oils that you're using I'm not so sure you have it quite right yet

Speaking of Presidents, I happened to be wearing one when this guy arrived in the mail. It looks even better in person. Unfortunately the quickset doesn't work, and it clearly has the wrong crystal glued in, but for the price I paid I'm happy to fix that.

What I consider ebay "Paydirt" - taking the back off a watch and finding years worth of accumulation of crud around the edges, so it is as previously worn rather than someone else's failure or Frankenstein attempt they are getting shut of. And even better when you also find an immaculate movement with no sign of rust or chewed up screws! Another couple I think are fantastic old ones, from an ebay job lot (under £2 each). They both look like they have been worn to death, with little plating left. The "Claridge" one (upper) has the date 1922 (or 23) scratched in the back, and the Ingersoll has 2/48/FW in the back. (Is that when it was sold, or serviced)? The movement in the Claridge looks like it was a reasonably high end one at the time, from the finish? It's also got quite a fancy dial. That one tries to run, but is very sticky. The Ingersoll is only a pin escapement type, but it's still going strong with good amplitude!

For £30 + fees, ~ £37. (only the longines, system merged all my pictures into one post)