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Vostok 2409 Service Walkthrough Disassembly Pictures (Please sort by name in ascending order) Vostok 2409 Service Walkthrough Assembly Pictures (Please sort by name in ascending order) Being able to service the ETA calibre 2824-2 was a long-term goal and a dream when I started servicing and repairing watches some years ago. However, my first “calibre love” was the Vostok 2409; a reliable Soviet/Russian 17 jewels manual workhorse without any complications which has been around since 1970. It is still in production and found in Vostok’s Komandirskie series of watches, by some called the AK-47s of the watch world, together with its bigger brother the Vostok Amphibian dive watch. Modern-day Vostok Amphibians use the automatic Vostok 2415 (w/o date complication) and 2416 (with date complication) calibres, but the Amphibian that I’m servicing in this walkthrough, an Albatross Radio Room, popular among collectors, is from the 1980s and in those days the manual 2409, as well as its predecessor 2209, was commonly used in the Amphibians as well as the Komandirskies. While I was servicing this watch, I noticed that the crystal didn’t fit perfectly in the watch case. Being a serious dive watch originally designed for the Soviet navy this was, of course, unacceptable, so I replaced the crystal and video recorded the event in my “Bergeon No 5500 Crystal Press Review”. For me, the 2409 was a great movement to get started with as it probably is the most affordable movement on the planet, and spare parts are readily available and cost next to nothing. A lost or damaged part never spells financial disaster. Also, eBay offers an abundance of used Vostok watches in decent condition housing this movement for as little as $20 and sometimes less. A brand new Vostok 2409 (www.meranom.com) can be had for as little as $27. Be aware that, almost without exception, the eBay listings always state that these Vostok watches have been serviced, but in my experience they never are. Well, maybe dipped in a can of naphtha, left to dry and then injected with a bit of oil here and there. I’ve seen horrible examples! A somewhat tricky bit about the 2409 is to remove and replace the anti-shock springs. For this, I use a self-made tool made from peg wood. It’s shown in one of the assembly pictures together with a description of how I made it. A very similar tool is demonstrated in this video. Later, as I was working myself through Mark Lovick’s watchrepairlessons.com courses, I trained with the Unitas 6498 pocket watch movement which is the selected movement for the courses. In all honesty, from a learning point, the Unitas 6498 would have been an easier movement to get started with (especially the anti-shock springs), but the tinkering with the Vostok 2409 was a low-cost and fun way to get started and made me better prepared for the courses which answered a bunch of questions and was amazingly instructive. Eventually, I plan to publish a “Vostok 2414 Service Walkthrough”. The 2414 is identical to the 2409 but adds a very uncomplicated date complication. So, if you want a whole lot of fun for next to nothing when it comes to money, there is no other movement I would recommend before the Vostok 24XX movements, and the 2409 is a great starting point if you have a desire to begin tinkering with watches. Be warned though; tinkering may take over a substantial chunk of your life!

Search eBay for "Komandirskie" and you’re bound to find several copies having the Paratrooper dial. It’s definitely one of the most common, and if you ask me, there’s a very good reason for it. I bought my copy in December (2017), but it’s not until now that I’ve had the time to service it, give it a new strap, and start to wear it. As the rest of the watch, the movement was in great condition, although all oil and lubricants had dried up. For some reason, the calendar cam spring was missing. Of course, being a Russian watch designed for military use that can take a beating like few, that won’t stop the calendar mechanism from functioning, but it will make the date rollover slow rather than click. Fortunately, I have several Vostok calibre 2414 scrap movements to scavenge for spares. As can be seen below 6 o’clock, this copy has the "ЗАКАЗ МО СССР" (ORDER OF MO USSR) marking meaning it’s from the Soviet era. According to this blog post, it means "By Order of the Ministry of Defense of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic". I paid $62.50 for my copy on eBay (seller tdn74-2008), and although you can find working Komandirskies for $20 including shipping I was more than happy to pay the price (I usually am when I find these IMO more than affordable Russian watches in great condition). I always promote this video to anyone who's curious about Russian watches, Vostok Amphibians in particular, which is the "big brother" of the Komandirskie!

Differences between Vostok 24XX parts: Introduction I like the Vostok 24xx movements for several reasons, one of them being that they are so affordable. A mistake made never spells financial disaster. They have been reliable Russian/Soviet union workhorses for decades with (perhaps to some) surprisingly good accuracy. Another reason and the reason for this thread is that the parts of these movements most often are interchangeable, but not always! Most of the time the parts used in these movements (2409, 2414, 2415, and 2416 being some of the most popular) are interchangeable, and the sellers on eBay often mix and match parts from non-working movements to build a working watch. For example, don’t be surprised if you find a train wheel bridge stamped 2409 (w/o date complication) mounted on a 2414 (w/ date complication) or vice versa. As far as I know the Vostok 24xx movements have been in production since the early 1970-ties, and there are sometimes slight differences between the same parts between these movements and between generations of these movements. The purpose of this thread is to try to document these differences to facilitate any work made on these movements. I’m a hobbyist, and what follows are my personal observations. I make mistakes and sometimes draw the wrong conclusions. When and if you spot my errors, please let me know! I encourage anyone with any experience of the differences between the parts of these Vostok 24XX movements to contribute. Thank you! My first topic will be about the click. Please see the next post!

I have a few old Vostok 24xx movements which seem perfectly fine except the the hairsprings are ruined. Most of these movements have come from eBay sold as “for parts or service”. So, my plan is to buy a few new balance wheels complete with hairsprings (like these) and replace them. (I just haven't got the tools or skills to just replace the hairspring). I have a pretty good idea about how to remove the hairspring stud (like this, or is there a better/easier way?), but how do I remove and re-fit the hairspring from the regulator arm? Can it just be lifted off and re-fitted with a tweezers, or do I need some special tool or procedure for this operation? I haven’t seen any instructions or videos about this, perhaps because it’s so easy or obvious? Well, at least that’s what I’m hoping!

Hi everyone! I have recently acquired a couple of Vostoks which are giving me trouble. I know very little about watch repair, but am told that these ex-military pieces are pretty robust and easily fixable. Any advice appreciated! 1) a Komandirskie (apparently late 70s or early 80s). Worked like a dream when it arrived, then stopped. I took it in for repair, and was told that the mainspring has snapped. The watch has been sent away, but I'm now told that the repairer cannot get the necessary parts. 2) An Amphibia (same era). Again, worked when it arrived, but has stopped in the past 24 hours. It winds, but there is no response from the watch. Having spent £65 on it £40 getting a strap cut and fitted, I'm loathe to bin it, but am getting rather embarrassed taking my crazy Soviet watches into the repairers.... what I'd really like is a recommendation of someone who knows these watches and is happy to work on them for a decent price. Either a company or a hobbyist, I don't care. I know that lots of people seem to work on them, so hopefully I will be in luck..... many thanks, steve.

(sunny it is, even in February, though its a bit chilly this AM, just under 0 centigrade...) Hi, I am Tom, and I live in South Carolina, USA, and after years of dabbling about with watches, the bug has finally bit in earnest. By background, I have been many things...I worked in the printing industry to start with, then went back and got degrees in business education, then I taught US History at the high school level for a few years, and have worked mostly as an IT person since then. Now, I run my own little IT consulting business and do work mostly for private non-profit organizations here in the state capitol, Columbia. Interspersed with all of that, I also worked as a licensed gunsmith specializing in centerfire long range target rifles and was a competitive shooter, and became a pretty fair machinist, doing a lot of custom barrel and chambering work. I will probably be cranking that operation back up fairly soon... The watch thing started with two watches I inherited from my uncle via my father...the first was his Bulova A-11 that was issued to him back in World War 2, when he flew B-17s out of England. I got this one perhaps 25 years ago and had it professionally serviced at the time. I will probably go into it for another service sometimes soon when I get better at this stuff. Then, just this year, from my fathers estate I received my uncles 1940s vintage Longens, a simply beautiful old watch. I also have my father's Bulova Accutron Railroad Approved (he was a railroad man for 36 years) that is due for a major overhaul...alas, his Hamilton 992B was stolen by a disreputable coworker on the job, which lead to his buying the Accutron in the early '70s... So, now I want to learn to work on these things, and being fairly methodical about this sort of operation, decided to standardise on just a few movements at first, ones that I can get plenty of cheap parts and donors to go with. Owning and liking several of the Vostok Amphibias and Kommanderskes, and spying that I can get a seemingly limitless supply of parts and scrap movements out of Russia and the Ukraine on eBay, I bought up a basic set of tools, some fifty 2409, 2416, 2209 and 2214 movements out of Kiev for about $1.50 each, and started buying up Vostok watches in various states of disrepair to match. I am not much of a watchmaker at this point, but I am having fun! Thanks; -Tom