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Fitting A New Watch Stem.


Geo

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Question for you guys.  Some of my el-cheapo watches over the years had crown heads which would literally screw themselves off if you were adjusting the watch in one direction.  You could always screw them back on but they'd never fully catch and loosen again if you went to adjust the watch.

 

Would Locktite do the job?

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Question for you guys. Some of my el-cheapo watches over the years had crown heads which would literally screw themselves off if you were adjusting the watch in one direction. You could always screw them back on but they'd never fully catch and loosen again if you went to adjust the watch.

Would Locktite do the job?

Yes but not the permanent one.

If you do a search I believe Mark and Geo have listed the number before.

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I recently figured out you can most conveniently measure up the length of stem you're cutting once after measuring that gap between case and crown, leave your vernier on that measurement and adjust the amount of stem visible in the pin vice to match the depth prong that protrudes from the bottom of the vernier. 

Edited by Ishima
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  • 2 months later...

Mark's youtube video on replacing a stem worked very well for me as I replaced a two-piece stem, with extension, on a Girard- Perregaux waterproof watch from the mid-forties (Ladies Sea Hawk style. Mermaid?). I ended up cutting it 3-4 times before getting it short enough to be passable, but it still sticks out a bit far from the case. Perhaps I should have used a deeper crown. I think it will pass. I'll post an image once I find a crystal to fit. I did use the bicycle-cable cutting tool, and it worked great, FWIW.

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On ‎11‎/‎1‎/‎2014 at 8:21 AM, Geo said:

OOPS, I forgot to say the calipers had to be re-zeroed again!

(5) Remove the calipers and without touching the zero button set them to minus 1.96mm. THEN RE-ZERO THE CALIPERS AT THIS LENGTH The wire cutters are now used cut off the excess thread leaving a small amount to be filed to the exact length.

Please edit this into the original post if possible Mark.

excellent post Geo.  may I add; cut the stem with a cutting disk on your dremel tool.  its much easer to champfer the  end of the stem than the "side cutters"vin

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Today I had to cut a stem, but since both my piercing saw and pliers cutter are in storage, I used a cheap triangle diamond file. The job took 20 seconds to complete. For an easy task like this the tool used doesn't really matter much.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I'm curious if anyone has the images that were originally part of this thread?  All I see are placeholders now and I have asked Geo if he had them but he replied he didn't.   Seems like a great article but I wanted to see some images for clarity in my mind.

Thanks

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/14/2018 at 9:19 PM, GeorgeC said:

I'm curious if anyone has the images that were originally part of this thread?  All I see are placeholders now and I have asked Geo if he had them but he replied he didn't.   Seems like a great article but I wanted to see some images for clarity in my mind.

Thanks

Prob photobucket ransom. I'd love to see pics referencing this too. 

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    • Hello everyone, for what it's worth, here is my approach: 1. Escape wheel submerged in Epilame, then dried quickly with a hairdryer. Then the final tip of the pivots are cleaned by poking into pithwood. The logic being that the Epilame is removed at the intended contact point (to avoid any residue that may mix with the oil), but remains in the areas where oil is not supposed to spread to (further down the pivot towards the wheel). The escape wheel teeth also benefit from having Epilame to keep the 9415 in place.  2. I use a syringe to treat only the pallet stones. I suspend the pallet fork with some Rodico so that the stones hang downwards. I notably use a rather thick needle where a drop WON'T form, but rather where the Epilame liquid stays in the needle tip, which I then dip into the pallet stones. It requires some practice to get the right amount of Epilame into the needle tip, but it works for me now. This way, no drop will "jump" onto the pallet fork and potentially go all the way to the pivots.  3. I let the movement run for a few minutes without lubricating the pallet stones... to scrape off the Epilame in the intended contact "channel". Then I remove the balance again and lubricate the exit pallet stone with 3-4 successive drops. See the "channel" that forms on the pallet stone in the picture -- not so easy to see, but it's visible.       I am conflicted about the use of Epliame in balance jewel settings. My impression is that the two jewels sufficiently suspend the oil (even 9010). Apparently Rolex recommends NOT to use Epliame there (heard from a former Rolex service center watchmaker), as it could cause additional wear. Apart from that, I follow specific instructions where I can find them. E.g. the infamous Rolex reverser wheels or sometimes (parts of) the seconds wheel. Exception: I'm currently servicing an Eta 2824 and will probably ignore the service sheet that recommends treating the whole keyless works with Epilame and then using HP1300... I'll skip the Epilame and use 9504 grease.        
    • I'm going to give this a try today/tomorrow on my UTC33/Seiko 66, thanks!
    • Hello and welcome from Leeds, England. 
    • Don't forget Mark is a hard working watch maker so he is also tied up with work. I'm sure he is keeping his eye on this forum making sure it is running along nicely. 
    • Thank you for your introduction and welcome to this friendly forum. We all look forward to your contributions and continued involvement.    
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