8110a Citizen 8110A Bullhead my first restoration

[jackie01]

Hello everybody,

I open this thread to archive works on Citizen 8110A Bullhead. I purchased this watch in poor condition as You can see on the photos.

Cause I have serviced few chronographs in the past I decide to try restore this watch. Maybe is not ractional from the economical aspect but we do this because we love it So let's open it.

Hands are in good condition (required repaint and relume) but the dial has broken legs and tachy scale is faded :/ I think it's really hard to find orginal and there is no gold aftermarket replacement - sad. Look at the movement.

 

Gosh, what a dirty place It needs good cleaning and oiling. 
But the biggest problems are this.

 

Broken post on main spring bridge and missing rocking bar core and screw in gear train. I need to find replacement.

While I'll be working on movement the case and pushers are send to renew - putting new gold plated coat

 

Stay tuned

 

 

[jdm]

Good project. Have you considered replaying parts yourself, isn't much difficult or expensive. 

[rogart63]

Not the most easy watch to start with ? The broken post on the barrel bridge i have seen before. Common problem. You will have to find a  new or used bridge. speedtimerkollektion had some before. 

[vinn3]

  good show,  very good pic.s.     the watch is a "raceing  timer" ?       vin

[jackie01]

3 hours ago, jdm said:

Good project. Have you considered replaying parts yourself, isn't much difficult or expensive. 

Which parts did you mean? I don't have idea for the broken post on the barrel bridge. Maybe spot welder...? 

Yes, the screw for the rocking bar and winding wheel could be easy to do.

2 hours ago, rogart63 said:

Not the most easy watch to start with ? The broken post on the barrel bridge i have seen before. Common problem. You will have to find a  new or used bridge. speedtimerkollektion had some before. 

Yes, already I have "new" barrel bridge.

2 hours ago, vinn3 said:

  good show,  very good pic.s.     the watch is a "raceing  timer" ?       vin

Thank you

[jdm]

10 minutes ago, jackie01 said:

Which parts did you mean? I don't have idea for the broken post on the barrel bridge. Maybe spot welder...? 

Sorry I meant replaying he gilded parts. The broken post would have to be made new on the lathe, that's a master watchmaker job, maybe you can start looking for a working donor watch. 

[jackie01]

21 minutes ago, jdm said:

maybe you can start looking for a working donor watch. 

I found parts and while I was waiting for them I decided to take care of the hands and bezel. The chrono hands looked bad - faded and there were paint chips. Hour and minute one had no lume.

 

So i scraped old paint from chrono hands and repaint them. I think they're look ok now. I washed hour and minute hands and removed old lume and add new one. There's result of works.

 

Bezel (as you could see above) was in badly condition too. It was shabby. So I had use sandpaper, matted it and repainted.

 

 

Next step will be cleaning the movement part and assembling it. I thing it's the most difficult part of restoration...

 

[JONICURN]

looking good, keep us posted

[jackie01]

55 minutes ago, JONICURN said:

looking good, keep us posted

Thank you.

Work goes on. . Cleaning and assembling top side of movement. Time set working well, day and date quick set working, zeroing hour chrono wheel working. Some progress. Now it looks so shiny compared to what it was here.

 

 

This original dial is not suitable to use it after the restoration. I can't find any aftermarket gold one - they are not produce?  There are only yellow one - do you think it will be look ok?

 

[jackie01]

Meantime waiting for the parts so I polished back case

 

 

Just arrived - goldplated case and pushers. How do they look?

I think it will be looks fine. Also there is new crystal replecment inserted in the repainted bezel

 

I can't wait to see final result of my works 

 

 

 

[jackie01]

Ok, I need technician help. I assembled the movement and there are two small problems:

First: when I stop the chrono the minute chrono counter still works. Where I should find cause of it? I think that the lever I marked on the photo is the minute brake and maybe there is too much cleareance beetwen it and minute wheel? Am I right?

Second: When chrono works balance amplitude is ok but if I stop the chrono, balance amplitude is fallen. I thinh there is too much friction somewhere. Maybe I must oil the plate which I marked on the photo above? This plate drag the clutch down and maybe too it's stops the balance ? 

 

Update:

I was thinking all night long and couldn't sleep well. I analyzed what could cause problems I had described above. Disassembled the chrono bridge one more time and I found that blocking lever for minute recording wheel was slighty bented. With my heart on my mouth I have started to straighten the lever and voila success. I take a look of the second's chrono wheel and clutch. Small amount of oil goes in the place I suppose have to much friction. And as result is good working movement, zeroing and stoping chrono. Now it's time for tests before dial and hands go on their place.

 

One more thing - there is no screw on the pawl winding wheel. I found screw but it's head was too small. I made small washer from the razor blade. Maybe it;s don't look great but it's work well. If you someone have this screw please let me know.

 

 

Balance amplitude looks very well  I hope the end of project is soon...

[Watchtime]

compliments on your skills, seems you are not a beginner...well done....

[jackie01]

I had tested movement function by three days: zeroing, flyback, day and date set, day and date change - everything ok. So it's time to pack it all together into the case. New aftermarket dial just arrived

 

 

I decided that I'll choose aftermarket yellow dial. Orginal doesn't have legs and somone used glue to set it to the movement in the past. I don't want do that and what more the tachy scale is gone. 

It was not an easy decision but eventually orginal dial stay in a box - maybe I could fix the legs somehow in the future ( soldering  ) and use it again  I never did it before but I love new challenge to face with it.

Stay tuned cause I had some fricky me out adventures with movement

[AndyHull]

Looking good.

[anilv]

NIcely done..!

[jackie01]

So it's time to take the watch into one piece. It seemed to be easy so I have started - hour hand, minute hand, zeroing chrono, minute recorder hand, hour recorder hand and the last sweep second chrono hand. I zeroed the chrono, attached position, pushed it down. I think great - it's done I started the chrono and after few seconds tried to zeroing. Pushed the reset button and .... what the heck? : -s Pusher was hard. I was affraid to broke any lever so decision could be only one - disassemble movement again: - | I took over chrono bridge and cleaned it with all reset chrono levers. Small amount of fresh oil and voila - works. : -! All that was left was to press bezel with crystal, put the new gold plated bracelet and have a enjoy of the watch. 
I know it's not pristine, have some drawbacks but I feel proud to back this one to life.  I enjoyed some much during this project. I hope You too.

There is still accurate tuning and amplitude measurement but it must wait until I buy a new microphone for timegrapher. I am sure I will inform You about the result. So stay tuned.

 

 

 

[DavidMasters]

Very good work. Happy to see all the pics and your project.

[Calibetimepiece]

Good job. You just revived the watch. Perhaps next time you can record more videos on your project for our reference. 

[mirel]

HI, very nice work.I have also a question and a project of my own; the same watch, and one day I could fell the bezel moving a little and I just pushed it out from the case.It looks like it was glued in place; is it the normal procedure ? to glue it in place or do you have to use some king of gasket when you put / secure the bezel to the case ??? Thx a lot Mirel