WWW Eterna sucked me in.

[luiazazrambo]

HWGIKE#53 Newmark 10.5 ligne 5 jewel pin pallet movement

My only one customer Stephen sent me 5 watches, three mechanicals and two children coming from a marriage of a mechanical and an electrical watch. I started with 3 of the mechanicals and managed to quickly ruin 2 of them. This one is one of those, I managed to brake off the curb pin which is really a wire hook replacing the curb pin and the boot effectively. I luckily found a replacement in one of my drawer, my alternative was to machine another pin on the lathe and rivet it back to its place but there was no need for it. The donor movement also provided a "new" set of hands which I re-lumed. The boss of the original minute hand was damaged anyway. Had to replace the mainspring as it was set. Polished the non original crystal which actually looks funky. (not entirely sure about the meaning of funky but it seemed to be appropriate.) Also had to work on the HS which I have surprisingly not ruined as I went slow and methodologically inside out one step at the time. Still need to regulate it started with more than 10 mins a day slowness, might need to shorten the HS and re-regulate it set the beat error again. I first could not identify the movement but this helped:

https://17jewels.info/movements/n/newmark/newmark-10-1-2/

This is also interesting: 

https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/newmark-watch-co-info-please.612406/

I usually dont do before and after pics but now I put two of them about the main plate to see whats the difference before and after cleaning and removing some surface rust.

Stephen, I am going to send the original strap back to you just in case you dont like the yellow.

 

Edited March 28 by luiazazrambo

[luiazazrambo]

HWGIKE#54 Desa 320 Pin pallet

While I was waiting for parts I thought I would do another pendant watch this time for my Mother in law. When I opened it up I had a BFG866 feeling but it said D 320 so it counts!  No mistakes or anything to mention.

 

HWGIKE#55 Services Continental Bifora 102 Swiss lever

This is one of the Stephen's mechanical watch out of 3 i did not ruin. Service went well but when I put it on the time machine the graph was nonsense. Realized that the balance was wobbly as one of the pivot was worn and bent. Luckily eBay had a complete balance in mint condition for £12.90. When it arrived I installed it but the graph was still nonsense, I had three double parallel lines... I saw that the upper pivot was jumping in its jewel hole... realized that the jewel was replaced, hole diameter twice the size compared to the pivot diameter.. not just that but it was not secured either and was moving in its seat. Selected one from my stock, balance jewel not plate with correct outside diameter correct hole and rubbed it in securely. Also had to replace its mainspring... old one was very weak and set. Selected one from my stock but it was too strong, balance went over 360 so I had to order the proper one from cousinsuk. Even this weaker spring is very powerful now as the watch clean and lubricated half wound and amplitude is around 320-330. Beat error is around 1.1ms not sure why.. managed to change it from 0.6 to 1.1 after setting the impulse jewel exactly in the middle of the banking pins. Very strange. Regulated and keeps time. Case is made by Mr Aaron Lufkin Dennison and made out of silver.

 

 

Edited April 3 by luiazazrambo

[luiazazrambo]

HWGIKE#56 AVIA ESA 9154 love child of an electric and a mechanical

Could not resist... I still had 2 nights and a couple of hours today to service this one before travelling. I have 9158s but this one is a 9154, pallet fork has a built in magnet. This is a real miracle, a bit tricky to get out from the case, but didn't take long to figure it out. Was very very fast after the service, didnt check it before though. Had no choice but to re-lume the hands.

 

Edited April 5 by luiazazrambo

[luiazazrambo]

HWGIKE#57 Valex FEF 190 15 jewels Swiss lever full service and repair

This one was waiting for a balance staff replacement in my cabinet parts and case cleaned up with a new balance staff and a 4th wheel as the original 4th wheel had a broken pivot for the off center second hand. I never attempted a balance staff replacement before however I received a Bergeon Molfres (i was hunting it for about 2 years) and with the help of it I managed to remove the old staff and riveted the new one in. It also received a new MS, crystal and the hole for the MS arbor was also tightened. With the new MS now it has an acceptable performance meaning that the amplitude goes up to 280 fully wound, has an acceptable beat error and I have the two nice lines but only dial up, dial down is not as nice and I could not figure out as why. I have the two lines but the amplitude is dropping to around 230 and the lines are a bit hairy. Both dial up and dial down the lines just go up and down without seemingly any pattern. I cleaned the movement two times, and then a 3rd time pegged out the main plate and train bridge holes but made no change. Both the HS collet and the roller table was too lose on the new staff... I did not count how many times I took the balance cock off to sort out the HS collet, the roller table and the beat error, somebody before me also shortened the HS by pushing it out a bit and it seems every time somebody is messing with the end of the HS the protruding bit is most of the time twisted bent etc. This one was probably one of the most challenging repair and service. I might take the new MS out and clean it lubricate it as I just pushed the new one in to the barrel from the retaining ring. Plus started to re-read the theory of the escapement and how to analyse the graph on the timing machine: Greiner Chronografic Record manual. I am also thinking to put the watch on a 24 hour long run with the eTimer SW it once helped me to figure out what was wrong with a watch. There is an interesting part of the Greiner record manual talking about the pallets and the end shake of the balance and pallet staff. Maybe this is my issue? Who could that possibly identify? After a few years now I am still without a clue how could watchmakers make parts I can only see with my microscope or how could/can they carry out complicated services impossible to do.. real magic.....

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before I sent this post while the pics were uploading I had an idea, i was browsing the possible outcomes on the timing machine I had one for magnetism..... so I demagnetized the movement and it is not hairy now.... two really nice lines 0.2 ms beat error still a bit wavy, but a lot lot better..... argh....

 

Edited April 18 by luiazazrambo

[luiazazrambo]

Update:

The demagnetization only helped temporarily, maybe it pulled the wheels into a position where they liked each other. I have to adjust the sub second hand as it is a bit angled upwards and catching the minute hand stopping the whole movement but before this happened there were some wild deviations.

HWGIKE#58 Alarm clock, cooked in hot cleaning fluid and oiled gently.

This is a movement so I count it.  A while ago it tried to fly away one day, it was on my windows sill, we had strong wind the curtain flew like a flag and doing so encouraged my clock to do the same...  went out and ended up on the roof above the entrance door, its door in pieces but the clock itself suffered no damage otherwise. The original glass was already broken when I received it I still have the bottom part in two pieces. The new "glass" is acrylic. It also had a paper in the back in the case inside but it disintegrated, I still have a little bit of  piece of that too.

 

 

HWGIKE#59 Durowe 870 / Times M84

This particular instance is a D870, when I saw its worn out contact pin I thought that it must be a design flaw, and here we go: https://17jewels.info/movements/d/durowe/durowe-870/ An incredible movement again where the balance wheel drives the train and has two magnets one for the balance wheel/coil and one for the pallet. The magnet for the pallet is basically the "draw" one direction. The coil is about 1.8kOhm and one end is in contact with the main plate and the other end is soldered to a contact pin which is insulated by the means of putting it into a jewel and this contact pin is rubbing against a wire getting the energy/impulse as it is passing. Behind the contact pin there is an "impulse jewel" not sure why is it there... the wire seems to hit the impulse jewel first then the contact pin but maybe it is there only for insulation purposes? I was almost certain that the screw holding down the battery - (minus) clamp had no insulation washer.. i only noticed the green stuff around it coming from battery leakage... anyway the + and - had a shortcut which took me a while to realize.. had to fabricate one insulating washer on my own. The jewel settings were dirty but not it is all cleaned and oiled. The contact pin might work for a while but I am sure it has a short life. It is a front loader the whole thing is held together by the case so it is not possible to regulate it without putting it all together and taking the movement out of the case again, very inconvenient. A wonderful movement but not made for eternity only for the consumer market.

 

Edited Saturday at 10:32 AM by luiazazrambo

[luiazazrambo]

I put the original broken glass (whats left of it) behind the acrylic. This is how it originally looked like. A cheap clock but I like it. Very noisy when the alarm comes wake up guaranteed!

Edited Saturday at 06:39 PM by luiazazrambo