seiko A Lord Matic with a stuck spring bar and in need of a cleaning.

[x83]

I was given a 1973 seiko lord matic (5600-9001) recently and I am very fond of it. The acrylic is in pretty good condition and the case isn't too scared up. There are only 3 problems with the watch. First, the case is a little bit dirty between the lugs. Second it gains about 15 seconds a day. Thirdly, the original bracelet is too small, so I tried to replace it and found that one of the spring bars is stuck. I don't really know what to do with the watch so I came here to get some advice. Should I take it to a local  jeweler, send it to the seiko service center (probably a bad idea), or try to work on it myself? If there is anyone on the site that is able to work on the watch I would consider that as well.

 

Thanks in advice for any advice.0

[manodeoro]

15 scds a day is 7.5 mns a month and 1.5 h a year so not that bad IMHO ... set your watch once a week and live with that ...

About the stucked springbar what I would do is :
- remove the one that isn't stucked
- source a pair of identical new springbars
- remove the stucked one with force ... no matter if it brakes it as new springbars will be used
- clean the case between the lugs
- put the new bracelet on with the new springbars
- enjoy

Envoyé de mon moto g(7) power en utilisant Tapatalk

[AndyHull]

1 hour ago, manodeoro said:

- remove the stucked one with force ... no matter if it brakes it as new springbars will be used

Generally spring bars are a disposable item, and replacing them is part of restoring most watches in my opinion.

I tend to just cut them with side cutters, otherwise you risk one of the pins breaking in the hole in the lug, which can be tricky to extract.

 

[clockboy]

5 hours ago, x83 said:

I was given a 1973 seiko lord matic (5600-9001) recently and I am very fond of it. The acrylic is in pretty good condition and the case isn't too scared up. There are only 3 problems with the watch. First, the case is a little bit dirty between the lugs. Second it gains about 15 seconds a day. Thirdly, the original bracelet is too small, so I tried to replace it and found that one of the spring bars is stuck. I don't really know what to do with the watch so I came here to get some advice. Should I take it to a local  jeweler, send it to the seiko service center (probably a bad idea), or try to work on it myself? If there is anyone on the site that is able to work on the watch I would consider that as well.

 

Thanks in advice for any advice.0

If the bar is really stuck I just cut them off and fit a new one. 

[FLwatchguy73]

sometimes people install the wrong sized spring bars that barely go in, and are impossible to remove without destroying them. I just rip those suckers out and pop in correct ones.

[Nucejoe]

I Insert a screwdriver between the case and bracelet, do what FLwatchguy said.

 

[AndyHull]

You can purchase spring bars from any number of sellers on ebay, or from your local jewelers shop.

There are people offering them in pairs for about £1, but this is an expensive way to buy them, since you can get a full kit of 360pcs of 18 different sizes for not much more than £3.00 if you use them a lot, and are prepared to wait for the slow boat from China.

Search  ebay for something like "360Pcs 8-25mm Pro Watch Band Strap Spring Bars" and you will see what I mean.

If you use a lot of a particular size, you might be better picking up 100 of that size.
Try searching ebay for something like "100pcs 17-24mm Stainless Steel Watch Band Strap Spring Bar"

Edited February 13, 2020 by AndyHull

[vinn3]

     if you are going to be a collector,  find a good  watch repair man.   if you want to learn service, repair AND cleaning;  you came to  the best forum.  vin