Jump to content

winding stem - Cal 503 Longines Admiral

FREDCHEN

By FREDCHEN
in Watch Repairs Help & Advice

 Share

Recommended Posts

FREDCHEN New Member

FREDCHEN

Posted
Posted

Dear all,

good afternoon from Paris! Hope you are all fine and busy...

I am new in repairing watch as hobby... I got recently a nice Cal 503 from Longines on ebay and found as well a splendid monoblock case... Great! 

I spent already time on various forums to understand specificities of this model and I still have a question regarding the winding stem. I understood that most of the time, it shall be a splitted one to be able to remove the movement from the case, after removal of the glass.

I am attaching the stem that was provided with the movement but I really wonder if it is the good one, able to split in two.

Does anyone have faced this this issue and would be kind enough to share his experience with me?

Thks in advance and stay safe!

Fred

IMG_1689.jpg

Nucejoe Distinguished Member

Nucejoe

Posted
Posted

Familiarize with the two following popular data bases for answeers to you questions and more. Ranfft.com and julesborel.com Good luck

HSL Distinguished Member

HSL

Posted
Posted (edited)

Welcome to this forum Fredchen, must have missed you in the introduce you self section ;)

Well you can't use that stem in a monoblock, it uses a totaly different one, I have an example of it from a different movement (Longines 284) but you get a understanding of the split stem.

To get it out from the case you have to split it, this is done by gently pulling the stem outwards.
The construction of the stem makes this possible.Longines.thumb.jpg.9e9bf785f568afded3b7c311725d70ed.jpg

on this one you have a male part on the crown.
Longines_Male.thumb.jpg.ca9893e0ba06aee467d4958820e8ea10.jpg

and on the movement side a female part.
Longines_Female.thumb.jpg.08df56331d3089a77a5422d10d092565.jpg

So now you see why you have to buy a new stem for you monoblock, you might be able to keep your crown depending of how the tube in the case looks like.
 

Edited by HSL
  • Thanks 1
MrRoundel Super WRT Addict

MrRoundel

Posted
Posted

If the case says, "Use All Proof 1200 Wrench" or something along those lines, on the back, it's unlikely that the stem shown is the right one. If you check online for "Bestfit 360" stems, you'll see what the crown side should look like. 

I think Mark Lovick has a video on youtube about removing the crystal on a monocoque case. It will get you through it. You can sometimes find the proper wrench for removing the crystal being sold online, but they can cost a bit. Mark uses the most cost-effective way if you don't have that wrench or other clamp style crystal remover. In essence, you blow the crystal out from the inside using an air-injector of some sort. The right size hypodermic injector will do the trick with a little sealing help.

That said, putting it back in will require the "All Proof" wrench or clamp style crystal tool. Good luck.

(I think someone might have answered as I was typing. If so, I hope my post adds something anyway.)

  • Thanks 1
FREDCHEN New Member

FREDCHEN

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 hour ago, Nucejoe said:

Familiarize with the two following popular data bases for answeers to you questions and more. Ranfft.com and julesborel.com Good luck

thks a lot - I have now the reference of the stem that I need to find "Stem W3264" - Any good address for finding this spare part maybe? thks a lot!

FREDCHEN New Member

FREDCHEN

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 hour ago, MrRoundel said:

If the case says, "Use All Proof 1200 Wrench" or something along those lines, on the back, it's unlikely that the stem shown is the right one. If you check online for "Bestfit 360" stems, you'll see what the crown side should look like. 

I think Mark Lovick has a video on youtube about removing the crystal on a monocoque case. It will get you through it. You can sometimes find the proper wrench for removing the crystal being sold online, but they can cost a bit. Mark uses the most cost-effective way if you don't have that wrench or other clamp style crystal remover. In essence, you blow the crystal out from the inside using an air-injector of some sort. The right size hypodermic injector will do the trick with a little sealing help.

That said, putting it back in will require the "All Proof" wrench or clamp style crystal tool. Good luck.

(I think someone might have answered as I was typing. If so, I hope my post adds something anyway.)

yes, there is a good video from Mark Lovick about the way to remove the crystal. Thank you for you detailed answer! Have a good day.

FREDCHEN New Member

FREDCHEN

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 hour ago, HSL said:

Welcome to this forum Fredchen, must have missed you in the introduce you self section ;)

Well you can't use that stem in a monoblock, it uses a totaly different one, I have an example of it from a different movement (Longines 284) but you get a understanding of the split stem.

To get it out from the case you have to split it, this is done by gently pulling the stem outwards.
The construction of the stem makes this possible.Longines.thumb.jpg.9e9bf785f568afded3b7c311725d70ed.jpg

on this one you have a male part on the crown.
Longines_Male.thumb.jpg.ca9893e0ba06aee467d4958820e8ea10.jpg

and on the movement side a female part.
Longines_Female.thumb.jpg.08df56331d3089a77a5422d10d092565.jpg

So now you see why you have to buy a new stem for you monoblock, you might be able to keep your crown depending of how the tube in the case looks like.
 

Thks - it is very clear. I will try to find the spare part! If you have any idea / address, it would be welcome and helpful. Great day to you.

HSL Distinguished Member

HSL

Posted
Posted

Well I don´t think finding that split stem for a monocoque like that will be easy.
But somewere in the back of my mind I remember this being up here before, I think the go to man in this case would be Nucejoe.
If it someone who would remeber this it would be him, think he showed a Logines Admiral in a  monocoque some years ago.
 

  • Like 1
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • coreymsnow
      A lathe with indexing that won't break the bank?

      By coreymsnow · Posted

      Hah! Well, California will have to do. Lived in TX for a brief period back in the early 70s, though, so maybe that counts. 🙂 Funny you should mention making vacuum tubes- I've actually tinkered with that! It's REALLY tough to do, and I've never made one more complicated than a simple diode that barely worked, but I have played around at it. But there's just no infrastructure for vacuum tube fabrication. I can get a lathe and learn how to use it to make complex parts, and while it might take a while to learn- and money to get the equipment, of course- it is possible to do more or less "off the shelf". But vacuum tubes, not so much. There are a few folks out there doing some crazy cool work with bespoke tubes, but they have setups that are far beyond what I can manage in my environment and it's mostly stuff they built by hand. I also have been playing with making piezoelectric Rochelle Salt crystals to replace ancient vacuum tube turntable needles- nobody's made those commercially for probably 60 years. I'm a sucker for learning how to do weird things no one does any more so I can make things no one uses work again. (I think this is drifting off the topic of lathes, lol).
    • LittleWatchShop
      A lathe with indexing that won't break the bank?

      By LittleWatchShop · Posted

      You shoulda been born in Texas. Tough to make a vacuum tube though. You can substitute with a MOSFET eq ckt I guess. I was playing around making a pinion the other day. More to it than meets the eye.
    • zx6rfool
      Replacing crystal, do I need a bezel tool?

      By zx6rfool · Posted

      Well, turns out it was a fake bezel! The crystal is domed mineral glass and I was able to find a cheap replacement that should be here in two days.  I used my crappy little press to pop out the cracked crystal, Ill give the case a good cleaning in the meantime and do a once over on the movement.     
    • Mark
      Photos of your youth

      By Mark · Posted

      Early ‘90s Debenhams in Oxford Street at InTime Watch Repairs. The older guy was one of my mentors Mr John Campfield, fantastic ex-Omega watchmaker. Good times - black hair gone now! 😄
    • coreymsnow
      A lathe with indexing that won't break the bank?

      By coreymsnow · Posted

      Heh. Well, also I just want to be able to do it, for no other reason than it's interesting. Same reason I restore antique tube radios and ancient computers- like, from the 1970s.  Sometimes, the parts just aren't there and you have to know how to make them. Learning how is a challenge and can take months or years, but it's honestly the best part! You can't beat that sense of triumph when you do something that's really hard to learn to do and do it well.  
×
×
  • Create New...