ORIENT Calibre 46E40 Service Walkthrough

[VWatchie]

ORIENT Calibre 46E40 Service Walkthrough

If you search the Internet for technical information about the ORIENT calibres, you won’t find much, not even the lift angles, not to mention spare parts. However, I did find a few "expanded view" PDFs, but that was it. The reason for this is perhaps partly that the brand is a typical wear and tear brand. The price range is between US $100 and US $300 and few would be interested in servicing such a cheap watch when you can get a brand new (or five!) for less than the cost of a service.

I used the word "cheap" to describe ORIENT. A much better word is affordable. I have two ORIENT watches (this one and a diver) and they are both very well made and have proven to be reliable and accurate. I really like them and have no reservations recommending ORIENT. Simply great value for money!

The ORIENT Calibre 46E40 is my first Japanese calibre to service. I wanted the classic SEIKO 7S26 calibre to be my first Japanese movement to service, but after having studied @Mark's SEIKO 7S26 service video and having compared it to the expanded view of a an ORIENT calibre similar to mine (ORIENT Calibre 46943.pdf), I saw the kinship between ORIENT and SEIKO and since I already had the ORIENT it felt like a more logical and interesting service project.

I never found any ORIENT lubrication suggestions on the Internet but read somewhere that the ORIENT 46XXX calibres are akin to the SEIKO 7000 series of movements. In the service documents for the SEIKO watches, SEIKO’s own watch oils are recommended but I as you will see in my assembly pictures, I decided to use my Swiss Moebius oils to save me the money.

What I appreciate the most about this calibre is that there aren’t any tiny springs (destined for outer space exploration) to operate the click, yoke, date and day jumpers as the spring tension is integrated into these parts. Quite ingenious if you ask me. So, in this respect I say 1 – 0 to the Japanese!

What I do not like is the plastic parts, like the date indicator driving wheel. I don’t know why plastic parts are used but I guess they keep cost down and facilitate the design of the movement in a way that perhaps wouldn’t have been possible (or way too expensive) using metal. Did I mention that I do not like plastic parts?

My walkthrough consists of many, very many, pictures. The idea is to show the procedure is such small steps that words will be unnecessary. Nevertheless, in the assembly pictures I have included the names of all parts, what oils I have used, and now and then an instruction, tip, and/or a warning.

Finally, I should mention that this walkthrough isn’t intended as a tutorial but as a guide to be used by myself (and other interested WRT members) the next time I service an ORIENT movement. To learn about watch servicing and repairing I recommend www.watchrepairlessons.com which in my opinion is the best and most affordable site for learning (I’m not associated with the site in any way).

So, before I get too long winded, here goes… (Please see the following posts)
 

Edited May 10, 2020 by VWatchie

[VWatchie]

ORIENT Calibre 46E40 Service Walkthrough - Disassembly

Edited May 10, 2020 by VWatchie

[HSL]

God stuff!

[VWatchie]

ORIENT Calibre 46E40 Service Walkthrough - Assembly

[VWatchie]

1 hour ago, HSL said:

God stuff!

Well, I don't know if it's that God, but hopefully God enough! 

Thanks @HSL 

[CaptCalvin]

Great pictorial highly appreciated! May I ask what amplitude did you achieve with this watch? 

[JohnR725]

it be nice to see timing machine results of how the watch looked after servicing?

[Jon]

@VWatchie... Really enjoyed reading your walk through!

I've not heard of Dr Tillwich watch oil. What is the viscosity of it? I'm assuming it's pretty much like 9415?

What was the markings on the top of the balance, as it seemed quite stained/oxidised?

 

[JohnR725]

17 minutes ago, Jon said:

Dr Tillwich watch oil

it's a German company that makes lots of lubrication's. Unfortunately they updated their website and it sucks at least as far as technical information goes

 

https://www.tillwich-stehr.com/en/

[HSL]

1 hour ago, VWatchie said:

Well, I don't know if it's that God, but hopefully God enough! 

Good isn't good enough so no need to be modest .. stuff gods do.. 

[VWatchie]

6 minutes ago, Jon said:

@VWatchie... Really enjoyed reading your walk through!

I've not heard of Dr Tillwich watch oil. What is the viscosity of it? I'm assuming it's pretty much like 9415?

What was the markings on the top of the balance, as it seemed quite stained/oxidised?

 

Thanks Jon! It's really encouraging to get positive response from a pro and thanks for your questions! 

Well, the Dr Tillwich is a German watch oil that a fellow WRT member recommended me for the pallets. This is the second time I've used it and with good results. The amplitude after service of the ORIENT 46E40 was just perfect; about 300 degrees dial up/down and about 270 degrees in all other positions. Considering the kinship with the SEIKO 7000 calibres I believe that is very good result and I believe the Dr Tillwich oil contributes to an (unknown) extent. I've previously always used Moebius 9415. The viscosity is 150 cst at 20 degrees C. The viscosity of 9415 is 107 cst at 20 degrees C so quite a bit thinner, right?. I know very little about watch oils so not sure how potentially good or bad that would be in the long run. I'd be very interested in your opinion!

Oh yes, the markings on top of the balance and the balance wheel itself are outright ugly. The explanation is that this is the first movement I've run through my newly acquired used ELMA watch cleaning machine. Previously I have always used an ultrasonic, naphtha and IPA and I did not understand that the water based solutions I used with the ELMA would have a very negative effect on the parts if run for too long in the machine (approx 45 min, when it should have been a maximum of about 5-10 minutes) . Anyway, stains, oxidation and even rust had developed everywhere and it took me many hours (a day?) to manually get it clean again, using vinegar essence to remove the rust, stains and oxidation. I won't be repeating this mistake any time soon. Anyway, I didn't want to dip the balance in vinegar, but just cleaned it in my ultrasonic using naphtha and then dipped it in Bergeon's One Dip. Once the hairspring looked fine I decided to live with the remaining stains. Anyway, I'm lucky it still performs so well. 

[VWatchie]

1 hour ago, CaptCalvin said:

Great pictorial highly appreciated! May I ask what amplitude did you achieve with this watch? 

@JohnR725: "it be nice to see timing machine results of how the watch looked after servicing?"

Thank you CaptCalvin!

I'm happy and actually surprised (for several reasons) to report near perfect amplitude. At 53 degrees lift angle about 290-300 degrees dial up/down and about 260-270 degrees in all other positions. I'll provide pictures a bit later.

Edited May 10, 2020 by VWatchie

[VWatchie]

53 minutes ago, JohnR725 said:

22 minutes ago, JohnR725 said:

it's a German company that makes lots of lubrication's. Unfortunately they updated their website and it sucks at least as far as technical information goes

 

https://www.tillwich-stehr.com/en/

Agree, but I found the info on this page where it's recommend for pallets and bearings.

 

Edited May 10, 2020 by VWatchie

[Jon]

10 minutes ago, VWatchie said:

Thanks Jon! It's really encouraging to get positive response from a pro and thanks for your questions! 

Well, the Dr Tillwich is a German watch oil that a fellow WRT member recommended me for the pallets. This is the second time I've used it and with good results. The amplitude after service of the ORIENT 46E40 was just perfect; about 300 degrees dial up/down and about 270 degrees in all other positions. Considering the kinship with the SEIKO 7000 calibres I believe that is very good result and I believe the Dr Tillwich oil contributes to an (unknown) extent. I've previously always used Moebius 9415. The viscosity is 150 cst at 20 degrees C. The viscosity of 9415 is 107 cst at 20 degrees C so quite a bit thinner, right?. I know very little about watch oils so not sure how potentially good or bad that would be in the long run. I'd be very interested in your opinion!

Oh yes, the markings on top of the balance and the balance wheel itself are outright ugly. The explanation is that this is the first movement I've run through my newly acquired used ELMA watch cleaning machine. Previously I have always used an ultrasonic, naphtha and IPA and I did not understand that the water based solutions I used with the ELMA would have a very negative effect on the parts if run for too long in the machine (approx 45 min, when it should have been a maximum of about 5-10 minutes) . Anyway, stains, oxidation and even rust had developed everywhere and it took me many hours (a day?) to manually get it clean again, using vinegar essence to remove the rust, stains and oxidation. I won't be repeating this mistake any time soon. Anyway, I didn't want to dip the balance in vinegar, but just cleaned it in my ultrasonic using naphtha and then dipped it in Bergeon's One Dip. Once the hairspring looked fine I decided to live with the remaining stains. Anyway, I'm lucky it still performs so well. 

Interesting, regarding the Dr Tillwich oil. Always good to come across an alternative to Moebius oils and greases. I suppose the thixotropic properties are quite similar to Moebius 9415, although it is slightly thicker and you won't know how effective it is from personal experience for some years. But if it works well for you, especially in the application, go for it. I find using Fixodrop (epilame) before applying 9415 works well for me. It's like having a 'Jedi mind trick' with the oil...lol

I can see why you got the oxidation using water based cleaner... I only learn from making mistakes, so an important one for you, I should imagine. Good that you got the hairspring to work well still without that oxidising too.

Once again, great walk-though and I'm looking forward to seeing some more, as you've got a real skill in explaining the process, with some top quality pictures... Many thanks!

[JohnR725]

21 minutes ago, VWatchie said:

ELMA watch cleaning machine. Previously I have always used an ultrasonic, naphtha and IPA and I did not understand that the water based solutions I used with the ELMA would have a very negative effect on the parts if run for too long in the machine (approx 45 min, when it should have been a maximum of about 5-10 minutes)

I'll skip over my dislike of water-based cleaning products. You didn't actually say which cleaning fluids you used but any time you have a cleaning solution with ammonia very very bad the leave it in for an extended length of time. 

[VWatchie]

11 hours ago, Jon said:

Interesting, regarding the Dr Tillwich oil.

 

11 hours ago, Jon said:

if it works well for you, especially in the application, go for it.

Thanks for the input Jon! I'm an enthusiast with limited experience overall but as I mentioned the Dr Tillwich 1-3 oil has worked well for me the few times I have tried it. It felt reassuring you didn't recommend against it for this or that reason!

 

11 hours ago, Jon said:

I find using Fixodrop (epilame) before applying 9415 works well for me. It's like having a 'Jedi mind trick' with the oil...lol

Yes, the Fixodrop is pretty amazing! I have a small bottle of it but have only applied it to ETA movement parts when recommend in their technical communication documents. I'd really like to have big bottle of that stuff and an Epilame bottle with basket. However, that would be almost £200 including tax and shipping even from CousinsUK.com!  Anyway I'd very much like to know how you apply the Fixodrop to the pallets. Do you just dip the pallet stones or the entire fork? Any details would be highly interesting!

 

12 hours ago, Jon said:

I can see why you got the oxidation using water based cleaner...

 

12 hours ago, JohnR725 said:

You didn't actually say which cleaning fluids you used but any time you have a cleaning solution with ammonia very very bad the leave it in for an extended length of time. 

In the first jar I used ELMA RED 1:9 (yes, ammonia based), in the first rinse deionised water, and in the final rinse ELMA SUPROL PRO (nasty stuff having a narcotic effect warning). It works alright I guess as long as you don't overdo it like I did. I sometimes and unfortunately act like most Swedish politicians, i.e. "If something is good, it naturally follows that more of it must be better" for example taxes and immigration (and beer) 

 

12 hours ago, Jon said:

Once again, great walk-though and I'm looking forward to seeing some more, as you've got a real skill in explaining the process, with some top quality pictures... Many thanks!

Thank you for your very kind words Jon. Being an enthusiast they mean a lot to me! 

[Jon]

29 minutes ago, VWatchie said:

Do you just dip the pallet stones or the entire fork? Any details would be highly interesting!

I read that dipping the whole fork will cover the pivots and horn with epilame also and have seen pictures of epilame dust after some months after service on those areas, considerably affecting amplitude.

I either dip the end of the pallet jewels in a small pot of epilame, one at a time for about a minute or paint it on the end of the jewel with an oiler. Careful not to get it on the pivots.

I stand the fork up in some rodico whilst painting it on.

This keeps any epilame off other parts of the fork.

[JohnR725]

1 hour ago, VWatchie said:

"If something is good, it naturally follows that more of it must be better"

yes cleaning products for horology with ammonia. wonderful stuff it making things bright and shiny but go past that and it starts etching and doing just the opposite. On another discussion group I once read were somebody forgot a watch in the cleaner when they went on vacation they were in need of a new movement.

then for surface treating they make special bottles that also have special prices. For pallet forks one of the recommendations is a dropper bottle the second link below shows an example. You can squeeze a small drop out and then dip the pallet fork stones into that keeping it off the rest of the fork.

 

https://www.jewelerssupplies.com/zenith-soak-coat-jar-for-epilame-150.015.html

https://www.jewelerssupplies.com/kimble-amber-glass-bottle-with-dropper-150.006.html

https://www.jewelerssupplies.com/epilame-bottle-double-chamber-for-fixodrop-150.009.html

https://www.jewelerssupplies.com/epilame-bottle-with-built-in-basket-150.013.html

[jdm]

17 hours ago, VWatchie said:

 

 

Very good work with excellent pictures. Just like on Seikos there should be a indication to correctly align transmission wheel before fitting the rotor (which goes toward crown if worn left, or toward 9h if worn on the right arm). This detail allows to get the most efficiency from the magic lever winding system.

[VWatchie]

 

Above are the timing machine results for my ORIENT calibre 46E40. The graph is a bit irregular in some of the positions (could that be the escape wheel having too much side shake?) but with a positional error of +/- 9 seconds and a fairly consistent rate that only varies with a couple of seconds per day when the watch is worn I am more than pleased. I certainly didn't expect that, especially after my "ammonia solution based watch cleaning machine abuse" and the fact that I only paid about $100 for the watch new in 2014/2015.

[VWatchie]

4 hours ago, jdm said:

Very good work with excellent pictures.

Thanks! 

 

4 hours ago, jdm said:

Just like on Seikos there should be a indication to correctly align transmission wheel before fitting the rotor

Yes, I saw that in Mark's 7S26 Service Video but I didn't think about it when I assembled the watch, nor did I notice any kind of indication. I'll have a closer look and will get about it. Thanks for pointing it out!

[VWatchie]

4 hours ago, JohnR725 said:

For pallet forks one of the recommendations is a dropper bottle the second link below shows an example.

Thanks, and very interesting! If I get myself one of those (good they don't cost a small fortune) I'll report back!

[VWatchie]

Very practical and valuable information @Jon 

I'll give a try the next service I do!

[jdm]

2 hours ago, VWatchie said:

Yes, I saw that in Mark's 7S26 Service Video but I didn't think about it when I assembled the watch, nor did I notice any kind of indication. I'll have a closer look and will get about it. Thanks for pointing it out!

I have looked and there is none. Maybe it doesn't even matter.

[JohnR725]

if you look in the Seiko service guide or the time module which is the OEM division of Seiko guide it will tell you how to put the automatic weight on. But usually the time module guide seems to do a better presentation.