Keeping track of screws

[mattconn24]

Hello,

This is my first post and I am very new to the hobby.  I am having trouble understanding how everyone keeps track of where each screw goes?  I have taken apart many phones but I am always very careful to keep them all organized so they go back in reverse order.  But in the case of a watch all the parts go into the cleaner and get mixed up.  How you tell which goes where?  Thanks in advance!

[Michael]

Hi, you could put the screw back on the plates where they came from, after removing the components. The plates go into the cleaner with all the screws fixed to the plates.

[JohnR725]

what is really weird is this weird feeling of déjà vu like  we just get this question within the last couple weeks?

a lot of this depends on a whole variety of factors like how many little thimble baskets do you have for your screws. ssymbol baskets are the tiny baskets that you can put  tiny things in like the screws and miscellaneous little parts. Typically a modern wristwatch up with all the tiny automatic parts  in one basket  all the dial side parts  in another basket and everything else in another baskets.

On the other hand if everything gets mixed up  and you do it enough it's usually not an issue..  But what I typically do is  I organize my screws before I assemble the watch. Typically I place them on the bench  head down  threaded part up so it's easy to see their   length  because some plates screws one of them may be slightly shorter than the other. then you end up with organized groupings of screws usually it's really easy to figure out where they go then there's a few miscellaneous screws that there's only one of each  but they're usually easy to figure out because the head sizes in the various places they go..

If the watch gets really complicated like a  repeater for instance  then you want to clean everything separate  and put the screws back in the plate you really don't want a mixup anything that gets really complicated or older watches that have screws that are almost hand made each one then conceivably they'll look the same but they won't be the same so putting them back on the plate is really helpful.

 

[spectre6000]

I asked the same question a month or two ago. I suggested putting the screws back in the plate as well. Could be what you're thinking of.

Turns out, I was over thinking it a bit. Watches are generally simpler than what I'm used to. I ended up getting an aluminum case with a bunch of small, glass topped, aluminum canisters. For simpler watches, disassembling by system results in only one or two related screw per system; each system gets a can. I.e., keyless works all together into a can with the one or two associated screws. They tend to be the same, but that's not a rule, and if they're not put them back in the plate where they came from, take a note, take a photo, etc.

I haven't gotten to the point yet where I can line all the screws up by size and get them back where they go. I say this because I haven't tried, I'm sure it's simpler than I'm making it out to be.

Some of the reasons cited for NOT doing this all the time were that it's more operations/opportunities to mess something up (slip a driver), they are likely to come out in the washing machine, and it's just not worth the effort (echoed in the previous paragraph). One thing I'd add is that there are occasions where a screw can be long enough to come into contact with something on the opposite side of the plate. If you're screwing it back in to keep track/wash/etc., and the component it affixes is absent, it may create a problem.

For complicated movements, like chronographs, I've seen Mark Lovick do the back in the plate trick in a few of his videos. 

Edited June 20, 2020 by spectre6000

[Nucejoe]

24 minutes ago, spectre6000 said:

I asked the same question a month or two ago. I suggested putting the screws back in the plate as well. Could be what you're thinking of.

Turns out, I was over thinking it a bit. Watches are generally simpler than what I'm used to. I ended up getting an aluminum case with a bunch of small, glass topped, aluminum canisters. For simpler watches, disassembling by system results in only one or two related screw per system; each system gets a can. I.e., keyless works all together into a can with the one or two associated screws. They tend to be the same, but that's not a rule, and if they're not put them back in the plate where they came from, take a note, take a photo, etc.

I haven't gotten to the point yet where I can line all the screws up by size and get them back where they go. I say this because I haven't tried, I'm sure it's simpler than I'm making it out to be.

Some of the reasons cited for NOT doing this all the time were that it's more operations/opportunities to mess something up (slip a driver), they are likely to come out in the washing machine, and it's just not worth the effort (echoed in the previous paragraph). One thing I'd add is that there are occasions where a screw can be long enough to come into contact with something on the opposite side of the plate. If you're screwing it back in to keep track/wash/etc., and the component it affixes is absent, it may create a problem.

For complicated movements, like chronographs, I've seen Mark Lovick do the back in the plate trick in a few of his videos. 

I like your idea of taking picture of relevent parts and screws.

A shortcoming with putting screws back on plate would be the screw threads not get cleaned entirely.