Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

I tested JB weld once on an old dial with some bergeon dial feet. i barely had to touch it with the pliers before the foot plucked off. It's confusing, no glues seem to like binding to copper? (yes i did leave it for the proper drying and curing time)

  • 7 months later...
Posted

Can anyone advise?

I got given a cheap ebay Seiko 7009a for my birthday a while back to play with. Not in the best of conditions but I usually stick to pocket watches so this was something to play along with. I've got it running again after changing the balance and cleaning out the lower pivot jewel and am now looking at the dial. It has no dial feet but I can see where they were originally on the back. They're right near the edge and on the dial side, the chapter ring covers the edge so any heat damage would be covered. 

I saw one of Balogh's video's and thought I'd may as well have a try. The dial is brass so I cleaned up around the original foot position with a file. I have some 0.6 mm copper wire and was using electrical flux and solder but I can't get the two to stick together. Can anyone suggest anything? Different flux or solder maybe?

Posted
On 07/10/2017 at 12:07 PM, mistergrumpy said:

Can anyone advise?

I got given a cheap ebay Seiko 7009a for my birthday a while back to play with. Not in the best of conditions but I usually stick to pocket watches so this was something to play along with. I've got it running again after changing the balance and cleaning out the lower pivot jewel and am now looking at the dial. It has no dial feet but I can see where they were originally on the back. They're right near the edge and on the dial side, the chapter ring covers the edge so any heat damage would be covered. 

I saw one of Balogh's video's and thought I'd may as well have a try. The dial is brass so I cleaned up around the original foot position with a file. I have some 0.6 mm copper wire and was using electrical flux and solder but I can't get the two to stick together. Can anyone suggest anything? Different flux or solder maybe?

Hi, I use solder with flux already in it, I have always found that using a separate flux it tends to burn off to quickly. I would also tin the area on the brass and on the copper first as well by putting solder on it and this will aid the flow of the solder when you try to make the join. It could also be your soldering iron is not upto the job as the brass will be acting as a heat sink, again I use a temperature controlled soldering iron that you can turn up to compensate. Hope this helps.

Posted
On 2017. 10. 13. at 1:50 AM, PJA said:

I've found this video for a pocket watch, but it might help with some sort of how to go about it as well. Just in case it's not too late.

You just found my video again  :D

On 2017. 10. 13. at 3:31 AM, vinn3 said:

i reccomend "tining"  for most soldering jobs.   with watch dials ,  pin locating and  overheating the dial are the big problems.   vin

Above i am shiwing an easy method how to find the point ;)

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Posted
7 hours ago, szbalogh said:

You just found my video again  :D

Above i am shiwing an easy method how to find the point ;)

It seems that you are putting these videos to teach us and I'm pointing them to those who need them, so in a way, we're teamed to help when possible.

Posted

Thanks all for the suggestions. I managed to sort the issue. I used lead free solder and a 30W soldering iron and between the 2 of them it fixed it. I think that maybe because the dial is matt black and painted it was less risky than enamel maybe.

  • 1 month later...
Posted

hi everyone!
I feel that people are still hesitant about the price and the difficulty of operating the dialer.
Recently I found a good seller with good price, it combines tin paste very easily
I bought his 220v version, I started work pretty easily and quickly than any video I have seen before.
My friend bought another one on ebay for $ 230 which did not include shipping cost and compared to the new one I bought really different electricity,
I bought the current can be twice as strong, solder quickly about 2 seconds
Due to the use of tin paste, the solder is quite beautiful and does not have too much tin.

 

This is the link he sent me 

 

 

Sorry i used gg tránlate.

  • Thanks 1
Posted (edited)

a timely topic revival...i've thinking how i would make a resistance solderer for dial feet for a current project

For you experience guys, would you say the two posts (feet) are always 180 degrees apart, ie a line through them also goes through the centre.....or are they sometimes offset, ie a line through them would be part of a chord?

I've been think that as well as making the solder joint, some sort of position would be nice and how to do so will depending on the answer to the above.  I can imagine the frustration at getting a perfect solder joint only to find the pins don't align with the holes.

Edited by measuretwice
Posted (edited)
19 hours ago, Cougarnaut said:

No, the positions can differ, I solved the problem like this: http://dirkfassbender.de/dial-feet-position-gauge.html

 

 

thanks......random locations complicates things but I suppose its to be expected.  Can you comment on how the your fixture is used.  I see from other posts you are soldering, but am unsure how the set up goes from locating with plastic arms to soldering without the plastic arms

Edited by measuretwice
Posted

Hi all,

I have a dial with broken feet, unfortunately.

I read most advice to resolder them with a special welding machine, which I don't have, and could potentially cause a spot on the dial due to overheating.

So I keep searching and I found some advice the use of JB weld, a specific 2 components glue.

Does anybody have experience on this glue?

Thanks a lot in advance

Posted
22 minutes ago, Massimo said:

 

Hi all,

I have a dial with broken feet, unfortunately.

I read most advice to resolder them with a special welding machine, which I don't have, and could potentially cause a spot on the dial due to overheating.

So I keep searching and I found some advice the use of JB weld, a specific 2 components glue.

Does anybody have experience on this glue?

Thanks a lot in advance

Are you working on a Seiko 5 or similar? use thin bi-adhesive tape and place some on the movement ring. Or get "dial pads" which in practice are the same thing. Gluing is unlikely to be effective.

Posted
Are you working on a Seiko 5 or similar? use thin bi-adhesive tape and place some on the movement ring. Or get "dial pads" which in practice are the same thing. Gluing is unlikely to be effective.
Thanks Jdm,
Indeed it's a 4r36, seiko 5.
I honestly dislike the idea of the double side tape... As a concept.
I agree it is fast, easy, and (temporarily) effective, without risk of damage.
But in the long term it might move.
Additionally the feet are kept in a plastic hole by interference, without screws so it must be a good bond if I want to reattach them.
Posted
3 minutes ago, Massimo said:

Indeed it's a 4r36, seiko 5.
I honestly dislike the idea of the double side tape... As a concept.

I agree it is fast, easy, and (temporarily) effective, without risk of damage.
But in the long term it might move.

Additionally the feet are kept in a plastic hole by interference, without screws so it must be a good bond if I want to reattach them.

It will not move, and the concept of repairing is to get the job done, not being purists on a $70 watch.

Anyway, exactly because the feet are a tight fit in the ring, they will stress the gluing point and break it, just like it broke the original soldering. So you will have to make the glue blob bigger, now it will push on the ring and the dial won't be flush. Then you start reaming out the hole the ring to make space... lot of effort for a patchy job that is the end is worse than adhesive tape. But I guess that not having been there before you'll need to experience first hand... have fun :biggrin:

  • Like 1
Posted

1 or 2 people were swearing by that JB weld for attaching new dial feet at one point on the forum, but when I tried it i found it was only a shade less than completely useless, I don't know if I'm doing something wrong but I've never been able to get any kind of cement to bond properly between the replacement copper dial feet i have and the dial, always snaps off without barely any effort.

I think short of special, costly welding equipment you have to accept that dial dots/strips are your best shot, it's the kind of thing that irks most repairers, we all want a better way of doing it i think, but it usually works out okay, at least if the movement ring is a fairly tight fit in the case. 
 

  • Like 2
Posted

Massimo, I found this a while back. I was about to try it but ended up finding a replacement dial.

Some great tips to align them too.

m.yukiwatch.com/articles/article/7390084/160035.htm

  • Like 1
Posted

Hi all,
Thanks a lot for the support, indeed I have the original pins but it's clear that the contact surface, using even a good glue, is too small.
Maybe using that feet with a larger head could help, increasing the area of contact.
I'll order both and give it a try.
Fingers crossed...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • I see. And is there a possibility to convert it to a springless system by replacing it with a standard split stem model?
    • Sharpening gauge.   I found the easiest side to do was the safety roller as the roller table laid flat on a block provided stability.  The other way requires a specific stump for the roller and pin to sit in, but may also grip better way.
    • Yes, the problem isn't so much with the 'background' radiation but inhaling or digesting loose flakes and dust that can become airborne.
    • The spring is so the crown pops out to the winding position when unscrewed.
    • Radium and the horrible story of the Radium Girls scares everyone - But there is also a lot of paranoia here.  I did a whole bunch of readings on a watch with Radium lume recently. My Geiger counter read 2µsv/h through the crystal with the sensor part of the Geiger counter right on top of the watch.  This measurement dropped off to the normal background rate of 0.18µsv/h as soon at the Geiger counter is just a few cms away. Measuring from the back of the watch and there is virtually no increase.  The rate went up to 5µsv/h from the dial and hands when the movement was removed from the case. To put this in perspective a Frankfurt to New York flight would give you about 50µsv of exposure and a chest x-ray about 100µsv.  Norwegian labour law states “The limit value for workers over the age of 18 years is set to 20 mSv per calendar year.” - that is the equivalent of 400 flights across the Atlantic! I will however point out at this point it is important that you don’t ingest the radium from the watch! One of the worst things you can do is scrape the radium off the dials and create radioactive dust that you could breath in! That being said… If for each radium lumed watch you work on you spend 15 minutes getting the movement out of the case and the dial and hands off and then another 15 minutes at the end putting the dial and hands back on your exposure would be less than 2.5µsv  Once you have the hands and dial off they can go in a box and put safely out of the way (probably good practice for any watch!). I believe the risks are negligible If you take precautions such as wearing a mask and gloves and wiping your work surfaces down with a damp paper towel and disposing of the towel, gloves and mask once you are finished  
×
×
  • Create New...