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Replacing Dial On Vintage Pocket Watch

BruceInHawaii
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BruceInHawaii New Member

BruceInHawaii

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I'm replacing the dial (old one is damaged) on a vintage Tavannes Pocket Watch.  The new dial fits perfectly with one exception:  the pins are further away from the edge of the dial than the old dial and need to be relocated.  I am sure I can't solder new pins on this new dial due to the possibility of damaging the beautiful enamel finish.  I've attached a photo of the front and back of the new dial.

 

post-814-0-35529000-1427587863_thumb.jpgpost-814-0-38793100-1427587880_thumb.jpg

 

Can anyone offer a suggestion on how to reattach the pins to the dial (without risking damage to it of course:)

 

Thanks,  -Bruce

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Geo Distinguished Member

Geo

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Hi Bruce.

You've definitely got a a tricky one here. I might be wrong, but I'm sure pins can be soft soldered onto the dial. Being ceramic, the heat required should not effect the finish. The ceramic residue on the rear of the dial would first have to be carefully ground off; not easy when you consider how hard the stuff is. You would then require some sort of fixture to hold the pins in correct alignment and the whole dial would have to be gently brought up to temperature to prevent cracks before actually doing the soldering. I sure wouldn't want to attempt it.

You can buy replacement dial pins/feet with solder pads here:- http://www.daveswatchparts.com/MaterialAssortments.html

I would suggest purchasing the feet and fixing them with superglue. It would be a lot safer.

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WillFly Distinguished Member

WillFly

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I'm with Geo on this one - enamel dials are very prone to cracking. An alternative to superglue (apart from a perfectly fitting replacement) is to use sticky pads. It's not a solution I care for, but they do work and they won't cause any damage. There's also the question of grinding down the existing feet...

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Blacklab Distinguished Member

Blacklab

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I haven't used it myself but have read many dire warnings about damage caused even after curing. See here:http://www.thewatchsite.com/34-watchmaking-tinkering/45268-fitting-has-no-dial-feet-help.html & here:http://www.thewatchsite.com/21-japanese-watch-discussion-forum/134498-weight-came-off-rotor-7s36-ideas.html for a couple of examples.

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Geo Distinguished Member

Geo

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Hi BL, I would never recommend it for use within the confines of a watch, anything on the face of a dial or for holding a crystal in place and have said so before on this forum.

In this case the pins are on the back of the dial that has been separated from the watch, so once fully cured there shouldn't be a problem with fuming. Having said that, I've never had any real success glueing dial feet regardless of what glue I used and I've tried a few. :(

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  • 2 weeks later...
zenon WRT Addict

zenon

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I need to revive this topic for clearer answer. As far as I read here there is no proper way to reposition pins on a dial. So what is to be done if there is no exactly the same replacement dial? Is this an open subject?

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