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Second Vulcain Cricket restoration (almost complete)

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LittleWatchShop Distinguished Member

LittleWatchShop

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Here is another Vulcain I got off of Ebay.  It had some foreign ingress via the stem hole.  It was a black nasty stuff that fudged up the keyless works.  The stem could not be removed. Fortunately, this particular watch has an odd case system.  You can remove the movement without removing the stem.  Yay for that...otherwise I would have been SOL.  I posted about the rusted stem elsewhere in the forum today and @Nucejoenudged me over the finish line.

This watch represents a milestone for me.  It is the first watch I have cleaned using a bona fide L&R vintage watch cleaner and "really and truly" watch cleaning solution (L&R of course).

My donor Vulcain actually became the movement I used and I took several parts that had been scavenged already from the movement that came with this case.  Notice that the alarm pusher is stainless steel--that came from the donor because this Vulcain came without a pusher.  I am investigating electroplating it.  Maybe electroplate the whole case which is already 10KGF and wearing in several places.  I am going to leave the dial as is for now.  The discoloration is not what I would call "patina" since it probably resulted from the "accident" with this watch.

Sometime back, I bought a box of round watch crystals off ebay for 60 bucks or so.  Most of them are smallish, but I got lucky and found a crystal for this watch.  So far I think I have found three crystals from this purchase.  Not the best ROI, but hey...

 

333.jpg

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LittleWatchShop Distinguished Member

LittleWatchShop

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Update!  I found a partial Cricket case that had the button.  Bought it and installed it on this watch.  With the hood open, I fixed an issue with the alarm that had been bugging me.  Ended up replacing the alram on/off spring with one from the donor I have.  I also replaced the wig-wag in the keyless works.  For some reason, it would not seat properly and the  winding pinion would skip...strange.  Anyway, it works now.

2021-06-19 08_34_44-Photos.png

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LittleWatchShop Distinguished Member

LittleWatchShop

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Updating to THIRD Vulcain Cricket (Sensilarm) done except for the sweep second hand.

To bring this one to life I had to:

1) new staff
2) turned a new pusher
3) replaced keyless works (clutch and winding pinion, crown gear, setting lever and setting lever screw)
4) sweep second pinion

I am now in the hunt for a sweep second hand.

I put a lot of money into this thing...I think...it has been going on for about nine months.  Bought parts on ebay, NOS material houses, donor watch, and I made the pusher.

2022-01-23 14_54_35-20220123_101604.jpg ‎- Photos.png

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LittleWatchShop Distinguished Member

LittleWatchShop

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Just when you think your and done...and then...

I got another sweep second, broached it, fitted it and installed a new crystal.  Then it stopped.  Decided it must be the sweep second hitting the inside of the crystal so I shaped it to fit better.  No luck.

Strange behavior.  Seemed to run face down but when I put it in the case it quit.  The nature of the quitting was interesting.  The locking jewel of the pallet fork was hitting--face on--the tooth of the escape wheel.  Was the fork bent?  Was a pivot bent.  Escape wheel pivot bent?  All possible.

I removed them all and put them on my poising tool. Maybe, just maybe there was a slight issue with the the escape wheel but could not imagine it being the problem.  I had another escape wheel from a donor (which will open up a new can of worms below).  I could not see any issue with the pallet fork.  I inspected everything under high magnification (40x).  All pivots looked fine and polished (i.e., no broken pivots).  Put it back together and still having this issue.  I had another balance assemble from the donor.  Installed it.  No change.  Still locked up.

My theory at this point was that the fourth wheel and the escape wheel were not meshing perfectly at some angle.  I looked at the fourth wheel and could not observe an issue.  OK...I have a fourth wheel from the donor...installed it.  The watch seems to be running properly now, but I am not satisfied.  I still need to find the root cause.  Gonna take a careful look at the fourth wheel when I get some distance between me and this ordeal.

During this process, I noticed that the alarm spring was slipping!! Grrrrrrr!!!  It was work...I am sure!  This required another tear down to get to the alarm spring.  When I removed it there was a reverse kink in it.  HOW COULD THIS BE??? Did I do it during the original clean?? No way!  I have K&D winders and I know how to use them.  Did this barrel get swapped with the donor barrel???  I don't know, but I got the donor barrel and removed the spring and went ahead and cleaned it to be sure.  Installed and it is working.

So, yesterday was a bad day...well...frustrating is more precise.  I love solving problems and, fortunately, this problem transitioned from headache to research (which is just an emotional mental transition).

Am I done?  Dunno.  Watching the watch carefully on the bench.  Soon I will put a strap on it and wear it--the acid test.

I am working on the Seth Thomas Electric marvel clock today...lol...what adventure lies ahead?

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Neverenoughwatches Distinguished Member

Neverenoughwatches

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On 5/12/2021 at 6:29 PM, LittleWatchShop said:

Here is another Vulcain I got off of Ebay.  It had some foreign ingress via the stem hole.  It was a black nasty stuff that fudged up the keyless works.  The stem could not be removed. Fortunately, this particular watch has an odd case system.  You can remove the movement without removing the stem.  Yay for that...otherwise I would have been SOL.  I posted about the rusted stem elsewhere in the forum today and @Nucejoenudged me over the finish line.

This watch represents a milestone for me.  It is the first watch I have cleaned using a bona fide L&R vintage watch cleaner and "really and truly" watch cleaning solution (L&R of course).

My donor Vulcain actually became the movement I used and I took several parts that had been scavenged already from the movement that came with this case.  Notice that the alarm pusher is stainless steel--that came from the donor because this Vulcain came without a pusher.  I am investigating electroplating it.  Maybe electroplate the whole case which is already 10KGF and wearing in several places.  I am going to leave the dial as is for now.  The discoloration is not what I would call "patina" since it probably resulted from the "accident" with this watch.

Sometime back, I bought a box of round watch crystals off ebay for 60 bucks or so.  Most of them are smallish, but I got lucky and found a crystal for this watch.  So far I think I have found three crystals from this purchase.  Not the best ROI, but hey...

 

333.jpg

Hi LWS I like the dial. It shows character and history. I'm a big fan of Swiss vintage, not a fan of too much restoration though. Anything from the 30s up to late 60s is nice to work on. Let us know how you find the plating process, it's something I'm considering.  

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