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Completed (more or less) this restoration...


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This was in the box-o-watches.  Had water damage.  I posted about the third wheel having the pivot rusted.  That movement ultimately died at the mercy of untrained hands.  No tears...it is a BFG866 movement and they are plentiful on ebay disguised by watch faces.  I think I got the replacement for under ten bucks including shipping.

I also posted about the challenge of installing the crystal.  Anyway...here it is.

Two things though:

1) It needs a new rubber gasket/grommet for the back.  I have the old one, but it has stretched.

2) The crown needs replacment because it has lost the rubber gasket inside the perimeter.

These may or may not be a challenge to find...dunno.  I notice that the stem is bigger than most (diameter).

But, I do not trust any of my watches under water and thus do not challenge them in that way.  In the background, I will look for a new crown.

2021-07-15 14_45_44-20210715_144135.jpg ‎- Photos.png

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4 hours ago, watchweasol said:

Hi There is a site, in Europe I believe   Windingstems.com ,  https://www.windingstems.com/ who hava or seem to have a comprehensive stock.  Wrth a look.     cheers  

I have bookmarked this site for future purchases.  Not much there on crowns however (lots of tap 9).

I recently bought some assortments of crown o-rings.  Looked through them yesterday.  Could not find one with the right OD and ID to fit inside the crown and around the tube.

This is a cheap watch...but it is part of my journey to fix/find everything to make a finished piece.

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OK...prolly not gonna get any "high fives" for this one...


The crown gasket I need has a 2.4mm ID and an OD of about 2.6mm.  Nothing in my collection of gaskets fits.  Soooo.

I saw this video of a guy making a gasket out of wire insulation.  Pretty novel.  I have tons of wire and cable (I am in EE), so I found a cable that was perfect.  I cut the size I needed and inserted it into the crown.  Voila. It is certainly better than nothing at all and actually fits pretty snug.  Rubber would be better...but...

It is my watch...I will live with any consequences.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 7/16/2021 at 8:40 PM, LittleWatchShop said:

OK...prolly not gonna get any "high fives" for this one...


The crown gasket I need has a 2.4mm ID and an OD of about 2.6mm.  Nothing in my collection of gaskets fits.  Soooo.

I saw this video of a guy making a gasket out of wire insulation.  Pretty novel.  I have tons of wire and cable (I am in EE), so I found a cable that was perfect.  I cut the size I needed and inserted it into the crown.  Voila. It is certainly better than nothing at all and actually fits pretty snug.  Rubber would be better...but...

It is my watch...I will live with any consequences.

Something else you might consider is making a new gasket out of silicone.  I know it's a lot bigger in comparison but I made a new gasket from silicon (the kind you get in a tube that when it sets, it's flexible) for my Tefal steam generator iron.  I would imagine making something that tiny would be a real challenge though.

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1 hour ago, LittleWatchShop said:

This deserves some thought!

I did make some earring backs for a pair of hook earrings I had a habit of losing.  They weren't perfect but did the job.  It would have helped if I'd had a decent magnifying glass to see what I was doing better.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 7/31/2021 at 6:16 PM, LittleWatchShop said:

This deserves some thought!

My solution for an 866 with busted stem was to use an adapter from esslinger (I believe it was tap 7 to tap 9), then used a large (5mm) tap 9 new crown. 😉 
 

I also ordered gross bags of flat gaskets and round o-rings from them. They come in handy.

 

 

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On 7/16/2021 at 3:53 AM, LittleWatchShop said:

The crown needs replacment because it has lost the rubber gasket inside the perimeter.

It is actually possible to tease the old o-ring out of the crown through the gap in the crown and replace it with a new one. If the old o-ring has hardened, it can be softened by soaking it in acetone overnight, then using a sewing needle to dig it out bit by bit. From the bits that come out, a rough estimate of the thickness of the o-ring can be made. The ID of the o-ring corresponds to the diameter of the case tube.

It may be excruciatingly painful work but you'll have the original crown.

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On 7/16/2021 at 2:44 PM, LittleWatchShop said:

I recently bought some assortments of crown o-rings.  Looked through them yesterday.  Could not find one with the right OD and ID to fit inside the crown and around the tube.

That happens a lot with crown gaskets. No matter how many you have, there will always be another size needed. And they are not tolerant of approximations as (to an extent) case back gasket are. 

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5 hours ago, jdm said:

No matter how many you have

I am trying to build an inventory of things like this so when I need it I have it.  One could argue that it does not make sense for someone like my who is functioning as a hobbyist (for lack of a better term), but it makes sense to me.  I keep thinking that I need a good assortment of crystal...well I did buy some off ebay when this journey started but learned that the majority are small diameter.  Even so, I have found a few that fit the watches I was restoring.  Recently I have been replacing glass crystals and realizing that there is a huge variety of diameters and thicknesses...not worth the money to have in inventory.

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I went nuts collecting acrylic crystals. And the documentation for them. Boy do I have crystals!

And of course, like everything else at the moment, they are in storage and difficult to get at.  I keep telling myself that they will be useful in the future, but actually I think I went a bit off my rocker when I was buying them all 🙂

Cheers!

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26 minutes ago, dadistic said:

Boy do I have crystals!

Maybe on my 2022 drive to the Boundary Waters, I should swing over to Wisconsin and see your crystal collection!

Frankly, I would like to make a US tour and see some of the forum members in person...but that would take from from Texas to Seattle, to NH, Wisconsin...and Minnesota (I think there is  MN forum member).  That would be fun.

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I think by fall 2022, we will be in the Duluth area, but you are absolutely welcome to stop by any time. I like hanging out with collectors, there is a NAWCC group here in Madison that's fun to get together with.  Nothing in Duluth, but maybe that's my incentive to get more involved in NAWCC, try and get a chapter going.

Cheers!

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2 hours ago, LittleWatchShop said:

Maybe on my 2022 drive to the Boundary Waters, I should swing over to Wisconsin and see your crystal collection!

Frankly, I would like to make a US tour and see some of the forum members in person...but that would take from from Texas to Seattle, to NH, Wisconsin...and Minnesota (I think there is  MN forum member).  That would be fun.

Be sure to stop in Milwaukee for a drink.

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