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Posted

Hi, very new to watch repairs s bear with me 🙂 

I bought this Normana watch and despite not paying much at all, I love it - however, the step seems to have snapped half way down. Can anyone tell me where I can source a replacement and what I would actually search for - i.e. are there generic stems or will struggle to find one?

Thanks in advance!

Tony

IMG_20220222_092733.jpg

Posted

Hi and welcome to the forum,  A nice clean watch and style, see why you like it.  First thing to to is remove the back and identify the maker and its caliber number as without this it will be gard going finding a stem.  Wirh the back off have a look under the balance wheel for a logo and a number or on any of the plates. They are sometimes under the dial. Once having determined the make etc If you are in the UK , Cousins UK or in the stares Jules Borel or Esslinger.com    Jules Borel have a very useful database which allows you to look up parts on particular calibers.     If you are unsure of the maker/caliber take pictures of them and re post. Many members are here to help you.

Posted

That's helpful, I'll get the back off when my tools arrive today - in the meantime, do these images help and as it snapped off, will the watch need dismantling to remove the broken bit? Thanks....

s-l1600 (2).jpg

s-l1600.jpg

Posted

Looks like barrel bridge and the barrel is to come out to gain access to the remaining bit.

Can you show a clear close up of the broken stem thats attached to the crown.

Hairspring too seem outside the regulator slot.

Regs

 

Posted
19 minutes ago, Nucejoe said:

Looks like barrel bridge and the barrel is to come out to gain access to the remaining bit.

Can you show a clear close up of the broken stem thats attached to the crown.

Hairspring too seem outside the regulator slot.

Regs

There you go....hope that helps? 

 

1645532194568 (1).jpg

Posted
2 hours ago, Watching said:

will the watch need dismantling to remove the broken bit?

Certainly the mov.t does not need to be "dismantled" to remove it from the case. That is a front loader case, and your is the most frequently asked question by beginners - you can search using the box top right. In short, the crystal, or bezel is removed, then is removed from the front.

Posted

 As said its a front loader, you would find a seam around the bezel, crack the bezel open to uncase the movement.

  Is that a portion of the stem still attached to the crown? it might just unscrew , alum disolves steel in case a piece of the crown doesn't want to come out of the crown.

 So if you plan to attack from the dial side, remove the hands, dial plate to expose the keyless.

There is also an aproach from the barrel side,   release the barrel power through the click, remove ratchet wheel and barrel bridge then barrel should just fall out underneath which is the keyless mech. 

Take plenty of pix as you dismantle, help with reassembly.

Good luck.

 

  • Like 1
Posted
14 minutes ago, Nucejoe said:

 As said its a front loader, you would find a seam around the bezel, crack the bezel open to uncase the movement.

  Is that a portion of the stem still attached to the crown? it might just unscrew , alum disolves steel in case a piece of the crown doesn't want to come out of the crown.

 So if you plan to attack from the dial side, remove the hands, dial plate to expose the keyless.

There is also an aproach from the barrel side,   release the barrel power through the click, remove ratchet wheel and barrel bridge then barrel should just fall out underneath which is the keyless mech. 

Take plenty of pix as you dismantle, help with reassembly.

Good luck.

 

Big job for a first attempt then? 😕 

Posted

You can watch the entire disassembly process in walkthroughs by WRT members and Mark lovic. 

We,ll work with you step by step too. 

This movement looks too good for a practice though. 

Regrds

Posted
36 minutes ago, Watching said:

Big job for a first attempt then? 😕 

Not really. Removing and refitting bands, casebacks, bezels, crystals, stems, mov.t, etc - that is uncasing / casing work etc. is something that beginners must be able to do without issue before going to work on mov.ts.

It is generally not difficult, but can be frustrating and damaging to the watch when attempted without the proper tools and the full understanding of what is what and how it's done.

 

 

Posted
18 hours ago, Nucejoe said:

You can watch the entire disassembly process in walkthroughs by WRT members and Mark lovic. 

We,ll work with you step by step too. 

This movement looks too good for a practice though. 

Regrds

Thanks for your advice....got as far as getting movement out, but how do I remove the snapped but of the stem still inside. I have loosed the small screw that keeps the stem in place, but its not budging - I thought it might have dropped out - no such luck!

 

Tony

IMG_20220223_104251.jpg

Posted
1 hour ago, Watching said:

how do I remove the snapped but of the stem still inside.

Remove hands and dial, push out stem from dial (keyless) side.

  • Like 2
Posted

See images below - I'm not sure how to 'push' the stem out....there doesn't seem to be anywhere to push from. Additionally, I am not even sure I can see it....

 

Thanks again,

 

Tony

IMG_20220223_151845.jpg

IMG_20220223_151801.jpg

Posted

I seem to have extracted the broken stem. A little more fiddley than I'd hoped for my first foray into watch repairs. All I've got to do is put it back together. Is there any maintenance I can/should do before hand? 

IMG_20220223_171020.jpg

Posted
3 minutes ago, Watching said:

 All I've got to do is put it back together. Is there any maintenance I can/should do before hand? 

Ya, put all the keyless( sliding pinion, winding pinion,  etc back on, insert tbe stem, instal the bridge/ selector fork back so you have the stem in place, test if the set mech works right, lastly  put the dial back on, this way you have all the set mech aligned  cuz sometimes it all gets misaligned which wont let you insert them stem in and if you have sized the new stem all thats left to do is lower the movement into  the case.

Good luck

Posted

Incidentally, and as you'll doubtless know, the movement is one of the bridge variants of the FEF 190, probably from around 1950, which may help with your search for any bits required.

Regards.

  • Like 1
Posted
16 minutes ago, balaton said:

Incidentally, and as you'll doubtless know, the movement is one of the bridge variants of the FEF 190, probably from around 1950, which may help with your search for any bits required.

Regards.

Hi and thanks - but as I have literally only started my foray into watch repairs 4 days ago that's news to me - but yes, useful! 🙂

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