Jump to content

Below, proposing an "In Search of..." Section:

KarlvonKoln
 Share

Recommended Posts

KarlvonKoln Distinguished Member

KarlvonKoln

Posted
Posted (edited)

Good morning all.  After having read about a new (Beginners) section being proposed and discussed, I began to consider other such things which a new section might accomplish.  I arrived at the idea of addressing an obstacle which all who work on vintage watch must inevitably face: that of locating hard-to-find parts.  For this reason, I would like to discuss with all of you the pros, cons, & improvements of putting forth an "In Search Of" section.
The way I initially conceived it, the section would be for expressing that the person making a post is searching for a very hard-to-find part.  The section would have a pinned header which stipulated that anyone posting in it should at least have tried such other sources first  - Ebay, Ofrei, Cousins, Esslinger, Dave's, and any others that are open to all (not just licensed or registered watchmakers).  The header should also reiterate the No-Sales policy and specify that if one of us has the part being sought, but it is valuable enough to require compensation, that matter should be handled by private message from that point onward.  Anyone posting should make every effort to post all the details of the watch to which the necessary part belongs: make, model or calibre, year, any known variation thereof, and define the sought-after part in as much detail as possible, if the name for such a part is not widely known.
In this way, a frustrated member having exhausted all his best leads and reaching many dead ends, might post in this section that he is "In Search Of" a dial for an Omega Seamaster cal. 470, or perhaps a two-piece split stem for a Longines 345, or maybe a helical mainspring for a Grasset pocket watch, who knows.  And those on the forum who read that section from time-to-time would see it, and one among them might recall that "I have such a dial in my parts bin!"  You get the idea.  And then the person with the part could send a message to the person who is seeking it, and in private messages they could reach an arrangement.  I know such matters are already being handled this way in this forum, but we have not yet had a *dedicated* section for it.  What I am proposing is a sort of focal point for rare-parts searches.  A place in the forum for exactly this.
As you might imagine, my search for the Seamaster dial was part of what brought this idea to the forefront.  I've located the stem, however.  The Grasset mainspring is an attempt at a humorous analogy.  But I do believe that having an "In Search Of" section will benefit a great many of us, from seasoned veteran watchmakers who have sought a part high and low, to the beginners who don't even know what a particular or unusual part is called, let alone how to search for it.  And it would be aimed at connecting them with any other member who might know where to locate the part in question, might possess the part in question, or even be able to repair or re-create the part in question with the tools they have.  
So, tell me your thoughts.  I am eager to hear.  I would like to see such a section exist, but I would like it to be easy for all to use, so suggestions for improvements are extremely important.  How can we make this work as well as possible?  How many of the rest of you desire this?

Edited by KarlvonKoln
edited for clarity
  • Like 1
grsnovi Distinguished Member

grsnovi

Posted
Posted
  On 6/24/2022 at 12:11 PM, KarlvonKoln said:

How many of the rest of you desire this?

Expand  

It doesn't matter - WRT isn't a democracy.

Your idea would have best been addressed directly (in private) to Mark.

  • Thanks 1
  • Mark locked this topic
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • nevenbekriev
      Full plate watch, Suitable tool for adjusting & testing pallet stones?

      By nevenbekriev 路 Posted

      Yes, the specific old tools do exist, but may be having one is not needed as they are not cheap, and also You will be able to do without it well enough. My advice will be to use regular depthing tool and adjust it for the exact distance between pallet fork and escape wheel bearings from the watch. Then remove the shellac from the pallet that now doesn't pass the ew teeth and move this pallet in. Then put the pallet fork and ew on the depthing tool and check how they lock. They should not lock when the pallet is in, but You will little by little move the pallet out and locking will appear. Then move just an idea out for reliable work and apply shellac, then check if things are still the same. You have to observe where the teeth fall on the pallets - it must be just a little below the edge between impulse and rest planes. Then You must check how everything behaves in the movement This Potence tool is so ingenious, but actually, the traditional way to do the things is much more simple. Arrange the parts not on the pillar plate, but on the cover plate. Only the central wheel will remain on the pillar plate, secured by the cannon pinion.
    • Mercurial
      Full plate watch, Suitable tool for adjusting & testing pallet stones?

      By Mercurial 路 Posted

      There is a tool that was made for setting up and adjusting escapements of full plate watches.  There were two styles, the picture below shows both of them.  The lower tool held a movement plate and the vertical pointed rods were adjusted to hold the unsupported pivots of the lever and escape wheel.  There was also a version of this tool that had 3 adjustable safety centres so that the balance pivot could be supported by the tool :  The other version I鈥檓 aware of is the Boynton鈥檚 Escapement Matching and Examining Tool came as a set of two or three clamps that gripped the watch plate and held the safety centres for the pivots : These do turn up on eBay from time to time.  For some escapement work, you can set up the parts in a regular depthing tool, with the centres set according to the distance between the corresponding pivot holes on the movement.  I hope this helps, Mark
    • CARBONLACE
      Caravelle 11DO 17J vs 7j

      By CARBONLACE 路 Posted

      Thank you!
    • mikepilk
      Omega sweep second pinion friction spring - correct tension IS important

      By mikepilk 路 Posted

      Once you are aware of the problem, you can adjust as necessary. I have a couple of the Omega 10xx, and they are not my favourites. They seem a bit flimsy and not as solid as previous generation Omega. But I think that's true of a lot of movements from the 70-80s. For me, the 50-60s is the peak in watch movements, where the design criteria was quality, not saving the last penny.
    • TimeWerks
      Omega sweep second pinion friction spring - correct tension IS important

      By TimeWerks 路 Posted

      Thanks for this post MikePilk, I just came across a similar problem with an Omega 1022.  The problem I had was the seconds pinion spring was bent out of shape and did not even engage with the wheel properly, so the seconds hand was not moving at all. (no power loss though :) I removed the automatic module so I could access the spring and work on it. Once I bent it back close to the right shape, I experienced the same problem you reported about power loss.  Many tweaks later, and the seconds hand is moving properly again, with amplitude back to good numbers again. Cheers
脳
脳
  • Create New...