Jump to content

Recommended Posts

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
Posted
3 hours ago, KarlvonKoln said:

How many of the rest of you desire this?

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

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

  • Thanks 1
Posted
11 hours ago, Paul80 said:

The clock is running on how long this lasts before deletion 😎

Would you like to run the forum @Paul80 ?

 

@KarlvonKoln - it's the first topic pinned in this section of the forum:

 

  • Thanks 1
  • Mark locked this topic
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • A helpful way in aid of assembly is to place all the wheels in their respective places, place to plate on the top and fit a couple of the nuts onto the pillars. This stops all the wheels wobbling about as they are lightly held by the plate, you can manoeuvre the pivots into their holes, using a tool , usually home made or can be bought on eBay. I made my own. As the pivots align and fall into place screw the nuts down a bit to keep up the tension on the plate untill all wheels are in place then tighten down sufficiently to keep the plate in place whilst checking the end shake on ALL wheels and their location when all is good only then tighten down the plate.
    • I'd say my Pultra 10 lathe. It is just so well made and everything fits so tightly together.
    • Welcome to the forum, enjoy. 
    • 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.
    • 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’m aware of is the Boynton’s 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
×
×
  • Create New...