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Ruhla Pocket Watch


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Not an achievement yet, but I purchased this pocket watch off Ebay in the hopes to get it shiny and running again.
I have no tools apart from some precision screwdrivers so will probably need to purchase some before I tackle this thing.

I do believe when it is cleaned up it will be gorgious and hopefully I can get it running.

Will keep you all posted here.

 

 

Ruhla Zakhorloge.jpg

Ruhla Zakhorloge1.jpg

Ruhla Zakhorloge2.jpg

Ruhla Zakhorloge3.jpg

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Good luck with this movement!

I‘m not so sure if this is a good start for a beginner expecting a „gorgious“ result. The hairspring looks bent and the pivot holes badly worn. You should take it as an object for practicing assembly work and be happy to see it just running.

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23 minutes ago, Kalanag said:

Good luck with this movement!

I‘m not so sure if this is a good start for a beginner expecting a „gorgious“ result. The hairspring looks bent and the pivot holes badly worn. You should take it as an object for practicing assembly work and be happy to see it just running.

Ah thank you.
Well its not anything important or expensive, so it is meant for learning and practicing, getting it running will be the biggest problem.
Thank you for pointing out the problems with the watch, these are things I have missed by being a total beginner at this.

 

Also what I meant with gorgious, was polishing the case and getting the glas/crystal clear and shiny again. I think it will look fantastic when that is done, running or not.

Edited by Loei
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7 hours ago, Loei said:

That should me should I need parts of any kind

At first glance it looks like you'll need a stem and crown. The easiest way to get those parts may be to try to find another abandoned watch of the same make/model and vintage however as I've learned: swapping parts on a 100 tear-old pocket watch doesn't always go as smoothly as one would like.

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9 hours ago, Loei said:

Ah thank you.
Well its not anything important or expensive, so it is meant for learning and practicing, getting it running will be the biggest problem.
Thank you for pointing out the problems with the watch, these are things I have missed by being a total beginner at this.

 

Also what I meant with gorgious, was polishing the case and getting the glas/crystal clear and shiny again. I think it will look fantastic when that is done, running or not.

You will be thrilled to see the balance wheel spring (excuse the pun ) into life.

9 hours ago, Loei said:

Oh wow, thanks for that!
That should me should I need parts of any kind. Thanks very much!

A bit of googling will give you some interesting company history loei. Some information on watchuseek and a youtube video about the ruhla brand and its derivatives will get a  manufacturing date within a few years. Just a little advice if i also may matey, one of my golden rules of watch buying especially from epay. Is to never buy one that has no stem unless I'm sure i already have one or can get one. I have other rules but this is among the most important. As this often leads to having to buy another of the same, which in itself is not a bad idea. As long as you bere in mind that at least 2 non working watches can be needed to make 1 working watch. In the case of a missing stem you know for sure that that issue exists. Where as particular movement issues such as in the balance  assembly, these are much harder to spot and are easily overlooked or not apparent at all. 

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Thanks all for the information and usefull tips. Seems that I need to find a stem and crown, something I didn't really know to pay attention to, so already learning here.

While that search goes on I will turn my attention to the case and glass to get it looking nice as a start.

15 hours ago, grsnovi said:

At first glance it looks like you'll need a stem and crown. The easiest way to get those parts may be to try to find another abandoned watch of the same make/model and vintage however as I've learned: swapping parts on a 100 tear-old pocket watch doesn't always go as smoothly as one would like.

In what way should I be searching for a crown and a stem?
This page http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&zenoshop&0&2uswk&UMF_83 shows it has a w290 or w302 stem.

Thanks in advance for any help.

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20 minutes ago, Loei said:

Thanks all for the information and usefull tips. Seems that I need to find a stem and crown, something I didn't really know to pay attention to, so already learning here.

While that search goes on I will turn my attention to the case and glass to get it looking nice as a start.

I have had a search for that particular stem  as a nos ( New old stock ). Ranfft are listing two. A w290 and a w302. It seems the umf 1 from before 1968 was renamed the umf83, then in 1972 bacame nickle plated. So yours is in that 4 year period. A stem database check may be needed to find out which stem you need out of the two. So also bere that in mind if aquiring a donor that you need the brass coloured movement mainplate plate.

13 minutes ago, Kalanag said:

If the winding stem is just broken with some threads left you can use a winding stem extension.

Here is some more information about the caliber:

https://17jewels.info/movements/u/umf/umf-83-31/

Apparently a tough old boot, i may look for one to add to my collection. 

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30 minutes ago, Kalanag said:

Big difference between the two at the insertion end. Loei may be abel to work out which one is needed.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi everybody,

I received the watch last week and took it apart this weekend.
 

From what I can discover all parts seem working and it is just missing the stem and crown.

How would I go about finding out which stem and crown I need for this watch?

Thank you for any help in advance.

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1 hour ago, Loei said:

Hi everybody,

I received the watch last week and took it apart this weekend.
 

From what I can discover all parts seem working and it is just missing the stem and crown.

How would I go about finding out which stem and crown I need for this watch?

Thank you for any help in advance.

Have you tried winding some power in through the crown wheel ? Although doesnt look possible on the train side having no seperate barrel bridge. Maybe on the dial side ? If you can post up some good close up pictures so we can work that out.  Once you can put some power on then you can establish if the watch will actually run. There isn't  much point aquiring a stem and crown if the watch has other major issues that may not be fixable apart from a non working asthetic point of view. Hopefully you should be ok for parts as this is as i remember is not a particularly old watch. 

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Just now, Neverenoughwatches said:

Have you tried winding some power in through the crown wheel ? Although doesnt look possible on the train side having no seperate barrel bridge. Maybe on the dial side ? If you can post up some good close up pictures so we can work that out.  Once you can put some power on then you can establish if the watch will actually run. There isn't  much point aquiring a stem and crown if the watch has other major issues that may not be fixable apart from a non working asthetic point of view. Hopefully you should be ok for parts as this is as i remember is not a particularly old watch. 

Thank you for the idea.

I am currently in the process of rebuilding it and so far so good, not quite there yet.
When I have it reassembled I will post some new pictures and hopefully get it going with your help.

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6 minutes ago, Loei said:

This looks like a pretty close match then:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/202980257448

Remember there are a few variations of the umf 83. I would check ranfft for stem differences. 

13 minutes ago, Loei said:

Thank you for the idea.

I am currently in the process of rebuilding it and so far so good, not quite there yet.
When I have it reassembled I will post some new pictures and hopefully get it going with your help.

For $11 inc. Shipping thats not as bad as i had expected providing it will fit correctly. There is a way to measure the stems to check if you have an accurate micrometer and the seller is willi g to do the same. I will try get you the sizes later when I'm home.

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Well I just discovered something very unpleasant.

The top bearing for the palletfork is missing.
This means that the end at the balance wheel just lays flat, which I believe causes the balance wheel/hairspring to have no balance.

This is a very tiny part for which I will probably need to acquire another one of these movements unfortunately.

In my first pictures you can see a small screw below the balance cock which does not seem to hold anything down, that part is missing.

Edit: I might be wrong about the balance of the hairspring.
The pivot of does not seem to touch the balance cock, only the bottom jewel/bearing.

Edited by Loei
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Indeed that is the missing part.

I'm not sure if that also causes the balance wheen to be unbalanced, I can find no reason why the top of the pivot of the weel is not touching the balance cock.
The parts are not bent or anything.

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35 minutes ago, Loei said:

I can find no reason why the top of the pivot of the weel is not touching the balance cock.

Likely one or both pivots are broken, to confirm you can post clear pictures here.

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