Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Hello All

I have started my watch repair learning! I have read a few online guides on how to repair watches. I have also acquired most of the necessary tools for watch repair. I have started out by cleaning two watches. The first watch I attempted to clean was a Bulova 10AK movement watch. This watch did not run before I cleaned it, nor after! Before I even took apart the watch, the balance wheel was wiggly. I could easily rock it from side to side. This is what I think was causing the problem. I cleaned it and put it back together but it still didn't work. Could someone explain why the balance wiggles like it does and how to fix it? This also happened on the second watch I got: a Hamilton 982 movement watch. This watch ran before I took it apart, but after cleaning it, its balance wheel has the same problem! I really do not know what to right now, so any help would be appreciated! A few more questions:

 

- How do professionals make their movements so clean that they sparkle after cleaning them? I used an ultrasonic cleaner for my second watch, but the results were good, but now perfect.

- Both watch cases aren't in very good shape. Where could I send watch cases to be restored?

- Where should I send a dial to be cleaned?

- Should I have professionals repaint the hands or should I do it myself?

- What kind of crystals would you recommend for each watch?

- What gasket should I get that goes in between the case and crystal on the Bulova?

 

Any help with any of the above questions will be very helpful to my learning experience.

 

 

Thanks!

Posted

Hallo tjb and welcome to the forum. I'm sure other members will chip in with good answers to your questions, but here's my quick 10-penn'orth for the moment:

 

The balances may be rocking - and I take it you mean up and down as opposed to the normal swing - for a variety of reasons such as cracked, misplaced or missing jewel, damaged pivot, wrongly seated plates, etc.

 

Watch case restoration is very expensive. If the cases are not physically damaged, just brassed or pitted, then you could try some cleaning, polishing and buffing yourself. If the watches were bought as initial trial and error watches, then that might be a good exercise.

 

It's always possible to relume hands yourself - Mark has a very useful video showing his technique (which I've followed successfully). Dials are a different matter and you have to take care not to make matters worse. Full dial restoration by a professional firm is something in the order of £100 - plus or minus.

 

As far as crystals are concerned, you need to consider profile and material. Here's my web page on crystals, just for starters:

 

http://www.willswatchpages.com/watch-glasses-and-crystals.html

 

Cheers,

 

Will

  • Like 1
Posted

Both cases the balance staff is either broken or not seated correctly or the jewels are broken /damaged.

The cleaning is done either with an ultrasonic cleaner or a dedicated watch cleaning machine. The solution used makes a difference I use either Elma or L&R cleaning & rinsing solutions. There are dial restorers such as http://www.watchdialrestoration.co.uk but the watch needs to be high end to justify the cost. The dial hands again it depends on the value of the watch but re-luming is a simple task (see  marks vid) but some like to leave them as authentic. The crystals need to fit the watch (again see marks excellent vids)

Posted

A warm welcome to the forum tjb. You have been given some good advice already, can I just add look at Marks videos that are listed in "Videos and tutorials" and purchase a cheap movement that is running well to start with. This way you know all that is required is to clean it and lubricate it. Leave fault finding for later on.

Regarding cleaning, if you are doing it as a hobby and don't want to spend a fortune on cleaning fluids, have a read of my post in this thread.

http://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/2181-filthy-watches/?hl=priory#entry22041

  • Similar Content

  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • 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
    • After cleaning up the pivots, I made bushes on the lathe. At this point I've pressed in 6 bushes (3 sets) and the wheels turn smooth. What I can also tell you, is that I'm not looking forward to final assembly. Getting the pivots aligned seems to get exponentially more difficult with each wheel that is added.
    • Islands are interesting places to live depending upon their size and other factors. This is a bigger island and it has a bridge to get there at least on one end. It's also big enough that you don't have to go someplace else to get things typically. It can be a problem if you get a job in Seattle though. Yes I've known of people who commuted from the island to Seattle for a job and I don't quite remember how many hours it took but it took a long time. So basically islands are nice if you don't have to leave very often.
    • Thanks @JohnR725! Everything you say makes a lot of sense and is encouraging to read.
    • isn't it nice to have a decent case open or when the case doesn't want to be opened? In the case of a Rolex watch that supposed to pass specific water resistant testing you probably do need to tighten the back down. But they shouldn't be tightened so much that they risk stripping the threads out. Then the other problem that comes up is the gaskets can start to disintegrate and then getting the back off can be quite a challenge unless you have a really good tool and perhaps some penetrating oil to loosen things up. Yes really nice case marking. When I was in school we were taught to mark the cases and  the American watch and clockmakers Institute even had a? So if you joined at one time they would give you an identification number. They were explaining or giving an example of if the watches ever found in you have a unique number they can perhaps figure out the history of the watch or identify the body it's attached to for instance not that that probably comes up that often. So you got a unique number and even made a special metal stamp that you can purchase. It wasn't a super big aggressive stamp but still it left a mark in the back of the case. Then I heard from people at work on Rolex watches they were using a felt pen indelible but later on they decided that was bad because apparently the ink could release  chemicals although it seems like once it's dry that shouldn't be an issue. Then of course today was nice is you can keep computer records sealed have to mark anything at all I personally find it's best to leave no reference behind that you were even there. Especially when you have a beautiful watch that has no markings at all and now it has your scribbling all over it not good typically if there is a typical and watch repair?  a lot of minor repairs you don't need to do a complete servicing. But beyond a certain point you're going to have to take apart a lot of stuff you're going to disrupt the lubrication even if it looks perfect right now and yes you might as well just go ahead the service the whole thing. also in a watch like this where a lot of things seem to be going on the complete service would be better then you'll know exactly where you stand versus dealing with unknown mysteries for prior repair.
×
×
  • Create New...