First step complete!

[thor447]

It's not much in the big scheme of things, but I'm pretty happy with the results thus far.  I've purchased a small watch lot on eBay and have been messing around inside one of the non-functioning watches just to get the feel of things, practicing steady hand techniques with the tweezers and screwdrivers, etc.  BTW, the tweezer manipulation seem to come naturally for me, but screwdrivers are another skill entirely!  I felt confident enough after messing around with the throw away watch in the lot that I decided it was time to tackle my first full service.

This little Seiko Automatic dates to June of 1974, and I thought it looked pretty cool.  It did function, barely, and the keyless works felt sluggish (speaking kindly). Nevertheless, I thought this watch had character and decided to make it my first.

 

I got through the full disassembly without losing a single screw, without a single spring flying away, etc.  Needless to say I am pretty proud of myself!

 

I laid everything out on the mat, with all of the hardware sitting beside each individual component.  I still don't understand how watchmakers can put all of the screws together, get them all mixed up while cleaning, and then remember where everything goes.  They make it look so easy.  I'm definitely not at that point, and have a plan in place to keep all of the screws and other parts organized throughout the process.  It will be tedious, but it will provide me with the comfort that I'll know exactly where everything goes without have to find the correct screw during re-assembly.

On a side note, I had considered leaving the barrel assembled, as I've read that Seiko said that they should not be serviced, but rather replaced as a whole unit.  Well what fun would that be?  I found an excellent short video that Mark uploaded showing how to separate these Seiko barrels.  It's a good thing I did take it apart as it was filthy with remnants of that old graphite grease that Seiko used.

 

For now everything is getting organized into parts trays and stored for a few days while my new cleaning solution comes in.  I've now done a rough first cleaning by hand already, but have some L&R cleaning and rinse solutions on the way.  I also have plans to build myself a crude, but I believe it will be effective, cleaning machine using an old drill press motor I have laying around.  I've got some properly sized square jars already, and am waiting on the cleaning basket to arrive.  

I am leaving for a work trip next weekend, but hopefully in a few weeks I'll be able to post pictures of my first full service on this good looking 70's Seiko.

Edited July 31, 2022 by thor447