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Hi everyone

I was hoping to tackle this watch next, but I can’t find a way to release the stem.  It is a front loader and the only thing I can see is in the attached  photo taken from the digital microscope.  Can anybody tell me if that is what I need, and if so, what I do to or with it?

Or if not, what I should be looking for or doing?

Thanks in advance, J

5E5FDBB6-CC5F-437D-97DC-AFF382B74706.jpeg

7A990DFF-4521-448E-949C-CB5351C67EE0.jpeg

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Don't forget you are looking from the front of the watch, so it might actually need to be pulled rather than pushed, you push when its face down not up as it is with this watch,   you could try making a small hook in the end of a needle or thin stiff wire to hook under it and pull it up.

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Ok. But according to all the videos I have seen on YouTube where this watch was featured they all had trouble releasing the stem pushing that leaver and all ended up finding out it had to be pulled.

It's just a standard movement with no access from the back, the whole movement would have had to be remanufactured to make the release lever work in the opposite direction to all their other movements.

Let's wait till the OP posts back to see if either of us is correct shall we 

Edited by Paul80
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52 minutes ago, Paul80 said:

…It's just a standard movement with no access from the back, the whole movement would have had to be remanufactured to make the release lever work in the opposite direction to all their other movements.

Let's wait till the OP posts back to see if either of us is correct shall we 

I tend to agree! The only other option is a split winding stem.

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I have no direct experience of the 2706 and am struggling to find any videos showing 2706-7010 stem removal so that I can see how it may work, but I have experience with other Seiko movements in monocoque cases with one piece stems.

20220803_094310.thumb.jpg.e0d8f8fcc92ae83e0f502c39895e79d6.jpg

Above is a 5606-5040 with enough bits removed to show how it works in this particular case.

Pressing down on point A causes the setting lever to rock backwards about the pivot point B, lifting the pip on the setting lever (point C) out of the groove in the stem, releasing it.

2706A.pdf

The attached tech document for the 2706A shows an exploded view of the arrangement for the OP's movement (page 5 "setting mechanism") where it also describes the setting lever as being modified for one piece cases, I believe to effect the same operation.

Although I'm always happy to be proved wrong ('cause that's how I learn) I'm pretty confident that the OP's stem release is intended to operate in the same way as the 5606 set up.

1 hour ago, Paul80 said:

the whole movement would have had to be remanufactured to make the release lever work in the opposite direction

The set up that Seiko has come up with allows for stem removal from either side of the movement with only a minor modification to the set lever. From the back it is accomplished by pressing down on the other end of the set lever pivot (the other end of point B in my pic), and from the front by pushing down on point A as described above.

Clever little blighters these Japanese 🙃

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31 minutes ago, mikepilk said:

According to the Seiko casing guide, it's a 'Square 1' type case, in which the back comes off.

This is potentially a little confusing in that it could suggest that when the back comes off you have access to the back of the movement, which is not the case. The two piece construction (as Seiko describes it) refers to a bezel and a back, the only trouble is that what Seiko refers to as the back is effectively a case back and mid-case combined, which includes the stem tube and allows access only to the front of the movement, albeit with a cutout to allow access to the setting lever.

32 minutes ago, mikepilk said:

It then says just depress the lever to remove the stem.

This bit though does seem to confirm that the lever is pressed, not lifted.

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1 hour ago, Kalanag said:

I tend to agree! The only other option is a split winding stem.

Split stems are very rare, if ever present, on Japanese watches. Fortunately Seiko had released precise casing documents as discussed here.

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Similar watch same problem:

Seiko 7006 remove stem

„If someone in the future needs to remove a stem I suggest bending a small screw driver blade. Pull the stem all the way out which extends the blue arrow lever. Insert the screw driver toward the stem day/date window and attempt to pry up on the blue arrow lever.“

70DFA0A7-84DB-4B04-885E-4D83A54648D1.jpeg

Edited by Kalanag
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Perhaps Turtle could do a simple test to resolve this once and for all.

First pull out the crown to its hand setting position then

1. Push the leaver and try the extract the stem and if that does not work go to 2.

2. make a little hook in the end of a pin or needle or fine stiff wire and after hooking it through the hole in the leaver apply gentle for to lift the leaver and again try the pull the stem out.

We would all then know for sure which way it works.

Over to you Turtle 

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42 minutes ago, Paul80 said:

Perhaps Turtle could do a simple test to resolve this once and for all.

First pull out the crown to its hand setting position then

1. Push the leaver and try the extract the stem and if that does not work go to 2.

2. make a little hook in the end of a pin or needle or fine stiff wire and after hooking it through the hole in the leaver apply gentle for to lift the leaver and again try the pull the stem out.

We would all then know for sure which way it works.

Over to you Turtle 

If you need step 2 there's something wrong.

The official method according to the Seiko Casing Guide for that particular movement and case is as I listed above - pull out the crown, then depress the lever. 

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Ok but if you look at the pictures the case opens from the front, unless the OP has missed that the back does come off.

I like you have to work with what we have presented with by the OP. If the back does come off then fine it's a standard movement and the lever is pushed from the back towards the dial, but, if the back does not come off for whatever reason the OP will only have access as shown in his photographs, then the issue is one of is the movement a standard design where the lever is pressed when the back is removed , if so in this case the lever needs to be pulled towards the dial as it cannot be pushed because it cannot be accessed from the back.

If the lever needs to be pushed from the front then the movement has been made different to all their other movement which I doubt is the case.

I still think this needs the OP to respond to the suggestion given to settle this one way or another and until he does I will keep my thoughts to myself, as it's clear I cannot get my thoughts down in a way you all can understand, that's down to me and my issues I know so sorry about that.

Bye

Edited by Paul80
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6 minutes ago, Paul80 said:

Ok but if you look at the pictures the case opens from the front, unless the OP has missed that the back does come off.

I like you have to work with what we have presented with by the OP. If the back does come off then fine it's a standard movement and the lever is pushed from the back towards the dial, but, if the back does not come off for whatever reason the OP will only have access as shown in his photographs, then the issue is one of is the movement a standard design where the lever is pressed when the back is removed , if so in this case the lever needs to be pulled towards the dial as it cannot be pushed because it cannot be accessed from the back.

If the lever needs to be pushed from the front then the movement has been made different to all their other movement which I doubt is the case.

I still think this needs the OP to respond to the suggestion given to settle this one way or another and until he does I will keep my thoughts to myself, as it's clear I cannot get my thoughts down in a way you all can understand, that's down to me and my issues I know so sorry about that.

Bye

Yes it does open from the front. If you look at the pic I posted above, you will see what is meant by the "back"

In the post by @Marcabove, he points out that "This is potentially a little confusing in that it could suggest that when the back comes off you have access to the back of the movement, which is not the case. The two piece construction (as Seiko describes it) refers to a bezel and a back".

It is confusing referring to a "back", when the back is what the movement sits in. It took me a while looking at the pic to figure it out 🙄

The casing guide is specific to this movement AND this case. Maybe it changed in later versions, but for starters, I'd follow the advice in the official documents. And, don't force it !

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12 minutes ago, Paul80 said:

If the lever needs to be pushed from the front then the movement has been made different to all their other movement which I doubt is the case.

Not "all" their other movements since all of the 5606's that I have worked on in front loading cases release the stem by pushing the set lever towards the back of the movement causing it to rock back on its pivot, lifting the opposite end of the set lever off the stem.

Incidentally lifting the back of the setting lever up towards the dial may even have the opposite effect to what is required as it could cause the setting lever to rock forwards at the pivot resulting in even deeper engagement between the front of the setting lever and the stem. Another possible detrimental effect could well be that you could actually lift the setting lever off its pivot altogether, requiring a strip down of the keyless works to put it back in place. Perhaps it might be pertinent to point out that (on the 5606 at least) the set lever is not held in place with a screw but sits on a simple post (Seiko call it the setting lever axle) and is held in place by a sprung tab on the setting lever spring. Lifting the setting lever towards the dial could potentially lift it off its axle.

As I said......

11 hours ago, Marc said:

The set up that Seiko has come up with allows for stem removal from either side of the movement with only a minor modification to the set lever. From the back it is accomplished by pressing down on the other end of the set lever pivot (the other end of point B in my pic), and from the front by pushing down on point A as described above.

This set up can be deployed in pretty much any movement where the set lever sits on a pin rather than being held in place by a screw as the pin greatly facilitates the rocking of the set lever. The only modification needed is to extend the side of the setting lever that is opposite the stem to provide somewhere to push, and we know that Seiko did this for the 2706A as the tech document that I uploaded earlier clearly states that this is the case.

As I already stated I haven't worked on a 2706A so can only draw my conclusions from the marked similarities with 5606's (I have attached the tech doc for the 5606, if you compare the setting mechanism with that shown in the previously uploaded sheet for the 2706 you'll see what I mean) that I do have experience with which also seems to concur with the information that @mikepilkprovided from Seiko's own casing guide for this specific case/movement combination. It would also seem reasonable that if Seiko developed this set up for the 5606's they would also deploy it across any other suitable movements when they are destined to go into monocoque cases since it requires only a very minor modification to only one part, the setting lever. The tech sheet for the 5606 actually states that there are 3 different setting levers available for that movement, and the wording suggests that they are case specific.

5606A.pdf

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