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Omega 268 Service And De-Rust

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Mark Distinguished Member

Mark

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This nice Omega came in with a seized up keyless work. The crown could not be pulled out to hand set position and the watch could not be wound. I immediately suspected rust.

 

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Getting the movement out of the case was a challenge because the crown could not be pulled out. But luckily I could unscrew the crown from the stem as the stem was seized.

 

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With the movement out of the case, I can see evidence of rust. Time to get stripping (the watch).

 

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First challenge was unscrewing this dial screw which was rusted in place. A bit of oil and some gentle persuasion and it unscrewed.

 

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With the dial off I can see the extent of the damage which is quite bad - but not the worst I have seen.

 

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Off with the hour wheel:

 

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And the setting lever spring:

 

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And this is as far as I could get. That stem was not coming out, but I have an idea! ...

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Mark Distinguished Member

Mark

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Well I decided that the first thing to do would be to dismantle the rest of the watch - can't risk damaging any parts.

 

But first I drowned the stem and winding pinion with clock oil so it could start soaking.

 

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Then out with the balance...

 

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Then off with the ratchet wheel - does not seem to be any power there but I can't risk it so it's a good idea to remove the ratchet wheel and click work altogether. I don't like the ring of rust around the barrel arbor bearing...

 

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And the crown wheel... 

 

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Now I am sure there is no power on the mainspring (but I was wrong) so I can remove the pallets...

 

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Off with the barrel bridge and surprise surprise... more rust :(

 

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Not looking good - but it seems to be surface rust so it should come off easy. Now to open the mainspring barrel. Remember I told you I was confident all the power was released? I was wrong:

 

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Yes - the barrel arbor was seized in the barrel and so the spring was stuck in a fully wound position!!! I have never seen that before. Time to improvise. 

 

I thought the safest way would be to put the barrel in a polly bag and push the arbor with my fingers. That way nothing flies across the room :)

 

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And that seemed to work well.

 

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With the tension off I am able to get the arbor out and inspect it. It's a bit corroded...

 

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More to come...

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Mark Distinguished Member

Mark

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Mark, Geo will lend you his Bergeon Basher!

attachicon.gifScreenshot_2015-06-12-16-15-21.png

 

I understood that Geo broke that opening a pocket watch :D

 

 

Interesting . How are you going to get that of ? Heat ? Oil ? 5-56? Coca-cola? 

 

A mixture of both as it turns out.

 

Soldering iron?

 

Now that's a good idea - I hadn't thought of that.

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Mark Distinguished Member

Mark

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So next off is the main plate exposing the wheels. I was half expecting to find rust in the pinion leaves or pivots but all seems fine.

 

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Off with the wheels...

 

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A teeny bit of rust on the escape wheel pivot but luckily not attached - brushed off and left no stain.

 

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Now back to this bugger of a stem. The oil did not seem to help...

 

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But after heating it up with my spirit lamp, I grabbed it with my pliers and gave it a sharp pull. It came away just fine. 

 

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The barrel arbor was quite rusty so I decided to burnish it - easiest way is to use the lathe...

 

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And it came out quite well...

 

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Just need to clean up the rest of the parts and clean the watch now.

 

To be continued.

 

 

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Lawson Super WRT Addict

Lawson

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Great write-up Mark :)

 

I think I've mentioned this before, but has anyone use EVAPO-RUST?

 

I've seen it used on old TV and Radio restorations, and it's amazing stuff.  It removes the rust; but doesn't affect any of the cadmium plating or even the old paint.

 

Might be worth a look into guys.

 

http://www.evapo-rust.com.au/How%20It%20Works.html

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bobm12 Distinguished Member

bobm12

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Very instructive and to the point, Mark. It's value is not only for the service but it has an amazing depth in its educational value which is very much appreciated by us newbies! Please, keep it coming!

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

 

PS. I wish I had a lathe and could work on it half of what you do! :)

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Mark Distinguished Member

Mark

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Finishing up now...

 

The parts are clean. Some parts are a bit stained but they are sound.

 

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Assembling the train...

 

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And the mainspring/barrel...

 

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Assembling the barrel bridge...

 

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And the keyless work...

 

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post-1-0-72430400-1434369747_thumb.jpg

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Mark Distinguished Member

Mark

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post-1-0-47868200-1434369979_thumb.jpg

 

And with the escapement back in, the watch is flying...

 

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So now the watch is running fine, the keyless work is smooth like silk. Now ready to case up...

 

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It's a lovely watch...

 

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:)

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dbals WRT Addict

dbals

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Cool Mark, I have an old Benrus with the same affliction!  Was about to ask Geo to use his Bergeon Basher but thankfully I had to step away from the watches for a few months.....    This was the first post I read since sitting back at the bench-  Thank you

 

 

Dan

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      By ManSkirtBrew · Posted

      Unfortunately I'm not that lucky. I started on the train side and after I noticed the binding I pulled everything out except the driving wheel to rule everything else out. It still binds. I'm going to double check that the pinion is fully seated on the staff first, then if no joy I'll push the bridge jewel up a fraction of a mm. Fingers crossed!
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      By Waggy · Posted

      Happy to have helped, great way to start the day with a win! 🥳
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      By doober · Posted

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    • GuyMontag
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      By GuyMontag · Posted

      I have that French tech sheet too, it is a little different than the English one (eg, it doesn't have the auto works diagram). BTW, it looks like you are looking up the case number in the 1979 ABC supplement. The 1974 ABC catalog does have the 3093 case. As you determined it takes the 1222-5 crystal.  When I serviced my President 'A' (which also takes that crystal), I was able to fit a 29.8 crystal from my DPA crystal assortment. Those are, in my opinion, a great deal. The assortment comes with 10 sizes each from 27.8mm to 32.4mm in 0.2 increments. I pretty much use them for any non-armored crystal that takes a high dome crystal. I think they no longer make them but Cousins has still has some in stock but when I bought them they were around $40 for the set and now they are around $100. Still, at 40 cents a crystal it's still a good deal. For the large driving wheel, I remember I once assembled the keyless/motion works first and when I placed the large driving wheel it was interfering with the setting wheel on the dial side as the teeth were not fully meshing and it wouldn't fully seat. If that isn't the issue I got nothing and am looking forward to see how you solve it 🙂
    • Waggy
      Rado rotor removal

      By Waggy · Posted

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