Some Bulova Help Please

[ricardopalamino]

Hi , I picked up this Bulova Accutron 2182 Deep Sea 666 ft. at the swap meet today . It was not running and I discovered it did not have a battery . That's the good news .

  Both stems and crowns were frozen in position . The 2 hr  stem has a gear that rotates the inner bezel and there is some rust preventing rotation . The 4 hr position stem was stuck in the setting lever and freed up for removal on loosening the setting lever screw .

 I want to take the crystal out but am not sure how to approach this . I don't know if it is acrylic or glass , and if I should press or knock it out using my nylon press dies , or if I should use a crystal lift for this .

 Any help is appreciated . 

  This watch is the same as the models that say "Snorkel" on the dial . Mine says "Deep Sea ".

 

The picture I'm attaching is from the internet , but mine is similar .

 

Thanks , Louis

 

[Geo]

I really like the look of the watch Louis, but unfortunately I have never worked on one. :(

Just as an aside, you would need one "hell" of a length of snorkel to work at 666 feet, and it looks like that one has been to 667. ;)

[oldhippy]

I never repairing any battery watches.

 

Do you think the glass is high enough for you to try your crystal lift? If so try it but don't force it. If there is a tension ring you don't want to damage it. Why not try removing the back and approach it that way. You won't know how the movement is until you take a look. If the movement comes out you could use your fingers and pop it out.

[ricardopalamino]

Thanks for the reply guys . I do have the movement out and have tried to budge the crystal with my thumbs with no luck .The crystal is high enough to use a crystal lift and I don't think I would damage it ... At this time,  I Think it's glass and will wait to see if anyone else has experience with this or similar watches . I'll keep trying to dig up some more Info . I'm concerned about the crystal gasket in this 1970 era diver and I have never worked on or sourced parts for a Bulova .

 

  I also have a Jubilee 666 "devils diver "

[rogart63]

I think this movement are very hard to work on . If you don't have very much experience in this tuning fork movements ? I don't have any Accutron watches but i have a few Omega F300 watches .Which are similar movements . They have some very small index wheels with very very small teeth on . With a diameter of 1 cm they have over 300 small teeth . If you brake one of this teeth the watch won't work . I send all my F300 and some Esa 9150 watches to http://electric-watches.co.uk/. You can read a lot about the different movements also . I would like to own a Bulova accutron some time in the future .

Edited June 15, 2015 by rogart63

[clockboy]

R

 

I think this movement are very hard to work on . If you don't have very much experience in this tuning fork movements ? I don't have any Accutron watches but i have a few Omega F300 watches .Which are similar movements . They have some very small index wheels with very very small teeth on . With a diameter of 1 cm they have over 300 small teeth . If you brake one of this teeth the watch won't work . I send all my F300 and some Esa 9150 watches to http://electric-watches.co.uk/. You can read a lot about the different movements also . I would like to own a Bulova accutron some time in the future .

Rogart, yet another link to be added to the ever growing list. Have never worked on an electric watch but did once repair a case that had an electric clock movement inside. If I remember correctly it also had adjustments to get the timing spot on just as a mechanical watch/clock has.

[ricardopalamino]

As for this watch , there are broken teeth on the minute wheel . I am looking at a donor watch .  I have worked on Timex electrics...and as Mark calls it " the joy of watchmaking " ...his words , not mine .

  One small step at a time , so I will try to figure out how to take out the crystal first .

[ricardopalamino]

Well ,... " No Guts , No Glory ".......Can always come back and bite you .  But in the case of removing my crystal , that I felt was glass , I popped it out with a holder and a nylon case press die . To my surprise it's acrylic with a tension ring....quite beefy for this diver .  The best part of all that is the crystal has no scratches . Just a very itsy-bitsy bit of haze that will polish out quite nicely . Poly-glass would even do it but I use a diamond paste in oil compound . Another plus is that the internal rotating bezel is made of brass with all of the gear teeth intact ,...the same for the gear the turns it . So the case parts are going into my ultra-sonic for a spa treatment and now I can concentrate on the movement . I've ordered the battery for this accutron which originally called for a 218 battery , but has now been replaced by a 344 battery .

I will be looking at a couple of donor watches at about 4:30 AM my time .

I love progress..

[Geo]

Excellent Louis! Does the crystal have a gasket, or is it pressed straight into the case?

[ricardopalamino]

No gasket , just seems to be pressed in . I was able to download a tech manual .

 

Accutron 218 service manual #1.pdf

[ricardopalamino]

Hey Geo ,...I'm working at the Harley-Davidson  / Triumph dealer here on Oahu . I'm in Heaven . About at least a  hundred bikes , a Tattoo parlor inside , a lounge or two , Rock and Roll playing , and eye candy on parade dressed [or not ] to kill.

[Geo]

Hey Geo ,...I'm working at the Harley-Davidson  / Triumph dealer here on Oahu . I'm in Heaven . About at least a  hundred bikes , a Tattoo parlor inside , a lounge or two , Rock and Roll playing , and eye candy on parade dressed [or not ] to kill.

Now you're making me really jealous. That reminds me, I must go and wash my old triple Trophy. :)

[WillFly]

Hey Geo ,...I'm working at the Harley-Davidson  / Triumph dealer here on Oahu . I'm in Heaven . About at least a  hundred bikes , a Tattoo parlor inside , a lounge or two , Rock and Roll playing , and eye candy on parade dressed [or not ] to kill.

Now now, Louis - enough of this. We don't want Geo getting excited at his advanced age...

 

Where are the pics from Oahu, by the way? :D

[ricardopalamino]

 " Now now, Louis - enough of this. We don't want Geo getting excited at his advanced age..."  You're right Will , those motorcycles will do that to a guy .

 

 By the Way , I picked up a clean Bulova Accutron 2182 at auction this morning .

 

Here's a couple of pics from my former backyard...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Alaskamick]

Hi, parts for these movement are almost impossible to source.

I've contacted several specialist electric watch repairers about Bulova Accutrons and Omega F300's and been told no parts available and they refused to take them on for repair at any price.

I looked at doing them myself as I had the manuals but decided they were so complex that it was only worth spending the time if you were going specialise in these watches.

I now wear the ones that work and just admire the ones that don't and stick to repairing mechanical wrist and pocket watches.

[TheFixer]

Hi, parts for these movement are almost impossible to source.

I've contacted several specialist electric watch repairers about Bulova Accutrons and Omega F300's and been told no parts available and they refused to take them on for repair at any price.

I looked at doing them myself as I had the manuals but decided they were so complex that it was only worth spending the time if you were going specialise in these watches.

I now wear the ones that work and just admire the ones that don't and stick to repairing mechanical wrist and pocket watches.

Paul at electric Watches is your man.

Just done one of mine, superb work and not expensive.

[ricardopalamino]

Thank You Alaskamick and TheFixer . I Picked up this watch and bracelet at the swap meet for $50 not running and found several problems with it  . I picked up 2 movements on the bay ....both complete including dial and hands and of those 1 works . I'm in the process of making a wearer out of it . 

  In the meantime I got the tech sheets and opened up the original movement and I DO agree with Alaskamick that accutrons are not something I want to spend my time on . I have worked on other electrics and electronic watches but I think I'll stick to the mechanicals .

 

I'll post some picks when I get the watch to operate properly ......I hope .

[ricardopalamino]

As much as I hate to admit it ,....I got the fever and picked up this working Accutron. As I was searching Accutrons lately . since my swap-meet find  , I was surprised how these watches seem to hold there value ,...working or not .

After saying all that , I'm through with Accutron purchases .....Honest .

 

[Alaskamick]

Paul at electric Watches is your man.

Just done one of mine, superb work and not expensive.

Hi TheFixer, do you have a contact for the above.

I have a few nice but not running Accutrons which I would love to save.

Thanks a lot, Mike

[ricardopalamino]

Hi Mike . I believe that clockboy provided the link and contact info for Paul at electric watches in the post above....read the feedback page .

Aloha , Louis

[TheFixer]

Hi TheFixer, do you have a contact for the above.

I have a few nice but not running Accutrons which I would love to save.

Thanks a lot, Mike

Message sent.

[Alaskamick]

Thanks Ricardo palomino, I didn't spot the link.

He's not taking work until July but I will most certainly give him a try.

Mike

[ricardopalamino]

Aloha All , 

 

Well the good news is that I finally got my swap-meet Bulova Accutron 2182 Deep Sea watch working and keeping good time .  The other good news is that Man , did I learn a lot about Accutron movements using my original broken movement , 2 donor movements ,....1 working and 1 spare for another project to get it working , 2 pdf tech manuals...1 downloaded from some watch forum and 1 purchased on Ebay and downloaded , and Youtube videos .

 

  After getting the stem off and removing the movement I was able to press out the hefty acrylic crystal . The inner rotating brass bezel came out easily and cleaned up well . The crown and gear that turned the bezel was frozen in place with crud and a little rust . I kept it covered with penetrating oil for a few days with no results . Then I used some paste made of Alum and hot water for about 12 hours...I kept adding drops of hot water every few hours as the paste started to dry out . After putting the movement in my ultra sonic cleaner after the Alum , the gear and crown started to wiggle a bit . Next I soaked the gear in vinegar for about 12 hours and the gear and crown finally started to turn freely .

 

 I next installed the working donor movement , but either the crown and stem would not stay in , or the calendar would not work correctly . The coils on the tuning fork are magnetized and every tiny screw and spring would be drawn to the coils . If a part pinged off , especially the springs for the calendar indents ,....check the coils and 50% of the time they would be stuck there . I decided to put the project to rest for about a week and started to study the tech manuals I downloaded ,

 

 I finally took the project watch out again and very meticulously lubed and installed the setting mechanism and calendar works using the tech manual as my guide . installed the movement into the case with the crystal and rotating bezel , and  BINGO , it all came together....at last .

 

I've attached a few pics showing various parts of the watch....

 

 

 

[anilv]

excellent job and a beautiful watch!

 

Anil

[clockboy]

Great job great watch