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Some Bulova Help Please


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Very well done Louis! I saw that and thought of Vic, he loves his Accutrons. :)

Aloha Geo and fellow Members...4th of July Independence Day Holiday here in the USA...

 

I don't know Vic yet....And I sure don't know Accutrons enough yet either .  

 

Do you know any members that work on these ? Specifically I have a 2182 that hums  so I know that the tuning forks are powered , but the hands aren't turning and I believe [from what I've read in the tech manual] , that it may be the hacking mechanism that was disturbed when I Incorrectly ?? reinstalled the stem and crown . I had to take apart and reassemble the setting mechinism because I popped the setting yoke out of the clutch gear groove and now the second hand and the other 2 don't move anymore .

  Any help and Info is appreciated .

 

Thanks , Louis

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Whew!!....I got the humming accutron going again by following the advice I found on an accutron blog ..."Give it a gentle rap on the side at the 3 or 9  O'clock position to help the capacitor get the movement going "...That's it ,I'm not going to mess around with that watch again .

 

  One thing I've found to be true with 3 accutrons I worked on this last 2 weeks is to follow the tech manuals advice [ or admonition ] ,  to remove the stem and crown in the pulled out setting position .  And VERY carefully replace the stem in that position....DO NOT push the stem in past that point to reinstall it .  I disengaged the yoke from the clutch groove 3 times and had to dissemble the calendar works each time to fix that problem .

These use a screw type setting lever .  The hacking affects some very tiny index and pawl jewels . I just ordered an electronic microscope [ from China ] to see them so I can adjust them .....I hope .

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi All , I seem to have Accutron Fever lately . I never was really interested in them before , and in the last month and a half I have acquired 5 of them .

Today the postman brought me this 10K rolled gold and plated beauty . It has been really well taken care of . It's from 1973...  N3

 

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Yesterday , Sunday , I went to an All Collectors show in Honolulu and picked up this minty Spaceview on the $1 table...I picked up 3 watches for $1 each . I think that the vendor didn't know what he had with this Spaceview . I put a new Accucell battery and it's running great . It's from 1961...  M1

 

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Aloha Geo , I couldn't  believe it when I picked it up and asked to confirm $1.... I also picked up a Citizen Cystron Quartz and a Waltham quartz pocket watch with moon-phase for $1 each....From another vender ,, a Seiko Sportsmatic Seahorse for $30 and a Citizen Eco-Drive Aqualand U106-T007996 Diver for $100..

 

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wow! i've been following this thread. you're a glutton for punishment, RP. i'm interested in those accutrons also, but i'm afraid of getting in over my head. you've done an excellent job with the first one you acquired. what a beauty.

i've got an ebay search going right now. gonna scan the accutrons.

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wow! i've been following this thread. you're a glutton for punishment, RP. i'm interested in those accutrons also, but i'm afraid of getting in over my head. you've done an excellent job with the first one you acquired. what a beauty.

i've got an ebay search going right now. gonna scan the accutrons.

Howzit Ramrod , You belong to SCWF also don't you ? Yup , I guess I got intrigued by the Accutrons when I noticed how many were for sale not working and still holding a value . Then I got the Deep Sea diver and was challenged to get it running . Than I saw the Accutron Astronaut and Spaceview and was

hooked .

 

I'm a goner....

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Hello Louis,

Sorry I did not pick up on this thread earlier but have been on a few days break, there was a watch fair in Solihull and I paid a visit.

I must say that the watches you have found are treasures and the prices leave me in awe.

The Accutrons are a tad testing but you seem to be going about things the right way. You do not have to pay for the PDF sheets they are all on line as they are now in the public domain.

You may have found this link already but in case you have not

http://members.iinet.net.au/~fotoplot/acc.htm

You will definitely need a stereo microscope that will allow depth perception and gives about 70X mag. As the index wheel is a piece of work about 2 mm wide with 320 teeth. Also a meter to test the coils etc.

Also be careful not to touch the index wheel with anything metal on the edge, plastic tweezers are needed.

Must go for now but look forward to more on my return home.

Cheers and welcome from an extremely jealous Vic

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Hello Louis,

Sorry I did not pick up on this thread earlier but have been on a few days break, there was a watch fair in Solihull and I paid a visit.

I must say that the watches you have found are treasures and the prices leave me in awe.

The Accutrons are a tad testing but you seem to be going about things the right way. You do not have to pay for the PDF sheets they are all on line as they are now in the public domain.

You may have found this link already but in case you have not

http://members.iinet.net.au/~fotoplot/acc.htm

You will definitely need a stereo microscope that will allow depth perception and gives about 70X mag. As the index wheel is a piece of work about 2 mm wide with 320 teeth. Also a meter to test the coils etc.

Also be careful not to touch the index wheel with anything metal on the edge, plastic tweezers are needed.

Must go for now but look forward to more on my return home.

Cheers and welcome from an extremely jealous Vic

Howzit Vic , Thanks for the post and Info . Yes I have that link and a few more I am adding to a new Accutron folder .  You are so right , they are a tad Testy....Definite;y a different animal...

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Hello Louis,

Sorry I did not pick up on this thread earlier but have been on a few days break, there was a watch fair in Solihull and I paid a visit.

I must say that the watches you have found are treasures and the prices leave me in awe.

The Accutrons are a tad testing but you seem to be going about things the right way. You do not have to pay for the PDF sheets they are all on line as they are now in the public domain.

You may have found this link already but in case you have not

http://members.iinet.net.au/~fotoplot/acc.htm

You will definitely need a stereo microscope that will allow depth perception and gives about 70X mag. As the index wheel is a piece of work about 2 mm wide with 320 teeth. Also a meter to test the coils etc.

Also be careful not to touch the index wheel with anything metal on the edge, plastic tweezers are needed.

Must go for now but look forward to more on my return home.

Cheers and welcome from an extremely jealous Vic

 

Howzit Vic , I was wondering if you can answer this question .  In the tech manual for the 218 it says to rotate the pawl and index finger away from the index wheel to to remove or reassemble the train bridge . 

  Does that mean rotate the collet that the fingers are mounted on using the collect screwdriver that is mentioned as an Accutron tool ? Page 36 doesn't have a step 5 , It just says to rotate the pawl finger counterclockwise....so what am I rotating ?

  Thanks for any info from you or any other member with this knowledge .....Louis

 

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Hello Louis,

 

You rotate the collet, as it is, attached to the post.  The tool is a hollow tube that fits over the post with a little nub  that locates in the collet to give some purchase to rotate it, you also use that tool to slightly bend the post to centralise the jewel on the index wheel. If you can get a hypodermic needle with the correct bore to just fit over the post cut/grind off the point and use something like a dremel cut away most of the tube at the very end to create the locating nub you can make your own tool.  There may be other ways to do it but as you realise, you are working in a confined space and tweezers etc. could touch the index wheel and that would be it knackered.

 

You are just taking the jewels away from the index wheel so you do not bend or damage the fingers/jewels when taking the train apart for cleaning (including the index wheel)

 

Hope this helps,

 

Cheers,

 

Vic

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Bulova actually made two tools one for collet adjustment and another for post bending. do the same thing but just cut off the point for a post bending tool if you want.

 

Cheers,

 

Vic

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Thanks Vic....Perefecto Info....I'm looking into a stereo microscope and some other accutron tools also...just getting a feel at this time .  As member Ramrod said in an earlier post ,"i'm a glutton for punishment " , but I really , really don't want to get in over my head . Especially now that I've seen the index and pawl fingers and the index wheel . Shoots , just trying to get the drive train back together is quite a challenge .

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Looks real good ! This crystal is mineral crystal (glass). Compression ring. Use the crystal press or use a plastic die. This is a good website if you still interested follow the Learning Center very helpful.http://www.esslinger.com/watch-parts-inquiry/

Thanks Honeybee..I have subscribed to Esslinger's Youtube page . I have used the learning center before but didn't realize how many videos  they had . it's always a good practice to get back to basics ....Aloha , Louis

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Aloha Geo , I couldn't  believe it when I picked it up and asked to confirm $1.... I also picked up a Citizen Cystron Quartz and a Waltham quartz pocket watch with moon-phase for $1 each....From another vender ,, a Seiko Sportsmatic Seahorse for $30 and a Citizen Eco-Drive Aqualand U106-T007996 Diver for $100..

 

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I had a chance this weekend to work on the Seiko 7625 Sea Horse and Citizen Crystron I got last weekend at the collectors show here in Honolulu .  

The Seiko had a loose screw wedged in the balance that had stopped movement in it . The condition I bought it in . Fortunately there was no damage to the rather pristine movement . I disassembled it , did a clean in the ultra-sonic , and lubed the movement . I did a light buff on the case , bezel , and case back to remove small scratches . Then I did a light polish on those parts and the crystal...which has a small crack . I was able to source a new seiko crystal on the bay and that's on the way .

  After reassembly , I installed a new blue-ish leather watchband that has been waiting for the right watch .

 

  On the Citizen , I was able to source a new battery cell and it took off running...I like that .  Next I put the case parts into the ultra-sonic along with a Citizen CQ Stainless Steel bracelet I had for a while waiting for a Citizen with that signature on the dial . I then did a polish on the case and bracelet and reassembled the watch .

 

 I think that they came out looking and running pretty good ...........  Aloha , Louis

 

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I can only echo what George has said - well done !

 

Also you are on course for the possibility of a lucrative sideline if you want to go that way.  I don't know what postage etc. would be like and any tax complications but if your luck continues this way and you can pick up on a reasonable supply of watches then you could do quite well. 

 

For example even broken Accutrons are saleable in the UK and the parts alone command a good price.  Also the other brands should do ok - check out the prices on the bay compared to what you can get them for - it may be worth experimenting with. 

 

On the other hand with all that sun, sea, scenery and "other distractions" perhaps it is not an option :cool:

 

Cheers,

 

Vic

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