Jump to content

Hi!

kd8tzc

By kd8tzc
in Introduce Yourself Here

 Share

Recommended Posts

kd8tzc WRT Addict

kd8tzc

Posted
Posted

Hi all, I am new to the community and hope to learn a lot from you all.  I have collected watches for years, but most recently got into collecting older more economical watches (e.g. Timex, etc).  I'm doing that to wear them, but many times, the ones I find are broken or need some work done, so I hope with all the wisdom here, I will be able to learn some things, and also give back to the community in time as well.

Waggy Distinguished Member

Waggy

Posted
Posted

Welcome, Timex are a tough watch to work on as they are built to be economical to produce and not to be easily serviced. However, it is still possible to work on them, and I have just serviced 2 recently, but I would advise that you go with something more standard and become comfortable with that until you are ready to take on a Timex.

JohnR725 Distinguished Member

JohnR725

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Waggy said:

economical to produce and not to be easily serviced

the problem with inexpensive watches as noted above is that it's not that they're not meant to be service it's just that they're different to be serviced. Some of them were meant to be serviced by swapping the entire movement. Others you can get a service manual and explains how to service them.

I always like to recommend for somebody starting off and go to eBay and get a clone of a 6497 brand-new. If you start off with a brand-new watch in taken apart put it back together and get a feel for how it works how new watch looks for instance. How does the balance wheel look what is the hairspring look like you put it back together a couple of times and if it doesn't work you can blame your dog the cat burglars or some other source of why it doesn't work. Versus starting off on a broken watch where you don't have any idea what it's supposed to really look like when it's working and when you're just learning initially any way you're going to break things. It's oftentimes newbies will start off a broken watches and I'll be unhappy because the watch is still broken. It basically need to get some practice first and then you can undertake these more interesting projects but that's just the opinion that I have.

kd8tzc WRT Addict

kd8tzc

Posted
  • Author
Posted
4 hours ago, JohnR725 said:

the problem with inexpensive watches as noted above is that it's not that they're not meant to be service it's just that they're different to be serviced. Some of them were meant to be serviced by swapping the entire movement. Others you can get a service manual and explains how to service them.

I always like to recommend for somebody starting off and go to eBay and get a clone of a 6497 brand-new. If you start off with a brand-new watch in taken apart put it back together and get a feel for how it works how new watch looks for instance. How does the balance wheel look what is the hairspring look like you put it back together a couple of times and if it doesn't work you can blame your dog the cat burglars or some other source of why it doesn't work. Versus starting off on a broken watch where you don't have any idea what it's supposed to really look like when it's working and when you're just learning initially any way you're going to break things. It's oftentimes newbies will start off a broken watches and I'll be unhappy because the watch is still broken. It basically need to get some practice first and then you can undertake these more interesting projects but that's just the opinion that I have.

Hi, thanks for the advice John...  what you say makes sense, but my one question is what is a 6497?  ETA6497?  Do you have any recommendations on a clone or what to get that would be easy to work on and easy on the wallet.  Granted, it is an investment in learning, so if I mess it up, I really don't lose anything, but it would be nice to not lose too many $$$ on that education if I mess it up.

tomh207 Distinguished Member

tomh207

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, kd8tzc said:

Hi, thanks for the advice John...  what you say makes sense, but my one question is what is a 6497?  ETA6497?  Do you have any recommendations on a clone or what to get that would be easy to work on and easy on the wallet.  Granted, it is an investment in learning, so if I mess it up, I really don't lose anything, but it would be nice to not lose too many $$$ on that education if I mess it up.

Sea-gull ST36 or ST3620 are the generally recommended ones, there are clones of the clones out there too but they are all relatively cheap. You get a working movement to build your skills on and hopefully can build a watch for yourself after.

 

Tom

JohnR725 Distinguished Member

JohnR725

Posted
Posted
15 hours ago, kd8tzc said:

6497?  ETA6497

okay since are in the US typically I recommend eBay so let's see what happens. So it looks like ideally want to search for 6497 movement otherwise you get all the parts but I you scroll down the list and I found this one at the link below that's what I'm talking about which is what the other people are saying the sellers know what you're looking for I have no knowledge of one sellers better than another typically I prefer to find people who claim their stocking from the US as it means you're likely to get it possibly faster.  it also noticed that we looking up 6497 edition the movements you can find cases hands dials and conceivably you can put a watch together. Then because of parts availability issues and accidents you might think about purchasing two of them.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/354330903644

 

Neverenoughwatches Distinguished Member

Neverenoughwatches

Posted
Posted
On 3/6/2023 at 2:53 PM, kd8tzc said:

Hi all, I am new to the community and hope to learn a lot from you all.  I have collected watches for years, but most recently got into collecting older more economical watches (e.g. Timex, etc).  I'm doing that to wear them, but many times, the ones I find are broken or need some work done, so I hope with all the wisdom here, I will be able to learn some things, and also give back to the community in time as well.

Welcome Kd, enjoy your learning experience.  This is a good place to start, also a very knowledgeable Timex fan here that may help you out if you run into trouble. As others say the Timex was an inexpensive watch to buy, a bit different to service compared to most watches. Here is a good site to check out when you decide to disassemble, with useful manuals on many Timex calibres.

https://heritage1854.com/

  • Like 1
kd8tzc WRT Addict

kd8tzc

Posted
  • Author
Posted
7 hours ago, JohnR725 said:

okay since are in the US typically I recommend eBay so let's see what happens. So it looks like ideally want to search for 6497 movement otherwise you get all the parts but I you scroll down the list and I found this one at the link below that's what I'm talking about which is what the other people are saying the sellers know what you're looking for I have no knowledge of one sellers better than another typically I prefer to find people who claim their stocking from the US as it means you're likely to get it possibly faster.  it also noticed that we looking up 6497 edition the movements you can find cases hands dials and conceivably you can put a watch together. Then because of parts availability issues and accidents you might think about purchasing two of them.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/354330903644

 

Thanks JohnR... I did buy one of those exact movements yesterday to practice on.  I'm not sure what case it may need, but that is at a later point.  I'm thinking it would need the case, watch face, hands at least but I got it to practice on, so that will be a while off I'm sure.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • tIB
      Unusual Seiko dial damage

      By tIB · Posted

      Believe the relume (not a fan) was done a long time after the damage. 
    • Malocchio
      Unusual Seiko dial damage

      By Malocchio · Posted

      I can only think of some chemical reaction to reluming
    • nickelsilver
      A lathe with indexing that won't break the bank?

      By nickelsilver · Posted

      I have a little milling attachment for my WW lathe, but very rarely use it and not for wheel and pinion cutting. For that I use a small Sixis 101 milling machine. I normally do direct dividing, but sometimes have to do an odd count and use the universal index which also fits on the Sixis.   Back in the day when I didn't have a mill, I would cut gearing on my Schaublin 102. It has a universal dividing attachment which fits the back of the spindle. Both it and the one for the Sixis are 60:1 ratio, and with the set of 4  index plates I can do almost any division. When I've had to do a strange high count prime number, I print a disc with the needed division and just place the plunger on the dot. Any position error is reduced by a factor of 60 so still plenty accurate.   The machines are a mess in the pics as I'm in the process of making a batch of barrels for a wristwatch 🙃.   This is the Sixis. The head can also be placed vertically, as can the dividing spindle.   Dividing plates. The smaller ones fit another dividing spindle.   Universal divider for the Sixis. I put it together with parts from an odd Sixis spindle that takes w20 collets, like the Schaublin 102, and a dividing attachment from a Schaublin mill.     The dividing attachment for the 102. The gear fits in place of the handwheel at the back of the headstock.   And the little milling attachment for the WW lathe. I just set it on the slide rest to illustrate the size, you can see from the dust on it it really doesn't get used much. I think only when I change bearing in the head, to kiss the collet head seat (grinding wheel still in the milling attachment).
    • SidKop
      Opinions on Seiko's 4R and 6R movement quality from those more able to judge

      By SidKop · Posted

      I read a lot about the quality (or lack thereof) of Seiko's 4R, 6R, 8L  movements...or more specifically the lack of regulation from the factory. Especially when compared to similar priced manufactures using SW200's or ETA's. I thought I'd ask those more in the know, do the 4R's and 6R's deserve their bad reputation, is it fairly easy for someone with minimal skills (or better yet a trained watch mechanic) to dial in these movements to a more acceptable performance.    For background I spent more on a 1861 Speedy years ago, expecting that the advertised 0-15s/d  would probably perform more like 5-7s/d. In reality it's been closed to 2-4s/d. 
    • watchweasol
      Greetings From Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom

      By watchweasol · Posted

      Welcome to the forum enjoy
×
×
  • Create New...