Jump to content

Hello, and thanks for the welcome.


Robfettle

Recommended Posts

Robfettle? is an old guy that lives on the east coast of Essex UK.  In 1985 I was flying for a British airline and treated myself to a Seiko 7A38.  Decades later, while grandparenting in Texas, I thought I'd have a go at putting right a lens/crystal that had been badly fitted by a small shop with a rusty Seiko sign over the door.  I couldn't do much worse.  Long story short, I now have 45 of the 7A series, mostly restored largely thanks to Paul at 7A38 by the numbers, and Sir Alun's wonderful pictures.  

I moved back to the UK.

Recently, I asked, almost begged, to restore my life-long friend's retirement watch.  I've run what was supposed to be funny thread on a flying forum I live vicariously on.  It shows how woefully unqualified I am to tackle this job.  https://www.pprune.org/jet-blast/654301-can-tiny-tiny-spring-exceed-speed-light-2.html

An odd problem for some on this IB forum needs access to YTube via the "Quote button at the bottom.

The thing about PPRuNe dot org, and especially Jet Blast chat room, is that there's always someone that comes up with a gem when one most needs it.  On this occasion it became obvious my friend's Le Cheminant movement was shared by more than a few makers.  

Having freed the bezel, I used Locktight red-ish.  Everything was perfect.  Then the crown came loose again.  About 30 hours later, I'm in the hands of the real experts.  That evil cluster of levers  on the crown pull push functions has defeated me.  (it was the original fault)   After confessing my setback, a PPRuNe member recommended this forum. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I've read in some more I'll perhaps start a thread on my pretentious attempt at this repair.  It really is above my pay-scale.  

 

Well, there they are.  The video I'd so admired shows the detailed replacement of these parts.  There are two moments when he councils great care. 

 

 

20230911_150333[1].jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Good morning,   To be honest, I'm not sure I trust my own logic anymore 😅. But here's a picture of my own (failed!) attempt to install a new rotor axle. I punched way to hard and even split the metal of the rotor. My thinking was that, in my case, the axle sits "deeper" in the rotor and hence the rotor would be closer to the movement plates. Vice versa, I was thinking that a very light punch could cause the rotor to sit rather high. But not sure that makes sense because in both cases, the flat part of the axle and the rotor align equally.     Sorry, but is he saying that the outside of the caseback has been polished to such an extent that the inside of the caseback has deformed/sunk??? That sounds crazy to me because those casebacks are thick! Can you see any signs of that on the inside of the caseback? Have you tried screwing in the caseback a litte bit more or less so that the supposedly "sunk" part of the caseback would move from 9 o'clock to e.g. 6/7 or 11/12 o'clock?  If the caseback is truly deformed, maybe it could be punched/pressed back into shape (e.g. with glass/caseback closing press).      I agree with your choice. But yea, Rolex makes it VERY hard for independent watchmakers to do a perfect job because we can't get (original) parts easily.      Your pictures aren't too bad. But still impossible to see if the rotor isn't perfectly flat. You'd have to look at it with your loupe, from the side (like the pictures), and turn the rotor to see if the gaps (with the automatic bridge plates) increase/decrease.     Finally... how is the up/down play of the rotor? To test, take a toothpick/pegwood and press on the small triangular side of the rotor next to the axle (NOT the big side where the weight is. But the opposite side.). Does that lift up the weight-side of the rotor? There can be some play, but it should really be minimal. If there's too much play, a new spring clip is the first thing to do. After that, one could play around with the jewels. This is too much:
    • could start a new sub-brand: Bergeon-Pro Worked for Apple phones! Ah they already beat me to it:  
    • Hello, those RR pocket watches are nice watches, there are still parts around...
    • The hairspring looks to be in good condition from the photographs, it is natural that the balance will perform slightly differently in different orientations. Assuming there is no damage, the difference may be caused by the balance moving relative to the jewels, not the hairspring itself. So too much space between the jewels (endshake) and the difference will be greater, if one jewel is oiled and the other not, then again a lower amplitude in one position than the other....and so on. If the difference is reasonable (like your 13 seconds) the the best thing to do is to make one position slightly fast (+7 seconds, and the other position slow -7 seconds) then this averaging of the error will make for a more accurate watch in use. If the difference was much greater eg 100 seconds, then you would need to troubleshoot the problem. Additionally, you need to let the watch run-in for 24-48 hours after a service to allow the new oils to work their way in to all the jewels and pivots etc before you make a 'real' timegrapher test, otherwise you can get strange results. For example the oil in the top shock setting may be evenly spread, but not (yet) in the bottom setting = high difference.... after 24 hours this oil will probably have sorted itself out and the difference may be much better.
    • Oy! No bad words in our forum please.
×
×
  • Create New...