How to test the rate of an automatic watch w/o wearing it?

[VWatchie]

I have just demagnetized a Fortis B-42 Marinemaster (ETA cal. 2836-2), and the owner wants me to regulate it. To get an idea of what needs to be done, I usually wear the watch for a week or so, but the strap is too small for my wrist, and I can't fit another strap, as the spring bars are proprietary. So, the question is, what would be a method for testing the watch without wearing it? Is there some tool or device that can simulate wearing it? A watch winder won't vary the positions and would perhaps wind it too often, no? I'd be very interested to know how you would approach this!

[RichardHarris123]

What makes the spring bars proprietary? 

[VWatchie]

1 hour ago, RichardHarris123 said:

What makes the spring bars proprietary? 

The holes for the screw-type spring bars in the case are 3 mm in diameter and have a groove that only takes spring bars with a corresponding notch. Called spring bars I guess but there is no spring in them, just a steel bar. So, if you want another strap/bracelet, I would expect the options to be limited to Fortis. But now that I consider it a bit more I'm thinking perhaps I can dig out some strap of mine where the hole diameter is large enough.

Anyway, I'm still interested to know what a good method would be to simulate wearing it. It's an expensive watch, it's not mine, and I don't have any insurance so if anything were to happen to it while wearing it, like dropping it, losing it, getting it stolen, or banging it into something, it would financially hurt me. OK, not a fortune (approx. U$D 2000), but still.

[RichardHarris123]

I don't know what to suggest about the being stolen point but the rest can be overcome with a  simple wrist band, can't drop it and offers some protection. 

[JohnR725]

2 hours ago, VWatchie said:

A watch winder won't vary the positions and would perhaps wind it too often, no? I'd be very interested to know how you would approach this!

there is more than one type of watch Winder there is the type you purchase to impress your friends that comes in a nice wood box. Many times there programmable sling will not over wind the watch but they're not going to do what you wanted to do it at all they typically look something like this

http://www.julesborel.com/s.nl/it.A/id.40732/.f

then if you are commercial watch shop this problem comes up all the time so you have a watch Winder like this. I'm pretty sure the Chinese clone it. So basically outlines the watch in multiple positions slowly rotates around and it's what all the shops use or something equivalent.

http://www.julesborel.com/products/tools-watch-winders/bergeon-7802-115-v-new-final

then of course there is the other way but? the other way is you would have a nifty which he timing machine that times watches in a multiple positions and he gives you a number equivalent to if it ran in all those positions. In the absence of that timing machine which is dreadfully expensive they have a PDF we could do all the calculations yourself. But as you've already found out instantaneous timing on the timing machine even with a equivalent number of multiposition timekeeping is still an instantaneous of what the watches doing now does not represent what it does over 24 hour's which is why the shops have the auto winding device up above.

an alternative to you wearing the watch is to give the watch back to the owner and let them run it for a week and see what happens.

 

 

witschi X-D-DVH-Di-Im-N_EN.pdf

[tomh207]

@VWatchie

plenty of choice here from really cheap to “how much!

https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-Watchwinder-professional-.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.search.0

Tom

[rossjackson01]

35 minutes ago, tomh207 said:

@VWatchie

plenty of choice here from really cheap to “how much!

https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-Watchwinder-professional-.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.search.0

Tom

Flaming heck Tom! £11.72. Good job I'm not going into business and it's just for fun. Would be another tool purchased.

[Jon]

This is the one I use https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000004784736.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.125.755e1802brNoLK

You have to mount it on a wall, otherwise, it won't wind the watches in all positions as it would on the wrist. You can't go wrong for £30 including shipping!

[RichardHarris123]

It looks like a good alternative but it can't truly match being worn on the wrist.  Your wrist is in almost constant motion in multiple directions and doesn't always move smoothly.  It's amazing how often you touch your face without realising it. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

9 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

It looks like a good alternative but it can't truly match being worn on the wrist.  Your wrist is in almost constant motion in multiple directions and doesn't always move smoothly.  It's amazing how often you touch your face without realising it. 

I was thinking of adding to your list of hand motions but i have no idea how that might end .

[tomh207]

51 minutes ago, Jon said:

This is the one I use https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000004784736.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.125.755e1802brNoLK

You have to mount it on a wall, otherwise, it won't wind the watches in all positions as it would on the wrist. You can't go wrong for £30 including shipping!

@Jon I have seen one with a stand for the desk, shouldn’t be too hard to knock something up. By the way that link you posted now has it for £18 still free shipping.

so tempted 

 

Tom

[canthus]

What about a thin nato type strap threaded through pins/original strap?

[VWatchie]

3 hours ago, Jon said:

This is the one I use https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000004784736.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.125.755e1802brNoLK

You have to mount it on a wall, otherwise, it won't wind the watches in all positions as it would on the wrist. You can't go wrong for £30 including shipping!

Order placed! 

BTW, I really enjoy your posts on https://www.instagram.com/jonthewatch/ 

38 minutes ago, canthus said:

What about a thin nato type strap threaded through pins/original strap?

Wow, I feel ashamed I couldn't come up with that "obvious" idea myself! Thanks! 

[Jon]

On 12/5/2023 at 7:31 PM, VWatchie said:

BTW, I really enjoy your posts on https://www.instagram.com/jonthewatch/ 

I'm glad you like my Instagram posts! I'm going to start putting some stuff on my YouTube channel, as I haven't posted there for a long time. It's a shame that videos can't be posted on this site, as I would post a lot more here as well, especially some lessons I have written which include a lot of video content. My second-year students have just started their first chronograph watch; the Valjoux 7733 and Poljot 3133, which have pretty much the same layout. There's a lot of video content to show how to set all of the 5 eccentric studs and what those studs adjust. I might edit the lesson by taking out the videos and posting them here because there seems to be little out there to explain eccentric studs and how to set them correctly.

Lots of YouTube videos showing strip downs of chronographs and assembly, but little explanation of the chronograph mechanism. That gives me an idea for a YouTube video to explain just that!

[VWatchie]

1 minute ago, Jon said:

My second-year students have just started their first chronograph watch; the Valjoux 7733 and Poljot 3133, which have pretty much the same layout.

I just had a look at the photos and thoroughly enjoyed them!  Your photo illustrations reminded me of my own walkthroughs where I too use rectangles around the explanatory text and the arrows. I just the other day published my Citizen 8200A walkthrough.

3 minutes ago, Jon said:

There's a lot of video content to show how to set all of the 5 eccentric studs and what those studs adjust. I might edit the lesson by taking out the videos and posting them here because there seems to be little out there to explain eccentric studs and how to set them correctly.

That would be highly interesting, so yes, please do what you can! 

[Jon]

8 minutes ago, VWatchie said:

I just the other day published my Citizen 8200A walkthrough.

Great walkthrough! You're right, very similar layout for your notes on the photos. Great minds think alike

[VWatchie]

14 minutes ago, Jon said:

Great walkthrough!

Thanks, Jon. Always encouraging to get some praise, but especially when it comes from a pro! 

[tomh207]

@Jon I did order this from your link, free shipping, £18 and no import taxes. Change the plug and seems to be working. Now to build some sort of stand and storage for it. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

Tom

P.S. Arrived in 8 days

[VWatchie]

@Jon, ordered mine the same day you mentioned it and got it today. So far so good. Thanks!

The next step is to learn how to use it. I would assume you're not supposed to run it 24/7? As expected, it came with no instructions.

Edited December 27, 2023 by VWatchie

[VWatchie]

For some inexplicable reason, I felt inclined to take my CycloTest apart 

That thought would never even have entered my mind before I started tinkering with watches. So, how to go about it? Well, there are a lot of screws in the front and since I have now, after six years of practice, learned to handle screwdrivers reasonably well I thought "How hard can it be". So I removed a couple of screws and heard a metallic sound as something detached on the inside. Shaking the thing I heard a loud rattling noise. "It was at this moment he knew he f-cked up". Oh well, having come this far I thought I might as well remove all the screws and then scrap the thing. After all, I wouldn't be losing a fortune.

Anyway, these years of tinkering with watches have obviously and somewhat to my surprise taught me a few things. Patience, patience, patience, and even more patience. To my astonishment, after an hour or so I had put it back together. I gave myself a standing ovation! 

The trick, as I found out, is to open the thing from the back, not the front! Just thought I'd let you know should you for some inexplicable reason, feel inclined to take your CycloTest apart

Edited February 24 by VWatchie

[JackH]

I took mine apart too...for a motor change. The one I bought on Aliexpress was advertised as operating on 100-240VAC. The one I received had a fixed 220V motor. I bought a 110V motor of the same specifications and installed it. I also greased the mechanism a bit too while I was in there. 

[tomh207]

Adding back to this thread, I knocked together a stand for this and am testing it now. I want to make a few refinements as it does wiggle left and right with the weight of a watch on it, I did expect that just not figured out what I want to do about it but looking at a temp solution of using a couple of 2020 brackets to trap it for now (I’m sure we all know how permanent temp fixes become ). Not settled on sorted the cable yet either. I used two pieces of 20100 aluminium extrusion 350mm long, easily could be just 300mm.

Tom

[VWatchie]

1 hour ago, tomh207 said:

I want to make a few refinements as it does wiggle left and right with the weight of a watch on it

If you're like me, you have more than one (scrap) watch which you can simply attach opposite of the one you're testing. It may not be the most elegant solution, but it works reasonably well and requires minimal fuss.

[tomh207]

2 minutes ago, VWatchie said:

If you're like me, you have more than one (scrap) watch which you can simply attach opposite of the one you're testing. It may not be the most elegant solution, but it works reasonably well and requires minimal fuss.

Agreed, however the engineer in me just won’t let it go

 

Tom

[VWatchie]

17 hours ago, tomh207 said:

Agreed, however the engineer in me just won’t let it go

 

I know, you engineers (thinking of you, @Endeavor, and a few others) just can't keep your internal "Gyro Gearloose" at bay to solve a problem. If it can be solved using electrical and mechanical stuff, that's how it needs to be done! 

Edited March 9 by VWatchie