404 Club Reboot

[ColinC]

When I record how much I have spent on each watch I include the postage.  UK EBayers seem to be charging £5 minimum these days on postage.  Have made a couple of job lot buys recently - based on the average price this one could be 404 reboot project 

Bad photo from eBay - 1 of 4 watches for a total of £21.19.

A Medina with an MST 385 movement - Soaked in oil but looks like it will run again!

[ColinC]

Speaking of 404 reboot.... I have another category of watches... Those that I wished I had not gone above £4.04 when I bid for them!!!

Someone probably should have also told me to stop before I put a new stem, crown, crystal, escape wheel and then adjusted the end shake on the escape wheel. This was all on watch that had a EB 8800 pin lever movement in a worn gold plated case with a snap on case back (basically everything I try to avoid!).
 

Edited May 20 by ColinC

[Neverenoughwatches]

2 hours ago, ColinC said:

Speaking of 404 reboot.... I have another category of watches... Those that I wished I had not gone above £4.04 when I bid for them!!!

Someone probably should have also told me to stop before I put a new stem, crown, crystal, escape wheel and then adjusted the end shake on the escape wheel. This was all on watch that had a EB 8800 pin lever movement in a worn gold plated case with a snap on case back (basically everything I try to avoid!).
 

When you are having fun restoring false economy exits via a window. Your time and money dont always matter Col , what does matter is that you breathed new life into something that was dead and destined for a scrap heap. That has to feel good doesn't it ? Some of my favourite watches to wear are my first attempts at repair. With a face that only its repairer can love , Rolexes pah !!! give me a Smiths pin pallet any day of the week. 

[ColinC]

20 hours ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

When you are having fun restoring false economy exits via a window.

Too true!  I particularly enjoyed fixing the end shake issue with my brand new Chinese horia clone.

I have now used that to improve 3 non runners - would have paid for itself already if I ever got round to selling the projects I have worked on!

[Neverenoughwatches]

57 minutes ago, ColinC said:

Too true!  I particularly enjoyed fixing the end shake issue with my brand new Chinese horia clone.

I have now used that to improve 3 non runners - would have paid for itself already if I ever got round to selling the projects I have worked on!

That's great Col, i firmly believe once you have gained some knowledge you just have to jump in and crack on. 

[rossjackson01]

Good idea the poll. Interesting answers.

[eccentric59]

On 5/20/2024 at 5:27 PM, Neverenoughwatches said:

Your time and money dont always matter Col , what does matter is that you breathed new life into something that was dead and destined for a scrap heap.

That's what my cardiologist keeps telling me after i get his bill.

[Neverenoughwatches]

41 minutes ago, eccentric59 said:

That's what my cardiologist keeps telling me after i get his bill.

Lol so you're ready to be thrown on the scrap pile ? You best get all your watches serviced and fixed then if you ain't got long left .

[eccentric59]

2 hours ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Lol so you're ready to be thrown on the scrap pile ? You best get all your watches serviced and fixed then if you ain't got long left .

Let's just say my mainspring isn't as strong as it used to be and I'm a few jewels short of a full movement. We won't go into my balance staff.  

[Neverenoughwatches]

4 hours ago, eccentric59 said:

Let's just say my mainspring isn't as strong as it used to be and I'm a few jewels short of a full movement. We won't go into my balance staff.  

As long as its a friction fit it will be fine. 

[Waggy]

OK I'm going to call this.... and the winning combination is...... £10.10

So the value to be equal or less than £10.10 or equivalent in your currency, exclusive of reasonable shipping charges and/or spares.

To start the ball rolling here is my first posting as a 10:10, this is a Buler that I picked up in October 2023 for the sum of £3.00, apart from the strap and cracked crystal, all is original:

Before shot:

And the movement:

All went smoothly with no drama, so the whole thing took about 5 hours, here is the final result:

The date is manually set (not quick set... hence the wrong date)

[Neverenoughwatches]

6 hours ago, Waggy said:

OK I'm going to call this.... and the winning combination is...... £10.10

So the value to be equal or less than £10.10 or equivalent in your currency, exclusive of reasonable shipping charges and/or spares.

To start the ball rolling here is my first posting as a 10:10, this is a Buler that I picked up in October 2023 for the sum of £3.00, apart from the strap and cracked crystal, all is original:

Before shot:

And the movement:

All went smoothly with no drama, so the whole thing took about 5 hours, here is the final result:

The date is manually set (not quick set... hence the wrong date)

Why heavens to Betsy, Scott did you wimp out mate ?  10.10 pah,  and you already had a 404 in toe.  I'd be ashamed to call myself a Yorkshireman if i ever stooped so low.  Talk some sense into these people Rich , ffs moderate will ya mate .

[spectre6000]

OK. So, let's get organized a bit. This is a fun thing, so nothing too serious. We'll either need a new, separate thread for the new 10:10 limit, and it'll need a name:

404 Club Reboot, 404 Club Reloaded, 404 Club Lite, 404 Club 2000 (like the old sci fi flicks), 404 Club Remix... 10:10 Club

... and keeping under the original 404 limit goes into ...

404 Club Prime, 404 Club Alpha, 404 Club Classic, 404 Club Elite, 404 Club Ninja, 404 Club Hard Mode...

OR

Continue under the original thread with the new 10:10 limit, but if you snag one under the original 404 limit, you get to (must!) post your find with an image of a gold star. Any gold star image you find on the internet that you want to post.

Thoughts?

[Neverenoughwatches]

4 hours ago, spectre6000 said:

OK. So, let's get organized a bit. This is a fun thing, so nothing too serious. We'll either need a new, separate thread for the new 10:10 limit, and it'll need a name:

404 Club Reboot, 404 Club Reloaded, 404 Club Lite, 404 Club 2000 (like the old sci fi flicks), 404 Club Remix... 10:10 Club

... and keeping under the original 404 limit goes into ...

404 Club Prime, 404 Club Alpha, 404 Club Classic, 404 Club Elite, 404 Club Ninja, 404 Club Hard Mode...

OR

Continue under the original thread with the new 10:10 limit, but if you snag one under the original 404 limit, you get to (must!) post your find with an image of a gold star. Any gold star image you find on the internet that you want to post.

Thoughts?

404 Club Tropicana ?...... drinks are free, fun and.........................ok thats enough of that i was never a Wham fan.     404 Club Hard ? Now that's a proper bloke's  club, i can think of more than one connotation that fits that name . I was thinking of relaunching my career and becoming a kids TV presenter ...maybe not.

[gpraceman]

404 Club Part Deux, 1010 Club

Or to take the value out of the equation (as inflation will eventually make the value limit go higher):

Budget Watch Club, Bargain Watch Club, Dirt Cheap Club, Club Thrifty

[Waggy]

2 minutes ago, gpraceman said:

Or to take the value out of the equation

That makes good sense...... thinking of a good name.....

The Cost Conscious Challenge

Operation Skinflint

Cheapskate Challenge

Polish The

 

??

[tomh207]

@Waggy operation skinflint has a certain resonance with me for some reason 

 

Tom

[rjenkinsgb]

The Yorkshiremans bargain? (If it's a bargain to a Yorkshireman, it MUST be cheap!)

 

[Neverenoughwatches]

10 hours ago, tomh207 said:

@Waggy operation skinflint has a certain resonance with me for some reason 

 

Tom

Haha tight arse from Scotland by any chance ? 

1 hour ago, rjenkinsgb said:

The Yorkshiremans bargain? (If it's a bargain to a Yorkshireman, it MUST be cheap!)

 

Lol right on the nail Rob  but then is any price above free to a Yorkshireman a bargain ?

Edited June 6 by Neverenoughwatches

[KarlvonKoln]

I thought of "Precious Finds for Pocket Change".

Or maybe "The Penny Pincher's Post"?

 

[Neverenoughwatches]

Have we had " Tight Timers "                "Dollar Dials "  " Low dosh Discoveries"   "Canny Cases"    "Ticker Thrift finds "   "Chrono Catches"  "Wristwatch Hit"        " Way-hay Watches "                       "Stingy strap-ons"

 

 

[gpraceman]

Maybe "Skinflint Challenge" or "Tightwad Challenge"

Show the before and after photos of the watch to become an official skinflint/tightwad.

[spectre6000]

So much obscure British English slang to parse... Not the stuff you typically hear on Top Gear or Doctor Who...

Cheap is part of it, but it's also fodder for learning. The point, from my perspective at least, is that it's low cost, low risk watches to practice on. Sometimes, you get lucky and end up with some real diamonds in the rough. I got enough of the "cheap" stuff very quickly with all the pin levers and full plates. The fun for me is in hunting for the fully jeweled, all stainless Swiss watches. Some people have gotten really lucky with genuinely nice watches with recognizable names under the bar. Focusing solely on the cheapness of it... cheapens it. I don't know what to do with that brainwave really other than put it out there...

[tomh207]

@spectre6000 I think “low cost, low risk watches” would work as a title with the advantage of being inflation proof.

 

TOM

[Neverenoughwatches]

14 minutes ago, spectre6000 said:

So much obscure British English slang to parse... Not the stuff you typically hear on Top Gear or Doctor Who...

Cheap is part of it, but it's also fodder for learning. The point, from my perspective at least, is that it's low cost, low risk watches to practice on. Sometimes, you get lucky and end up with some real diamonds in the rough. I got enough of the "cheap" stuff very quickly with all the pin levers and full plates. The fun for me is in hunting for the fully jeweled, all stainless Swiss watches. Some people have gotten really lucky with genuinely nice watches with recognizable names under the bar. Focusing solely on the cheapness of it... cheapens it. I don't know what to do with that brainwave really other than put it out there...

No that makes sense specs, personally i like some of the cheap stuff,  in part it was designed so that anyone from any walk of life could have a watch on their wrist. But essentially you are correct this thread is about the hunt for real gems, I'm sure we are all more thrilled after opening a parcel and being faced with something really nice that reveals itself, than a bag full of cheapos.