Omega 610 movement running great but minute hands not moving

[thricci]

Hi all,

I’m a software engineer and I’ve followed Mark’s courses and since then I felt in love with watchmaking as an hobby and I’ve been able to service and repair several watches in the last couple of years. I recently got from my grandfather my great grandfather’s Omega Geneve from 1963, it’s a manual 610 movement (with date) with a lot of emotional attachment. The watch has not been used for more than 30 years and I found it in pretty bad condition: gaining 5min per hour and oil everywhere in the movement parts. I serviced it and everything went pretty straightforward and now it runs within 6s a day with 0.7ms beat error. Problem is the minute and hour hands that often get stuck after some time (while the second hand keeps running smoothly though). Time setting is really weird too. I can set the time but with minimal resistance (I can literally rotate the crown with 1 finger). I guess something is off with the canon pinion from some research I did… I was wondering if anyone has any idea before I start finding new parts… is there a way to visually inspect canon pinion issues?

[Knebo]

Hi @thricci@thricci, 

You 100% have a loose cannon pinion. It's a relatively easy repair. And if it goes wrong or you don't have the tools, it should be an easy part to buy on eBay. 

There's nothing you can inspect visually, but it's an absolutely clear case. 

Edited January 2 by Knebo

[thricci]

Thanks a lot for confirming my hypothesis!

[RichardHarris123]

Hello and welcome from Leeds, England.  

[watchweasol]

Hello and welcome to the forum.  Canon pinion problem for sure as stated. When tightening the pinion put a piece of brass / copper wire in the hole. Close fit. Before tightening . It helps to support the pinion and stops you from crushing the pinion. If you go too far and it’s too tight you will need to broach it out taking great care whilst carrying out either action.  Good luck.

[VWatchie]

1 hour ago, watchweasol said:

If you go too far and it’s too tight you will need to broach it out taking great care whilst carrying out either action.

And here comes some additional information: