Vaer case tube replacement

[levic900rr]

Hi folks, Im dusting off my watch making tools for a friend this weekend. He brought me a Vaer A5, the case tube has come loose from the case. I am pretty confident that I can make this repair but Im really struggling to source a replacement tube! Does anyone have a go to place where they find those? I tried Esslinger and google searching. Just keep coming up empty. Here is a lame diagram I made after measuring everything. 

Any suggestions would be super appreciated. 

 

[ColinC]

Have you looked here?
https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/external-thread-tubes

[AndyGSi]

Can you not just refit the old tube?

Otherwise I'd be looking at something like these from Cousins.

[levic900rr]

On 2/8/2025 at 10:25 AM, ColinC said:

Have you looked here?
https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/external-thread-tubes

Cant believe I forgot about this place! Thank you, looks like exactly what I need. 

On 2/8/2025 at 10:26 AM, AndyGSi said:

Can you not just refit the old tube?

Otherwise I'd be looking at something like these from Cousins.

I cant re-fit the old tube. Im not sure if the case is worn, or the tube, but it just pulls straight back out if you pull on the crown. 

[AndyGSi]

5 minutes ago, levic900rr said:

Cant believe I forgot about this place! Thank you, looks like exactly what I need. 

I cant re-fit the old tube. Im not sure if the case is worn, or the tube, but it just pulls straight back out if you pull on the crown. 

How sure are you about the dimensions?

You could try expanding the existing tube while in situ with something like a smoothing broach and maybe a drop or thread lock for good measure.

[levic900rr]

On 2/9/2025 at 1:36 PM, AndyGSi said:

How sure are you about the dimensions?

You could try expanding the existing tube while in situ with something like a smoothing broach and maybe a drop or thread lock for good measure.

Thats an interesting idea. I dont have any of those types of tools yet, maybe nows the time for me to move into that zone. 

[AndyGSi]

1 hour ago, levic900rr said:

Thats an interesting idea. I dont have any of those types of tools yet, maybe nows the time for me to move into that zone. 

Any smooth piece of tapered metal (like below) would work but smoothing broaches aren't that expensive depending where you are.

[levic900rr]

I might have to go with the awl or broach approach. I ordered a few tubes from Cousins, and they're the correct size, but the threads aren't right for the stock crown... they replacement tubes have a finer thread pitch than the crown. Im so close, yet so far lol. Im finding, with watch making, that repairing old watches is almost as much about locating replacement parts as it is having the skill to install them! 

[AndyGSi]

6 minutes ago, levic900rr said:

Im finding, with watch making, that repairing old watches is almost as much about locating replacement parts as it is having the skill to install them! 

I didn't think these were that old so would have expected a modern thread on the crown.

[levic900rr]

Yeah its odd, I didnt think it was that old either. But this is my first time messing with this part of a watch. I looked all over the Cousins site, I cant get this size tube with a difference thread pitch. I thought about replacing the crown to fit the tube but I'd rather not have to do that. 

[AndyGSi]

Can you post a photo of the watch and crown in question.

[levic900rr]

I ended up using an awl that I had in my toolbox to open up the stock tube a bit, dabbed a tiny bit of thread lock on it and pressed it back in. Seems to be holding just fine. I dont have a way to test the water resistance but Im going to give it back to my buddy and let him run it! Thanks for the help everyone!