Seiko 6139 Repair And "restoration"

[joelcarvajal]

I got this Seiko 6139-6002 for pennies on the dollar albeit it was not working, in poor physical condition and with missing and damaged parts.  I used after-market parts to “restore” this watch to a portion of its lost glory.  This will go down as one of my favorite repair and restoration projects.

 

[Geo]

Nice watch and a good job you have done Joel. It too is one of my all time favourite chronograph so. :)

[bobm12]

Nice job! ...but we need more details of how you did it! :D

 

It is a beautiful watch and the pride to wear it -- because of your efforts -- is priceless!

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

[joelcarvajal]

There are many walkthroughs in other forums but I guess another one will not hurt.  I'll post more pics and instructions later.

[bobm12]

 

There are many walkthroughs in other forums but I guess another one will not hurt.  I'll post more pics and instructions later.

Hi Joel,

 

You are "The Man"! :)

 

Never enough walkthroughs my friend! I, for instance, would be interested to know about the dial and hands procedure you used to restore them, as well as more details on the movement disassembly, lubrication and assembly itself. What you had to tackle to make it a beauty again, or I'd say a working beauty. And don't forget to comment on what you could do better next time if you had the opportunity or where/how, if applicable, you got/built the missing/useless parts? I don't know, I'd like to go along your experience and enjoy it as much as you did!

 

OK, that's a lot to ask, just do your best and remember, whatever you can do, we really, really appreciate it!

 

Thank you in advance and Happy New Year to you and all!

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

[anilv]

Hi Joel,

Did you replace the hands? Where did you get them from?

Anil

[joelcarvajal]

As I mentioned, the watch has many minor issues:

• It has a missing sub-dial hand.  I was able to purchase an after-market set of hands.
  
  The after-market hands are difficult to find and I was lucky to find a supplier here in the Philippines who has several sets as samples.  Apparently, he had a Chinese company replicate them and they are still in the process of testing the batch.  The minute hand is actually a bit loose and the sub-dial hand got removed after a few chrono resets.  I had to tighten them a little.
• It did not come with a crown and a stem.
  
  The stem used in the Seiko pogue is different from the one readily available, so I have to settle on one that is used with those without a rotating inner bezel.
• One of the chrono pushers is bent.
  
  Again, I used after-market replacements.
• The dial has a missing foot.
  
  I still plan on reusing the original dial but I would have to build my own resistance soldering machine to attach a foot.  So for the meantime, I used the after-market dial shown in my original post.
• The intermediate date wheel is damaged.  Here's a picture comparing it with a good one (right).
  
• The cannon pinion is loose.  I have a spare 6309 and luckily, the 6139 uses the same cannon pinion.
• The crystal is all scratched.  I could have removed the scratches but a replacement crystal is also readily available.  Here is a comparison of the replacement crystal (right) and the original one (left).
  
• The original bezel is scratched and faded.  Again, an after-market replacement was used.
  
  but the new bezel is a bit big so I had to trim it a bit.
  
• As expected, the oil and grease inside the barrel are all dried up.
  

Fortunately, outside the  issues described above, I did not find other problems with the watch.

 

As  you can see, I can't really claim that this was a real "restoration" as I used a lot of after-market parts.  Many watch collectors will frown upon this but as a watch repair hobbyist, I put more weight on the integrity of the movement.

 

In my next posts, I will describe how I serviced the movement.

 

Cheers!

Joel

[bobm12]

Hi Joel,

 

That was super, actually I have no words! Very nice details and how to solve those problems! I'm looking forward to the service! It is becoming quite an adventure in watchmaking and I'm following it with great interest! Thank you so much, it is making my day!

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

[clockboy]

Joel that is  excellent result. Using after market parts is not a problem for me the overall integrity of the watch has not been lost and it,s better than scrapping it thats for sure. The end result is a really nice watch.

[Blacklab]

Nice one Joel!

 

Quite agree CB. Mind you, some serious bunfights have broken out on other forums regarding the pros & cons AM parts, but what else can you do if the original parts are no longer available? Even Rupert Gould had to make 'AM parts' to restore Harrison's clocks back to working condition. The main point is - if you sell it make sure you are honest about the AM parts used (unlike some on fleabay).

[ramrod]

my hat is off to you for taking on one of these beasts. disassembly and reassembly of a 6139 is something beyond my bravery point.

i've got one of these, minus it's correct crown, crown gear and pushers. what's more is i lost the sub dial hand. i am gutted. what a shame.

the reason you might be having a problem with your sub dial hand is that the pinion is not round like most watches. it has sort of a step in it. they are virtually matched to the watch they came on.

[jdrichard]

I have done a restoration on a 7548 Diver , for a friend and with good results. Only needed an after market bezel insert and a crystal; the rest was a lot of polishing and and cleaning of parts. All together now and will be shipped back to my friend as soon as I install the inner bezel gasket and pop the bezel back on.

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[ramrod]

that diver looks like new!  well done.

about a week ago, i bought a lot of 15 watch cases. i knew at least three were seiko. when i opened the box, i had 8 seiko and one of them was a 7548 case. it wasn't even in the pictures of the auction. it is in real good shape, missing the crown, stem and bezel. i don't know whether to build a watch or sell it. i like what you did here. i just might look for parts and build one.

[jdrichard]

Should build one if you have the time. Fun to see them come back to life

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[jdrichard]

Where can I get Seiko watch cases? Do I just keep hunting? As well, I am going to start working on my wife's old diving watch (photo below) and am wondering where I would get the parts, if needed. It is a Squale Eagle Star Geneve, Swiss Made Automatic.

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[ramrod]

you can get cases on fleabay. usually they are sold by the ton out of the phillipines. however a large percentage are 4205 cases which are their midsize cases.

you can do a search for seiko diver and get one that needs help.

 

wow! a squale. i gotta believe that parts for that piece are readily available. i for one would like to see a rebuild on that one.

[jdrichard]

Where is the best place to buy Seiko lumed replacement watch hands?

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[rogart63]

Where is the best place to buy Seiko lumed replacement watch hands?

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Ebay or yobokies . As for the squale i love it . Is it the movement you need parts for? What kind of movement is it? 

[rogart63]

I got this Seiko 6139-6002 for pennies on the dollar albeit it was not working, in poor physical condition and with missing and damaged parts.  I used after-market parts to “restore” this watch to a portion of its lost glory.  This will go down as one of my favorite repair and restoration projects.

 

HDR_Seiko61396002 (2) (1024x614).jpgIMG_8534 (1024x768).jpgIMG_8575 (1024x588).jpgIMG_8580 (1024x768).jpgIMG_8605 (1024x768).jpgIMG_8791 (1024x768).jpg

Isn't that watch what they call a pogue? or something like that . For a Seiko they are nice. If i ever wold like to own a Seiko .That is the one. 

[jdrichard]

Some pending repairs for a friend

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[ramrod]

Where is the best place to buy Seiko lumed replacement watch hands?

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or try dagaz. he has plenty of aftermarket hand sets - he has some full sets, and just hour and minute and some second hands alone.

[joelcarvajal]

Thank you for all the replies and glad it paved way to discuss other restoration discussion.

 

I apologize for not posting the rest of the walkthroughs.  I've been busy with my day job lately and did not have much time for my passion. ;-)

 

Admin/Mods, do you suggest continuing the walkthrough with a separate thread?

Edited January 16, 2016 by joelcarvajal

[Geo]

Admin/Mods, do you suggest continuing the walkthrough with a separate thread?

I think you would be as well staying with this thread as you already have a major part of your work at the beginning.

[joelcarvajal]

Good day,everyone!  Finally had some time to update this post.

 

I will now describe how I assembled the movement.  But first, let me refer you to some documents that helped with the the service.  Of course, the 6139 service manual:

 

http://www.thewatchsite.com/files/Seiko%20Technical%20Manuals/6138A.pdf

 

That document is for the 6139A.  The movement I serviced is actually the 6139B:

 

http://thewatchsite.com/files/Seiko%20Technical%20Manuals/6138B.pdf

 

There are minor differences between the A and B variant but the 6139A service guide will do.

 

I find Polly's Seiko Calibre 6139 Amateurs Guide:

 

http://www.thewatchsite.com/39-watchmaking-tinkering-reference-materials-how-s/43929-seiko-calibre-6139-amateurs-guide.html

 

I started the assembly my installing the center wheel and the escape wheel onto the main plate.

 

 

...followed by mounting the barrel assembly, the center wheel bridge, the third wheel and the chronograph wheel.

 

 

The pillar wheel is then installed onto the barrel and train wheel bridge.  Then I installed the assembled bridge.  In my case, it helps not to install the pallet fork or the click wheel first.  Freely rotating wheels help in aligning the pivots to their respective jewels.

 

 

I then lubricated the pivots with Moebius 9010.  Once the third wheel and escape wheel pivots are lubricated, i then installed the intermediate minute wheel recorder holder.  After which I installed the coupling levers.  I also installed the ratchet wheel.

 

 

Next, I installed the hammer and the springs.

 

 

...to be continued.

 

 

[joelcarvajal]

I believe that the best way to assemble and fix a movement is to first understand how everything about it works.  So I made some animations to help in understanding how the chronograph assembly works.

 

The Seiko 6139 features a column wheel and a vertical clutch.  The chronograph second engages and engages with the 4th wheel via a clutch spring.  The clutch is controlled by the first and second coupling levers.

 

See how pressing the operating lever rotates the column wheel, which in turn, controls the coupling levers.

 

 

While the chronograph is running, pressing the flyback lever will have no effect.

 

 

But when the chrono is stopped, pressing the flyback lever will activate the hammer, which in turn, resets the chronograph second wheel and the minute recorder wheel.

 

 

I hope these animations were helpful.