Jump to content

The What Was The Problem Thread.

jdm

By jdm
in Watch Repairs Help & Advice

 Share

Recommended Posts

jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

Posted
Posted (edited)

This can be funny and challenging. Present a problem without immediate evident cause, of which the cause has been found and fixed, give some elements, and let other guess. The cause must be a very definite fact please, not just "it was dirty inside" :)

I'll begin with what happened to me today. Seiko movement is disassembled for servicing. It is put back together the bare minimum to have it run, at first it runs but because of poor amplitude and large positional variance the balance cock is removed to examine and manipulate the hairsping, this two or three times but all of a sudden it starts making snow on timegrapher which doesn't reveal amplitude (sorry no pic). Removing the balance again doesn't reveal anything visually.

Anybody?

Edited by jdm
Link to comment
Share on other sites
jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Was the end of the hairspring slack in the stud or collar?

 

You got it right! I had an hint when, in despair I poked the stud arm a little and it started behaving, just to go crazy again after few moments. I was puzzled. Then with the balance removed again I found the hairspring was moving freely in the end stud. Pressed it and it's good so far.

Edited by jdm
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
joelcarvajal Watch Enthusiast

joelcarvajal

Posted
Posted

I'll give it a shot.  But since I am such an amateur watch repair hobbyist, this case might be a no-brainer for many of you who are already experts.

 

Early last year, I received a non-working 1969 Omega Constellation featuring the venerable Omega 751 movement.

 

After replacing many parts, I was able to restore the watch.  

 

The problem was, the watch will run for several hours and keep good time but once it stops, with the second hand between the 35 to 40 second mark, it will stop intermittently after that.  The second hand will stop at the same spot everytime - around the 35 to 40 second mark.  

 

Shaking the watch, moving the stem, adjusting the time will restart the watch.  

 

There was no problem with the way the hands were installed.

 

At first, i thought it was due to a fiber (we have a yorkie running freely inside the house) on the escape wheel, but, even after striping and cleaning the movement, the watch will still stop the same way].  

 

When it runs, the second hand moves smoothly.  When the second hand stops, everything in the watch stops.

 

Here's a picture of the movement *before* I found out (or rather, I fixed by trial-and-error) the problem.  Note that the auto-wind mechanism was removed in this picture.

 

post-603-0-70354900-1454219553_thumb.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
joelcarvajal Watch Enthusiast

joelcarvajal

Posted
Posted

I knew it was too easy for you guys.   :bow:

 

In my case, I first suspected the slightly bent sweep second hand pinion.  But I figured it could not have caused it to stop at the same spot.

 

I also suspected a tooth of one of the gears in the train was damaged but after inspection, everything was in order.

 

I ignored the friction spring thinking that as long as it presses on the second hand pinion, it won't matter that it was not centered.  As it turned out, its edge/corner blocked a particular pinion leaf from turning.

 

Adjustment of the friction spring to proper shape solved the problem - and my hair pulling.   :thumbsu:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
JimInOz WRT Addict

JimInOz

Posted
Posted

Looks like the détente has broken off the set bridge/cover plate for the keyless works.

 

thumbsup.png

 

Wow, didn't take long at all, I'll have to find a harder one next time ;-)

 

Part on order, just have to wait for it to travel from the other side of the planet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

Posted
Posted

Looks like the détente has broken off the set bridge/cover plate for the keyless works.

Agree. It should have a little arm that has broken off. In some movements with this fault when you go to wind it changes into setting the hands because the piece that prevents this happening has broken it can also jam the winding and won't wind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
matabog Super WRT Addict

matabog

Posted
Posted (edited)

If the keyless-works were in place, they might have been dirty. Or the intermediate minute wheel had a problem.

 

Maybe dirt or other things might have got in between it and the mainplate. Or maybe it was bent and touching the mainplate creating excessive friction.

Edited by matabog
Link to comment
Share on other sites
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Geotex
      Any tips to correct a sloppy error?

      By Geotex · Posted

      It's probably a cardinal rule for watch repair to never get distracted while at the bench. Yesterday, after finishing a tricky mainspring winding/barrel insertion (I didn't have a winder and arbor that fit very well) I mentally shifted down a gear once that hurdle was passed. There were other things going on in the room as I put the barrel and cover into the barrel closer and pressed to get that satisfying snap. But when I took it out I realized I never placed the arbor.  When opening a barrel, we are relying on the arbor to transfer a concentrically-distributed force right where it is needed at the internal center of the lid. However, when that isn't present it's difficult to apply pressure or get leverage considering the recessed position of the lid, the small holes in the barrel and the presence of the mainspring coils. It was a beat-up practice movement so I didn't take a lot of time to think it over and I pushed it out using a short right-angle dental probe placed in from the bottom, but that did leave a bit of a scratch and crease in the thin lid. I had also thought about pulling it using a course-threaded screw with a minor thread diameter smaller than the lid hole and a major diameter larger, but that may have done some damage as well.  Thinking about how this might have been handled had it been a more valuable movement, is there a method using watchmaking or other tools that should extract the lid with the least damage? 
    • Neverenoughwatches
      Epilame / Fixodrop

      By Neverenoughwatches · Posted

      🤔 what happens if lubrication is placed directly on top of epilame ? Making a small groove so the lubrication doesn't spread across the component but what if when lubing a little overspills and sits on the epilame .
    • Neverenoughwatches
      Setting lever spring

      By Neverenoughwatches · Posted

      Why just the bottom mike ? Is it worth polishing the whole arm ?
    • mikepilk
      Setting lever spring

      By mikepilk · Posted

      The one thing I took time over was to round and polish the curves at the bottom of the jumper arm. The slightest mark (left over from cutting of filing) acts as a stress raiser, just where you don't need it. 
    • GuyMontag
      Movement holder made with 3D printer

      By GuyMontag · Posted

      I printed the base and it is a bit too large to fit on the base of the hand setter. The ring bumps into the column so it is unable to full seat on the central ring. I'm going to try removing some of the materal and see if I can't get it to go down.
×
×
  • Create New...