A Vintage 7005 - 7010 I Picked Up

[ramrod]

here's a sweet little number i got in the mail friday. it's a 7005 from june 1969. i looked at it on fleabay and tossed a number at it. when i looked at the seller's pictures, i knew that the dial was in good shape. this is one of my favorite watch case styles - it's style lends it to being a bit larger.

my only gripe with this watch is that the crown is so small. i'm sure it is the original.

it was advertised as a non runner. usually i find that it isn't always the case, but it is in this case. it doesn't run after charging the barrel. but, if i keep a bit of pressure on the crown, it will run. i'm not sure what would cause this.

looking closely at the dial, you can see some spotting of the paint between 7 o'clock and 9 o'clock and again at 1 o'clock to 3 o'clock. i would love to clean this up somehow but it looks like it's lifting from beneath the paint.

the case back has been peened outwards for some reason. this was deliberately done because it is dead center and perfectly round. the crystal is in very good shape as is the case. the sides could use a polish, but the top still has some nice radial brushing on it.

 

OK...OK....no pics. i couldn't get them to download before my next birthday, so i posted the text part of the thread.

they're on their way.

Edited February 1, 2016 by ramrod

[rogart63]

The 7005 movement is a very nice little movement to work on.Still a lot of parts available.  Looking forward. 

[ramrod]

well,i'm gonna abandon this thread. i cannot upload pictures for some reason. i thought it was my computer, but i have no trouble anywhere else.

just take my word for it - it's a nice watch.

lol

[bobm12]

Sorry to hear about your pictures. I was looking forward to them. What seems to be the issue?

[ramrod]

it takes so long to download them, the computer times out. i have already adjusted the size of them so they are as small as they should be.

i dont know why this started doing that. i never had a problem before.

i'm going to make triple sure that they're downsized and try again.

 

ta daaa! i fixed it. apparently i was trying to download unprocessed pics from the raw file.

 

 

 

 

[bobm12]

It's nice and the dial is very clean. Have you started servicing it?

[ramrod]

thank you, bob.

no i haven't started yet. it's waiting in line.

this will run only if i keep a bit of pressure on the crown. if i pull it out to set and turn it slightly, the second hand will keep going nicely until i release. i don't know if that means nothing or anything.

[bobm12]

I'm not too sure about this movement since it has been a while but, isn't this one, one of the hacking pre 7S26? This I'm not sure, off the top of my head, so IF it is hacking there may be an issue with the hacking mechanism. I'd definitely check the keyless works though, since it seems to be an issue with the stem or with the parts it interacts...maybe a broken stem? It could be a simple case of clean and lube...In any case, do show us some pics of the movement, that will help.

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

[WileyDave]

Ramrod

Love those big stick hands and markers, also president style bracelet! Should clean up nice. There is a guy in UK who has a repair blog, he might be a member here, so I don't want to include a link. pm me if you'd like it.

[steve855]

Hi Ramrod,

Nice find. I picked up a similar model about a year ago, it's a 7006-7012. I think it's the same movement with the addition of a day of the week complication. Mine had a broken stem but the original crown was kindly included by the seller.

I sourced a new stem and installed it, then I found the likely cause of the original broken stem- setting the hands required much more force at the crown than normal.

At that point I had to learn about the function of the cannon pinion. I was able to sort out the problem with the CP, i think it was just dry and had too much grip.

I did a very basic service on the rest of the movement then started working on the case and crystal, both of which were in rough condition. The acrylic crystal was a simple wet sanding and polishing job, it came out nice.

I have some case lapping fixtures which i made to use on my lathe, and this was a good candidate. The radial brushing on the top surface was fun to do and I think turned out well. The sides were lapped to a p2000 finish then polished.

The trickiest part was the top lug surfaces, which I never did get quite right to my satisfaction. Overall though, it shined up ok.

I also cleaned and refinished the original bracelet.

My daughter liked the finished product so I sized the bracelet as small as it would go and let her wear it for a few weeks to check it's function. It keeps good time, probably +/- 15 sec per day if I had to guess. I only need to adjust it if she forgets to wear it for a few days, which is good enough for her. Yes she still has it in her possession, I finally just gave it to her because she likes it.

Sorry for such a long post, but it's kind of a long story. Ramrod, your new watch should clean up nicely, and the 7005/7006 although not a high grade movement, is capable of performing well. I personally prefer the 61xx series but I think the 70xx are easier to work on. This was one of the very first watches that I serviced and refinished that actually turned out ok and is still in use everyday, haha. I haven't been at this very long but I'm trying to learn more all the time.

Everyone loves photos, so I'll try to take some.

Edit- added pics. Lume still glows, but doesn't last long.

Steve

Edited February 16, 2016 by steve855

[ramrod]

bobm - no, this is not a hacking movement. and i did pull the stem - it is intact. i'm leaning toward a simple case of clean and lube. this is an easy movement to take apart. i'll get a few pictures of the movement and put them up.

 

i'll throw you a PM, wileydave. i also like the bracelet, but it is too small for me and it's broken. i'll make a nice leather strap for it.

 

steve - yes, my favorite movement is the 61xx - actually the 6106 is tops for me. the radial brushing is so very light on this case that you can hardly see it. i wish i could make it more predominant. i have been working on the rest of the case today, but i'm finding that i need 800 or 1200 sandpaper to rid this case of scratches so i can get a good polish on it. i could use your case lapping expertise on this one.

[ramrod]

whoa! very nice! and lume too?! mine doesn't have any lume. i've been thinking about adding it to the dial. the indices are perfect for it. that's a nice watch. what is the date on yours, steve? mine is june 1969.

ok.....here are some pictures of the movement.....and an edit: i removed the balance for the hell of it and reinstalled it. the watch hasn't stopped running since. but the amplitude is extremely low. barely turnining.

Edited February 17, 2016 by ramrod

[steve855]

My case lapping expertise is still under construction! Haha of course I'll gladly help if I can.

My daughter's 7006 is from Jan,1971 as near as i can tell.

You're right, the indices are perfect for lume.

Sounds like your movement just needs a service, you'll have it humming soon enough, I'm sure.

I also like the 6106, I'm nearly done with a nice green dialed model. I'll try to post about it if it turns out ok.

Edited February 17, 2016 by steve855

[ramrod]

oh! post pics for sure. is it a DX or Actus?

if your case lapping is shown on the case in the pictures, you've done well. do you have more pictures of some case lapping? i'd like to see them.

 

yeah - like i said, this one is just waiting in line.

[steve855]

I did refinish the case on the 7006 in the photos, it was one of my first victims with the case lapping rig. If you look at the shot with the lume you can see the top lug surface isn't quite as it should be. Unfortunately the case was so beat up I had to remove more material than I would have liked.

The 6106 I'm working on is a DX. here's the current state of things with the case. I'll try to dig up a photo of the lapping process. This case was also pretty bad, looked like it fell off a train. I did the best I could bit some of the nicks were too deep. The caseback tool slippage marks are especially deep, if I remove them I'm afraid there won't be much thickness left. Tool marks were not put there by me, i should add.

Edited February 17, 2016 by steve855

[steve855]

Ramrod- here's a photo, lapping a 6119 case. Sorry to hijack your 7005 thread.

Steve

[ramrod]

aha! you're the one! i remember seeing this picture and perhaps others that you showed. some of the cases you lapped were awesome, i thought. i couldn't remember who it was. we need to talk.

and no problems with the hijack. i love this kind of stuff.

[steve855]

Thanks! Good memory, I did post this photo or a similar one before, probably on SCWF. I was doing pretty well with this lapping setup then I got busy with remodeling and work and was kept away from it for while. Lately I've been spending more time working on movements and trying to build my skills and gather the right tools, which is why I'm often on this great forum. Now I'm having brush up on some of the case finishing methods- pun intended.

I've considered doing a write-up thread with photos about case lapping but I don't think I'm proficient enough yet to do that. I still have a lot to learn, and it's mostly trial and error. There is a huge body of information available to help with working on movements but very little out there about how case finishing is done by the factories and pros. The equipment isn't exactly cheap or commonplace either, most of what I use I've made myself. If it was easy, what fun would that be?

[steve855]

Reposting Ramrod's photo to get this thread back on track [emoji6]

Steve

[bobm12]

Hi Steve,

 

I'd love to read your write-up thread about lapping and if you could also offer some alternatives for the rest of us that don't have lathes it would be the topping of the cake! Excellent idea! I believe you are already quite advance in the matter and whatever you can share will be terrific specially for newbies in that field...mainly me! :)

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

[steve855]

Thanks Bob. I'll try to get some photos and do a separate thread next time I have this in action. It will have a disclaimer though- just because I do it a certain way doesn't mean it's the right way!

Steve

[bobm12]

Don't worry Steve, we'll be honored!

 

As in my junior years in computer science, one thing I learned is that there are many right ways to do things...as they say, more than one way to skin a cat...or, incidentally, to restore a watch case?! I'm sure your way will be very educative as I said before, to many of us. If, at the same time, other people chip in, maybe, just maybe we will all benefit from the many ideas and ways provided so everyone wins! :)

 

That's the beauty of many great minds working together!

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

 

PS. I promise I'll be the first student, not having much experience in this field.