Omega 354 : Broken Balance Cock Screw

[frenchie]

Hello,

I have an Omega 354 Bumper movement and the weirdest thing just happened: I stripped it, cleaned everything in the ultrasonic, and when putting it back together, all the way to the balance wheel, the balance cock screw just snapped.

I had it in a couple of turns, it was going really smoothly, there was no resistance so it was clearly in the whole, with the thread caught, and then I thought I slipped but no, the screw just snapped. There is a bit of a lip left so I'm hoping that I can take it out....

What is a bit strange is that I'd undone the screw when stripping the movement, but had also put the balance back on the movement to clean it, no problem at all. I had also removed the screw again to put the movement back together and all of a sudden, SNAP.

I do clean the screws in the ultrasonic, is this a no-no ?

 

In the meantime, I also have to look for a new screw... sigh... Always something...

[Blacklab]

Never had a problem with screws & ultrasonics, it probably just age. However it appears Omegas have issues see here:http://watchguy.co.uk/omega-spare-parts-quality/#comments

[bobm12]

Hi Frenchie,

 

Sometimes screws do that due to either manufacture defects or fatigue. Sometimes a defective screw doesn't show it until the very end... I guess you got lucky there. It happened to me with a brand new Seiko movement right out of the box (screws are screws no matter what movement and/or manufacturer). I do clean my screws too and never had a problem.

 

Will you be able to fix it? An Omega is a nice watch!

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

[mwilkes]

That's happened to me too. I broke one when I was adjusting the beat - stupidly, I was using it as an anchor point for my tweezers when rotating the stud. It's possible that a previous repairer did the same thing?

[frenchie]

Follow up   Better late than never.

I found a screw on the Internets and the watch is back together ticking happily.

It was a pleasure to work on. Top notch quality from my perspective (except for that one darn screw), all the parts just go together right. It's the nicest watch I've ever worked on! Pictures coming up soon.

It's also my first bumper watch and for some reason, there is a weird satisfying feeling having it on your wrist and feeling the gentle tap of the weight moving around. I told my dad I'd give it to him unfortunately... He paid for it, that's his excuse for wanting it back...

BUT I have another one that needs quite a bit of TLC that I'll be working on at some point in the future

[Geo]

Well done Frenchie.  I'm a fan of bumper watches, I fully understand what you are saying regarding wearing it, and totally agree with you.

Regarding the broken screw, someone before you has probably over tightened it and stretched it beyond its elastic limit.

[frenchie]

More follow up....

I managed to loose all the pictures I had from the working movement I had fixed up.... And I gave to my dad for Christmas so that's that...

I have started working on another one, in much tougher shape, that somehow still ticked when wound a couple of turns:

- one screw broken right at the bridge level (automatic bridge) : fixed with a bath of alum powder overnight

- 2 missing screws... WTF???? one for the barrel bridge, one for the main bridge.... I have to source those

- one missing dial screw: I have to source that one too

- one broken dial foot: the dial is not in great shape, I'm too scared to ruin it to try to weld it back on... I'm going to try epoxy and see what happens

- broken regulator: I have a replacement

 

My next question is about replacing the regulator: sometimes it is attached with 2 screws on the underside of the balance bridge, but in this case, no screws, nothing... How am I supposed to replace it ? Can I just push it on ?

[StuartBaker104]

Omega screws are a little tricky to find on Cousins but the parts list is here (330 is the base calibre, you can also find the 352 special parts if needed) https://www.cousinsuk.com/PDF/categories/1354_Omega 330.pdf

Barrel bridge is screw # 2003, so search for part Ome2003 - not cheap at £7.74, but you may find on ebay etc. Dial screw is 2501 - same price.

Gleave lists Omega screws at £4, but don't have these on line - you could call them.

To fit to regulator, I believe you have to remove the balance jewel setting by removing the horseshoe clip on the underside of the balance cock.

[frenchie]

5 minutes ago, StuartBaker104 said:

To fit to regulator, I believe you have to remove the balance jewel setting by removing the horseshoe clip on the underside of the balance cock.

that what I feared... darn... This is going to be a challenge...

Thank you for the screw reference, I see we share the same sources After I'm done I'll need to find a couple more of those movements just so I can use all my spare screws (they come in packs of 5)...

[StuartBaker104]

53 minutes ago, frenchie said:

that what I feared... darn... This is going to be a challenge...

Really not a big deal - a lot easier than removing the cap jewel for cleaning

[frenchie]

On 3/14/2017 at 6:08 PM, StuartBaker104 said:

Really not a big deal - a lot easier than removing the cap jewel for cleaning

I finally got all the parts I need... and promptly lost the horseshoe clip thing. It flew to outer space never to be found again. I feel like there is a technique to get it back in place but I can't figure it out are you supposed to slide it in? or something else? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

[frenchie]

I did it!!!! The clip is back in place!!!! I only spent about 15 hours trying to put this thing back in.... A great learning experience overall, but also frustrating that it took so long. It was good practice to get my hands to stop shaking

Now I need to put the hairspring back on the balance cock, clean all the parts, and get the watch back together. I have all the parts hopefully.

My one last challenge with this watch is going to be fixing the broken dial foot...