Quick help diagnosing a possible purchase?

[mcass]

I have found a watch on eBay that I have been considering. It does need repair. The seller says " I bought it new via an eBay distributor, and wore it daily for about 3 months. I was winding it up one day when there was a snapping sound and the watch stopped working. When I shake it there is a rattling sound. Sorry for the vague description, I'm not really that familiar with watches".

More than likely the main spring was overwound and broke I would guess. Can anyone confirm? This is on a Vostok. Would this be a difficult repair?

[bobm12]

Hi mcass,

You are probably right about the mainspring...but I'm not familiar with those movements...Now, I don't think there is such a thing as overwound, just simple spring failure...they break! As far as parts availability I suppose it depends on the movement but being a main spring (if it is) you can always order an equivalent based on measurements of the old one. You are still gambling on a broken item so it would be helpful to know what movement it is and check out for parts availability and such.

Cheers,

Bob

[frenchie]

Just my opinion, but I don't like the rattling sound... Could be as "easy" as a broken mainspring, or not...

[rogart63]

Is it the new Vostok Europa watches or something like that? Maybe could be worth repairing? All depends on the price? Is it an Automatic? 

[jdm]

I would be curious to know how spare parts for Russian watches are obtained. I think it should be possible because people in Russia value and make last any object more than in the West.

[Geo]

19 hours ago, jdm said:

I would be curious to know how spare parts for Russian watches are obtained.

With great difficulty, that's why I usually steer clear of them.

[svorkoetter]

What model of Vostok is this?

I had a Vostok Komandirskie to which exactly the same thing happened. The 20+ year old mainspring broke. I ordered a new mainspring (complete with barrel), and the watch worked for a few minutes and stopped. It was then that I discovered that a tooth was missing from one of the wheels. It probably sheared off from the sudden recoil when the spring broke.

Now, what Geo says is both true and false, depending on the movement. If it's a Vostok 2409, 2414, 2415, or 2416 movement, they're easy to get parts for, and the whole movement can be had brand new for $30.

[bobm12]

Quote

If it's a Vostok 2409, 2414, 2415, or 2416 movement, they're easy to get parts for, and the whole movement can be had brand new for $30.

Hi svorkoetter,

any useful links for the above? I'd love to get some parts for a couple I've had in my waiting list for quite a while. Thanks!

Cheers,

Bob

[svorkoetter]

eBay user zenitar often has these for sale, although he doesn't have anything listed at the moment (maybe on vacation). favinov does too. They can also be found at http://meranom.com/movements/. Vostok tends to make things in batches, so sometimes availability is better than other times. I bought my mainspring (which ended up not fixing the problem, so it's now left over, since I just got a whole new movement instead) from zenitar if I recall.

Edited March 31, 2016 by svorkoetter

[oldhippy]

If the main spring has broken and it rattles I would say there's something more then just the mainspring broken. You won't know until you open it.

[bobm12]

Thanks svorkoetter, I'm following the sellers you mention now. They both have a lot of stuff I will be checking out soon. The meranom link you did send it to me at the time I purchased the movements some time ago. Much appreciated.

Cheers,

Bob

[mcass]

Thank you all for your comments. The watch actually showed up today! It is a Vostok Komandirskie with a 2414a movement. I have never had one with a screw in crown like this. When it arrived, like the seller said, it was not working. I unscrewed the crown and for a few minutes could not get it to work it seemed. Making just slight movement I felt something catch and then was able to get it to wind, then pulled it out a little further to set the time. It appears to be working perfectly. I let it run for about an hour and half and tried winding again and it still worked just fine. I am wondering if maybe there was actually some user error involved with the winding. Now that I understand how it works it seems to be working perfectly. Looks brand new too. Not bad for $14.00.

[svorkoetter]

That's great news mcass. That's exactly how a Komandirskie or Amphibia is supposed to work. It's the trademark "wobbly crown". It's well documented here: http://forums.watchuseek.com/f54/vostok-amphibia-analysis-design-methodology-491757.html

[mcass]

Excellent....and Im glad you said wobbly crown! That was exactly the one part that seemed possibly off to me that I was going to keep an eye on since I don't have any experience with this. I'm excited to see if indeed it is working just fine. Thanks for posting!

[bobm12]

I'm glad it all ended well mcass!

[Geo]

3 hours ago, svorkoetter said:

That's great news mcass. That's exactly how a Komandirskie or Amphibia is supposed to work. It's the trademark "wobbly crown". It's well documented here: http://forums.watchuseek.com/f54/vostok-amphibia-analysis-design-methodology-491757.html

Very interesting, thanks for posting Stephan.

[mcass]

I know it's been awhile since anything was posted to this thread but for me...I have an exciting update. THE VOSTOK WAS INDEED BROKEN AND I FIXED IT!!! MY FIRST ACTUAL REPAIR! So basically the other day when I was winding it, I heard the snap that the previous own did and it would not wind. As a matter of fact I shook it slightly and heard the rattling he spoke of as well. I thought this is strange because it had worked just fine for 3 weeks. I decided to open it up and see what had happened. it was really probably the easiest fix possible but it was still exciting to me because this really was my first "repair". When I opened a screw fell out and I noticed the gear on the main spring barrel had popped loose. Set it back in place, screwed her down and the watch is working as good as new. It seems that probably what happened was that the screw had been loose and the gear had popped but not completely off. When I had gotten it to work originally, I must have somehow gotten the gear to reset on its post and the teeth engaged the the other, allowing it to work fine. Gradually though the screw worked itself loose and POP, the gear had come off completely. Working well now though!

[bobm12]

Good job...and good feeling, isn't it!

[Cad101]

Ahhh there's nothing like that first repair feeling. I remember mine to this day a Timex Cinderella watch that was my cousins that needed a new mainspring too with alot of help from my grandad who was a proper watch repairer used to make staffs and cogs the lot i got it up and running i was about 8 or 9 ohh happy days .

Mick

[VWatchie]

On 16/04/2016 at 4:32 AM, mcass said:

I know it's been awhile since anything was posted to this thread but for me...(---) I noticed the gear on the main spring barrel had popped loose. (---) Working well now though!

Well I (too) know it's been awhile since anything was posted to this thread. Anyway, congrats and and just wanted to mention that the "gear on the main spring barrel" is called a "ratchet wheel", but you probably know that by now.

Cheers!