ETA 2472 Service Walkthrough

[AlexanderB]

Also merely to gather more and more experience, I bought two ETA 2472 over the time for little money on ebay. I think they were less than 20 EUR each. 

I already worked on one which did not work, since one of the escapement wheel pivots was sheared off.

I demagnetized the movement which I hadn't worked on earlier and put on the timegrapher. The result is excellent, especially since the beat error is zero. I did not adjust anything yet.

For the first movement I ordered a replacement escapement wheel on ebay. Unfortunately the seller didn't pack it properly. This is the result:

A bent wheel. I was able to fix it with this trueing caliper which I also got for very little money on ebay.

This is the result of the movement with the repaired escapement wheel.

BTW the seller of the bent wheel refunded me and apologized. He asked me to keep the bent part.

The movement which I will work on now has a problem in the date mechanism. The date just doesn't move after midnight. I assume it's a problem of lubrication.

Let's see. I will now disassemble the movement. I will use the order that ETA suggests on the 2824,

@bobm12, this thread is only for you 

Cheers Alexander

 

Edited May 29, 2016 by AlexanderB
order of pics

[bobm12]

Thank you Alexander! Much appreciated! By the way, if it is not too much to ask, how did you use the trueing caliper to fix the wheel? I've never used one -- or owned one for that matter! Much to learn, my friend!!

Cheers,

Bob

[AlexanderB]

Thank you Bob. Of course not. I will prepare some pictures in the next days. I may open a new thread in the tools section. Keep you informed.

After I disassembled the automatic weigh I realize that one stone was broken. Good, I have another movement for the spares.

[AlexanderB]

Here are photos of the disassembly of the date mechanism.

Very delicate spring! Be aware!

The date driving wheel lever slide assembly suddenly jumped away. I didn't find a way to do it properly. Nevertheless both parts could be found. No issues here. 

Enough for today.

Cheers Alexander

 

Edited May 29, 2016 by AlexanderB

[AlexanderB]

Here are some more pictures of the disassembly. I already removed the stone of the balance wheel for cleaning.

 

[AlexanderB]

I am extremely busy these days. Started a blog a while ago.

Here are the last pictures of the disassembly. I will start cleaning and assembly next week (hopefully).

 

Cheers Alexander

[AlexanderB]

Today I was able to clean the parts and started assembly. Nothing special, pretty straight forward.

This is how I attached the "Crown Wheel Rocker" before mounting the barrel bridge.

Cheers Alexander

[AlexanderB]

I just finished working on the 2472. Everything is in place and it's running fine.

Here are a couple of pictures. Some are just for the sake of having them. Not necessary to assemble the movement but nice.

Assembly of the date mechanism proved a challenge for someone inexperienced, like me.

Mounting this part took me quite a while to figure out. Usually the silverish part sticks out further and cannot be inserted. This is how the part should look like prior to assembly:

The spring proved to be another challenge. During assembly of the driving wheel / lever slide the spring has to be pulled back. 

This is the situation where the lever slide has to be slided under this guide post:

After 30 minutes of trying to figure out how to assemble it, I eventually succeeded. You can see the the lever has been slid unter the guide post and that the spring is nicely in place.

I first assembled the date jumper and date jumper spring but it turned out that when mounting the date indicator, I cloudn't get it done. So assemble the date jumper AFTER the date indicator is on place.

The driving wheel has to be positioned so that the notches of the date indicator fit through. The date jumper is not properly in place in this picture.

Done!

Yet another picture of the other side with the movement in motion on the timegrapher.

[bobm12]

Hi Alexander,

Sorry I wasn't much around lately. I had some heavy work load and then some family stuff all in one that prevented that. As it is I'm not completely out of the hot water but things are getting better.

I had finally time to check this threat out and wow, man, this is fantastic. Thank you for posting it! It is amazing the beauty of the pictures you took, showing the different wheels and mechanism as they intermesh! Very well done!

Cheers,

Bob

[AlexanderB]

Hi Bob,

Thank you for your kind remarks. I really appreciate that.

No need to apologize. Same here: was pretty busy and then had a breathtaking vacation in the US: NYC, then Las Vegas, Williams, Page, Moab, Panguitch. You of course know that this involved the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Horseshoe Bend, Lower Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley, Arches Natl. Park, Bryce Canyon, Zion Natl. Park and a few minor attractions. So many breathtaking views in so little time!

Cheers Alexander

[Cad101]

Nice work Alexander your pics are wonderful.

Mick

[Geo]

Thank you for a quality thread, full of excellent pictures and great information.  The forum could do with a lot more like this!

[bobm12]

Wow, you were everywhere Alexander! Great vacation if I may add! By the way, were you here?

This is a place where those 4 Estates meet. It used to be a not very glamorous (so to speak) crossroad full of miths and mystery. I see they have changed the spot a bit lately but I suppose it is still a curiosity. I think it is featured in an old movie but I can't remember which.

In perspective, this is where you would be standing if in that circle:

...and there is also some tribal lands belonging to the Aboriginal American Indians...which give it a flavor of Old West to the whole thing!

Oh, well, back to the original thread, I'm still curious about the use of the trueing caliper since I don't have one and intend to get one in the future. There are also different types I think. Some have a "handle" and others are like the one you have...All a little confusing considering size and "features?".

Cheers,

Bob

 

[Vich]

Excellent piece of work and very instructive,

Cheers,

Vic

[SSTEEL]

Great work, Alexander!  Well done!

[AlexanderB]

Thank you all for your kind comments. As Bob I am pretty overwhelmed with work. Plus my camera lens developed a significant play over the time when zooming. Still working but we have a 2yr warranty guaranteed by the dealer. Luckily my dealer s extremely helpful and after Canon refused to handle the problem (one year was over) they not only replace the lens. Since this was a kit, the only way the can handle it is replacing the entire kit! So after 1.5 years I will get a new kit. And they not only replace it the way I expected it, sending the old stuff in first and get a replacement then. No! They do it vice versa. Send the new kit. And after that I have 30d time to send back the old kit.

If someone is interested in who this dealer is, drop me a line. It might be a violation of the rules to name this worldwide operating huge company.

Bob, I did not forget the trueing caliper explanation. Give me some more time please. And no, we didn't make it to this point AZ/UT/CO/NM. Mexican Hat was as far east as we got this time. The picture shows one of the places that fascinated me most. To take the picture I had to stand 3in away from a 1000ft abyss.

Cheers Alexander

[matabog]

great walkthrough, photos and troubleshouting!

Thank you!

Bogdan

[AlexanderB]

Thank you Bogdan for your kind comment. I really appreciate that.

Here is a short explanation of the caliper, I promised Bob @bobm12

The caliper has actually two sides with different sized pivot holes.

The ruler (don't know the real expression) can be mounted on either side. The double threaded rod in the middle allows parallel opening and closing of the "claws". There is some inbuilt friction, hence you can fine adjust the width when inserting an gear or escapement wheel to turn easily but with nearly no axial play. That is essential.

Here is a closeup of the pivot hole:

I found an old escapement wheel of a very cheap watch from the 70ies.

This is the result: the wheel is not running true. This can be easily seen with this truing caliper. You could now try to do tiny corrections. The pictures may suggest that the axis is not really parallel. But believe me: the wheel rim is moving back and forth when turning the wheel.

Important notice: this is how I figured out to work with it. I would highly appreciate comments of watchmakers who really know hot to use it and may give some additional advice.

Cheers Alexander

Edited August 21, 2016 by AlexanderB
Clarification

[bobm12]

Alexander, I have no words! That caliper explanation dispels all the mystery about it! Very useful to me at this point and I appreciate you taking the time to do it. Thank you very much.

Also, that picture at 3 in. from a cliff! I would never attempt it! That was pure daring but the result is outstanding! I'm happy for you that you enjoyed your trip to my country and the amazing pictures you took! Thank you for showing them to us.

Cheers,

Bob

[RyanGreerMcGilloway]

HiI have brought the same movement. My hour and minute hands do not move? I suspect due to the cannon pinion and that assembly not being properly tight and the wheel underneath How would I tighten this? 
 

I’ve just had another look, I can’t seem to get the plate wheel that fits on finally to be fixed in place while turning all wheels, it just sort of lifts off itself