Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Hello

I have  small collection of cheap stuff, old Casio's etc but I also have a few watches that don't work but are just not worth having professionally repaired.

I will start with a Cronel Jet King I picked up at a Car Boot sale, I like it but its worth very little, it doesn't run.

I would be great full if some one could tell me were to start!

I can get the back off and have good engineering knowledge but just haven't a clue what to do next.

Once I  have cracked the sI have a Smiths Astral waiting.

Thanks in advance.

Posted

Maybe show a picture of the watch to let others understand? You know there are quartz watches, mechanical and few different types more. And the reasons why they don't run can vary a lot.

 

Posted

In most cases you need to fully take it apart. For that you need to procure the necessary tools first. Have a read around on this forum.

Posted
51 minutes ago, winchman said:

Hello

I have  small collection of cheap stuff, old Casio's etc but I also have a few watches that don't work but are just not worth having professionally repaired.

I will start with a Cronel Jet King I picked up at a Car Boot sale, I like it but its worth very little, it doesn't run.

I would be great full if some one could tell me were to start!

I can get the back off and have good engineering knowledge but just haven't a clue what to do next.

Once I  have cracked the sI have a Smiths Astral waiting.

Thanks in advance.

Is it the one with dual crowns? If so that is a good looking watch? Have a EB movement . 8800? Pin lever movement aren't the easiest to service but not the toughest either? 

Posted

The Cornel is a good place to start but I would strongly recommend getting at least half a dozen successful overhauls under your belt before tackling the smiths.

The Smiths isn't a particularly difficult watch to work on but if it is in nice condition cosmetically then it's not a cheap watch. Also if anything goes wrong you're going to find it difficult to track down spare parts.

As for how to proceed I would point you towards the "watch repair and servicing walkthroughs" section. It's full of photo walk through for many different movements but the generally follow the same basic design and give a good idea about how to go about a tear down and rebuild.

And crucially take loads of photographs to help guide the rebuild, and don't be shy about asking questions here.

Good luck.

Posted

Post a picture if you can mate, I'll just say that make sure you let the mainspring down before you start working on any movement ok. Please keep us informed and don't be afraid to ask questions there's never a stupid one ok. This is a great forum with excellent members with huge amounts of knowledge which in the past has helped me out.

Posted

If you want to get into repairing watches you should start on pocket watches first because they are a lot bigger. Look on the net for pictures of pocket watches, then manual wrist watches and you will see what I mean. Don't bother with fusee pocket watches they are very different. Learn the names of the parts and just practice the taking apart and putting together, you don't have to bother getting it to work. Look up the various tools you will need to start you off. There's plenty of info on here about that just do a search.

  • Like 1
Posted
2 hours ago, jdm said:

In most cases you need to fully take it apart. For that you need to procure the necessary tools first. Have a read around on this forum.

Thanks, I work as an engineer so I do have some of the stuff I need, opener screwdrivers etc.

Here is a poor photo of the watch.

I don't have much to practice on really I think I may have another old ladies watch so it will have to be the Cronel first. 

I have been looking but find it hard to find donor watches.

IMG_0003.JPG

Posted
1 hour ago, Marc said:

The Smiths isn't a particularly difficult watch to work on but if it is in nice condition cosmetically then it's not a cheap watch. Also if anything goes wrong you're going to find it difficult to track down spare parts.

As for how to proceed I would point you towards the "watch repair and servicing walkthroughs" section. It's full of photo walk through for many different movements but the generally follow the same basic design and give a good idea about how to go about a tear down and rebuild.

And crucially take loads of photographs to help guide the rebuild, and don't be shy about asking questions here.

Good luck.

Thanks

My son has a gold smiths I bought at a Car Bot sale for £1, a local man fixed it but it cost £200 but came back like new, the other smiths I have is a tatty ladies in poor condition.

Where is the best place too get practice watches?

 

Posted

welcome winch man.  done any sail boat racing?  as an engineer,  you know the value of a tech.  manual,  this will be a very good hobby for you.  vinn

Posted

Well I hav finally made a start!

Opened the Cronel and the balance wheel ( little wheel with a spring on it) is loose looks like its come off its pivot points but I can't see how to get it back on? Could the jewel be damaged?

Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, winchman said:

Opened the Cronel and the balance wheel ( little wheel with a spring on it) is loose looks like its come off its pivot points but I can't see how to get it back on? Could the jewel be damaged?

No, more likely the staff pivot is broken. That will require a new balance assembly or staff. In either case replacing it is a quite advanced task so if you want to be sure that this watch will be running again, give it to a professional or train long and well on something else before you try.

Edited by jdm
Posted

Thanks

It looks ok to me as it has a smaller shaft diameter at each end but as you say part of it could be missing, well its off to the practice watch pile for the Cronel as I doubt I will find any bits for it and I doubt I could turn a new one.

  • Like 1
Posted
15 hours ago, winchman said:

It looks ok to me as it has a smaller shaft diameter at each end but as you say part of it could be missing, well its off to the practice watch pile for the Cronel as I doubt I will find any bits for it and I doubt I could turn a new one.

Why not. Take a good picture of the movement with the balance wheel exposed, so one can identify it and look. If at least you can obtain the part needed that will make everything much easier for the watchmaker.

Posted
14 hours ago, szbalogh said:

Please dont learn on the Cronel! Please! :D

Get a broken pocket watch from the bay or from a local watchmaker to start tinkering as Oldhippy suggested.

Will do

Posted
7 minutes ago, jdm said:

Why not. Take a good picture of the movement with the balance wheel exposed, so one can identify it and look. If at least you can obtain the part needed that will make everything much easier for the watchmaker.

I will dig my macro camera out and see what I can do as I might be missing something

Posted

Winchman - this may sound stupid but I would start by taking a couple of very small screws out of a scrap watch mechanism and then put them back in.

I have found that while I am perfectly able to remove tiny screws I was a bit shocked to find that I don't have the dexterity to screw them back in.

As an engineer I have spent a lifetime taking things apart and fixing them and hate to admit that the bits which form a watch mechanism are just too small and fiddly.

I take my hat off to the skill of people who do it for a living.

regards

Chas

  • Like 1
Posted

I have been practising, its not easy with my sausage fingers.

Work is getting in the way at the moment so hoping to do a bit more the week after next

Posted

if you need parts, look on ebay. i just found 6 or 7 auctions for EB8800s. they aren't expensive from the looks of it. there is a buy it now for $14.

Posted
On 11/13/2016 at 4:02 PM, winchman said:

Thanks, I work as an engineer so I do have some of the stuff I need, opener screwdrivers etc.

Here is a poor photo of the watch.

I don't have much to practice on really I think I may have another old ladies watch so it will have to be the Cronel first. 

I have been looking but find it hard to find donor watches.

IMG_0003.JPG

Hello winchman welcome to the forum. If the movement on this watch is a Bettlach, have a lot of EB 8800 movement parts including balance. Just send me a message when you're ready.

JC

  • Like 1
  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • If he was much younger and some sort of sports player it wouldn't be a problem. They would be in there and doing surgery and he'd be back on the field in no time. Unfortunately when you get older little things are bad and big things can be really bad so not good at all.
    • Where I work everything incoming watches whatever detailed descriptions are taken entered into a computer program and photograph of each item. Then ideally although it depends on who's doing the paperwork detailed descriptions can be quite good other times there lacking. Like I really like it with pocket watches if they would record the serial number it avoids confusion later on. Then when watch repairs are completed that is also entered in. It's one of the amusements I learned when I was in school instructor had a shop and commented about the important aspect of keeping detailed records of repairs. Because oftentimes a customer who got a new crystal will come back later on when the watch doesn't work and expect you to fix the entire watch for free. Then you can remind them that they just got a crystal. Strangely enough that keeps coming up or occasionally comes up where I work now. One of the problems of using the service marks on the case is that in the case of pocket watches oftentimes that's not the original case. Then case marks? What I was doing warranty work for a company I used to describe a code number in the back of the case and it would tell me the next time I see the watch that basically what I did I made no attempt at keeping track of customers because we had literally thousands of them I think they sold 30,000 of these watches and they would come back by the hundreds because they had a lifetime warranty. Yes that's a story all of itself but I would put a code number that would reference what was done to the watch the last time and think I had a date in there somehow so it did tell a story if you knew the code. Another shop I once worked out the number would reference the page in the book. So other than knowing we had been in there you would have no idea what happened because you have to go look at the page in the book to see what happened. Then the problem of how you examine a watch you should examine the watch in detail every single time to avoid complications. Although on vintage watches and this is a of amusement I have at work when people ask something and I say of the watches done when it leaves. This is because on vintage oftentimes problems won't show up until the watches much farther into the repair like it's now running and you discover things that you can't discover before because it wasn't running to discover them that also become sometimes difficult to have exact rigid prices are estimates of repairs or in the case of a pocket watch you may not find out if a casing problem to later on when you case it up in the watches running. I was just thinking for all those people that would like to leave a mark maybe you should learn to do what some of the past watchmakers did? Leave a mark but leave it in such a way that no one will ever find it? Typically not done for repair purposes but done for other reasons like identifying it's legit. I have a friend with a Gruen watch and one of the Roman numbers the bottom line that just looks like a line under extreme magnification actually says Gruen watch company or something equivalent. So here's a link showing how to mark your watch without being seen although that's not the actual title. So if you can learn micro engraving you can engrave the watch someplace probably just about any place you just have to remember where you put it. https://cnaluxury.channelnewsasia.com/obsessions/how-to-prove-if-watches-are-authentic-secret-signatures-182516  
    • I have acquired a Citizen Leopard 36000 watch. My reason for purchasing it was my desire to own a timepiece with a 36,000 BPH movement, and the price was reasonable. Another motivating factor was gaining hands-on experience with the mechanism. The watch is in good condition, but I intend to fully disassemble it for maintenance. First and foremost, if anyone has prior experience with this particular model, I would greatly appreciate their insights. I do not have access to Citizen’s specialized lubricants and will need to use the ones available to me, such as 9010, 8000, and 8300 grease. Additionally, I do not possess the appropriate oil for the pallet jewels and will only be able to clean them.
    • Hello all, I am working on an older Valjoux Chrono. It doesn't have a stamp on the movement anywhere but I believe it is a Valjoux 72. I installed the train of wheels and they will not turn. The problem appears to be the 4th wheel and the escape wheel are not interfacing correctly. I had to replace both of these parts as the pivots were broken on each. I sourced genuine Valjoux/ETA replacements. I think the problem is with the escape wheel as all the wheels turn perfectly if I remove just the escape wheel.  My question to those with more Valjoux experience is am I mistaken? Is this some other model altogether and I have the wrong part or parts?    
    • I would remove the wheels, check for damage and if not damaged, clean. 
×
×
  • Create New...