problem with my Titus

[ramrod]

i received a Titus electronic watch the other day. it was advertised as a nonrunner. i got it, put in a battery and it ran. the owner also advertised that it set easily. i'm not sure how he could have done that because the stem was broken at the tip. it wouldn't engage anything that would allow it to set.

anyway, i robbed a stem from another movement and it was up and running again. this time it stopped intermittently. i discovered that the plate in the keyless works that holds the hacking lever and setting mechanism has two screws that turned effortlessly. the threads in the plate are stripped. the screws are fine.

what was happening was that the spring on the hacking lever was overcoming the holding power of the two screws. this allowed the plate to be drawn away from the balance wheel thus causing the hacking lever to start to engage, thus causing the watch to stop. i only discovered the stripped threads after the watch kept stopping.

what i have done in the meantime to keep the watch running is to put threadlocker in the holes along with the screws. that seems to be a fix for the time being.

what i'd like to do is to tap out those screw holes and insert new screws. i could replace the plate (as i've been calling it) with one from another watch, but this plate has inscriptions pertaining to this watch. another plate would say "hamilton" or "gruen" or whatever on it. i'd like to avoid that.

lacking the proper tools to enlarge those holes, it these another solution, possibly? i could always leave the threadlocker in there until or unless it ceases to work.

[ramrod]

I know everyone likes pictures, so here you go. Plus, it's easier to see what I'm talking about. the first picture is the movement in question. The second picture shows what two screws I'm talking about as pointed out by my tweezers. The third picture shows two Waltham electronics that could donate the plate in question. The one on the far right is a nonrunner.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 

Edited January 2, 2017 by ramrod
spelling

[StuartBaker104]

There are many options I can see here...

1. Keep hunting for the "right" part

2. Don't worry about the markings and swap for the good part you have

3. Solder in a bush and drill and tap to the right size

4. Use a slighly oversize screw... which you probably won't need a tap for as long as you run it in bit by bit, back and forth, with some oil

5. Punch the edges of the hole in the plate to close it up slightly as used to be done as a "quick fix" for a worn pivot hole

Personally I would probably start at #4 if you have a selection of screws. If that fails, you can still try #5 then #3 in that order.

If you don't have a tap, then taper the end of a spare screw slightly and file 2 flats on it to make your own.

I'm sure othes will be along shortly with more opinions and ideas!

S