Jump to content

Watch of Today


mk3

Recommended Posts

6 hours ago, yankeedog said:

Works  well  on polishing acrylic  crystals. Not to mention  metal. 

 

I use micromesh polishing pads and a compound from my model kit making supplies for acrylics which work excellently. 

I've never heard of mothers mag, is that a brand? 

I was always of the impression that mineral and hardlex needed a buffing wheel and compound.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/31/2019 at 11:44 PM, ro63rto said:

What are they like compared to a BFG866 ?

Speaking of which, this lump of BFG866 based 1970s scrap metal arrived through my letter box the other day.

RIMG0715.thumb.JPG.7cbcd91da360b06db9962672fd7d6524.JPG

All it needed to turn it back in to a working watch was a balance and a fork. I had a balance in my stash, but the fork I had was missing a pin, so I'll need to keep an eye out for another one.


The dial needs a little attention, but I suspect I can mask the majority of the marks with some careful application of a dark blue sharpie, which seems to be almost exactly the right colour.

I really only picked it up for the time zone bezel and the hands which I thought might fit the Sciura.
The bezel is 0.3mm too small, so that idea is not going to work, but I think it has enough character for me to add it to the 404 club.

Failing that, there must be about half a ton of scrap metal in it  :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just had a quick look online to see if I could find any history for "Lonlay" and spotted this identical watch, all be it in some what better condition. 

image.png.f073bce249a1187b89524cafe82b168f.png

Maybe I was a little harsh describing it as scrap metal.  Furthermore I even found out about the name "Lonlay" it is shown as a trademark on Mirolisk.de

Lonlay Watch    H. Gribi & Fils Lengnau, Schweiz

A little more digging and we find..

Quote

Established since 1930s, H. Gribi & Sohn/ Hans Gribi & Fils, the Swiss watch company based in Lengnau and Bern, owned the SPERINA brand name. H. Gribi & Fils also owned other brand names such as Herlin, Eveline, Lantex etc.

The SPERINA WATCH Co. was active until late 1970s before it was dissolved.

       
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, AndyHull said:

Speaking of which, this lump of BFG866 based 1970s scrap metal arrived through my letter box the other day.

RIMG0715.thumb.JPG.7cbcd91da360b06db9962672fd7d6524.JPG

All it needed to turn it back in to a working watch was a balance and a fork. I had a balance in my stash, but the fork I had was missing a pin, so I'll need to keep an eye out for another one.


The dial needs a little attention, but I suspect I can mask the majority of the marks with some careful application of a dark blue sharpie, which seems to be almost exactly the right colour.

I really only picked it up for the time zone bezel and the hands which I thought might fit the Sciura.
The bezel is 0.3mm too small, so that idea is not going to work, but I think it has enough character for me to add it to the 404 club.

Failing that, there must be about half a ton of scrap metal in it  :D

I like the case and dial. 

You could use the single pin pallet you have and halve the time reading to get an accurate time, (or do you double it for one pin only?).:blink::biggrin:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, m1ks said:

I use micromesh polishing pads and a compound from my model kit making supplies for acrylics which work excellently. 

I've never heard of mothers mag, is that a brand? 

I was always of the impression that mineral and hardlex needed a buffing wheel and compound.

My mistake...I assumed it was acrylic. Mother's  is a brand of car car products. Their  magnesium (mag) and aluminum  polish  is outstanding. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, yankeedog said:

My mistake...I assumed it was acrylic. Mother's  is a brand of car car products. Their  magnesium (mag) and aluminum  polish  is outstanding. 

Thanks, not one we have in the UK but yes, either mineral or possibly Hardlex which I believe is similar, it's a faceted glass crystal on an orient.

I'll have a bash with wet n dry when my elbow grease supply has been sufficiently restocked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, yankeedog said:

Many moons ago  I used a German product called simichrome polish,It has become very scarce here in the US .Either no longer made or imported.Also good stuff.

     i remember that stuff.   there was one for removing corosion on aircraft.    deadly stuff.   vin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It lives! The 1/2 Kg strap monster lives.

RIMG0008.thumb.JPG.ce454602b56df7bed06ed0d73601f733.JPG

I was sure I must have at least one BG 866 balance fork in the junk pile and sure enough after a bit of a rummage I found one in a very beat up 21 jewel scrap movement.

RIMG0007.thumb.JPG.7191e957b795d8780c0d893cd064afeb.JPG

Ignore for the moment the fact that I am clearly an idiot, since I have set the wrong date on it, and listen very carefully, wherever in the world you are, and you can probably hear it tick.:P

It may not be the most refined watch in the collection, but it sure is fun.

Edited by AndyHull
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

To give you some idea of how loud this thing is, here is a picture of my laptop (on my lap obviously), and the watch on the table next to me.

RIMG0010.thumb.JPG.b7a03c9197c6eccf5f359cd48245712f.JPG

If you look closely, you can see that I am getting a valid trace on the time grapher from the watch.. on the table. The low level noise in the trace is coming from that electric fan heater on the floor.

I've encountered quieter chiming mantle clocks. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, AndyHull said:

To give you some idea of how loud this thing is, here is a picture of my laptop (on my lap obviously), and the watch on the table next to me.

RIMG0010.thumb.JPG.b7a03c9197c6eccf5f359cd48245712f.JPG

If you look closely, you can see that I am getting a valid trace on the time grapher from the watch.. on the table. The low level noise in the trace is coming from that electric fan heater on the floor.

I've encountered quieter chiming mantle clocks. :D

WHAT? CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE TICKING! SPEAK UP MAN! :biggrin:

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today I'm wearing my Fossil Modern Machine ME3133 skeleton automatic. This is the watch that inspired me to start collecting watches, especially mechanical watches. It's stylish, rugged and comfortable. It's also a bit big for those that aren't used to larger watches. I don't wear it as much as I used to, but I'll never get rid of it.

20191109_085415.jpg

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The latest addition to the 404 club, a 1976 sunburst dial gold Timex Marlin (dial code 2606102476).

RIMG0023.thumb.JPG.a4119ff35849ea3a8ccb5af08b5ca2ca.JPG

RIMG0027.thumb.JPG.5119aff66caa747c4c7df4a910f4f34e.JPG

RIMG0020.thumb.JPG.12ac18c80ceae95e7cbe59b49ef3ea5b.JPG

This is how it arrived. What you can't see in the image below are the paint splatters all over the watch. 

s-l1600.thumb.jpg.c61225935ab732c87dfb2eef2d73693c.jpg

I did manage to re-use the crystal, but it took a fair bit of polishing to get rid of all of those scrapes and dings.

The strap on the other hand was a bot of a horror story, so I popped it on something more in keeping with its looks.

I think it looks pretty good for 43 years old.

 

Edited by AndyHull
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Thank you so much, Hector and CJ. I appreciate the tech sheet and the video. Gasp, I think I will make the attempt. What's the worst that can happen? I think there may be a new balance complete in my future, though.  I'll update the post and let you know the result. R, Frank  
    • So here is the new base (v 2.1), I made it so that the base will fit over and swallow the stump of the hand pusher tool (or at least my clone of the tool), I also reduced the OD of the bottom skirt a little as it looked/felt a little large, here are a few pictures and the fake .pdf file which you need to convert to .zip once downloaded.   The cut-out seen on the below image on the bottom of the base should swallow the OD (40 mm, +0.1 mm tolerance) of the stump and the height of the stump 9.5mm (measured to 9.1mm, but rounded to 9.5mm) - let me know if this works for your tool.   Note, I think you may need to print supports for the new internal shelf created? Here is the fake .pdf for just the FreeCAD base file and 3mf files Modular Movement Holder.pdf Here is the fake pdf for complete set of the new base and ring FreeCAD/3mf files: Modular Movement Holder base and ring v 2.1.pdf However, I'm wondering how often you could use this feature, adding the dial usually increases the OD of the movement, so you would need a new (larger) adapter ring tuned to the OD of the dial and I wouldn't like to grip the dial in any kind of movement holder if It could be avoided for fear of damaging it. Maybe I'm misunderstanding you?
    • Hi Frank, you have dived headlong into the deep end. Hairspring work has to be the scariest thing a newbie has to tackle. Your hairspring appears to be bent and just putting it back into the regulator would not allow the balance to work properly. It might start oscillating but the performance would not be good. The proper thing to do is to unstud the hairspring, remove the hairspring from the balance, reinstall the hairspring on the stud carrier, reshape the endcurve and centre the collet to the balance jewel hole. This challenge would either make you or break you. Hope that you will be able to fix your watch. Welcome to the world of watchmaking.  Watch this video. It think it'll give you an idea of the task ahead. From your 1st photo, I think you have a etachron type stud. Let me see if I can find a video on how to remove it from the arm.
    • Have read of the Tech Sheet attached on the balance section page 12. It may be bent but until you reposition it back in the regulator pins you'll never know. Cheers CJ 4R35B_4R36A.pdf
    • Aloha All, My Seiko 4R35B movement stopped working today. Upon closer inspection, it looks like the balance spring came out of the regulator pin. This is my first time working on a balance. Any advice on how to get this spring repositioned (back to normal)? I'm pretty sure that while adjusting the beat error on this movement, I must have turned the stud (I didn't even know they turned), and the spring eventually fell out.  Will the spring go back to even spacing when it's back in the pin, or does it look bent? Thanks, Frank  
×
×
  • Create New...