Watch of Today

[Cad101]

34 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Is it glass or plastic you need to polish? 

It’s the original mineral glass I use stone polishing grits course to fine 4 steps in all just takes a while but it’s worked in the past.

[RichardHarris123]

14 minutes ago, Cad101 said:

It’s the original mineral glass I use stone polishing grits course to fine 4 steps in all just takes a while but it’s worked in the past.

By machine or hand? 

[Cad101]

1 hour ago, RichardHarris123 said:

By machine or hand? 

By hand gives me something to do 

[RichardHarris123]

29 minutes ago, Cad101 said:

By hand gives me something to do 

Which polishing grits do you use? 

[Cad101]

It’s just standard rock polishing grit for rock tumblers got it of eBay years ago works quite well on flat glass just takes a while 

[Waggy]

My latest weekend project (that spilled over into Monday) This is a nice Waltham with date complication. This was a non-runner and I managed to keep all original internal movement parts and is now keeping good time after I finished with it. Replaced the crystal, but couldn't save the original plating on the case so I had to take down to the base metal and re-electroplate with my home made nickle solution.

[AndyHull]

4 hours ago, Waggy said:

home made nickle solution.

How did you make it? I was thinking of using some nickel welding rods electrically dissolved in white vinegar, but if you have a better recipe I'd be keen to hear it. 

[Waggy]

1 minute ago, AndyHull said:

How did you make it? I was thinking of using some nickel welding rods electrically dissolved in white vinegar, but if you have a better recipe I'd be keen to hear it. 

I used the method HERE and used a lab DC converter. I kept the amperage to about 3A. I got some 99.9% pure nickle ingots from eBay and drilled a hole in them and threaded them (like a necklace) on some titanium wire to act as the sacrificial nickle source, and a thin nickle plate to act as the other electrode. You only need about 2 ingots and they will last forever! Neat regular white vinegar from Amazon and a some regular table salt. I then let it sit at 3A until the liquid turned a bright green and didn't seem to be getting any greener.

Just a side note that after about 10 mins I noticed that the liquid got hot (almost boiling), so I placed the beaker inside another larger beaker with ice to keep it cool, see picture (the picture shows the reaction about half way through so only light green at this stage):

[Waggy]

Just did my first 404 club watch - also my watch of the day!
 

 

[AndyHull]

 

The German made "Adora 17 Rubis Antichoc"  I picked up in February got a little bit of attention on the bench this evening.

 

I'm actually pretty pleased with the results.

 

 

The 1970s style machine readable digits and the +/- 5 sec per day or so from the FE 140 make it a very nice addition to the collection.

There is a slight flaw on the edge of the dial and a mark on the crystal edge, both around the seven o'clock mark, neither of which are noticeable when you are wearing it. Other than those wear related issues,  it feels good quality, and well made.

Adora still exist, so if you fancy browsing their 2023 catalogue,  -> click here <-

Edited March 15, 2023 by AndyHull

[RichardHarris123]

27 minutes ago, AndyHull said:

 

The German made "Adora 17 Rubis Antichoc"  I picked up in February got a little bit of attention on the bench this evening.

 

I'm actually pretty pleased with the results.

 

 

The 1970s style machine readable digits and the +/- 5 sec per day or so from the FE 140 make it a very nice addition to the collection.

There is a slight flaw on the edge of the dial and a mark on the crystal edge, both around the seven o'clock mark, neither of which are noticeable when you are wearing it. Other than those wear related issues,  it feels good quality, and well made.

Adora still exist, so if you fancy browsing their 2023 catalogue,  -> click here <-

Nice watch, you should be pleased with the results. 

[GuyMontag]

1 hour ago, AndyHull said:

 

The German made "Adora 17 Rubis Antichoc"  I picked up in February got a little bit of attention on the bench this evening.

I'm actually pretty pleased with the results

 

The 1970s style machine readable digits and the +/- 5 sec per day or so from the FE 140 make it a very nice addition to the collection.

There is a slight flaw on the edge of the dial and a mark on the crystal edge, both around the seven o'clock mark, neither of which are noticeable when you are wearing it. Other than those wear related issues,  it feels good quality, and well made.

Adora still exist, so if you fancy browsing their 2023 catalogue,  -> click here <-

Very nice. The FE 140 is one of my favorite movements to work on, they really put a lot of thought into making servicing the watch an enjoyable experience.

[steve1811uk]

Starting work on my first pocket watch today, the one on the right. I got a nice surprise when I looked at what I thought was dirt above the seconds dial. Just missing one of the case screws that I will need to find. Going to replace the acrylic dome with glass as I don't think acrylic was around in 1935 (the date on the silver case). I paid £55 for it and thought I might have overpaid but not sure I did now. Steve.

[RichardHarris123]

8 minutes ago, steve1811uk said:

Starting work on my first pocket watch today, the one on the right. I got a nice surprise when I looked at what I thought was dirt above the seconds dial. Just missing one of the case screws that I will need to find. Going to replace the acrylic dome with glass as I don't think acrylic was around in 1935 (the date on the silver case). I paid £55 for it and thought I might have overpaid but not sure I did now. Steve.

Nice find, is it running? 

[steve1811uk]

3 hours ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Nice find, is it running? 

Yes, pretty well considering. Just finished dismantling. That wasn't enjoyable. Canon pinion was unbelievable tight. I had to drive out the centre wheel eventually. Also yoke spring screw had sheared. Managed to get that out with a bit of teasing. Movement was full of old sticky lubrication. Some wear on barrel and centre wheel bushings that need staking out with the staking set. Looking forward to getting it all cleaned and assembled.

[RichardHarris123]

7 minutes ago, steve1811uk said:

Yes, pretty well considering. Just finished dismantling. That wasn't enjoyable. Canon pinion was unbelievable tight. I had to drive out the centre wheel eventually. Also yoke spring screw had sheared. Managed to get that out with a bit of teasing. Movement was full of old sticky lubrication. Some wear on barrel and centre wheel bushings that need staking out with the staking set. Looking forward to getting it all cleaned and assembled.

I've watched video's of people struggling to dismantle, I wondered, why not soak in penetrating oil first?  No doubt someone will tell me off. Hehe. 

[rehajm]

The Longines looks like an early wristwatch. Very nice. What about the Waltham? A friend who's family has lived in Waltham, MA for generations wants me to work on their family heirlooms. I skipped right to wristwatches so I'd like to take them on. I'm frightened frankly- I think at least one family member worked at the factory long ago...but I'm inspired by your success...

[RichardHarris123]

5 minutes ago, rehajm said:

The Longines looks like an early wristwatch. Very nice. What about the Waltham? A friend who's family has lived in Waltham, MA for generations wants me to work on their family heirlooms. I skipped right to wristwatches so I'd like to take them on. I'm frightened frankly- I think at least one family member worked at the factory long ago...but I'm inspired by your success...

Full plates are notoriously tricky. 

11 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Full plates are notoriously tricky. 

I've worked on three, one went back together to easily, one I struggled with but got there.  The last is sat in a drawer because no matter what I try, I can't get the wheels to line up. Oh well. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

So the missus and me have spent a few hours today searching Prague for a vintage watch shop that i spotted on our first day here. It had a few Prim watches in the window that i liked and wanted one to remind me of our trip. Thinking i would return later in the holiday we retraced our steps but just couldn't find it anywhere. After giving up and heading back to our hotel in a different direction stumbled across two old traditional antique emporiums just 200 yards from where we were staying. These are the fruits of my luck today. A nice 1950s Prim dress watch and a 1940s art deco Certina with a KF 330 movement that was almost spotless inside. The two together was just over half the cost of one I'd chosen in the more upmarket antique shop I'd seen earlier this week. After leaving the two shops i looked up and thanked my watchmaking ancestors.

[RichardHarris123]

14 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

So the missus and me have spent a few hours today searching Prague for a vintage watch shop that i spotted on our first day here. It had a few Prim watches in the window that i liked and wanted one to remind me of our trip. Thinking i would return later in the holiday we retraced our steps but just couldn't find it anywhere. After giving up and heading back to our hotel in a different direction stumbled across two old traditional antique emporiums just 200 yards from where we were staying. These are the fruits of my luck today. A nice 1950s Prim dress watch and a 1940s art deco Certina with a KF 330 movement that was almost spotless inside. The two together was just over half the cost of one I'd chosen in the more upmarket antique shop I'd seen earlier this week. After leaving the two shops i looked up and thanked my watchmaking ancestors.

Do you know the address?  I'll visit when I'm there. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

Just now, RichardHarris123 said:

Do you know the address?  I'll visit when I'm there. 

Absolutely matey i have photo of the road name and area on a map where we are staying. We leave tomorrow but if i get chance i will get a photo of the shops tomorrow. 

[RichardHarris123]

Cool and cool watches too. A good idea to buy as a memento. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

4 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Do you know the address?  I'll visit when I'm there. 

The old town in Prague is full of antique shops most have watches. One was a proper old rummage your way through stuff called the Bric a Brac but his prices were way over. This is one of the two shops the other is about yards along on the same side but not listed on the map.

[Neverenoughwatches]

19 hours ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Absolutely matey i have photo of the road name and area on a map where we are staying. We leave tomorrow but if i get chance i will get a photo of the shops tomorrow. 

These were the best 2 shops unless you want to spend some serious coin. 

[RichardHarris123]

2 hours ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

These were the best 2 shops unless you want to spend some serious coin. 

Cheers mate, we're staying here.