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Sears Jump Hour: Cheap, unforgiving and absurd.

noirrac1j

By noirrac1j
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noirrac1j Distinguished Member

noirrac1j

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How's everyone doing? Great I hope. Have some time to post a watch that I've been working on. I've learned from experience that the cheaper the watch, the more difficult it is to work on. Here is something from the 70's that represents well that kooky period. The watch measure 40mm x 38mm. The power comes from a one-jewel Bettlach 8800 with a jump hour mechanism on the dial side. An example of what makes this watch a nightmare to work on? For starters, you have to press down hard--and I mean with your body weight--on the stem release button to get it to release. The movement has what I think is a dust cover(why?), which when placed incorrectly causes the balance wheel to rub and stop--but only intermittently so that you go crazy trying to figure out what's happening... 

 

Its not me, its the WATCH!!

J

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noirrac1j Distinguished Member

noirrac1j

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Ooh, pretty on the outside but ugly on the inside.  At least you have yourself there a Swiss pin lever movement. ^_^

I think mechanical watches from back in the day are what lead to the saying "you get what you pay for".  

Yeah, it's a whole lot of chromed-shininess and not much substance! It is however, in excellent shape for being 40+ years, so it has that going for it.

J

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clockboy Distinguished Member

clockboy

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I dread working on these movements. They have no jewels for the pivots so on the vintage movements the pivot holes are nearly always worn especially the pallet bridge. This makes it really difficult to get the movement to run smoothly. 

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noirrac1j Distinguished Member

noirrac1j

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I dread working on these movements. They have no jewels for the pivots so on the vintage movements the pivot holes are nearly always worn especially the pallet bridge. This makes it really difficult to get the movement to run smoothly. 

You've summed it up nicely. These things can be a tremendous hassle, but when they run, they do the job. 

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clockboy Distinguished Member

clockboy

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You've summed it up nicely. These things can be a tremendous hassle, but when they run, they do the job. 

Yep they do the job and surprisingly for many years. Just don't beat yourself up trying to get nice smooth readings on your timographer. 

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oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

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If the stem is that hard to move then put a little grease on the parts that touch each other, add a little oil to the stem, make sure you don’t have the wrong screws holding things together that might protrude and foul up the setting hands parts.  These old EB movements sure are bog standard, but a hell of a lot better than a ruddy Timex.

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noirrac1j Distinguished Member

noirrac1j

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If the stem is that hard to move then put a little grease on the parts that touch each other, add a little oil to the stem, make sure you don’t have the wrong screws holding things together that might protrude and foul up the setting hands parts.  These old EB movements sure are bog standard, but a hell of a lot better than a ruddy Timex.

 

Yes I put some Moebius KT gease and also lubricated the stem. Its not as bad as it used to be but still very stiff to release.

J

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anilv Distinguished Member

anilv

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I remember I had to kick one off the bench as its loud tick was too distracting,

Problem was they did not use jewels to save money, so they used plain holes. This in turn increased friction which required a more powerful spring. The powerful spring overcame the friction problem but led to faster wear if not serviced regularly.

Anilv

 

 

 

 

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noirrac1j Distinguished Member

noirrac1j

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I remember I had to kick one off the bench as its loud tick was too distracting,

Problem was they did not use jewels to save money, so they used plain holes. This in turn increased friction which required a more powerful spring. The powerful spring overcame the friction problem but led to faster wear if not serviced regularly.

Anilv

 

 

 

 

Very loud ticking! Yes these are not meant to last that long, and yet here they are 50 years later!

JC

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anilv Distinguished Member

anilv

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True Noirrac1J,

Also we have to acknowledge that Oris, which was one of the main proponents of the pin-lever (some even chronometer grade!), was one of the main forces behind the resurgence of the mechanical watch in the late 80s.

Also without Sicura (another pin-lever brand), we may not have Breitling with us now.

Anilv

 

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noirrac1j Distinguished Member

noirrac1j

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True Noirrac1J,

Also we have to acknowledge that Oris, which was one of the main proponents of the pin-lever (some even chronometer grade!), was one of the main forces behind the resurgence of the mechanical watch in the late 80s.

Also without Sicura (another pin-lever brand), we may not have Breitling with us now.

Anilv

 

Right on both points!

J

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