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New to watch repair from NC, seeking help with dial!

handwind

By handwind
in Watch Repairs Help & Advice

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handwind New Member

handwind

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Hi all, I'm from NC and new to watch repair as a hobby and very excited about it. Just opened up my first watch in fact...and immediately ran into trouble! To practice, I decided to get a few old mechanical watches (no day/date or any other complications) that were cheap but working. That way, I figured, I could take them apart, put them back together, learn how they work and, if the worked after getting them back together, then I'd know I put them back together correctly since they worked before taking apart. That was the grand plan. The reality turns out to be different! I started with a "Sears" watch with a 7 jewel Japanese movement. I was able to take the case back off, let down the mainspring, pull the stem, remove the movement, put the stem back in, and then remove the hands. Next step, as I understand it, is to remove the dial. This is where I'm running into trouble. I saw many videos and explanations of how there are screws and/or 'feet' holding the dial to the movement. However, I'm not able to find these. The downside of choosing an unknown movement is that I cannot google instructions for that particular movement. It just says "Sears Roebuck", "50C" and "Japan" on it, LOL. At the risk of sounding stupid, let me ask, are there examples when the dial is somehow permanently attached to the movement and doesn't come off? If not, will you more knowledgeable folks help me figure how to get the dial off? I'm including pictures below. Thank you in advance!

72AD90E1-5FA4-45F0-989D-4B9928906F78.jpeg

385B59CC-F924-4BEC-A626-B3D79DCBD028.jpeg

6E166AE0-A421-4FE5-84E7-C6FFD4092376.jpeg

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ecodec WRT Addict

ecodec

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Hi Handwind, I do not know this movement but there are normally two retaining screws that go thru the edge of the movement to secure the feet. They are round the circumference about 170 deg. apart. Slacken them then the face will come off (hopefully). I hope my comments are of help. Regards, Mike.

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Marc Distinguished Member

Marc

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5ae2d82e701f1_searsr.thumb.jpg.f06ab758b753ad8b14247eda53161ae7.jpg

I don't know the movement but I have circled the relevant bits.

You can see the dial feet poking through and held in place by a bevelled eccentric. If you turn the eccentrics with a screw driver they will release the dial feet and the dial will be liberated.

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vinn3 Distinguished Member

vinn3

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Handwind;  welcome to the forum.   some wrist or pocket have the same "rotating wedge" type to grasp the "dial" feet.   some vintage watches have 3 set screws on the dial edge of the front plate.  it is a better idea if they don't rust in.  i don't know about the new watches.     good luck,  vin

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handwind New Member

handwind

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Hi all, an update on my first watch disassembly. Taking your advice, I was able to remove the dial. All of the components then came off easily. Then I began putting them back together. I thought I had put them back together properly, but the watch doesn't work! I should say that I wasn't surprised given this is my first project and I'm trying to learn how mechanical watches work by observing this one. So there's a lot of learning-by-doing going on, of course along with reading on the internet and a good amount of youtube videos. Here's what's going on now... would love your advice...


Initially, when I took everything apart, the mainspring let-down was not easy. Even if I held the click away from the ratchet wheel, the let down was very very slow. Perhaps something was the matter before I even opened up the watch...it was running, but only if wound AND shaken... (btw, it's a hand-wind-only... not automatic). Anyhow, when I was taking out the mainspring barrel (which I did not open), the arbor fell out. When reassembling it, I just pushed it back into the barrel based on the pictures I had taken to determine the 'right side up'. So perhaps something to do with the MS barrel is my issue... However...

Once I was done putting it all back together, the watch doesn't work..  BUT.. the mainspring winds BETTER than before and when I reopened it and tried let-down again to re-check everything, the letdown now is MUCH better like it's supposed to be based on what I've seen in online videos.... which makes me think that the MS Barrel/arbor is not my issue because winding seems to be going fine. My only doubt is that I'm seeing stuff about how the arbor is supposed to be 'hooked' to the mainspring...but I don't see any hook on my arbor. It's very symmetrical and cylindrical with no protrusions....Am I right in drawing this conclusion that the fact that the wind and letdown are strong means that the arbor is in the right place? 

If so, I'll look for other problems... hahah

Thank you in advance!

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handwind New Member

handwind

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Also, could someone please tell me whether I have an 'indirect' or 'direct' seconds set up here? This is a picture I took before disassembly. Watch was working fine before as I noted above. Trying to get it back together now. Thank you!!

A9DB27B7-F717-450E-8997-3DFC61B28B6B.jpeg

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handwind New Member

handwind

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I figured out most of what I needed by doing online research. However, the watch is lost. When I put it together, it doesn't work and I'm not sure why! All the gears, etc. seem engaged. It's a very cheap old movement so specific information on it is hard to come by. Regardless, I've learned 10x more about watch movements than I knew before. So I'm happy about that. Without any loss of enthusiasm about this defeat with my first watch project, I'll be opening up a Seiko 7009 movement next weekend. Thanks all!

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