Jump to content

Help needed with a watch

KelSolaar
 Share

Recommended Posts

KelSolaar Member

KelSolaar

Posted
Posted

Hi folks.

So I acquired an old non-working watch to practice what I have been learning, ie clean, diagnose and service/replace parts, re-assemble. It appears to have a non pop-off back, an assumption I briefly came to based on the fact there is no 'lip' under which to insert a tool and I remember Mark did a video/lesson segment covering this scenario.

Please would someone be kind enough to help me confirm my suspicions are correct (if this is possible by just looking at the photos)?

The watch is a 'Services' brand watch, the crystal appears to be plastic, heavily scratched, so I'm presuming this may be a 60's watch... feel free to shed any light on background too, guys. So enough blab, here are some photos, hopefully you can see the watch back and how it joins the case, it is exactly the same all the way around the circumference. 

 

DSC_0621.JPG

DSC_0622.JPG

DSC_0623.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites
frenchie Distinguished Member

frenchie

Posted
Posted

Are you sure there is no lip? Often, front-loaders have a smooth back, not something like you have, where there seems to be an edge of some sort... I could be wrong. Zooming in on the pictures, even the case material seems different, which would again point to a regular case back that opens with a case knife. If it seems overly tight, a razor blade is your best bet to get started (Once the blade is in, a sharp case knife will do the trick).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ricardopalamino Distinguished Member

ricardopalamino

Posted
Posted

It does seem to be a pry off case back and frenchie's advice about using a razor blade should work . I use an inexpensive utility knife for this for safety in handling the razor . Also I have seen case backs that gave no clue to removing them so I use a hand removing tool to see if the watch has a split stem .  If it does have a split stem then of course you have to remove any bezel and the crystal to gain access to the movement .

Good Luck .

Link to comment
Share on other sites
KelSolaar Member

KelSolaar

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Well, I used my watch back remover tool, a little black machine with a slider and it came off. Definitely no lip btw.

The watch didn't appear to have any charge in the main spring because I wound it and then tried to release the clutch on the wheel, can't remember it's name, and it didn't move. Hey presto, stripped watch and found a snapped mainspring:

 

DSC_0631.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • ManSkirtBrew
      1972 Bulova President "E" Sea King 11ACACB movement

      By ManSkirtBrew · Posted

      Oh nice. I have a similar wedge style stump for my staking tool, so I'll give that a shot. Thanks!
    • joelcarvajal
      Gamblin Gamsol for cleaning?

      By joelcarvajal · Posted

      Thank you all for the replies!  Very informative! True enough, the Gamsol took some time to evaporate and does leave a residue. So not all naphtha are created equal!  Need to find alternatives then. i was able to try Hexane recommended by Alex and it seems great.  I wonder what the cons are?
    • GuyMontag
      1972 Bulova President "E" Sea King 11ACACB movement

      By GuyMontag · Posted

      Yeah, I saw that in the tech sheet but I don't see how it can be adequately cleaned with the friction pinion still in place. I've accidentally pulled the arbor right out of the wheel once when I used a presto tool to try and remove it. Mark shows how he does it with the Platax tool. Those are a little too pricey for me so I got one of these from Aliexpress and I just push down on the arbor with the end of my brass tweezers. That usually gets it most of the way out and then I just grab the wheel with one hand the and the friction pinion with the other and gently rotate them until it pops off. Probably not the best way but it's seemed to work for me so far.    
    • Zedster
      Movement inserted from crytal side

      By Zedster · Posted

      Thanks, Jon Sounds like a plan. Obviously I'll have the face on so do you think gripping with the holder will create any problems, but I will check in the morning to see how feasible it is but I assume it only needs to be lightly held. As for holding the movement instead of the holder won't be possible in this scenario as one hand will be puling on the stem while the other pushes the spring down. That was my initial concern is how the hell can I do this with only one pair of hands. All the other times I've had to remove the stem hasn't been a problem, apart from the force required to release the stem from the setting lever, but now I need to fit the face and hands its sent me into panic mode. If it had the screw type release things would be a lot simpler but that's life 😀   Another thing I will need to consider is once the dial and hands are fitted and the movement is sitting in the case I will need to turn it over to put the case screws in. I saw a vid on Wristwatch revival where he lightly fitted the crystal and bezel so he could turn it over, is this the only option or is there another method?      
    • nevenbekriev
      Main spring

      By nevenbekriev · Posted

      Hi Jon, do You think that relation spring torque - amplitude is linear? I would rather guess that the amplitude should be proportional to the square of the torque. I had once idea to check it, but still haven't.
×
×
  • Create New...