Jump to content

center seconds movement Bulova 11BLC

dwhite

By dwhite
in Watch Repairs Help & Advice

 Share

Recommended Posts

dwhite WRT Addict

dwhite

Posted
Posted

This is probably a premature question but I'm about to attempt a cleaning of a Bulova 11BLC movement.  I noticed an extra gear on top of the plate so I guessed it was to run a seconds hand.  The best I could find on the internet was an arrangement called an indirect center seconds movement.  The watch does have a spring above the center wheel like the movements I saw online however it has no seconds hand at all.  I'm guessing they didn't use this arrangement to employ a seconds hand on this watch but all the stuff is still there.  Any pitfalls to working on this type of movement?  I read that this extra gear is attached to the third wheel.  Thanks!  Dan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wls1971 Distinguished Member

wls1971

Posted
Posted

The spring would have held the centre seconds hand pinion in place, it is doubtful that they would have used this movement on a watch that had no seconds hand and left the pinion and drive wheel on the third wheel pinion, are you sure that the centre seconds hand is not missing ? pictures would help if you can supply them.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
wls1971 Distinguished Member

wls1971

Posted
Posted

You should be able to find a seconds hand via Ebay or a parts suppliers, the only other thing to say when servicing these watches is that the drive wheel for the seconds hand sit on a extra long pinion on the third wheel it must be removed with care and needs to be pulled straight upwards a presto hand removal tool can be used for this I always replace them using a staking set other than that it should be straight forward to service this movement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dwhite WRT Addict

dwhite

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Here is the picture, sorry it took so long.  I checked and it does have a pinion for a second hand!  When you say get one from ebay or a supplier, what specs do I use?  I tried measuring the pinion with a Seitz jewel gauge but that didn't work.  I can try a micrometer but there is very little sticking up.

When you say remove the top wheel from the third wheel with a presto hand remover do I assume you do this before you take the plate off?  And when you say to use a staking set to put it back on do you mean to put the entire watch on the anvil and press on the wheel?  Again, I want to make sure we are talking about the large wheel above the third wheel.

I did see the post you mentioned but couldn't make heads or tails out of it.  Perhaps it will become clear when I take the watch apart.  Anyhow, many thanks, I have learned a lot!

 

bull-11blc.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wls1971 Distinguished Member

wls1971

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, dwhite said:

Here is the picture, sorry it took so long.  I checked and it does have a pinion for a second hand!  When you say get one from ebay or a supplier, what specs do I use?  I tried measuring the pinion with a Seitz jewel gauge but that didn't work.  I can try a micrometer but there is very little sticking up

You can check the watch hand sizes by using a sight called Ranfft :

http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&&2uswk&Bulova_11BLC

In your case the pinion is 0.18mm for the seconds hand.

2 hours ago, dwhite said:

When you say remove the top wheel from the third wheel with a presto hand remover do I assume you do this before you take the plate off?

Yes

2 hours ago, dwhite said:

And when you say to use a staking set to put it back on do you mean to put the entire watch on the anvil and press on the wheel?

yes with movement held in movement holder there is enough clearance on my staking set

2 hours ago, dwhite said:

Again, I want to make sure we are talking about the large wheel above the third wheel.

Yes

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
dwhite WRT Addict

dwhite

Posted
  • Author
Posted
23 minutes ago, Nucejoe said:

Glad center second hand pinion is found undamaged.

My question is:

Do we oil the hand and keeper joint?

What is a keeper joint?  Also, would you put a bit of grease on the little gear at the base of the seconds pinion?

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
wls1971 Distinguished Member

wls1971

Posted
Posted
25 minutes ago, Nucejoe said:

Do we oil the hand and keeper joint?

by keeper joint I assume you mean the friction spring and end of centre seconds pinion ? if so a tiny drop of 9010 can be used the springs job is to provide just enough friction on the pinion to stop the second hand moving in a jittery fashion when the watch is running.

11 minutes ago, dwhite said:

Also, would you put a bit of grease on the little gear at the base of the seconds pinion?

No not needed

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
dwhite WRT Addict

dwhite

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks everyone for all the help.  I got the movement back together today and it runs great.  I re plated the case and polished the scratches out of the crystal so it should look good.  I will have to wait to case it because I just ordered a seconds hand from Ofrei and that will take a few days to get here.  I might have to ask for advise on inserting the stem but I'll play around with it first before I install the dial to see if I can get it to work.  Learned a lot on this one.

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...