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Newbee question (about mainsprings)...

PaulHelmuth
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Greetings All,

I am new to the forum - and new to vintage Omega.

I recently purchased a watch that was listed as a 1954 Omega (and I have no reason to doubt).
It has a cal. 266 movement.
I think the reference # should be 2800-something. It's almost identical to a 2800-2 (except that the 9-12-3 are not applied on mine, they are painted).

I believe it was cased in England. As it is in a Dennison case. 9 karat gold (.375)

It is in pretty nice condition overall considering the age of the watch and the movement looks to be very clean.

I would like to acquire a new mainspring for it - and give it a basic service. As, I don't know the service history.

What I am having trouble with is, identifying a correct replacement. I tried using the search feature in this forum, but was unable to find anything that helped. I also looked through the "sticky" posts - but didn't find it there either.

I was hoping to source a new mainspring prior to opening the barrel.

Can anyone tell me the correct specifications for a cal 266 Mainspring?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Here are a few pics of the watch...

s-l1600 (6).jpg s-l1600 (7).jpg s-l1600.jpg
 
Canuck
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Doing it yourself? Is the Omega the best watch to practise watchmaking on? Keep us posted on your progress.
 
PaulHelmuth
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Canuck Canuck
Doing it yourself? Is the Omega the best watch to practise watchmaking on? Keep us posted on your progress.
In as much as I am not a professional watchmaker - I guess it's fair to call it practice. And compared to a professional, I don't have much experience. But I have serviced quite a few movements. Though, mostly ETA 2824 / Sellita SW200. I have also serviced quite a few Unitas/ETA 6497/6498.

Most recently repaired a vintage Waltham. The ratchet-wheel screw head had broken off and found it's way in to the train - which stopped everything. Fortunately no damage was done. Just had to replace the barrel arbor and the ratchet-wheel screw. The base caliber for that watch is a Schild AS1692. First time I had seen one of them.

I'll be happy to post pics - and keep you updated.
Of course, if I find anything beyond my skill set or tooling, I'll have to hand it over to a professional.

I guess I'll add pics to this post as I go?
 
JimInOz
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PaulHelmuth PaulHelmuth
..................................I guess I'll add pics to this post as I go?

Definitely. We all like to see the adventures of our amateur watchmakers.
 
PaulHelmuth
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Vitezi Vitezi
Yes please. Lots of pictures with descriptions make for fun posts for others to read. Here are three examples to follow:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/on-my-bench-a-turtle.102070/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/on-my-bench-elgin-12s-pocket-watch.94741/
https://omegaforums.net/threads/on-my-bench-omega-gstp-pocket-watch-caliber-38-5-l-t1.92306/

WOW! - I just had a look at the last one (link above), and it's a fantastic post.
Not sure if Jim is a professional watchmaker, but his work-space and post (and skills) seem very professional to me.

Just to manage expectations - my photos and descriptions (and work) won't be to that high standard. But I'll post anyway.

I want to be just like Jim when I grow up. 😀

-Paul
Edited:
 
PaulHelmuth
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Okay, not a lot of work (or pictures) from yesterday, but here are a few to get started...

Just opened up...
KA5ybcqzgztgbcus9
PA241934.jpg

Out of the case...
vomdRN3zVaaagtQR8
PA241935.jpg

Getting ready to remove the hands...
2A8baGHUjch5UQV5A
PA241939.jpg

Hans off, dial still on. You can see there is a little damage to the face, but not bad. And I think the dirt will clean up. We'll see.
czFE1p6K1PCmgozD7
PA241941.jpg

Dial off...
VS8UqFVeWrnB5vSR7

And saving the best for last. I knew that back of the movement looked pretty good. But when I saw this I was amazed...
PA241943.jpg


I can't believe how clean this movement is. Very happy with purchase.

That's all for now. I have to run to work.

-Paul
yXTZ8JHPtsmgmci68
Edited:
 
PA241934.jpg PA241935.jpg PA241939.jpg PA241941.jpg PA241943.jpg
efauser
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Canuck Canuck
Doing it yourself? Is the Omega the best watch to practise watchmaking on? Keep us posted on your progress.
He thought it was better than his Patek.
 
PaulHelmuth
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All,

So - presently in a bit of a holding pattern waiting for a mainspring.

After getting everything stripped down, it appears to me that the movement has been serviced in recent history.
Everything very clean and lubrication still in place.

One fault was found that I could use some help with. One of the case movement mounting screws is broken in half - with half in the base plate. The broken screw is still long enough to be functional, but I'd like to remove the broken half and replace the broken screw.
I have ordered the Bergeon 30209 tool to extract the broken half (also waiting for that to arrive). I am hopeful that I will be able to remove the broken bit with that tool (we'll see).
BUT - where can I find a replacement mounting screw? I didn't think it would be that hard, but so far, I haven't been able to locate any.
Can someone point me in the direction of replacement mounting screws?

Many thanks!
-Paul

PS - I'll post more pics of the strip-down this weekend.
 
PaulHelmuth
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Just FYI on the screws question (above) - I believe that I was able to get an Omega part # (2704) for the case mounting screws. I ordered a pair from Cousins.
 
Archer
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PaulHelmuth PaulHelmuth
Just FYI on the screws question (above) - I believe that I was able to get an Omega part # (2704) for the case mounting screws. I ordered a pair from Cousins.

That's a dog screw style, so Omega has replaced it with screw 1072709.
 
PaulHelmuth
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Archer Archer
That's a dog screw style, so Omega has replaced it with screw 1072709.
Archer,
Thank you for that additional information.
So - what is a "Dog Screw Style"?
I guess I can sort of tell - by looking at my case screws, but I have never heard that term - so wondering what would make a screw "Dog Style".
Is it the bevel around the circumference of the head?
Kind Regards,
-Paul
 
PaulHelmuth
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PaulHelmuth PaulHelmuth
Archer,
Thank you for that additional information.
So - what is a "Dog Screw Style"?
I guess I can sort of tell - by looking at my case screws, but I have never heard that term - so wondering what would make a screw "Dog Style".
Is it the bevel around the circumference of the head?
Kind Regards,
-Paul

Archer,
I believe that I found the answer to what is a dog style. It appears to refer to the style of the tip of the threaded part of the screw.
But if that's correct, then I must have the wrong # - as the case screws that I have do not have this style tip.
I guess I'll have to see what shows up in the mail.
Learning opportunities are endless for the newbee. 😀
 
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