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Mitka
·Got a Hamilton 982 back together today and got started on a Valjoux 723. In other words a nice day at work😀
What’s on your watchmaker's bench today?
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chaw6125
·Oh woah, that is awful! That seems like it would look terrible on a watch.
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Mitka
·3019HPC today… it was a fairly beaten up movement and needed the hairspring reshaped and a few damaged jewels replaced👀 hope it passes testing 😂
and the Certina is preforming like it should 👍
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Archer
··Omega Qualified Watchmaker
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BAJJ
·Friends mothers watch, Buren Grand Prix. no crown and fairly well gummed up inside, it’s been in a drawer for years.
A Lovely little, and I mean little, movement.
Need to source a crown, fortunately there seems to be a few of these on the bay for small money. Then a good clean and back to its owner.
A Lovely little, and I mean little, movement.
Need to source a crown, fortunately there seems to be a few of these on the bay for small money. Then a good clean and back to its owner.
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Mitka
·
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Mitka
·Today I did a Seiko LM 5606-7000.
Its up on a no reserve auction on eBay where the proceeds will got to a friend of mines go fund me page.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/197895910682
Its up on a no reserve auction on eBay where the proceeds will got to a friend of mines go fund me page.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/197895910682
This website may earn commission from Ebay sales.
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ErichKeane
·I have this really nice dial Landeron 48 marked Delaware I have been messing with. It arrived with a broken balance stem and no hairspring. Ive been thru a couple hairsprings trying to get it right.
I have tried a dozen things here, but the timegrapher gives up after this. Everything looks reasonable, but I am getting two traces.
I'm beginning to hate this movement 😀 the 151 I did turned out nice and easy, but this has been a pain. I must have removed the balance a million times by now.
I have tried a dozen things here, but the timegrapher gives up after this. Everything looks reasonable, but I am getting two traces.
I'm beginning to hate this movement 😀 the 151 I did turned out nice and easy, but this has been a pain. I must have removed the balance a million times by now.
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sheepdoll
·I am letting my landerons breed and ferment in a box. When I realized how much I was spending on chronograph parts, I went back to omega automatics.
I think the raw movements were often sold in the rough without completed escapements. So that the finisher would do all the fine timings and things. I keep wanting to make a machine for vibrating hairsprings. Better would be a nano robot for bending and straightening hairsprings.
There is also the issue with the staff. Most of the ones I have are not shock protected. So a shock staff will have differently shaped pivots. When getting old stock, sellers often do not know the differences. I suppose there is a way to see the difference. I find I have to do it by trial and error. (which is why I have dozens of plates and other parts.)
Balance bridges can be a nightmare. (why do incabloc bridges never show up on eBay?) I had to go through the mess and sort the bridges to find which ones fit. 48 and 51 stuff has many variations, even within the calibers, Then there are the 248s which more often than not do have incabloc springs.
The balance jewels also tend to fall out of the settings or are chipped or cracked.
I actually like to assemble them backwards from the balance to the wheel train. That way I can see what is going on.
It really makes one appreciate why Omega movements are some of the best ever made.
I think the raw movements were often sold in the rough without completed escapements. So that the finisher would do all the fine timings and things. I keep wanting to make a machine for vibrating hairsprings. Better would be a nano robot for bending and straightening hairsprings.
There is also the issue with the staff. Most of the ones I have are not shock protected. So a shock staff will have differently shaped pivots. When getting old stock, sellers often do not know the differences. I suppose there is a way to see the difference. I find I have to do it by trial and error. (which is why I have dozens of plates and other parts.)
Balance bridges can be a nightmare. (why do incabloc bridges never show up on eBay?) I had to go through the mess and sort the bridges to find which ones fit. 48 and 51 stuff has many variations, even within the calibers, Then there are the 248s which more often than not do have incabloc springs.
The balance jewels also tend to fall out of the settings or are chipped or cracked.
I actually like to assemble them backwards from the balance to the wheel train. That way I can see what is going on.
It really makes one appreciate why Omega movements are some of the best ever made.
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ErichKeane
·I am letting my landerons breed and ferment in a box. When I realized how much I was spending on chronograph parts, I went back to omega automatics.
I think the raw movements were often sold in the rough without completed escapements. So that the finisher would do all the fine timings and things. I keep wanting to make a machine for vibrating hairsprings. Better would be a nano robot for bending and straightening hairsprings.
There is also the issue with the staff. Most of the ones I have are not shock protected. So a shock staff will have differently shaped pivots. When getting old stock, sellers often do not know the differences. I suppose there is a way to see the difference. I find I have to do it by trial and error. (which is why I have dozens of plates and other parts.)
Balance bridges can be a nightmare. (why do incabloc bridges never show up on eBay?) I had to go through the mess and sort the bridges to find which ones fit. 48 and 51 stuff has many variations, even within the calibers, Then there are the 248s which more often than not do have incabloc springs.
The balance jewels also tend to fall out of the settings or are chipped or cracked.
I actually like to assemble them backwards from the balance to the wheel train. That way I can see what is going on.
It really makes one appreciate why Omega movements are some of the best ever made.
I've definitely spent a TON getting this movement to where it is now. I LOVE chronographs and the dial on this is great, so I've been pushing through, but yeah, I'm not a fan 😀 I'm tempted to just put it together and admire it, and figure it is just going to run 'funny' forever. I DO have a Venus 170 to work on in the future, so hopefully that one is nicer...
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sheepdoll
·Sometime I need to get back to these
I found it was much more fun to sort them into the raw parts. I think there may be 24 watches here.
Unlike Omega, the parts are not graded, so there is a lot of trial and error fitting them together. Which is why I have them hours of fun and keeps me from spending the money on lego bricks.
Unlike Omega, the parts are not graded, so there is a lot of trial and error fitting them together. Which is why I have them hours of fun and keeps me from spending the money on lego bricks.
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noless
·Finally getting around to my chronostop, bridle has come off the mainspring and its been waiting for me to have the time to service it for 2 years now.
was waiting for the right tool to safely pull the orange hand too.
was waiting for the right tool to safely pull the orange hand too.
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ErichKeane
·I gave up on my Landeron 48 last night. I spent a while messing with the bad trace, and couldn't come up with anything, so I decided to just build it to a complete watch and 'live with it'. However, when doing so, I found a few of my replacement parts (a bridge!) had different revisions of parts that made assembling the chronograph not really possible.
I made it up to myself disassembling the Venus 170, which is at least a much nicer made movement, but perhaps in equally as bad shape :/
BUT, I also have a Seiko 4006 Bellmatic alarm movement that I've had apart for a while that I decided to put together. I did a previous one(arrived non-functional) that turned out great after a handful of replacement parts, but only to the alarm movement.
THIS one however arrived running, just poorly. I took it apart and cleaned it, and upon reassembly, discovered a broken-but-not-totally balance staff. It was JUUUST long enough that it would keep the balance pretty centered so it would run, but kinda flopped everywhere.
SO I ordered a pretty affordable balance-complete. I swapped it into the bridge, put it on the movement, and put it for a run in my cleaning machine. I went to pre-set the beat error after putting the jewels back together and discovered THIS! NO idea when it happened. I'm going to try to swap the whole part from the other broken balance staff. I might be just investing in ANOTHER balance complete though....
I made it up to myself disassembling the Venus 170, which is at least a much nicer made movement, but perhaps in equally as bad shape :/
BUT, I also have a Seiko 4006 Bellmatic alarm movement that I've had apart for a while that I decided to put together. I did a previous one(arrived non-functional) that turned out great after a handful of replacement parts, but only to the alarm movement.
THIS one however arrived running, just poorly. I took it apart and cleaned it, and upon reassembly, discovered a broken-but-not-totally balance staff. It was JUUUST long enough that it would keep the balance pretty centered so it would run, but kinda flopped everywhere.
SO I ordered a pretty affordable balance-complete. I swapped it into the bridge, put it on the movement, and put it for a run in my cleaning machine. I went to pre-set the beat error after putting the jewels back together and discovered THIS! NO idea when it happened. I'm going to try to swap the whole part from the other broken balance staff. I might be just investing in ANOTHER balance complete though....
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sheepdoll
·I gave up on my Landeron 48 last night
Otherwise you find yourself wanting to use Grabthar's hammer.
I would not advise servicing Lemania or Valljoux chronographs at the moment. On the other hand you might find a working seagull clone to be instructive.
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ErichKeane
·Never give up. Never Surrender!
Otherwise you find yourself wanting to use Grabthar's hammer.
I would not advise servicing Lemania or Valljoux chronographs at the moment. On the other hand you might find a working seagull clone to be instructive.
Why do you advise against Lemania/Valjoux?
I actually DID work on a seagull ST19! It was fun to pull apart, but my watch cleaning machine removed some 'load bearing' plating! IIRC the reset-hammer had some spots where the chrome plating chipped away and left huge holes in the part, which meant it didn't work. I enjoyed working on it though!
I DO have a pair of chinesium 7750s that I can work on too (plus a Seiko chrono, but that might just be a repair not service), but I might take a break and do some 3 handers/3hand+date movements for a bit after I finish the Bellmatic & Venus 170, between the Chronos and Alarms, I'm a little in need of an easy win 😁
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sheepdoll
·Why do you advise against Lemania/Valjoux?
And then when you break a nib off the castle wheel, it really ruins your day or month.
This is why I am taking a break myself from chronos and working on automatics, with the occasional quartz.
I also like working on A Shild three handers, which are cheaper by the dozen. (and still swiss mechanical with a 500 year potential lifespan.) Too bad AS does not have a multi billion company milking the heritage.
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ErichKeane
·Scale of economy, The watches are worth 1000s even in scrap condistion. Parts cost 100 bucks or more each plus tariffs!!! US sellers simply do not have them. One also often gets garbage or a complety non fitting part after weeks waiting. (although you ran into that with the 48)
And then when you break a nib off the castle wheel, it really ruins your day or month.
This is why I am taking a break myself from chronos and working on automatics, with the occasional quartz.
I also like working on A Shild three handers, which are cheaper by the dozen. (and still swiss mechanical with a 500 year potential lifespan.) Too bad AS does not have a multi billion company milking the heritage.
The ASchild are fairly awesome, but their automatic works are absolute hell to assemble. I did it once, and don't wish to do that again 😁
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Mitka
·A little something from this week.
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