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So how i got on...good and bad. Bad: First time i tried the thing leaped out of the barrel somehow. Put it in mainspring winder, mainspring winder ate it. Second try It leaped out of the washer. Tried to pack it by hand, Packed it by hand the bridle in the wrong direction, destroyed the thing XD. I feel like an idiot. The good: I tried on my THIRD backup mainspring, in the washer, kept it from leaping out by doing it over my cutting mat instead of my fancy bergeon matt so i wasn't so paranoid about gouging holes and tearing it up with my tweezers so the spring in the washer could lay flat. It worked like a charm! This is a great technique, no annealing, very safe! Kudos for sharing it with us!

Yes, but it is not obligatory to use jeweling tool at all. You just need wooden or plastic pusher with proper shape. You press the settings to the end when putting them on the bridge or plate, so no need to measure anything. Then, oiling may be done before or after assembling, depends of the method prefered. But, cleaning is the main reason for dissassembling, so it has to be done. The setting of the central wheel... See, in american watches it is a matter of model and modification, but the setting sizes may be the same. In case of swiss watches, it is only great luck if You have the same size of setting from a donor.

I have wanted a Robur watch crystal press and dies for a long time, but when considering the cost of about £510 (CousinsUK, excluding shipping and VAT) I just couldn't defend it. However, as the Robur-like press, shown in my video, now and then shows up in various YouTube videos I got curious and ordered it from AliExpress. I don't think it's on par with the Robur press, but for the price, it seems like a decent option. In the video, I happened to mention that I was going to link to my WRT service walkthroughs, so below is the list in case anyone would be looking for it. Hope you'll find my video useful! My Service Walkthroughs: Citizen 8200A ETA 2892-A2 2804-2 2836-2 955.112 2772 2472 2824-2 Vostok 2431 2409 Enicar 161 Miyota 8205 9015 Tissot 781 Omega 268 Orient 46E40 Unitas 6380 6325

The movement appears to be an Epson YM91A. To remove the movement from the case, you'll need to first remove the stem. ym91a.pdf

€5000 - €6000 for an original Speedmaster, €120 for this one => 41 x or more And the 861 movements are getting older and they have their, not easy to fix, wear & tear flaws. Even though I'm not into quarts, I think this Seiko movement looks quite nice. I'll give you a review in a few weeks time

Good review VWatchie, It's a nice press, i've just got the same one this morning, seven days delivery from China to UK on ali, fit and finish is perfect it works as it should, with the dies in place it closes perfectly square, it's an excellent buy for the price, this one will get used more than my Bergeon 5500.

Hi everyone on this forum, as a quick intro, I am born 1960 and only recently discovered a thing for watches. I scouted around and watching youTube stuff got me thinking that a birthdate watch would be of interest from both a "it was created when I was" and I actually connected with what was happening in that decade. 1 year later and this has blown into a full on hobby and I found my ultimate watch. But you can find this all out as I start to share my thoughts, seek help and also share my learnings. So you know, I believe tha knowledge and experience are important in equal measures and I am very patient. I do not jump to conclusions but like to accumulate evidence to influence my approach and thoughts. If it is not fun then forget it, I'll change direction. Hope I can be of assistance.

Firstly, everything you see on YouTube isn't the truth! And recommending removing these jewels prior to cleaning is a crock of....... Don't remove the jewels, as it is far from necessary and I would be really surprised if the screws holding them in place came loose or even if they came out of the bridge or mainplate. Just peg the jewels clean and maybe pre-clean the movement prior to putting it through your cleaning machine, if you are using one

Sooo, after initially following @HectorLooi's advice and kinda abandoning this project and then following @VWatchie's advice of waiting patiently for a good deal on a complete set, my moment has come: For an incredible 125 EUR, I managed to get a pristine (basically unused) "new style" Steiner set. It's the large set with the center wheel runner. In addition to two perfect lantern discs (hidden under the covers), a another perfect pair of spare runners were also included. The burnisher was not included, but after such a bargain on the tool, I treated myself to a new Bergeon burnisher. And a pair of retractable keyholders ;-). Now I need to practice.

According to the page it's the gr2377X, same as the one i used. Cousins also lists the GR2377X as the correct spring for the 7009. And yeah, the biggest tip i can give is don't try to do this in the barrel, the spring will either jump out of it as you carefully try to avoid marring the barrel, or you'll mar the barrel.

To be clear, I meant the hole jewels looked fine. Clealry a missing cap jewel is not fine!

I enjoy the affordability and style of some of the mechaquartz chronographs, but I really don't like it when one of the registers is being used as a 24-hour indicator, especially on a watch without a date function. That doesn't seem to be a very faithful homage or a useful complication. Of course, even worse are the ones where the large second hand is a normal running seconds hand, and you find upon receipt that one of the small sub-dials is used for the chronograph seconds. Or the ones where what looks like a 12-hour chrono register is just a 12-hour mirror of the hour hand...

Sorry, didn't see the "s" Yes, for sure. Unlike the Pagani, the reviews of these moonSwatches aren't very good either . I roam regularly a German website "Kleinanzeigen" and currently there are no less than 514 "MoonSwatches" for sale; new and second hand, but next to new. It seems that people like to get rid of them. (https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-moonswatch/k0) On the Pagani I may pull the hands and re-lume them with Superluminova. I like to have the legibility in the night as good as these moon watches are during the day. Besides, good lume comes in handy too when reading the newspaper in the dark

Thanks Tom, i ordered the same press last week, it came today, seven days delivery from China to the UK on ali using choice. The fit and finish is perfect, no maunfacturing defects or cosmetic damage i can see, they must have quality control in place, it came well packed in a polystyrene box, i tested it with the dies that came with it and the cousins aluminium dies (6mm thread) it closes perfectly square, the spindle operates smoothly up and down, for the price it's an excellent buy. If i'd got this first i don't think i'd have got the Bergeon 5500 lever press, i won't need another press between the two i think i'm covered. If your wanting a decent press at reasonble price the E25 (Bergeon 5601 clone gets a MASSIVE THUMBS UP. This is the one i went for: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000481398244.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.1.e2adlm8Alm8AYe&algo_pvid=767bb68e-0c8e-415a-a6c3-5c9d5471f34f&algo_exp_id=767bb68e-0c8e-415a-a6c3-5c9d5471f34f-0&pdp_npi=4%40dis!GBP!39.73!32.41!!!48.84!39.84!%40210387a117095660343244016e9259!10000001996262784!sea!UK!0!AB&curPageLogUid=NPF60yvW9VHm&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch|query_from%3A

Hello there Daniel from Denmark. I have a small collection of Casio watches I'm trying to keep alive or just slightly restore. Looking forward to get help and or help others. I'm pretty good at gathering information together from different sources and website and put it together, to make it more useful So hope to have some fun

Hello everyone I’m brand new. To this hobby always loved taking things apart. Looking forward to learn from you all. michael

so I just checked the Link, that's actually the same spring I'm using I believe. Cousins does sell it. General resorts 2377x It's not the same spring, trust me. Cousins sell this 0.95 x .12 x 400 x 10.5 Automatic Gleave sell this 0.95 x .115 x 380 x 10 So glad it worked for you! I knew you would get there and the next time you'll nail it first time from the experiences you've had. Failure is always my best teacher.

I agree, the balance caps need to be removed as you have described @nevenbekriev, but the wheel train jewels have an oil sink, so won't have a cap and they will stay in place. Maybe I wasn't clear in what I was saying or what jewels I was referring to. I find with non shockproof jewels that placing the setting together and then oiling from the balance side and then pushing the oil through with a very fine honed down oilier works a treat, as capillary action sucks the oil through to the cap, rather than risking the oil moving as you place the cap back. It all depends on the way you like to do it as long as the results are the same. If you do it the way I have described and the oil doesn't suck through to the cap, then this tends to indicate that the gap between the top of the olive jewel that the balance staff passes through and the cap jewel is a little too big, which gives me a good gauge if the jewels and cap are in good order and will hold the oil in place like this picture form one of my lessons

I made a couple of winders for Seiko mainsprings. I didn't feel like trying to sort out all the details of which bergeon to buy, or taking a chance on a chineses set. The one shown here is for 70xx series movements. It's not a thing of beauty, but it works pretty much 100% of the time if I do it properly. Looking at the photo reminds me how I should get a nicer knurling tool! The housing and plunger are acetal, the arbor is brass. I also have one for 61xx series barrels. The only difficult part was making the hook on the arbor. The rest is really just standard lathe work.

It is a bit tricky and catastrophes happen. Keeping some pressure on the plunger with a palm helps keep the space inside the cylinder smaller. When pushing the bridle in with hand the other hand has to keep winder tight against the handle and also prevent it from unwinding. Once the bridle is comptletely inside, wind backwards to unhook the spring. Then with exacto knife carefully pry out the winder/arbor enough so that you can fit tweezers inside. Pull arbor off while securing spring with tweezers. Put handle tightly against level surface and press plunger to pack the spring level with the edge. If the spring spring is old and not so level it's harder to get it wound inside the handle. Yeah really stressful. Better have new mainsprings in stock in case you fail, it takes off some of the pressure

@Endeavor I would much rather have the pagani with the seiko mechaquartz than the moonswatch for double the money. Been thinking about one of these for a while, please report back with your opinion on it. Tom

Theres a few different types , i went for 19mm solid disk, the diamond continues upto and around the edge of the disk. I'm guessing the grit is around 200ish , a bit rougher than i would have liked. I removed the slot from a small screw and had it cut back in by hand within a couple of minutes of fettling. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404219193851?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=qx1zhgfvseo&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=tBiLZaCfRb2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

My currency is BGN (Bulgarian Lev), which is fasten to EUR, so 1EUR = 2BGN I am afraid we have stollen the conversation away from the OP problem...

This is the mainspring you need from Gleave and Co. https://gleave.london/search.php?search_query=seiko 7009 mainspring&section=product Fits a treat! Cousins don't sell this, that's why I go to Gleave and Co in Clerkenwell, here in London. @Birbdadyou can manipulate that spring you have already in the barrel to close it up slightly. I've closed up the inner coil in a mainspring a lot bigger than the one your having problems with without having to heat the coil. First get a piece of brass wire or steel rod about half three quarters the size of the barrel arbor. This is placed in the inner coil so you don't crush or kink the inner coil of the spring, then with sturdy tweezers (carbon steel) start pinching the inner coil in various places around the inner coil. Be even in your pinching. It will take about 10 minutes or so, but it will slowly work the inner coil slightly smaller to fit the arbor. You'll be surprised at how much it will close that coil. You can't close it that much, but enough for what you require judging by your photo of the coil and arbor in situ. Take your time and make sure you always use the brass wire to not over do it. Be careful, as @Neverenoughwatcheshas already pointed out, not to scratch up the barrel or arbor hole/bush in the barrel. Very easily done, as it is soft brass. I'm sure you will close it up enough to grip the arbor. I've closed up inner coils much bigger than yours. Make sure you use a rod of steel or brass to stop the tweezers from completely crushing the inner coil. This part is imperative to the process, so don't overlook it, thinking that you will have control to how much your squeezing that coil with your tweezers, because that's where it all starts to go downhill and next thing you've got a fooked mainspring that is no good to man nor beast. Been there, done that, got the T shirt! Let us know how you got on.

I own the original Omega professional Speedmaster Mark II (1975, 861 movement), which is stunning, but my real love is the 861 "Moon-watch". Looking at the prices asked for these real "moon-watches" (and one doesn't even know in which condition the movement is), I'm afraid that one will stay a dream and the Mark II will be as close as I will ever get ........which is pretty darn close, so no complains here !! However, today I discovered the Pagani Design PD-1701 V3, a design "borrowed" from, or as they like to say "inspired by", the Omega Speedmaster. It has a Seiko VK63 quartz ("terrible") movement , but with (at least something) a mechanical chronograph . My Mark II has a mineral glass crystal and I'm scared to scratch it, so sadly, despite I wished for that it could be different, it won't be my daily watch. The Pagani PD-1701 V3 may just fill the gap; a "moon-watch" look, sapphire crystal and for "no" money; € 120 including shipment ....... The reviews are good, so I ordered one ...... If, at a certain moment, it gets too "quartzy" for me, I can swap to the real deal Very curious about this Pagani I'm certainly not into quartz movements / watches, but I have to say that I'm impressed with how the VK63 is build; my hats off !

That's valuable information for those on the lookout for their first Seitz jewelling tool! I guess I got lucky then! It didn't know about this when I bought mine. But even if you get the newer version, you need to make sure the respective adapter/knob is included. See pictures below.

For reference I believe this is the older style, absent are the inside threads for the cap that allows for horia-type pushing

Hello all, So for my birthday, I asked my wife for a stereo-microscope (actually, I told her exactly which one I wanted). I've read many times (and seen this video of Alex https://youtu.be/tAtATqwI5A4?si=NlU3TwHFBwpDKitw) that a good stereo microscope would be a "game changer". I resisted for the longest time, and ended up buying a staking set, jewelling set, glass press... heck, even a Jacot tool. But now I made the jump. And OH MY GOODNESS, it is so much more amazing and "game changing" than I ever imagined. I go the Amscope SM-3TP (https://amscope.com/products/c-sm-3tp-hd), with light ring and 0.5 Barlow lens. It delivers the perfect amount of magnification and working distance. (Please note that the 3TP version allows you to use full stereo vision while using the camera port at the same time. The 3T version used by Alex (see video link about) will force you to either use stereo-vision for your eyes and NOT use the camera port at all, OR use the camera port but only have mono-vision on your eyes. The camera port and the left eyepiece share the same "tunnel" and there's a lever that you pull/push to decide which one is active. I definitely recommend paying 20 bucks more to get the 3TP.) I think that one really needs to experience a stereo microscope like this to fully appreciate how incredible it is. Pictures (which are two-dimensional) will never do it justice. To see three-dimensionally is SOOOOO useful. I've never oiled a pallet stone with such perfect accuracy and ease. And I can see in perfect clarity how the drop of oil spreads over the next 3-5 escape wheel teeth. Until I apply another perfect drop in the perfect spot. And INSPECTION: my goodness. You'll find the tiniest speck of dust or debris with ease. Honestly, I'm over the moon with this new acquisition. After using it for 3 days, I can't even imaging how I lived without it.

@valleyguy this is worth a look for a Robur type press Tom

Hi all, I've been into mechanical watches since the 90's and began collecting shortly afterward. In the last few years I've been doing some of my own work as well, but very rudimentary. I'm looking forward to learning though, and have been having some fun with modding as well. I won't be a prolific poster here, but looking forward to participating. Cheers, Beto

Hello Guys and Gals, It's a pleasure to register at this forum. I'm a watch enthusiast, beginner at moding and I have very few experience at movements assemble/disassemble knowledge. I come to this site to learn new valuable skills and meet friendly people.

Thank you for your introduction and welcome to this friendly forum. We all look forward to your contributions and continued involvement.

The one in my set was blunt so I put it in a cordless drill, and used a stone to sharpen it. Easy

Watchmaker living and working in the UK. Enjoys reviving old things and learning new things.

Greeting all!

Looks to be a Valjoux 5. The "R" is for Reymond Freres, the original company name. They changed the name to Valjoux in the 20s, then joined Ebauches around the 40s, after which you see the R inside the familiar shield shape. Staff appears to be available.

Hello all, Stumbled across some watch repair videos on YouTube and got hooked, have since purchased some tools and watches to tinker with, feels like there is an encyclopaedia worth of knowledge to start learning! Rich

Hi. Soldering is quite straight forward, the main thing is cleaning the areas to be soldered treating with flux and using resin core solder all available fron hardware stores. Soldering irons come in all shapes and sizes. Pistol grip irons , straight tip, spade tip , round tip. I personally have a seller workstation with four interchangeable tips, probably best value because it covers most bases. But again depends how much you are going to use it, so it’s a cost thing, solder comes in reels or tubes with a few yards inside. remember to clean thoroughly the joint to be soldered for the best result.. If the point where the wee man fits has a projection requiring a butt joint fit a sleeve over the joint preferably of brass or copper.

The bladder for another fountain pen arrived today. So here is the follow up. How now *not* to replace the bladder in your precious fountain pen. The process started innocently enough. I attempted to unscrew the cap. Instead, the stainless sheath parted company from the plastic of the top and started to rotate. This produced two new problems. First, I obviously now needed to re-secure the stainless sheath to the cap, but more importantly, I couldn't actually unscrew the top from the pen. I reached for some light oil and attempted to dribble it in to the threads. In the process, I managed to pour it down my leg. Nice. "Well.." I reasoned, ".. these jeans needed to go in the wash anyway." so I pressed on undaunted. Next I wrapped some masking tape around the body and the top, and carefully grasped them with mole grips, trying in the process to avoid crushing anything. This worked better than expected and the cap started to unscrew. Unfortunately however, the next problem became obvious pretty quickly. The pen still had ink in it, which it proceeded to vomit on to my leg... "Well.." I reasoned, ".. these jeans needed to go in the wash anyway." so I pressed on undaunted. I cleaned up as much of the mess from my hands and leg and the pen as I could, and set about replacing the bladder. With the pen now spotless, and no obvious possible source of further trouble in view, I set about securing the stainless cap to the body. The cap by now was considerably more stainless than I was. I poured out a small measure of shellac into a little plastic container, and started to dribble it into the gap between the two components, and ... promptly poured the contents of the container onto my leg... "Well.." I reasoned, ".. I am clearly an idiot." so I pressed on undaunted. The job is more or less complete, but I suspect the jeans may never quite be the same again. Now I need to sneak them into the washing machine before my wife sees them, and hope that a quick boil wash will hide the majority of the evidence.

Hi as has been said it has the main part missing but has a good array of punches etc. depending on price and size 4.7mm might be worth picking up as extras, but look towards getting a complete set with 4.7 mm punches. The set shown will require a little cosmetic work to bring them up to standard. Condition of the box is of little importance as it exists to hold the tools and in its present condition could also do with a face lift. It is home made.

There has certainly been some kind of homemade alteration to the box as the original base looks like it is now the top of the lid. These punches could be a mix and match of a few different brands that a dodgy seller has put together. As has been mentioned some makes are the same size but not all, 4.7mm is a common size, i have a Boley a Star and another unknown make that are all 4.7mm. If its really cheap then some of these may come in to add to an incomplete set or another mixed up set that comes your way. The best decision is to wait for one that can be confirmed as fully original, but the asking price will nearly always be high.

@longbowforge I see rust on the punches ....... I've got a little story to tell;

oldhippy is correct as usual. There is too much missing and unidentified. It would be one thing if you already had a matching staling tool and were looking for a few stakes and stumps. With this set you limit your options since you’re looking for the staking tool to match the stakes. Better to go for a more complete set in nice condition. It is an important tool…

Hi from Lexington, could be a Boley or Levin, definitely not K&D or Marshal, there are several makers, anyhow the stake sometimes can be found by itself on eBay under 'staking set', most of the punchs and stumps fit most brands in my findings but not always, the punchs and stakes need cleaning up, a decent complete K&D might be less though

Its already been said the main piece is missing. I would save your money and look for a better complete set. What sort of price are you thinking of. Then I can look on the net for you.

The case looks home made. The stakes and anvils look a little rough, but most importantly it's missing the staking tool itself. If your intent is to have a complete staking set, you'll need to make sure you get a tool that the stakes and anvils fit. If the stakes are not marked, then you'll have to measure them to figure out which tool they will work with and then track one down by itself. Usually they stay together as a set.

If it was my repair I would re- pin it I have never had any problem you just need to take your time and have a good strong eyeglass. Adding timing washers is not the way to go.

I made this mistake myself and was completely dumbfounded until I finally managed to figure it out. So, valuable tip, worth mentioning more than once!