Leaderboard

Yeah you need more amplitude, and if this is full wind a new mainspring isn't going to get you there- there are other issues. Good news is if that's your max delta at this miserable amplitude it will probably run great when you get it up to something normal!

The front, runs lovely now and alarms works great.

Problem solved. For some bizarre reason, the hook on the wall of this barrel is not properly centered vertically, but is oddly high on the wall, maybe 3/4 up the way up. When replacing the mainspring, this caused the outer coil to be displaced upwards as well such that it protrudes out of the barrel and caused the barrel lid to not sit quite flush to the barrel. Since this is a motor barrel, the lid is actually the first wheel and inner coil tube/hook all in one piece, with no “snap down” action that would have made the problem more immediately obvious. Maybe with an older mainspring the spring’s end hole was enlarged such that this wasn’t an issue, but hard to say how it ever worked otherwise. Replacing the barrel with one from a different model 1900 where the hook was properly vertically centered allowed the lid to sit flush without mainspring interference and the friction problem went away. The bridge was far too thick to be bent (and isn’t), for those of you thinking that was the problem. Placing the removable arbor in the watch without the rest of the barrel proved that the proper end shake was actually there as long as the overall height of the assembled barrel was correct.

You are so true on a lot of what you have said. The main reason for changing the mainspring even if the old one is in good order is because it will take out your thinking that the mainspring is contributing to poor power output or fluctuations in amplitude. If a new spring is fitted that box can be crossed off as a potential source of a problem. Most customers are happy to pay the extra £20 for a new mainspring if they are already parting with a couple of hundred pounds for a service. A new spring is an investment for good running for the future.

I too have a cal 59, but it's in a gold case with no movement ring. What I'd do is look for a job lot of movement rings on ebay, and tweak one to fit. They are easy to cut and bend, and you don't have to be exact on diameter as there is a cut out for the stem

Ross yes we all love the forum and yes a lot of these facebook groups are awful and will never compare to what we have here. But facebook is exactly what you make it for yourself, some let the world know what they had for tea and if they threw it up again lol. It took me years to enter into the realm of facebook and 95 % of it i ignore completely, i use it to my advantage, I'm not an addict of it like most of the world is. My profile contains absolutely nothing about me, its not even my real name, all it is for me is a vehical for me to access information, if i dont like what i see i ignore it. You develop an attitude of indignation towards the vast majority of it.

Thinking. Mark has said he would be here for the foreseeable. I have looked at other watch forums. One will not let me join as my 'browser' is not set? Another feels very complicated. Another has showing of collections of Rolex etc, all vying to show what they have. Not what they do for watch servicing. And, the criticism of others is so prevalent. I asked a question and received, "Read a book more often" as a reply. I was given advice and constructive criticism by members, who advised the book, but realised as a result of my dyslexia, my difficulties. And so spent time assisting me. I like and enjoy this forum. I am at 2 1/2 years into my self imposed 5 year apprenticeship. Averaging 10 hrs per week. I can do virtually anything that needs to be done. I still lack some tools. DIY skills makes a lot of things available to me. Someone made the comment about 'Facebook'? Open my life for the inspection of others? No thank you.

I think my missus is mad ironing clothes, but what do i know ?

Thank you for your introduction and welcome to this friendly forum. We all look forward to your contributions and continued involvement. An Omega watch was a pig.

It's only small, but it's one of my favourite watches. Nice simple dial with sub-seconds, and gorgeous gold hands

Your amplitude needs to be higher to get a more reliable reading. Low amplitudes will amplify escapement issues and poise errors not the mention the hairspring may be toing and froing from to regulating pins and the stud. You haven't said what the movement is.

Well today was the day that we loaded the last stuff that we are getting rid of into a big skip that we hired to get rid of the spa bits. I pulled down my hanglider from storage in our garage and out with the spanners. The sail and some stuff that is not salvageable is all in the skip. The aluminium tubing and stainless brackets have all been reclaimed and have been stored. Why? I have been struggling to find the tubes that were demonstrated with the Joe Collins winder on YT anywhere, so I presume that they were made to suit. I haven't really been able to find any tube that I could use. I now have a plethora of tubing that is not just plain aluminium, but is aircraft grade aluminium and is a fair bit tougher. Different diameters as well so that is a bonus. Doesn't cover all the diameters of a set of spring C clamps, but beggars can't be choosers. I have already worked out what I am going to use some of the stainless for. I will attach it to my clock movement testing rig so I can then use the light gauge pulleys and ropes that I salvaged to set up a way for the clock movement rig to be pulled up to the ceiling when not required. I also have to route out some holes in the side panels of the rig so that pendulums can swing and so that I can see into the movements from the side. I really must take some other photos.

I really like these adjustable winders, in particular the multiple choice of arbor sizes within the same winding nut. Mine are the Star brand but that is more than likely just a retail name. If you find the spring ends snapping from slot to slot then just release some of the tension, let the spring unwind a little and then feed the end in by hand. A drop of oil on the insides of the prongs and ease off the edges of them makes them less harsh, but no personally i would leave the arbor hooks alone, try backing them out where the spring isn't so tight as it is at the very end, I've had the hooks release completely this way.

you can push out the old pins and replace with new pins on "most" arbors. I have seen a few where they were "pinched" rather than pinned. Also, you can push out the entire arbor from the knurled knob and turn a new arbor, pin it to your desire. Very flexible...IF you have a lathe.

This is not a "fashion" watch, it was made in 1972. The first time I tried to open it I used a knife blade and hammer to start it, then used the opening tool. I thought it might be stuck with gunk, but cleaned it all up and its just the same. There is no gasket. It's so tight that I cannot hold it down with my thumb whilst trying to prise it with the opening tool. I just have to keep tightening the tool until it pings, which is starting to damage the case. If I leave it as it is, there is a chance of damage to the watch when it is opened. So I feel I need to do something. I just ran a very fine file around the back of the case. I barely removed any metal, and now it fits nicely. Tight, but I can prise it off with the case remover

Just come back form a 2 week holiday. Bride had a wonderful time. Day two. Full blown tooth ache which had been on/off for two flaming month. Ever tried to concentrate on making repairs when a tooth ache is attacking? Sorted today. Call me gummy! So glad to read Mark's posting, and to note the comments. The members who are active may be few, but we do have, and give access to a large community out there. Mark reigns. Some of the greatest names we see on the web give homage. Individuals and companies acknowledge Mark. So pleased to be part of the learning circle of WRT.

Except for large pocket watches, this is all I use. I have made some custom arbors (easy to do on a lathe) for them in certain cases. Yup. It has happened to me. I just slow down when close to the end of the wind.

Ah so its you thats buying up all the DD calibres .

Hi Richard, I keep buying CAL.59 movements to practice on Not started yet though, I'm gathering tools and building my confidence to start.

No Mike the size doesn't matter ( so women pretend ) that's a really nice watch, really nice indeed , you've finished it very well i love it.

Well, if you ever bugger up one of those arbors, send it to me and I will fix it for you. We are in the same time zone.

Which position is the 8s/d?

Hmmmm nice Mike , the Vertex was very popular over here, the brand was relaunched not so long back by the grandson of the guy that had a lot to do with their sales here. Nice Dennison case as well, whats the dial matey. Good alternative Mike so he can wear it until he can find or have one made in steel.

No, not handed. That's why I bought it I think. I assumed I would work on more Japanese movements with left wound springs, but that hasn't turned out to be the case. I think the only left wound movements I have ever done are HMT (Citizen). I've considered filing down the arbor pins a bit but don't want to ruin it. Occasionally I see a set of the K&D arbors alone show up for sale and maybe I should buy some to modify.

What amplitude are you seeing in each position ?

No problem I'll have a look now, i dont remember it having a retaining ring but i could be wrong, I've not worked on it yet, its just to be a donor when i find a military Vertex. Sorry matey no movement ring in this, someone else might have one but its going to have to be in a DD case to get those sizes right.

Before trying wet and dry, you could use polishing compound on the mating surfaces. Wash off. It will remove microscopic amounts of material and smooth the surfaces.

Cheers both - Wife thinks I'm mad ironing clocks!

Looking good Michael. A grand job.

Hello and welcome from Leeds. No such thing as a stupid question. Find something to practice on before starting the Vertex.

Fashion watch casebacks are extremely tight with no gap for a knife to enter. A razor blade is the only tool that gets me in with a sharp ping as the back releases. Personally i wouldn’t modify, as it is you can remove and replace though somewhat difficult , with a mod it may not stay on. It could very well be a sharp edge that keeps it in place , a light rub might take away that edge ? It wouldn’t be worth that risk to me, just how accurate is a drill and the chuck, its not the accuracy of a lathe .

To me this is a simple solution but not just for UK. I know a lot of us are not into facebook groups. But Mark has one, so does Mike Bolton of my retro watches, so does Kalle Slapp. They cost nothing to run, my daughter runs a few dog groups with thousands of members. And it does not have to be actively used, just because you are not interested in facebook ( i wasn't for a very long time ) that doesn't mean you have to participate on it or read anything posted , that is anyone's choice to do so, you give or take what you want from it. Seems the ideal meet place to me, join it , make one or two posts just to say " I'm here " then set it aside for a rainy day. If or when that day comes then discussions can take place as what to do next.

I have both sets and use the K&D 99% of the time. Yes, you have to be careful with the pin. I use a screwdriver to carefully release the pin from the spring. Some skill is involved. I have also modified/replaced the pins in the arbors as necessary. Yeah, you would think a tool would not require modification, but such is the world of watchmaking. There is no perfect tool.

I have the 8-11mm K&D but it doesn't do a great job with modern mainsprings, or I have had terrible luck. The arbor pin protrudes too much and I have damaged more springs trying to disengage the arbor than I have successfully wound and inserted. It seems easier to use with old carbon steel springs. My Watchctaft set gets far more use, though I have to get creative to wind left hand springs

The problem is there are no good Solutions. What we really need is a backup for Mark. In other words somebody willing to step up and take his job if for some unknown reason he is unable to continue. Not really an inactive site because if you have an inactive site then why don't we just have an active site instead of run by Mark run by a group? Yes this is the problem with this discussion do we want to take this away from Mark and start our own group? As I said there are no good Solutions and unfortunately with the Internet is everything goes away sooner or later including discussion groups they never last forever. The problem would be even if you collected everyone's email address what would you do if the group was gone? As far as websites go they're insanely cheap to make and set up and have especially if all its only purpose is a place to go in an emergency where it would have a emergency email address to reach out or updates could be posted in case of an emergency. Kind of like a civil emergency you're supposed to go someplace this would be our civil emergency website just in case the unthinkable happens. Otherwise somebody sets up an email address for emergencies you can contact us here. Oh I have a question at least for the people in the UK that are so incredibly concerned about reaching out and contacting each other why don't you just form a physical group that gets together from time to time?

A big thank you Mark for clearing all this up. We all appreciate you and the work you put into the running of this forum. If I can be of anymore help to you and this forum just ask. I love it on here as well.

I would not Mike, I have only done a few quartz battery changes on Omegas, yes they were tight and difficult to get on and off. However that is part of their quality so reducing that would not be good even if it makes it easier for you. just my tuppence Tom

The K&D (Levin made the same style too, probably others as well) are a clever design and work well when you get used to them. The only issue is if you wind the spring so that the tongue goes in, there's a really good chance it slips futher and then comes out the next slot, usually breaking off. Best to size it so you can fit it in the barrel with the tongue sticking out.

Totally Andy's brilliant idea. I just started the thread. For what my opinion is worth, the number should be quite low. That's the point of it. It's as much about the hunt as the act of servicing/repairing the watches. I don't have too much of an opinion on currency, but £ has a slight edge since that's what it started with. This is a global forum, so the majority of people will be converting values no matter what. I don't know if there are any currency traders here, but if there's any currency that's especially stable or some other attribute that would benefit the game, that could be amusing. Maybe one that's super volatile? Qualification is heavily influenced by what wacky things some currency is doing on a given day (though usually that means shrinkage). We could go for something super obscure like the Chilean Peso or something just for giggles (though it might make conversion difficult). A lot of currencies are indexed to the US$, which would ease some of the conversion friction for some people. Just spitballing. My vote in the poll would be for £ inflation adjusted to £4.04 ca. 2020. I'm ticking those boxes, but I'm not sure about the 6.99. Is that £, or another currency? Source?

I've been programming, building electronics for, repairing and retrofitting machine tools and industrial automation systems for over 40 years now. I could have retired, but I always have work queued up - and I still enjoy it; also building electronics, robots and animatronics (among other things) as hobbies. There is a vast range of work in machine tool / robotics / industrial automation field, and not all that many really good people, who fully understand the electronics and software side, rather than having been forced in to it from the mechanical side & struggling with anything to do with electronics or software. I can't help with the qualifications side - things have changed too much over the years, & I started my business before I left school. At the time I was getting criticised and even penalised by teachers for spending too much time on the school "computer" (a massive early programmable calculator, really) because computers & programming were a waste of time, according to them! One big problem I am aware of is that a lot of university courses have little to no correlation to real-world industrial machines and equipment - most of the equipment in the field that needs work is old! You have to be an enthusiast and study older system and techniques; it's no good knowing the state of the art electronics & software inside out when you are more likely to be working on a 50 year old machine than a brand new one. The oldest machine I routinely work on was made in 1911; many are from the 1950s - 80s. New machines tend to be under warranties or service contracts, so only the makers agents ever touch them - it's the older gear that gets sold on after it's showing its age and really needs actual engineers!

I had a similar problem with a chinese set - with that, I drilled the drum out to take the slightly larger arbor; it only needed about 0.2mm increase so no detriment when using the original arbor. (One was LH the other was RH, in that case).

Can we consider how tight as a duck's arse Yorkshiremen and Scotsmen are please .

When you think about it (as a watch addict) and how much you spend on a typical watch, anything less than about $15 is dirt cheap these days. I mean, that might honestly just be the tax you pay on a watch. You can barely even get a used part off of ebay delivered for that much. In fact, $15 seems like about what a new crystal or a used setting lever would cost to have delivered. I think anything under that would essentially be a, "Holy cow, I got this watch for nothing!" scenario.

Thanks for the advice! This is the ending shape that kept the collet in the middle of the pivot throughout the sweep of the adjuster. Ended with a gain of 30-40 amplitude, +15s/d and <1ms BE. Very happy with the result.

My latest. Timex 2465. Replaced the crystal, caseback gasket and spring bars. All in less than $5US. Added a gray NATO strap I already had in stock.

My newest 404 candidate, a late '60's / early '70's Waltham with a UTC 33 / Seiko 6601 17 jewel automatic movement. It needed a new crystal and I put on a strap from my Strap Graveyard. The timegrapher was a snow storm before servicing but it cleaned up nicely. I really like the funky font used for the hour markers.

A bit wonky? Like the tower of Pisa being plumb?

I certainly do Razz. Ive just started work on this AS554, interestingly enough it had a paper dial made from a postcard , look at the brand name on the dial, very curious.

Link here