I'm In Too Deep!!

[stealthydan]

Hi, sorry to disturb if this is a foolish beginner question, I've tried searching but to no avail. I recently purchased a ring watch from eBay for the grand sum of £2 because my girlfriend liked it.

I'm an aircraft engineer and love all things mechanical,and have always wanted to tackle some timepieces, however this has left me somewhat bemused.

The watch wasn't functioning and upon dismantling it there was a small arm, shown in the picture at the tip of the screwdriver, knocking around inside. I've isolated where all the components need to go to get this thing back together but can't for the life of me work out this arm. I think it's part of the escapement?? The components of which I believe I've isolated in the second picture, but I've tried all sorts of combinations of putting these pieces together and cannot get the rocking arm to spin the gear.

Any advice much appreciated!

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[GeorgeClarkson]

That looks to be part of the keyless works, which is the winding and setting mechanism of the watch. It is supposed to be catching on the winding crown by means of a notch, so that when you pull out the winding crown it pushes the clutch forward to engage with the setting wheel. I hope I am correct with the names and functions...

[clockboy]

I am pretty sure it is the setting lever. As George states the notch catches on the stem and moves as you move the stem in and out.

[stealthydan]

Ah ok, thankyou, that makes sense. To be honest I'll have to google the names to familiarise myself with them. I have the nagging suspicion that there's a lot more to this than I first anticipated, and fear this could have ticked its last tock. I'll have a look around and see if there's a logical place for it to fit in on that side of the puzzle.

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[clockboy]

By any chance are there any markings numbers,logo,s in the movement

[frenchie]

It should fit somewhere on the dial side, where the stem goes in the watch.

Do you have pictures of the other side of the movement ?

[rogart63]

Really brave of you to dismantle a movement like this . It looks like a pin lever movement? Could it be a Baumgartner or maybe EB  1225 ?

Edited September 11, 2015 by rogart63

[swordfish]

When I was (more of) a beginner (than I am now) in watch repair, I would use my cell phone camera to take a picture of the watch every time I removed a part. I would keep the removed parts in order in a multi-segmented box. I recommend that.

[stealthydan]

Thanks for all the responses guys. Sorry about my delay I had to take a break for fried chicken. Clock boy, The only markings I can see are on a cover plate that says:

17 jewels C.64.C

Frenchie, I've added some different photos below, one from the other side and one with the parts arranged in their respective locations.

Rogart, I'm feeling somewhere on the borderline between bravery and stupidity now! I'll google those types you've mentioned shortly and will see how they compare to what's in front of me.

Swordfish, that's excellent advice, I did take a few photos however in hindsight a more methodical approach could have been a bit more helpful, the box is definitely a good idea.

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[Watchdog]

What I would Google is the numbers you got off the movement . Look on eBay (or somewhere) for a working movement. Then, either use it to go by and put that original back together or replace it with the other one you just found? But, this is how I learn. Like someone said , take pics as you go, or find another one..?

I wouldn't be embrassed . This is how I started and still today get in trouble. Heck, it's fun learning!!!

[stealthydan]

Seems to be called a cattin 64 movement. I've got it back together but still no luck on making it actually work.

Im enjoying learning and playing about with this though, may actually invest in some tools that didn't come out of a Christmas cracker to make this a bit easier on myself.

Watchdog I like the idea of replacing the movement too, if only to keep the girlfriend happy while I play with this one, however I can't find one on eBay and have no idea where else to look.

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[swordfish]

Oh, stealthydan, you'll find that broken watches are far less complicated than girlfriends! (I married mine 27 years ago.). Here's a quick and dirty fix—for the watch, I mean—which will have the other horologists here screaming in dissent, but, hey, a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do.

You want the ring watch to run. I get that. You'll not likely have quick success on restoring the original work, and finding an exact replacement, as you see, is tricky.

You could buy a cheap battery operated watch mechanism and put it behind the dial of your ring watch. You'll need to be sure that the physical size is compatible with the case. (The replacement mechanism must not be too big.) Be sure to get one in which the diameter of the minute and hour hand are the same as what you have now. Use tiny adhesive pads, available at horologists supply houses, to adhere the mechanism to the back of the dial. Since you'll be getting a mechanism without a second hand, the quantum leap per second of the replacement won't be obvious. If the replacement is small for the case, you can mold some epoxy putty around it after everything else is tickety-boo.

Voilá! Watch is running, girlfriend happy, and you can work on the mechanical works at your leisure.

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Edited September 12, 2015 by swordfish

[Gingerr6]

Take pictures next time :) then you will know where things go back in !!!

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[Lawson]

Hi Dan,

 

Although it's not exactly the same, my walkthrough on the AS1012 and ETA2540 may assist you. 

Here's the link mate:

http://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/1160-as1012-service-little-watch-big-trouble/

http://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/727-eta-caliber-2540-complete-service-walkthrough/

 

I've repaired LOTS of this style of movement: they are often called "Cocktail Watches".  It seems that very one of my Mother's friends purchased one of these when they young, and stored them away when they stopped working.  Once the word was out that I was fixing them for free, they came to me by the handful :p

 

They are definitely not the easiest movements for a beginner to start with due to the size, and I'm very impressed with your progress ... well done mate.

 

And yes, you need to buy the proper tools for the job.  Just like you wouldn't tackle working on aircraft with just a shifting spanner and some cheap screwdrivers, the same applies for working on watch movements ... especially a small one like this.  The correct, and most importantly quality tools make all the difference, and for the initial setup, this is not the cheapest hobby to get into.  The good news is that once you have acquired quality tools, they should last you for life.

 

Happy to help in any way that I can, just drop me a PM.

[stealthydan]

Thanks again for all your responses,

Swordfish, I have ordered another movement as a backup, having got this one back together with still no success I think it's going to take a lot more fiddling with to get it running, I agree with the point that understanding this is definitely going to be easier than understanding the girlfriend however!

Ginger, definitely should have taken more photos, thought I had it covered but obviously not!

Lawson, Thankyou for the links, those are going to be an incredible help. I have it back together and am going to essentially start again with more of an eye to rectification as everything seems to be in its place and moving freely, as for tools I'm going to have a look around, my initial search on eBay seem to turn up a lot that looked very similar to the Fischer price set I'm working with now! I have another small movement to play with after this one so am keen to get this one working and at least a basic level of understanding before I tackle that!

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[Gingerr6]

Good quality screwdriver set, tweezers and loupe of some kind are a must. Movement holder. Buy Swiss made it makes all the difference. To start that really all you need :)

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[Gingerr6]

Stay away from kits. Buy single parts of equipment.

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[frenchie]

Stay away from kits. Buy single parts of equipment.

^ this

 

One quick test : when the barrel and the wheels are assembled (no escapement and no balance), what happens when you wind the watch a  turn or 2 ? Everything should turn smoothly.

 

As for the setting lever, it goes on that little post (with threads) that sticks out on the dial side, right next to where the stem goes in. Look at step 14 here : http://horologyzone.com/watch/watch-school/watch-movement-disassembly.html