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FEF 310-based project

holdorf333
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holdorf333 New Member

holdorf333

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Preamble: one of the things that brought me here was a walk-through for servicing an ETA 2836-2 that resides in a Hamilton Khaki King.  Everything went very smoothly, and i came away from the experience feeling a bit.... well, froggy.  I saw a listing recently for a Kreuter with a FEF 310.  Bought it and a donor movement.  This was a good call, because it felt like at every turn, there was an issue.  Original balance had a roller jewel floating around inside the case, no snap action on the pallet, ect ect ect.  As I have now had this movement apart several times now and have gone through nearly every part swap or change-a-round i could think of, the balance now sits stationary yet free to spin with a full wind.  The caseback has markings on it from the mid-1940s so feels like a shame to abandon it.

 

I'm at the point where I'd considering just taking the hit and taking the experience away from the project, or sourcing a functioning 310.  I'm not really at a place in my journey (tools, talent, and experience) where I can reasonably deal with a basketcase.  Hoping someone has some advice; do I put it down? Source a movement?  Thanks in advance.

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holdorf333 New Member

holdorf333

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My apologies, i didn't really doo a great job of stating my issue. I'm trying to figure out when it's time to keep pushing through an issue and when it's time to accept a loss and move on to another project.

 

The watch has actually started running and gained 4 minutes over 8 hours so I suppose it's not fair to call it a total loss, but still has issues I suspect are outside my skill set, at least for now.

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Neverenoughwatches Distinguished Member

Neverenoughwatches

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21 minutes ago, holdorf333 said:

My apologies, i didn't really doo a great job of stating my issue. I'm trying to figure out when it's time to keep pushing through an issue and when it's time to accept a loss and move on to another project.

 

The watch has actually started running and gained 4 minutes over 8 hours so I suppose it's not fair to call it a total loss, but still has issues I suspect are outside my skill set, at least for now.

Welcome to the forum matey. I  experienced this exact dilemma myself many times when i started and still do from time to time.  So my policy is to soldier on, and get the movement running to the best of my abilty at that time. This statement brings two thoughts to my mind: one, I dont realise what my ability is until I've soldiered on, and two, i have learnt so much more from having that attitude. The only things that would stop me in my tracks is lack of material or parts, which would  be rather surprising or requiring a specific tool, which again would be surprising.  Those two clauses generally develop from... me being as tight as a duck's arse 🤣

To extra clarify the surprising statement...geez god knows how much stock i have ! and geez god knows how many tools I now have ! And if i dont have the tool i would probably try to make it rather than buy it, which again stems from being as tight as....😄

So enough about why I do what I do, lets have you doing it. So whats the crack with your watch, what are you looking to fix ? The extra time over accuracy , is this just a required regulation adjustment or something more ?

Edited by Neverenoughwatches
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holdorf333 New Member

holdorf333

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I'm working with limited experience here, but my assumption is too little (maybe too much?) endshake on the balance shaft, which is beyond my skillset to adjust at least as of now. Honestly, accepting it for what it is and revisiting it at a later date is where I'll most likely end up heading.

Edited by holdorf333
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