Advice needed - movement stuck in case. Relide.

[ChrisInOz]

Hi folks.

I am trying to service an old Relide watch at the moment,  it is time only with a sub second dial.

The movement looks to be in good condition and it is running with accuracy about 1 minute per day at the moment.

Unfortunately the case appears to be bent/twisted.  I think it has taken a real knock at some point. I can't see any casing screws,  but the movement seems to be jammed solid in the case,  possibly due to it being distorted.  You can see a lug is badly bent,  but the main body of the case also seems to be twisted maybe a millimetre out of plane.

 

1. 

I have also been unable to lift the front bezel,  because the twist in the case makes it impossible to get the 4 jaws of the tool under the bezel edge at once.

(this is the tool I have)

Questions

1. Should I be able to lift the movement out from the back of this case - it looks like I should.  I can't see anything that would prevent the spacer ring or the movement being released.  My theory at the moment is that the twist in the case has jammed the spacer ring and the movement in place.  Gentle leverage with a screwdriver against the ring does not move it at all.  For obvious reasons I have not tried to brute force it.
2. Is there some kind of fixing arrangement other than visible screws that I might need to know about?
3. Any thoughts on how to shift the front bezel - I'm thinking about perhaps putting a shim washer under one of the round tool blades to align it with the bent case.  The crystal is cracked, so I will want to fit a replacement.
4. Once the movement is out,  what are my chances of straightening this case without breaking it?

Thank you in advance, and I hope you can offer me some suggestions.

 

Edit for obvious omission - YES, I have removed the stem and crown.  The pictures above were taken before I took it out.

 

Edited February 25 by ChrisInOz
more info

[Knebo]

8 minutes ago, ChrisInOz said:

Hi folks.

I am trying to service an old Relide watch at the moment,  it is time only with a sub second dial.

The movement looks to be in good condition and it is running with accuracy about 1 minute per day at the moment.

Unfortunately the case appears to be bent/twisted.  I think it has taken a real knock at some point. I can't see any casing screws,  but the movement seems to be jammed solid in the case,  possibly due to it being distorted.  You can see a lug is badly bent,  but the main body of the case also seems to be twisted maybe a millimetre out of plane.

 

1. 

I have also been unable to lift the front bezel,  because the twist in the case makes it impossible to get the 4 jaws of the tool under the bezel edge at once.

(this is the tool I have)

Questions

1. Should I be able to lift the movement out from the back of this case - it looks like I should.  I can't see anything that would prevent the spacer ring or the movement being released.  My theory at the moment is that the twist in the case has jammed the spacer ring and the movement in place.  Gentle leverage with a screwdriver against the ring does not move it at all.  For obvious reasons I have not tried to brute force it.
2. Is there some kind of fixing arrangement other than visible screws that I might need to know about?
3. Any thoughts on how to shift the front bezel - I'm thinking about perhaps putting a shim washer under one of the round tool blades to align it with the bent case.  The crystal is cracked, so I will want to fit a replacement.
4. Once the movement is out,  what are my chances of straightening this case without breaking it?

Thank you in advance, and I hope you can offer me some suggestions.

 

 

 

This may be a silly question, but did you remove the winding stem/crown? 

[ChrisInOz]

8 minutes ago, Knebo said:

This may be a silly question, but did you remove the winding stem/crown? 

Yes, see final picture in my post.   I edited shortly after posting when I noticed I had used earlier pictures,  but clearly I didn't get in before you had read the post.

Not a silly question,  we are in the learners forum after all,  but that's one of the few mistakes I have not made yet. 

[Knebo]

Just now, ChrisInOz said:

Yes, see final picture in my post.   I edited shortly after posting when I noticed I had used earlier pictures,  but clearly I didn't get in before you had read the post.

Not a silly question,  we are in the learners forum after all,  but that's one of the few mistakes I have not made yet. 

Haha, I'm glad. Or actually, not. Because if you hadn't, we'd have found a nice and easy solution already. Now we need to keep looking.. 

 

I've had movements/spacers that were very tight in the case. So a bit more force should be ok. 

But first see if you can get the bezel off. 

The dial looks very large. So front loader can be fully excluded (even if I believe that it's not). 

You can try to remove the bezel by sliding a razor blade in between and levering if of very gently (going around the case with the blade).

Once the bezel/glass is off, you can push the movement out from that side (easier than levering with a screwdriver on the backside - which also introduces a tilt which makes it harder). 

 

[ChrisInOz]

55 minutes ago, Knebo said:

You can try to remove the bezel by sliding a razor blade in between and levering if of very gently (going around the case with the blade).

Yes! Great advice! 

I lifted the bezel with a flat ended modeling knife and it popped right off.   The movement and dial immediately fell out of the front of the case.

Turns out it actually was a front loader.  What I thought was a movement ring is just a solid part of the case body. Apologies for poor focus on the image.

.

The dial looks really nice without the scratched crystal over it.

Many thanks for your help. 

[Knebo]

1 hour ago, ChrisInOz said:

Turns out it actually was a front loader.  What I thought was a movement ring is just a solid part of the case body

Ah that's great! Happy for you. 

 

1 hour ago, ChrisInOz said:

The dial looks really nice without the scratched crystal over it.

Ohh, I love when that happens!! Very nice.