Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
Latest activity
Classifieds
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Log in
Register
What's New?
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Navigation
Install the app
Install
More Options
Advertise with us
Contact Us
Close Menu
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Forums
The Water Cooler
General Discussion
Watch Rebuild – OSA Member Owned – U.S. Contract Pilot's Watch Issued In Vietnam – LONG POST - PIC HEAVY
Search titles only
By:
Reply to Thread
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Message
<blockquote data-quote="thor447" data-source="post: 3906916" data-attributes="member: 24867"><p>[ATTACH=full]322740[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]322741[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>As you can see, all of the lubricant left in the watch was gummed up. None of the gears in the wheel train or escapement would run well in this state, and definitely contributed to the low amplitude numbers we were seeing. What isn't pictured (among several) is the condition of the upper and lower balance jewels, but they were basically in the same state as these. The condition of the balance settings and cap jewels play a critical role in the watches ability to run efficiently, as much or more than any other part of the watch.</p><p></p><p>While doing the tear down I found a watchmaker's mark on the inside of the case-back dating to 1997. I found this during my initial inspection and let the OSA member know about it. They never remembered taking it in, but he told me that he and his wife read my initial inspection message to him together, and she remembered him taking it in during the 90's because it quit working on a camping/hunting trip.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]322743[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>During tear down, I found out that indeed this watch did have a hacking seconds feature, but it was unfortunately broken. On this watch it is very simply designed as a flat plate with a stud mounted at 90 degrees on it, and under tension to rotate from a small spring. When the crown is pulled out, that plate is free to rotate towards the balance wheel and the stud would make contact with the balance, thus stopping it. On this watch, that stud is broken off of the plate, and nowhere to be found in the watch. It's possible the previous person who worked on this in the 90's didn't assemble it correctly. You have to have the hack installed first, then when mounting the balance, you'd have to manually pull the stud out of the way while the balance is seated. If this process was reversed, I could see how the stud could break off. I informed the OSA owner about this. They weren't concerned with the hacking feature, so I didn't bother trying to find a replacement part.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]322744[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Here's a pic of the watch fully disassembled.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]322742[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>At this point in the photo, I had already cleaned all of the parts by hand to get most of the major stuff taken care of. After this photo everything went into the cleaning machine which will get into every nook and cranny to make this thing as clean as the day it was made.</p><p></p><p>The only thing not visible are the hands (and the strap of course), which I keep in a little storage box with a silicon membrane. It just keeps the hands straight, and keeps them from getting damaged in case I send a part flying towards them! They are very delicate so once I remove them, I safely store them away until the watch is rebuilt and ready to have the them re-installed.</p><p></p><p>Continued on next post.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="thor447, post: 3906916, member: 24867"] [ATTACH type="full" alt="45 - Thrid Wheel Bridge Jewel.JPG"]322740[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="46 - Wheel Bridge Jewels - Underside.JPG"]322741[/ATTACH] As you can see, all of the lubricant left in the watch was gummed up. None of the gears in the wheel train or escapement would run well in this state, and definitely contributed to the low amplitude numbers we were seeing. What isn't pictured (among several) is the condition of the upper and lower balance jewels, but they were basically in the same state as these. The condition of the balance settings and cap jewels play a critical role in the watches ability to run efficiently, as much or more than any other part of the watch. While doing the tear down I found a watchmaker's mark on the inside of the case-back dating to 1997. I found this during my initial inspection and let the OSA member know about it. They never remembered taking it in, but he told me that he and his wife read my initial inspection message to him together, and she remembered him taking it in during the 90's because it quit working on a camping/hunting trip. [ATTACH type="full" alt="99 - Watchmaker's Mark - 1997.JPG's Mark - 1997.JPG"]322743[/ATTACH] During tear down, I found out that indeed this watch did have a hacking seconds feature, but it was unfortunately broken. On this watch it is very simply designed as a flat plate with a stud mounted at 90 degrees on it, and under tension to rotate from a small spring. When the crown is pulled out, that plate is free to rotate towards the balance wheel and the stud would make contact with the balance, thus stopping it. On this watch, that stud is broken off of the plate, and nowhere to be found in the watch. It's possible the previous person who worked on this in the 90's didn't assemble it correctly. You have to have the hack installed first, then when mounting the balance, you'd have to manually pull the stud out of the way while the balance is seated. If this process was reversed, I could see how the stud could break off. I informed the OSA owner about this. They weren't concerned with the hacking feature, so I didn't bother trying to find a replacement part. [ATTACH type="full" alt="10 - Broken Hacking Lever.jpg"]322744[/ATTACH] Here's a pic of the watch fully disassembled. [ATTACH type="full" alt="80 - Disassembled.JPG"]322742[/ATTACH] At this point in the photo, I had already cleaned all of the parts by hand to get most of the major stuff taken care of. After this photo everything went into the cleaning machine which will get into every nook and cranny to make this thing as clean as the day it was made. The only thing not visible are the hands (and the strap of course), which I keep in a little storage box with a silicon membrane. It just keeps the hands straight, and keeps them from getting damaged in case I send a part flying towards them! They are very delicate so once I remove them, I safely store them away until the watch is rebuilt and ready to have the them re-installed. Continued on next post. [/QUOTE]
Insert Quotes…
Verification
Post Reply
Forums
The Water Cooler
General Discussion
Watch Rebuild – OSA Member Owned – U.S. Contract Pilot's Watch Issued In Vietnam – LONG POST - PIC HEAVY
Search titles only
By:
Top
Bottom