Godfrey
somewhat colored
I missed this my first time through the thread, I think.
I'll spend some time watching ...
G
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
Very good progress! I'm sure it will be extremely satisfying when you're done.
G
It will be! I wish Grandpa was still around to see what I've done with it. I have another old watch that my dad gave me to work on. He joined the air force in 1968, when he was 18, and he bought a Westclox wristwatch at the base store while he was at basic training. Its got the same basic problem that Grandpa's watch had: running very slow, with low amplitude. It was a fairly cheap watch; Dad paid $14 for it, but it has a Seiko movement inside! It'll be fun to wear them both once I get them working.
Ljós
Well-known
Oh, a vintage Seiko movement. That ought to be solid and should keep time well enough once it has been cleaned. I have great respect for Seiko when it comes to watchmaking.
GMOG
Well-known
What was the screw for?
When looking for tiny steel parts on the floor I use a magnetic strip about two feet long. I "sweep" the floor with it and see what I catch. Another method is to carefully sweep (with a broom) the area into a pile or piles and then go through them carefully.
Chris, check the value of the Westclox watches from the Vietnam era. Anything mil-spec is collectible and generally has more value. Is it stamped with numbers etc. on the back? I recommend not getting into that watch until you have learned everything you're going to with the present project.
I'm curious to hear more about your current timing explorations.
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Derek Leath
dl__images Instagram
Nice post, I have a small collection as well. I'm currently wearing a 1957 Rolex Oyster Perpetual. But I really love some of the Bulova Accutrons.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
The screw is a tiny one that holds the retaining ring for the upper balance jewel.
My dad's Westclox probably isn't worth anything; the case is badly corroded and eaten away from years of sweat. They were made with chrome plated brass cases, not stainless steel like more expensive watches were and are. I just want to service the movement so I can wear it occasionally for sentimental reasons.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
I'd love to have an accutron. The same grandpa who had the Benrus I'm working on also had an Accutron, which I have; but it doesn't work and it is not repairable. No parts available. Accutrons in good condition and in perfect working order are EXPENSIVE now.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
I do too. My first good watch was a Seiko. When I graduated from high school in 1994, my parents bought me a Seiko Quartz Chronograph as a graduation gift. I recently found the box it came in, and the receipt was inside; it cost them $399 back then, 31 yrs ago! I still have it and I still wear it. It still works flawlessly, but the crystal needs replaced; it has a mineral glass crystal and it is badly, badly scratched up from 3 decades of wear.
Sometime when I have some extra money, I'm going to buy a crystal press and then I'll get an install a new crystal in it.
GMOG
Well-known
In that watch, that is one tiny screw! Certainly one of the smallest in the movement.
Any news on timing fun?
GMOG
Well-known
You could upgrade the crystal to sapphire when you do that.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
I haven't messed with regulating it. With the upper balance cap jewel not in place, it might affect the timing, so I want to wait till I have that assembled before I try to adjust the timing.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
GMOG
Well-known
Flat round sapphire crystals are available in many diameters and several thicknesses. I'm almost 100% positive that you could find one for your watch when that time comes.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
Yesterday, I received a package with some awesome gifts from an online friend. A fellow photographer and watch enthusiast saw my posts on one of the watch repair groups about me servicing the 70 year old watch that I inherited from my grandpa, and decided to send me four beautiful antique Waltham and Elgin pocket watches and a wristwatch, plus a copy of one of the best books on watch repair ever written.
The watches all need serviced, so they're going to be fun projects for me to work on! I need to do some research on them, but a couple of the pocket watches appear to be more than a hundred years old, based on the design of the movements in them. I'm excited; I'm going to begin work on one of them as soon as I finish working on Grandpa's watch this weekend.
I made a video showing the watches he sent.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
I've been doing some research into the pocket watches that were given to me recently.
This Elgin was made in the 1950s, possibly 1960s; some of the sources I found say 50s, one says 60s. It has a Swiss made ETA 6431-6445 movement, which will make it easy to get a new mainspring for; since ETA movements are so common. Earlier Elgin watches were made in the USA with American-made movements. The Swiss made ones were near the end of the company's life.
This Elgin was made in the 1950s, possibly 1960s; some of the sources I found say 50s, one says 60s. It has a Swiss made ETA 6431-6445 movement, which will make it easy to get a new mainspring for; since ETA movements are so common. Earlier Elgin watches were made in the USA with American-made movements. The Swiss made ones were near the end of the company's life.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
This Waltham was made in the USA with a USA movement in the mid 1920s. I got it running after winding it by nudging the balance wheel, but it stops every few minutes. Needs cleaned out and relubricated. The movement is beautifully decorated!
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
This is a P.S. Bartlett Model watch made in the USA by the American Waltham Watch Company. This one is old; it was made in 1909 and has a sterling silver case. The design is unusual; the movement is on a hinge and comes out through the front after you unscrew the bezel and crystal. I've never seen a design like this; the balance wheel is mounted above the rest of the movement and is separated from the rest of the mechanism by a metal plate that covers everything else.
This one actually works; it began running when I wound it up, but it is running slow. It'll need service, and the strange movement design will be a challenge. There is a fourth watch that Maurice gave me, and it has a similarly designed movement. It looks even older than this one, but I haven't researched it yet. I think that one is a lot older because it is wound with a key, like a clock. I don't have the key, I'm going to have to find one, so it'll be the last one I do anything with.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
Its done! 😺
Last night I completed the re-assembly of my grandfather's 1955 Benrus Citation Copley wristwatch, which I disassembled to a pile of parts, cleaned, re-lubricated, and rebuilt. I'm wearing it now; the pics were taken a few minutes ago of the rebuilt watch.
Before I worked on it, it was running very slow, losing 5 minutes a day! Now it is running +5 seconds a day; which is exceptionally good for a mechanical watch, especially one 70 years old!
It does have too much beat error, 3ms. This watch does not have a moveable lever holding the hairspring stud like a modern watch. To correct beat error, you have to remove the balance from the movement and then turn the collet that holds the other end of the hairspring to the balance shaft. This is not something that looks easy to do without risking damage to the hairspring. Since I am a beginner to watch repair, I am going to leave that alone till I get more experience; then I'll take this one back apart and try to get the beat error down.
You can watch the entire process of servicing this watch on YouTube:
GMOG
Well-known
You're smart to leave the beat adjustment for later.
I don't "beat" myself up over beat error. As long as a stopped, run down watch starts after a few turns into winding I'm happy. Also, I tend to go by visuals more than numbers. If when the watch is run down and stopped the pallet fork is lined up more or less on the center line then I call it bueno. I also look for the escape wheel tooth that's engaging either of the pallet stones to rest on the impulse surface of the stone. That way self starting is almost guaranteed. If you've got the pallet fork lined up on center but the escape teeth aren't lining up with the pallet stones like they should then you have other problems.
KoNickon
Nick Merritt
Chris -- I would think any decent jeweler would be able to buff out those scratches, or at least make them almost unnoticeable. I have a Hamilton field watch I got new in the mid-70s (L.L. Bean model) with some deep scratches -- a local jeweler fixed it up in maybe 10 minutes' time. For free.