u/Nath4_n — reddlx

Why do we let a watch run 24hrs immediately after a service before taking readings

After services you need to let the watch run 24hrs then fully wind it to get full wind timegrapher results then let it run another 24hr to get results again.

Reading online the first 24hrs is to let the oils distribute and “settle”. My question is what exactly does this mean and how does this impact amplitude. Should I be worried if I am getting low amplitude immediately after a service?

Oils that go directly onto pivots shouldn’t need time to distribute? They get pulled straight off the oiler onto the pivot then held in place by capillary action.

The oils that I could think of that would need time to distribute and could effect amplitude would be the 9415 on the pallet jewels. Especially for someone new to the hobby who could easily apply it unevenly would it need time to spread across the escape wheel teeth?

Also in the barrel wheel if you applied a couple drops of oil onto the mainspring I could see that needed a good 24 hours to make its way across the whole spring.

For professional and seasoned hobbyists watch makers you could apply oils very accurately and evenly meaning there won’t be much change in amplitude? But for an amateur could you expect an increase in amplitude after letting a watch run 24hrs as certain oils start to spread on more consistently.

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u/Nath4_n — 17 hours ago

▲ 9 r/watchrepair

What’s your most expensive/time consuming/headache inducing mistake you’ve made and what did you learn from it?

I feel the more painful the mistake I make the faster I have learnt to avoid it. After you ping your first spring into the void you learn how to carefully handle them. Any useful tips for a novice like myself would be very handy.

Starting off, I recently broke an incabloc spring on the main plate of a watch. To fix this issue I had to go out and purchase a Horia tool and incabloc presses. In the process I have learnt a lot more about how the whole incabloc system works and why careful lubrication is important so the oil can surround the pivot. If it happens to you, you don’t need to press out the whole incabloc, you just need enough space to slide a new spring under and flip it over. Going forward a very small amount of pressure is required to get the spring open. I now use an old oiler to open it instead of my fat tweezers.

I remember one YouTuber mention while unwinding a mainspring it came loose and hit his tray catapulting parts everywhere. That is a mistake you’d be very careful of not making again!

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u/Nath4_n — 6 days ago

▲ 1 r/VintageWatches

Seiko champion calendar and omega seamaster de ville

Both these watches were purchased from Japan. Both have now been serviced and run great!

Both of these watches were produced in the 60s and are showing some of their age. Both watches are manual wind with date function.

Comparing them the seiko has a lovely sunburst effect and works very well with the slightly worn gold plating. The omega has a nice champagne dial but missing some of the shine. There are lots more interesting omega dials but of course with a much larger price tag.

The movements are interesting. The Seiko champion calendar runs on a 7622 movement, manual wind date with no quickset requiring you to wind 24 hours to change the date. It’s basic and robust interestingly the gear train has stayed pretty much the same through the years to more modern Seiko movements. The movement is robust but is lots of stamped parts missing some finishing.

The omega movement feels much better quality with its lovely copper plated finishes. There is a lot more thought into smoothing off edges of plates and how parts are assembled. It has a quickset function by pulling on the crown which is handy and doesn’t require many extra parts.

u/Nath4_n — 8 days ago

▲ 5 r/watchrepair

Any alternatives to dial screws

I’m working on a omega 613 caliber. It’s missing a dial screw and the one it has I have rounded whilst getting it loose. Unfortunately I can’t seem to find any for sale. I have ordered some assorted size Swiss made dial screws to try out and a 0.6 screwdriver.

Are there any other ways to secure a dial to a movement where the feet are still intact? I’m thinking you’d could also place dial dots onto the feet then squeeze into the holes, or maybe some very small copper shims to pack out the holes.

u/Nath4_n — 8 days ago

▲ 48 r/watchrepair

First somewhat successful service!

Got into the hobby a couple months ago following watch repair tutorials beginners guide.

I started with the CousinsUK watch makers kit which is sufficient enough to disassemble and reassemble a ST36. I’ve slowly upgraded from there. Kwong Yuen screwdriver set, oiling kit, ultra sonic cleaner etc.

I have recently purchased K&D adjustable mainspring winders but as a beginner I just learnt how to wind a mainspring by hand which has been very handy, it’s also not too tricky with manual wind watches as they have a smaller bridle.

This is my Seiko Champion Calendar, it’s got a 7622 movement. So far I had been following YouTube guides when servicing but there aren’t any for this movement so it was a good challenge to put it together with no guidance. Keeping parts segregated with there corresponding screws really helped, I have a few small mesh containers for cleaning so they stick together all the way through. Following general lubrication advice I was able to get everything running smoothly.

Unfortunately the hairspring looks slightly bunched on one side which I definitely don’t have the skills to deal with so I regulated best I can and left it at that.

u/Nath4_n — 22 days ago