u/Ok_Drag5089

I'm practicing restoring cases and this Seiko Type II case was pretty banged up.

I want to polish but try to keep the sharp edges. That means the worst gouges stay because I'm using a Dremel and diamond polishing pastes from 450 to 30,000. I have 80,000 but I think 30K is enough.

The idea isn't perfection but to restore the "pop". I only did the crown side (5 steps) alternating vertical and horizontal.

The brush finish I will clean up by using some 2000 wet/dry on a sheet of glass.

This battery just exploded! It was sitting on my desk and I heard what sounded like a gunshot from a very loud cap gun and this shell landed next to my speaker! I can't find the other half but I can tell you that if this thing had been in a watch it would have obliterated it.

Has anyone ever had this happen? What might have caused it? I am careful not to leave batteries just touching each other willy nilly.

Very often I am coming up against YOU MUST OWN ALL THE ASSETS IN YOUR POST or something like that when I try to post a picture that I just took with my own phone while making the post.

For example the photo in this post which I just took and tried to post on Japanese Watches.

What is happening?

This is a vintage (70’s) Seiko case used in a bunch of different models from manual wind to automatic and even quartz. I have at least 15 of these that I want to polish but I don’t want to ruin the sharp edges.

I’m OK with leaving some of the deepest scratches in order to keep the edges sharp but this keeps happening. The edges take on a perfect polish while the center does not. The results are great “10 footers” as can be seen from the before ones. But I’m kind of a perfectionist and it bothers me.

I don’t have a lapping machine so I’m using polishing sticks. They are not 100% rigid and I suspect that’s the problem. But if anyone has some tips on how to avoid this I would be very appreciative.

I’m a Seiko fanboi but I found this unworn vintage Exceed and it’s immediately added Citizen into my rotation. 50 years with an original battery in it that by some miracle didn’t explode and ruin the movement. Put a new battery and it’s keeping perfect time.

Case looks like tungsten or something. Cream dial and no arm cheese!!

Absolutely love this thing! I’m gonna need another watch box. This one is caliber 7990E.

Back says UHAG 4-795555 K.

Chat GPT isn’t too helpful beyond decoding the serial as this being produced in August of 1979.

Ok. So after spending some time trying to figure out a decent glass holder for the basket, my calculations figure anything tall enough (at least 4.5 -5 inches) and with a diameter as close to 3 inches as possible, and we would have a working wash basin.

I found a rather festive glass mug that fit the required size and bonus, it has a top with a silicone gasket.

I drilled a hole through the top and put the stir stick through it. All of this in hopes of keeping the whole kit and kaboodle from swinging wildly. A little swing is OK for turbulence.

In the basket I have the gear trían only l from a Seiko 7123 and a 6106 automatic movement on the other side to balance the whole thing out.

I am going to update this live as it happens. 😃 That way you can all laugh at or rejoice with me depending on how this test goes.

EDIT- The white stuff on the bottom of the basket is Teflon tape in case it contacts the sides of the mug.

I have at least 10 beautiful vintage automatic and Elnix and Quartz Seikos that I have been able to get back working but with cases that are just completely borked.

The easy way out is to slam it on a felt wheel and, in my opinion, ruin the case by softening all the sharp edges. I would rather keep a scratched up case to be frank.

But! If I can remove that bezel, I can get the case on my “lapping machine” (a piece of thick glass with fine grit sandpaper) and be able to polish each facet without ruining the sharp edges.

Also, the top two facets are brushed. No way I’m going to be able to restore that with the bezel in the way.

What’s the secret? Are they pressed in? Is there a tool? Any help would be hugely appreciated.

I bought this "dead battery" ACTUS (I think it was a bad translation maybe?) in Japan from an auction and as promised, it wasn't running when I shook it. Then I opened it up and revealed a very clean 6106 movement but the balance wheel wasn't ticking. I figured since I was going to take it all apart anyway, why not give the balance wheel a little nudge?

Boom! It starts ticking and to my untrained eye, with some good amplitude (it seems) but I figure meh, I'll set the time and see what it looks like in the morning.

Well, it's 9:02 AM and I'll be darned if it isn't still ticking away and keeping perfect time still! Yes, it's only about 10 hours later, but wow! The serial dates it to December 1970 and here it is used and abused, no service marks, so probably never serviced and running like new.

This one is going to get a full service and a new crystal. The dial underneath looks to be pristine.

Am I overreacting? After doing some reading I’m afraid of grinding down the pivots if they sit in the box just running without being serviced.

Well, it works! The only caveat is that now it’s a $110 watch cleaning machine. After spending hours looking for different ways to include the super cheap baskets for the hand cranked watch cleaner I finally capitulated and bought a $50 basket which is a PERFECT FIT for the shortened rods.

No cry of victory yet. I have figured out the basket, it works and this evening I will run some watch parts through it using naptha.

If that works I’ll post a YouTube video with all the parts and pieces and how I did it.

Edit. Sorry. The basket was $60. Not 50. So 120 dollars.

Picked this up at auction for $63 and with shipping should be 85-90 bucks all in. I’m attempting to collect all the levels of vintage Seiko quartz and electric watches.

I have an EL-370, Elnix, Type II, and now (hopefully) a Grand Quartz. I guess King Quartz is next if I’m successful in getting this one restored.

What other vintage quartz are there? Lord? My goal is one working example of each level. Is there a lower level than Type II from the vintage lineup?

The last two I’ll be trying to get will be the first one and a GS from when they broke GS off into its own brand.

It says it cleans all unpainted metal parts….

This thing is a dual head resin mixer. I was watching a YouTuber fix a meat cleaver a couple of days ago and he used this to mix the resin for his handle. It has variable speeds, lifts up and down and aside from not reversing, looks like it could be modified into a cheap watch cleaning machine.

Has anyone seen this? Maybe is a little ahead of me?

Loving this Seiko Kinetic Titanium Auto Relay. This was my first Kinetic and my first titanium watch and I’m still impressed by the lightness!

Just got a new crystal on it and the dial just pops.

I find it really difficult to do so with a knife. And my pencil sharpener won’t turn on when I stick them in there.