Which end goes in first?
Destroyed this mainspring configuration when I got to the "V". Which end feeds into the winder first, A or B?
u/ScaryEconomics3 — 3 days ago
▲ 2 r/watchrepair
Cap jewel replacement
Can I use a Horia jewelling tool to place a cap jewel in this setting? Any advice?
u/ScaryEconomics3 — 19 days ago
▲ 1 r/watchrepair
Mainspring winder
Just purchased a set of Bergeon mainspring winders. I am having trouble getting the hook on the arbor to seat in the hole in the mainspring as the inner coil is too wide for the arbor. Is it acceptable to bend the inner coil a bit to allow the hook to engage?
u/ScaryEconomics3 — 22 days ago
▲ 1 r/watchrepair
Chinese clone
A friend asked me to have a look at his Rolex submariner clone because the automatic winding function was not working. As you can see the automatic winding works is not a separate module, but is incorporated into the train of wheels. I am finding it damn near impossible to seat all six pivots securely without displacing one or more wheels from the main plate. The wheels are all held in place by one bridge! I’m recommending he swap out the movement for a Chinese NH35. Any other ideas?
u/ScaryEconomics3 — 1 month ago
▲ 2 r/watchrepair
Left hand wind mainspring
As a hobbyist I focus on restoring inexpensive non-running watches. Any guesstimate about the percentage of mainspring that are LH wound? Rare? 50/50?
u/ScaryEconomics3 — 1 month ago
▲ 1 r/watchrepair
OneDip
This stuff is pricey and evaporates quickly. I tried an all glass apothecary jar but it wasn't airtight enough. I tried a glass jar with a plastic screw cap and the cap is softening from the fumes. Any other suggestions?
u/ScaryEconomics3 — 2 months ago
▲ 1 r/watchrepair
Vintage Omega Caseback Removal
I posted this about a year ago seeking assistance for removing the caseback. I glued a nut to the back. The gold cover spun around but didn’t lift off. As it turns out the 12 sided metal ring is a retention ring that holds the gold cover in place so… 2 separate pieces. While trying to remove the nut from the caseback cover, the cover and retention ring popped off, revealing a lovely Omega 351 bumper movement. Fortunately the retention ring still screws into the case so I think I dodged a bullet there.
This design was common for Omega and Longines in the 1950’s. The serial number on mine dates back to 1952. Don’t bother gluing a nut to the caseback; you will need a 12 sided wrench (hard to find & $$$) to do the job properly.
u/ScaryEconomics3 — 2 months ago
Advice on buying mainspring winder set
Looking at two different sets of Bergeon mainspring winders, both sold by reputable suppliers. Both sets have right hand and left hand winders and are about the same price.
One set has seven winders:
00 (5.60mm), 01 (6.00mm), 02 (6.50mm), 03 (7.10mm), 04 (7.80mm), 05 (8.60mm), 06 (9.80mm)
One set has five winders:
04 (7.8mm), 05 (8.6mm), 06 (9.8mm), 07 (10.8mm) and 08 (12.0mm)
At first glance I would buy the seven winder set but it lacks the two larger winder sizes (07, 08). I work primarily on wristwatches. Advice on which set is more suitable?
u/ScaryEconomics3 — 2 months ago
▲ 2 r/watchrepair
Next tool purchase
I’ve been doing this hobby for about 5 years and have accumulated a decent basic set of tools. Trying to decide between a set of Bergeon mainspring winders ($$$) or a timegrapher ($$). I’ve been disappointed at the quality of Chinese knockoff tools so I want to get quality winders unless others have had success with the Chinese models. Any other recommendations?
u/ScaryEconomics3 — 3 months ago