r/watchrepair

Hi everyone, I recently bought a second-hand Junkers Iron Annie JU 52 with a hand-wound Molnija 3603 movement.

I checked some information online and found that the power reserve is supposed to be around 41 hours. The seller told me that the watch had undergone a complete service about a year ago.
I also took the watch to a watch repair center for a water resistance test, and it passed the test. In addition, the movement amplitude at full wind was measured at around 300 degrees.

The issue is that, even when fully wound, the actual power reserve is only about 32–34 hours.

Would you recommend sending it in for a full service and mainspring replacement, or is this level of power reserve still considered acceptable for this movement? Thank you.

I’m working on a vintage 7 jewel caravelle. I believe the only jewels are the 4 jewels for the balance staff, the 2 pallet stones, and the impulse jewel. The gear train pivots are this gold color, and on the other side it looks like it’s just metal. Should I use a different oil than the typical 1300 and 9010?

Hello! I am wondering if anyone can identify the calibre used in this Franck Muller ref 7501 S6 with sub seconds. I know FM have used Frederic Piguet movements which can be a pain to source or work on! As well as Lemania based calibers, all rebranded with FM hallmarks. I am looking for a click wheel for this particular one. Cheers!

I found this cool little bullseye dial hand wound watch at a San Antonio thrift store. I couldn’t pass on it at this price. It is running, but not particularly well, as you can see from the timegrapher.

Research turned up nothing conclusive about it. I think it may have been an inexpensive jeweler’s house brand watch from the late 50s or early 60s.

I popped it out of the case to find it is a front-load configuration and that the indices are inlayed into a “sub crystal” that seems to be separate from the main crystal, which is cracked. I haven’t yet taken the hands off and removed the dial to reveal the movement.

Before I start taking it apart I thought I might ask you guys if anyone knows anything about it as I am just a hobbyist with limited expertise. I think it’s a cool piece that I would like to get running well again. Thanks. Go Spurs!

I recently rebuilt my shop, and I'm sure we have all spent time crawling on our knees, cell phone in one hand magnet it the other shining a light across the floor to try to see a part that decided to go rocketship. For the new shop, I installed a strip of lights along the bottom of that wall so I can turn off all the lights and light up the whole floor from a shallow angle. Works really well! Total cost around $25.

I have an Asian 2836 (ETA clone) that I am practicing with. I want to regulate the movement, but the arm is sitting under the automatic rotor mechanism. Is it normal when regulating to remove this or do I just need to slip a tiny screwdriver underneath the plate and adjust the arm?

I have a beautiful old helbros watch that runs all day when laying flat. When it’s tilted on its side it stops. Any ideas? I

This is my first movement tear down and rebuild. I bought the cheapest movement I could find on Amazon as I knew I'd make some mistakes. Its the Hemobllo automatic, screenshot of Amazon for reference. I can't find any diagrams or videos of anyone else disassembling this movement to reference.

As I was disassembling the pictured piece popped out before I could see where it belonged. The piece was either sandwiched between the main bridge with the automatic movement and the body, or it was wedged into the bridge itself. It popped out as I removed the bridge from the body.

The piece has a jewel on it so I'm reasonably certain it holds a wheel. There are no screw holes in the piece, just a couple arms that sit up against something.

Any help is appreciated.

I purchased this watch online, but when it arrived the case was pretty tarnished and gold plating worn. The photos online did not show the wear, but the dial and movement are beautiful. Is it worth trying to replate (gold, nickel)? Aesthetically it bothers me and not sure how much wrist time it will receive. Thanks for advice

Has anybody got tips on tightening up these end links?

Hi everyone! I decided to take apart a Waltham last night, and found that the bridge for the escape/seconds wheel was shimmed with a piece of brass. Today while pre-cleaning, I also found a chip in the outer portion of the jewel for the escape wheel. Should I find another movement and replace the jewel here, or is it ok to leave alone? Thanks for the help!

I watched one of u/watch-smith's videos on oiling last night. Tonight, I decided to take my ST36 apart, clean the main plate, train bridge, escape bridge, and wheels, then reassembled and oiled them. I then took it apart and took photos of each jewel hole to see how well I did with oiling. These are the top and bottom jewel holes of the center wheel, third wheel, and fourth wheel, and the lower jewel hole of the escape wheel (I forgot to get a photo of the upper jewel on the escape wheel bridge!). I also realized the bottom pivot on my fourth wheel is broken, which is why the oil seems a little smudged.

So, how did I do?

Hey everyone,

I soaked the rotor for far to long in alcohol, and it came apart when I was brushing it.

How do I join them back together? Appreciate any video or article I can learn from.

Thanks in advance.

I have this old Timex (‘58) which is pretty handsome but the green has chipped away on the minute hand. The hour hand looks great.

1. What material is it?
2. Can it be repaired?

Any info would be helpful!

✌️Cheers!

Everything on the watch is Original it is a Tag Carrera Caliber 16 2010.0786. I had it since 2010 i think. It runs great and keeps great time so not doing a service. Couple of questions

1. Is the Bezel replaceable? Looks like it should be as i see them for sale but is it glued on or compression fit? I have not tried taking it off as may be this is how the original got damaged?
2. Should i leave the original on or get a replacement from eBay? Looks like it is 30-50 dollars

Hello everyone, I hope you can help. I'm trying to figure how to remove the stem from this Hamazawa 5022a. I thought it would be the case of pushing the button just left to the crown wheel but apparently not. All advice welcome!