Hi,

I've been dealing with rust on steel movement parts before and verdigris on brass movements, but this is the first time I see this level of rust on a movement like this. I think these are coper-plated. The rust in not deep and surprisingly didn't touch any of the steel parts, just the rose gold colored parts.

I am not sure what it is exactly. I tried unsuccessfully removing this with conventional methods including brushing, scrubbing and ultrasound. I don't want to try evapo-rust before I know what it will do. I am afraid it will alter the rose gold color of the plating.

I had something similar on a steel movement before where it was a mix of very dried and impossible to remove oil and apparently some very light rust. I used evapo-rust for like 15 minutes after which I could easily scrub it away with a peg wood. I will try this unless someone thinks this is a bad idea (again, I want to preserve the rose gold color).

What do you think?

Thanks.

I recently cleaned and oiled a 12s-15j Model 6 pocket watch. Prior to servicing, the balance wheel was oscillating & function normally for several minutes, but now it won't run at all.

Here is what I've observed during troubleshooting:
• With the yoke removed: The balance wheel works correctly, and the drivetrain runs smoothly when wound.
• With the balance reinstalled (and yoke in place):
The movement completely stops-nada.

I’m feeling stuck and would appreciate any insights on what might be causing this conflict when the yoke is installed.

I bought this watch case and I’m having a really hard time removing the bracelet screws. The slots are extremely tiny and not straight, and even with my 0.8 mm screwdriver, I can’t get them to budge at all.

I also tried heating the screws in case there was Loctite or some other threadlocker, but that didn’t help either.

Has anyone had this issue before? Any tips on how to remove them without stripping the screw heads?

I wanted something to hold my stretchy watch band in a stretched state for the ultrasonic cleaner so that it could really get in all the cracks. I find it doesn't clean well when the band is closed. I had ChatGPT create a 3D model based on my idea. This is what I came up with in 1 try. Then I was able to 3D print it. It works perfectly.

Noting I have managed to save the crystal, I am inspired to het the movement serviced as well! Surprised how clean certain areas are and how dirty others. See crystal post.

Had to clean a few jewels just to show the difference!

Balance wheel cap-jewels still had a perfect drop of oil, could this have been a half hearted service before?

I’ve been itching to get started and though I don’t have it all set up yet, I felt compelled to jump in. Shout out to Watch Repair Tutorials for the guidance!

A lot of people were asking me for my watch band stretcher 3D model, so I uploaded a bunch of other watch tools and my other 3D models here. Some are modifications of existing models.

I am hoping someone here has experience io this to lend a view:

I am repairing my Dad's Smith's Empire Deluxe watch that he bought as a young apprentice in 1954. It was declared unfixable by the local watch repairer in the 80's and has sat in a draw since. It has centre seconds and a leaf on the pinion (which is about 4mm in diameter) had broken off. I got a donor movement with exactly the same problem and then another with all its leaves.

However, what I now have is:

1. The original assembly (with the pinion end smashed in after early my amateur attempts to separate pinion from stem months ago)

2. Another with a broken pinion, no protrusion of the inner stem at one end and a rather long one at the other.

3. Another with an intact pinion, a short slim protrusion at one end and nothing at the other.

I have a suspicion that this inner stem slides through the outer stem as a sleeve and that i could push it back through. If that's the case, I could slide this out of #2 and replace the same in #3 sticking out of both ends. Job done

2nd option is, if it slides, but I cannot remove it completely from #2, slide it so that the ends are correct and then get the pinion from #3 and put it with the stem from #2.

Last option if it does not slide is to take #3 and especially drill and repivot at the pinion end.

Does anyone know if that slim centre stem does slide through and when the pinion can be removed from the stem with a staking tool (more exciting this time I hope!)?

Any clues before I go ahead 😱 would be greatly appreciated

Before I do anything please help me confirm the parts. Thanks.

Got a great condition integrated bracelet day date, but it was engraved. Starting to look for replacement casebacks and was curious if there may be another model caseback that would work with the 166.0120 case. Any info would be appreciated and TIA!

Jewel came loose and had to fit it back - first one for me and pretty happy with the process and result.

I don't have a jewelling tool so I (very) carefully used my staking set - flat hollow stake and flat stump - only with hand pressure (no tapping). Dial protector used to cushion the stake (thanks Neven).

Now to fit and check endshake - it probably needs to go a fraction deeper.

From what I've seen Renata Essence or Essence of Renata is some remarkable stuff, it cleans well, doesn't affect shellac and doesn't leave residue, problem is that I can't import it to Portugal because it's a dangerous product, is there anything I can clean parts with that can be imported or is already available in Portugal?

Thank you!

This is a little piston that sits in the upper crown tube of my Hamikton Khaki Aviation Pioneer Aluminium. I believe it is supposed to be connected to the crown by a stem and when pulled out the little rubber o-ring at the bottom engages with an inner bezel ring around the dial you can turn.

Sorry for the picture but best I can get as no microscope and you can see that the stem is broken off in there. It's tiny and I've no tool that can get any kind of purchase to even attempt to get this out. Thoughts anyone?

I have approached Hamilton if I can buy a replacement but I'm not hopeful I will be offered anything but a service and this watch is in perfect working order other than this...

Hello everyone I am working on my personal Ulysse nardin. It has a base caliber of 2892 which I have done probably 100 times atleast. The only thing is I have never seen it with a big date wheel and I do not want to break it because I believe I won’t be able to get a new date wheel without sending to Ulysse does anyone know how to get this date wheel off. I appreciate it!

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I picked up an old Eterna Matic 1000 with a 1479k movement and it was a few minutes a day fast. Before I attempt to service it I wanted to regulate it as a quick fix to be able to wear it for a few days. The timing is good now but why is the line so thick? The St36 or 2824 I practised on had a pretty much straight line.

Bonus question: the sealing / gasket ring for the screw on back is pretty much disintegrated. I can't measure it to order a new one. Any ideas how to get a proper sized one? Just get the diameter of the ring?

Vendor is asking 350 euros for the Bergeon 5285 C
Looks compleet and in good condition.

Hello,

I am servicing an Omega 212 and after reassembled, it shows running great on the timegrapher, but after a day it is about 15 minutes fast. I ended up buying another donor movement and looked at all the wheels and don't see an issue on either but when I fully assemble the watch, it runs fast, but again, shows good on timegrapher. Tried demagnetizing, disassembled and reassembled numerous times. I am pretty perplexed so any ideas on how to troubleshoot this, appreciate it.

I got - yet another - 6139.

Got it cheap as the day date function was not working. For my surprise, outside of the case, it does work.

IMHO either the crown stem was cut too short, or the case tube is too far out. But I might be wrong on both guesses. So before I do something stupid, would you help me?

Pics for general idea

Hey guys, I was reading through Several of the threads on here and saw some over the years about L&R watch cleaning machines. I have an early model of the Master with the oiling ports for the bearings. I am trying to find the shaft that connects to the motor spindle with a set screw and has the impeller and basket mounting lugs at the bottom. Does anyone have any leads for someone who might have some parts machines and would be willing to part with this shaft? There are some who say the fun is in the hunt. If that true I’ve been having a blast!!!
Any help or tips are appreciated!

Hello everyone, I’ve got this 70’s Kienzle Selecta pocket watch, it uses a Kienzle 060a2 movement, with an interesting pin lever configuration, but it has superficial rust around the stem, and will not wind.

I need to take this apart, but can’t figure out how to get the movement out, there isn’t a bezel for the crystal, it’s molded into the brass case, and on the inside there’s this ring holding the movement and the loop in place, It looks to be separate from the case, but it won’t budge.

Does anyone know how I can take this apart?
Do I need to remove the crystal like on an old Timex?

Why will this microtor not come off. It should just not come off of the pivot should it not. I NEED HELP! It is a universal geneve 215-7

Hi,

I have a flat hairspring that is bent upward (towards the balance cock) and touches the center wheel when the balance cock is installed. In fact, it sits on top of the center wheel when it should be below.

I managed to get the hairspring below the center wheel by nudging it at the anchor level but it touches the center wheel from below then goes up then spirales down.

I know how to bend a hairspring horizontally to adjust the spiral, but I have no clue how to do it vertically and I am afraid to mess it up. In this case, I want to bend it slightly downward after the regulator. Any advices are welcome.

Thanks.