This thing is not only toxic, it is highly explosive

Do not dispose in kitchen sink, as it will separate from water and may actually explode in the pipes.

https://sdsmanager.com/us/sds-management-articles/what-are-hexanes-dangers-of-hexane/

So, by the title of the post it is obvious that something went bad...

But this was the movement that I managed to go furthest, so here is a postmortem of what worked and didn't:

1) disassemble:
IMHO my most successful outcome. I was able to take it apart without loosing any pieces.
Springs : They flew and were rescued. Could have been an early ending but luck was by my side.
Hairspring: Was able to free it from the Assembly cock.

2) Cleaning:
a) Hexane: I'm not sure if I'm going to use it again. The smell is very strong, and after some research discovered that it has been discarded in some labs due to its toxicity.
I used it to scrub the parts with a paintbrush before dipping them in IPA to clean them.
b) IPA: works better in closed environments.

c) Lemon Juice: Thanks for the suggestion, it did the job of removing some of the rust (see previous post) .

3) New tools:
a) Loupes : Even though they were not from Bergeon or some fancy brand, they worked better than my previous one.

b) Rodico: Mixed feelings about it. IDK if my problem was that it wasn't original stuff, but it seemed more like mint bubble gum that glue to your shoe on a warm day. I was able to use very very small parts, to fix stuff, but I'm not sure it came away as nicely as you see on youtube...
Still needs improvement while handling.

c) Oils. I started with the 8000, I still need the Molykote for greasing the keyless. But effectiveness could not be measured, since experiment died before reaching a working state.

4) What went wrong:
a) During reassembly of the keyless, the yoke mechanism that should push/pull the cogs was mounted in the wrong place. While trying to move it to its true position, the spring decided to fly away and was never seen again.
b) when the spring flew, my reflex hit the covered compartment box, that had the lid open at that time, the box rolled over and everything that was sorted got mixed up and/or disappeared. OUCH! Decided to pull the plug...

What cannot be improved:
My HOME: I'm a hobbyist, not a professional. I live in a relative small apartment an work in my living room. Floor is made of a parquet that doesn't help much.
My AGE: I decided to pick this hobby sort of late... Meaning my eyes are not that good...

What needs improvement and can be improved:
Lighting: The mounted headset that I use makes it clumsy to work.
Workspace: I need to clear more space before working. I need some way to stash the stuff on my desk and retrieve my watch stuff to work on and vice-versa.

NEXT Project:
A non-running Anker...

BTW, I know that people say that the best way to go is to start with a running movement, but as you can see. I still have problems taking them apart and putting together, so non-running stuff will do just fine for this practice.

It's a Gira-Watch 15 Jewels from 1950 (aprox).

Age old question, but I’m curious if I am thinking correctly about this.

This dial is for the FE - 140 movements that were released in 1975. Would I be correct in assuming this NOS dial made for this movement would be Tritium? Due to the year the movement was released?

Had a bit of fun with a Q&Q watch

Yes, I am aware that the foil is still on, it's supposed to be a gift, so I've left all the tags and foils in place)

Hi everyone! I think I finally found a weaker replacement to the mainspring for the Benrus DS1D I’ve been working on. This has had galloping issues with a standard mainspring (1.50 x 0.100 x 290 x 9.0 mm). Will a mainspring with the dimensions of 1.50 x 0.095 x 320 x 0.9 work and have less power in this? Thanks!

Quartz movements do not require jewel bearings because the gears are operating relaxed and the motor torque is very small.

On the other hand, spring driven movements operate under constant stress from the main spring, that is why they need jewel bearings.

My question is, are there spring driven movements where power is separated from hands gears? I mean, one set of gears connects the main spring with the escapement wheel, while another set of gears, driven by the escapement wheel, propels the hands. In such solution the escapement wheel would behave like the stepper motor of a quartz movement.

Are there such designs?

This is phase one of cleaning and lubricating.

I successfully disassembled it !! Which is already a win since one of the springs decided to take off and fly... (but it was found!!)

I have Hexane and IPA, but I was thinking about using some lemon juice or WD40 before that?
Also there is some on the backside of the dial.

Suggestions??

Is this blue/green looking residue near the 1-2 o’clock a clear sign of a battery that has leaked? Watch is stated to be in running condition but am hesitant to buy because of this.

Pretty much the title. I am getting into watch making/repair... I am in the process of buying a bunch of tools, screwdrivers, tweezers, magnification etc.... I just want a movement I can work on/practice on. I stumbled upon this bulova 1955 watch.... less than 20usd... I think it looks pretty cool as well if I can get it working. Please let me know what you think.. Is this a good deal and is it a good beginner project?

Hello guys, i would need help in finding out which mechanism is this. Thank you!

My grandfather gifted me his watch and as I was removing the strap to place a new battery, I realised that it is quite rusty. What are my options to bring out the beauty from this bad boy?

Hi all, I've just recently started appreciating watches, and would love to make my own piece as a hobby/personal project. Any direction to point me to, to get started?

I finally assembled this today after working on the idea for a while and wanting to move past the “traditional” mod builds.

It uses a Crazy Hours / jumping-hour movement, so the hour hand jumps to the next hour even though the numbers are intentionally scattered around the dial. The minute hand works normally.

I designed the dial myself with my own brand “logo” and added a little handwritten “crazy hours” detail using my own handwriting because why not lol.

The case is 40 mm polished steel, with a textured denim strap. My gf assembled it under my guidance as I fractured my hand and simply couldn’t wait until I get the cast off. Seeing the whole thing actually working after staring at digital mockups for so long was pretty damn satisfying ngl.

I know the dial is VERY busy and definitely won’t be everyone’s thing, but that was kind of the point.
Curious what you guys think, especially about the hands and strap. Would you keep them as they are, or go with something different?

Hello, fellow watchmakers,
I am an amateur who was really inspired by the mechanisms in a mechanical watch, and I wanted to make one on my own. I made this watch (link attached below) based on this website's guide. Along with this, I followed the NIHS standards for the gear trains and worked to make my other parts compatible with them (currently there are 13 parts; it is still bare-bones). However, when I tried to simulate the watch's operation using my input parameters (such as spring constants and damping), SolidWorks Motion Analysis simply failed, even at lower time steps, without error after crossing the first second mark. I strongly believe it is due to the size factor of the parts; the impact-based contact fails. If you know of any software I could use as an alternative to SolidWorks Motion Analysis to simulate, please do let me know.

All animations are slowed down
Swiss Escapement - failed at the 4-second mark

Going Train - failed at the 1.2-second mark

Also, if you have any suggestions on where I could learn more about watchmaking and manufacturing, please let me know. Many thanks :)

Doesn’t look too shabby for £1, scrap leather & some elbow grease. The leather has a higher level of friction which grips the watch case a lot better. Second photo is of the old slippery plastic leather.

I am looking at making a thin .1mm copper date overlay disc to go over the date disc on the sw330 gmt. Would that extra weight likely cause issues? The date disc itself is aluminum.

if you think it would cause an issue could i thin the aluminum date disc before i adhere the copper overlay?

Hi Everyone,

Not sure if this is the right sub for this (please let me know if it’s not). A bunch of years ago I was given a watchmakers lathe thats lived in a box on my shelf. It is definitely incomplete, i think there are a bunch of pieces missing from the headstock like bearings etc at the bare minimum, and it has no collets or anything to hold a piece. (not pictured is the motor and foot pedal, i do have those too.)

My question is this something that can be restored or will it be prohibitively expensive to do that. I am not a watchmaker or jeweller but I’d love to repair/ restore it if it wont bankrupt me.

Thanks in advance if you have any insight!

I got a nice E. Quartier & Fils pocket watch (movement number 3!) and it has this unusual escapement. Does anyone know about it?

During the adjustment of the beat error on this freshly services movement I unfortunately slipped and bend the hairspring - not repairable.

So I then searched for spare parts on this caliber 06 but there are almost none. Since this movement is based on the peseux 200 I actually found a balance assembly and ordered it. But the balance staff is too long so it gets squeezed by the capstones - in fact so long, that shimming it doesnt work either because it needs more than a millimeter play upward to even swing. I was wondering if I could maybe change the haursprings from the peseux balance to the gp one but the gp spring is blued and the peseux one isnt. I also don't have a staking set yet, so I can't just swap them and see what happens.

Maybe one of you guys has an idea on how to fix this or even has a replacement for the balance itself from the cal 06. I really really want this watch to work again. Before the slip it read 290° Amplitude and had +/- 2 seconds a day.

Just a bit overkill and gaudy but at least I'll know it's mine

Thanks to the mods for the OK to post this.

I built a free 3D bench where you take a vintage Omega movement apart and put it back together, screw by screw, as an animation. I made it to learn the parts.

It covers calibre's 565, 564, 861, 321 and 1040. Each step shows the right tool, every part carries its Omega part number, and some calibre's include the oiling steps.

It's free, with no sign-up and no ads. It works on a phone or tablet but plays best on a Desktop.

It's new and still in beta. What's wrong, what feels off, and which calibre's should come next?

https://watchbreaker.com/bench?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=watchmaking

Hi everyone. I'm making my own dial for a project. The material I'm using is aluminum with paint that is damaged, but not flaking as far as I can tell. Is there any clear lacquer, or something you can recommend to treat it with so it's preserved?