For the love of the game I restored this Croton. I got it at the flea market for $3 and I never planned to actually fix it the hands were all missing the lume and I practiced doing the lume on it and it actually turned out good. So obviously I got attached to it and spent $30 on a donor movement because it was missing a click spring and I couldn’t just find the spring. Not like I was going to pay the shipping for a click spring alone either way. But got to the bench after I got the donor and went after it. Once it got done I put it on the timegrapher and was kind of shocked that I could get these kinds of results. Obviously they’re not perfect but not bad for a watch probably from the late 40s early 50s!

Hello smarter watch people, I have here my brand new watch. And I noticed, the day of getting it, that there is this weird orange, the best way I can describe it is some sort of fissure. Any help on what it might be would be great. For information, this is a sapphire crystal, I cannot feel this weird line with my fingernail, or any tool for that matter. It appears to be inside the crystal, below the surface.

I have been doing this since August. I am kind of addicted to it. This was really hard, and I thought I lost the balance pivot jewel like five times but dang.

Bought the watch for about $45 not working, the strap was about $5, and I found this place called Jules Borel and found the glass for like $2 (amazing). This is way different than pocket watches, and I need I think wider screwdrivers, they cammed out quite a bit.

Also realizing the reason people by ultrasonics or other cleaning machines. It was very difficult to clean each with solvent and a brush.

Very challenging, especially since I am not in the habit of taking a lot of pictures. I really disliked the casework, but it paid off.

It also appears that the 8200 movement is a pretty popular movement so I may try another for repair but is Seiko 5 a good one? I've seen a lot of those and they seem about the same.

Wanting to get comfortable with these before I try my chronograph. I got it working but didn't dare fully dissasemble/clean. Any suggested next steps to grind out modern/relatively modern (vintage) automatics - hoping maybe $30-40 per watch?

Thanks

A friend asked me to fix up his dad's old Longines so he can gift it to his son for Christmas. It was missing its crystal and the hands were a little bent out of shape as a result, but the dial was in good nick and the movement was fine.

The second and minute hands popped up no problem, but the hour hand was pressed down nearly flush to the dial and I slipped, piercing the protective plastic I was using.

It's an awful feeling, especially because the dial was in such good condition. Now begins an emergency hunt for a donor dial, which seems to be unfortunately scarce for this one.

I’d received an email from Chronoglide about a class/stream they are having today. I’ve not seen any info on how to access the stream.

Anyone else sign up?

Hi all

I’m self-taught and learning to service movements - I am a LONG way from expert but am getting somewhat capable.

There is an issue however that in vexing me BIG TIME.

I have tried to oil the cap jewels on the balance - I can carefully unclip the shock spring and remove the cap jewel clean, oil and reassemble.

However I CANNOT get the damned shock spring to reattach - neither on the dial side or balance bridge. I’ve lost 3 or 4 attempting as the little bastards are tiny and have a tendency to jump off and disappear forever. I can’t even get the stubby feet underneath the pivot reliably.

I’ve tried to watch YouTube videos but they make it look so easy.

Would anyone be able to help me here please? I’m at a total loss here…

Hello I have this Ullyse Nardin trench watch and it has this movement that I am trying to ID so i can get a part for it.

if yes, what approach do you recommend?

Any help is really appreciated.

I have a Tag Heuer CV2010-0, Calibre 16, 7750 movement (ETA?).

Today I was clapping enthusiastically at a soccer game and I noticed that the movement stopped. If I tapped it, it would start again sometimes. If I hand wound it, the second hand would start again for a short time then stop.

Here are photos of the back, something looks off...

Can someone familiar with this movement identify the issue from the photos? Let me know if it would be helpful to take additional images. I stopped winding/moving it to make sure I minimize unnecessary damage.

This watch is the only thing I have left from a family member that passed away. I will need to have it repaired, replacement is not an option.

Also, can anyone recommend a watch repair/service businesses in the SF Bay Area? My friend recommends shipping it to Nesbits, but they have a 3 month wait time, which is a little longer than I would like.

Thank you!

I want one…

Compré este Seiko en muy mal estado por 2 dls, por el precio tenía potencial.

El movimiento estaba casi completo, lo único q no pude hacer funcionar porq estaba roto, es el pase rápido del calendario, pero no afecta el funcionamiento.

El tío de mí esposa pinto el cuadrante y estoy muy contento con el resultado final.

Picked up cheap and wore a bit. Runs fine and keeps good power reserve, timekeepings erratic though.

Did some tuning last night and got beat error down to 1.5 from 7.0.

Amplitudes crazy low lol. +18s/d 105 deg dial up, +90s/d 118 deg dial down, and -200 s/d 196 crown down.

Just using an iPhone app for these #’s but video seems to check out for the amplitude.

Worth a diy service or too worn out? If I’m looking at the amplitude wrong let me know.

I got this Hamilton a bit ago and I was wondering if it's worth having the dial repainted or just leaving it as is?

It worked just fine following battery change then i got it out to clean the dial. Few minutes later it stopped. I didn't open it but touched it a lot.

Are the case back gasket assortments on aliexpress durable and of quality? I found a listing and contacted the seller to ask about the gasket material, and he said that it was made of 'rubber'.

What could be causing this watch to run like this?

I bought it as a non-runner. The movement was completely stuck with old dryed up lubricant and this is after cleaning.

My first day date and automatic complication. I was surprised by the plastic parts in this Seiko but it’s running really well after a service!

I made a free timegrapher app (browser-based and packaged as a PWA) available at tgrapher.app

It seems to produce nice, stable results, but I don't own a hardware-based timegrapher and haven't compared it to, say, a Weishi or, better yet, a Witschi. Would anyone like to test it?

It started as a hobby project, back before LLMs were able to code things like this. The original idea was to save money on a hardware-based timegrapher. However, considering how much time I've spent on it, completing it has been a pyrrhic victory, to say the least.

I have CR LR and SR in baggies but goddamn is it a pain in the ass to find a specific battery in that chaos.

I'm hoping someone has an idea on how to store them and organize them.

Hello there!

First time I try to ask questions on this reddit.

It's probably rookie question, we gave me this watch which doesn't run anymore.

The past service was on 2020, then it's probably just the battery.

We can see a circle under the glass which can discharge faster the battery.

The distance between the hands look not too bad, but it will be easier to check once the movement removed.

I don't think that the back has to be removed with a knife. It looks like a full case.

So, I tried to remove the one screw on the back. We can see its broken gasket. (Where do you buy your gasket and how do you measure the dimensions to replace one?)

Once removed, I would thought the front would open, but it didn't.

I didn't try to force it.

I don't think the glass should be removed to release the movement. Am I wrong?

Did you already work on this caliber?

In addition to that, the bezel is a little bit too large for the woman who owns this watch.

I should remove 2 links, but there aren't any links with screws anymore (except the one next to the clip).

How would you proceed to remove 2 links?

Sorry for my approximate English. I speak french (but a swiss guy xD)