RWG Technical

Glad to see more and more members attempting mod work. Good show for your first attempt. You would have much better success if you were using Tritec Super Lume and applying it with an oiler. If your going to practice more, you should do so with something where you can improve you skills. Paint brushes and dials don't mix, and using anything other than the real stuff makes it even that much harder. With your artistic talent, and the correct product and tools in hand, you'll be an expert in no time.

Time and regular servicing are the factors that affect wear, not if the watch is running or sitting idle. After a movement has been fully serviced, the oils have a lifespan of about 5 years, then the movement will need servicing. The one caveat is that once the oils have dried out or if the movement is not serviced correctly, then running the watch will cause irreversable wear and damage...obviously sitting idle is the better option if the movement is not serviced. Regular servicing is your best investment for long trouble free life.

Wonderful post, thanks so much for doing it up. Nice Hamilton as well, classic elegance doesn't go out of style.

Yes, they "should" fit fine with modifications, but there are many variations of movement design, the only way to know for sure, is to try it out as I did...

If you followed the steps in the guide, releasing the tension is easy. With the stem in place, wind the watch, you'll see two gears move, the crown gear and the mainspring ratchet gear. It's the larger of the two and the furthest away from the stem. Note the "L" shaped click spring that is holding the mainspring gear as you wind it. Turn the crown just enough to disengage the spring, pull the spring gently out of the way, and slowly release the tension on the crown so the spring unwinds...

I am not aware of any one site that lists all the tech info on these movements. Number of jewels (17 minimum) and timed in positions and for temp are the things that make them accurate. But be prepared for broken and worn out parts and pieces, 80 years of a pocket watch movement where you can easily access the movement normally causes damage.

I feel your pain... My son comes into the downstairs workshop one time because of the hammering he could hear...BANG BANG BANG, the whole bench is jumping up and down...he asks what the heck I am doing...I broke a tap in a rollie case and am trying to drive it out with a puch... How about walking down to the Ultrasonic Machine with a 60 year old ladie's rollie movement in the washing basket...you turn on the light, and when you move your arm back, you accidentially hit the tweezers in the tray, which flips the basket and the contents and fully disassembled movement all over the floor... There are more, but I am in thearapy trying to forget these nightmares.

The bastards put serial numbers on the lens, believe me I have tried to think of every angle...

I may take you up on that offer. Waiting to hear from the outlet where the lens was bought, to see if they will replace it with a serviceable one. Thanks for the offer.

You are paying about 8 times as much as the real value of that movement. Don't waste your money on it...

Genuine ETA, should command a higher price.

In the spring I bought a new EOS-40D along with a couple of lenses. When I looked at one lens, it had a metallic particle and some dust on the second lens element as viewed from the front on the lens body. In early June, I sent the lens in to the Canon Canada authorized repair center to be cleaned along with a detailed letter explaining the problem. 4 weeks later, the lens shows up, and when I open the box, the WO states "No fault found..." and when I take the lens cap off, sure enough, the lens is still full of dust, not only did they not read my letter, they didn't even bother to look at the lens. I call the Canon repair Center Customer service line...here's part of that conversation: Me "...there was lint and dust on the inside of the len...." I am cut off mid sentence... Cannon "WE DON'T have a DUST FREE repair center, so we can't guarantee that your EOS will be dust free..." Me "Your kidding, the EOS factory repair center isn't dust free? Isn't the EOS line geared towards the Professional photographer, dust is a major issue, especially with Digital camera's..." Canon "That's why your camera has an Ultrasonic Cleaner built into it, to prevent dust..." Me "The Ultrasonic Cleaner only works on the sensor, and is designed for the end user, not as an excuse for not working in a dust free zone when you do repairs. So tell me, how does the Ultrasonic Cleaner prevent dust elsewhere in the camera, or in my case, INSIDE the lens body...which isn't even attached to the camera body..." Canon - "..............." silence... So I take pictures of the dust, write another detailed letter, send the pictures along, and send it back, it's now mid July. End of August, the lens shows up, WO states "Outside of front lens element cleaned, serviceable" (are they DUMB or just STUPID), a quick look shows that the dust is STILL there on the INSIDE of the lens body, just like my letter stated. Even I know how to clean the OUTSIDE of the lens... Call Canon again, again I am cut off as soon as I mention the word DUST, and told by Canon: "WE dont' have a DUST FREE repair center, we can't get rid of dust..." So I package the lens up again, and send it out...with a detailed explaination, pictures, etc... this time to the attention of a Supervisor, who will make sure it's taken care of. The lens showed up yesterday, WO states "Lens cleaned inside, no defects now...". Yea! success they finally fixed it...sadly my excitement was short lived... I take the lens cap off, and look down the hole, with the naked eye you can see many particles of dust inside the lens body (I guess they were right, they DON"T have a DUST Free repair shop), and then I notice a 1/2" scratch in the center of the inside lens element, and then I look closer...what's this...it can't be...you have got to be kidding me... A BIG Greasy FINGERPRINT on the lens element inside the lens body. UNBELIEVABLE. Who in their right mind touches a lens element, and who would do so with a GREASY finger... I bought this lens the first week of June, FOUR and a HALF months later, I have yet to be able to actually use it...what a joke, I must be on Punked or Candid Camera, this would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic and sad. The lens is now totally unusable due to the scratch, finger print and more dust... The really sad part is that I have no where else to go, I am NOT sending it back to these clowns... So my advise to you, buy a NIKON, this was my FIRST and LAST Canon Camera, I will never buy another Canon after this shitty experience.

From what little I can see, it's a GENUINE ETA movement. For reference, the secret to good pics, place the watch so it's dial down, good lighting, no closer than your camera can actually focus, take the picture at the max resolution of the camera, then crop the picture to just slightly larger than the watch, and presto, a clear, in focus, high detailed picture, without the need for a macro lens...

You are correct, this does happen, the solution is to machine out part of the inside of the case to allow the barrel teeth to clear...

This movement and all the others I modidy are designed to be the same size as an ETA or Asian 6497. So if the original movement is a 6497, these movements can replace it...

What he said... I read it last night, but without being able to see the movement it is impossible to give you any insight or feedback.

I have made just about every mistake, so hopefully I can save you the grief... Good habits are mandatory, as soon as I try to cut a corner or do a quick fix, I screw something up, everytime, it never fails. If you develop the correct habits and routine, you will find it a lot easier as you progress, it's hard to un-learn the bad stuff.

Very well done and documented. I would suggest that you don't place any parts of the watch on paper towel, paper towel is full of loose fibers and lint that can and will get in the movement and could stop it from working. Under the loupe paper towel looks like a sheet of fur and hair. The best option is to place the movement in a plastic watch parts tray and put the cover on to protect it (it should always be covered because something will fall on it and scratch the dial). The other option would be to carefully place the movement on watchpaper, and then put a piece of watchpaper over the top to protect it, don't wrap it or you will bend the hands. Thanks for posting this.

Very nice, not often we see the comparison of the gen and rep side to side. I still can't keep the details straight of what I should look for and what makes a gen different, too many small details to remember. Can't wait to see the finished watches. Thanks for this post, very informative.

My pleasure.

The only way to safely remove it without damaging something is to use a staking set. Same for the installation, it can only be done on the staking set, the pivot is probably 0.10mm and easy to break off. The arbor's are normally driven in quite snug, I wouldn't recommend any other tool.

The last thing you need is oil. In order to start, you have to begin at the beginning, not the end...re-read my first post and the others from learned members. Either your not understanding what is being said to you, or you're simply choosing to ignore the advice and keep on asking the same question over and over until you get the answer you want. If you don't believe our comments, please ask the same question on Time Zone and see what type of response you get there (bring your Nomex suit). I want to be a Surgeon, I am not a Doctor, I have zero medical training, BUT I have a scalpel and a thread and needle, now show me how to operate on someone. Sound dumb? You bet... Good luck.

You need to remove the arbour to measure it's dimensions. With a precision caliper the L x H x Pivot diameter are measured. Those measurements are transferred to the Bestfit catalogue and from it you get the Bestfit number and order this from Cousins. Cousins may also be able to provide the arbour by looking it up by caliber in their Bestfit catalogues.

The pallet arbour is available as a separate piece. You drive out the old arbour, and drive in the new one.

@ JMB Your better off using L&R or Zenith watch cleaning solutions specifically designed for ultrasonic cleaners. You could also use Stoddard solvent and rinse with Methly Hydrate or Denatured Alchool. I use L&R cleaners and rinses. @ Bike Mike Congrats on getting it all done, it is very time consuming, even more so when something doesn't work properly and you have to find the problem. Oilers, yes, I use both types. Bergeron automatic 1A filled with 9010, Bergeron automatic 5 filled with D5, oiler pots filled with everything else and aluminum handled dip oilers for the other oils and grease.