spazthecat

Hi, Well, I bought a non-working ETA 2846 on eBay. I used it to practice disassembly and cleaning. I've got it all back together and it works. Although, it gains about 6 minutes over 24 hours. I tried regulating it myself and now it's down to 4 minutes fast per 24 hours. Soooo, there isn't much else that I think I'm going to be able to do with it and it's in need of someone more experienced than I. Can anyone recommend someone that services ETA movements at a reasonable price? The few people I've found local to all want $200 or more to just do a basic cleaning. If parts need replaced, it's higher. Thanks, Andy

Hi, Yesterday I finished my first movement tear down and rebuild and the watch works! However, over the 18 hours that I timed it, it lost 4 minutes:( So, now I need to figure out if I can speed it up. Pretty much all of the forum posts and how-tos that I've come across have focused on movements with a fine adjustment screw on the balance [censored]. This movement, doesn't have one of those. So, I was wondering if I could get a little help with how I should proceed with adjustments. Below is a picture of the movement. I've moved the items highlighted in red and purple into their current positions and have started timing it again. What are the items in red and purple? I assume one is the equivalent of the fine adjustment screw. Thanks, Andy

Very cool! Can't wait to see what you are able to make with it!

Hi, I'm working on getting parts together for a Tudor Blue 9401/0 type build and had a question about the crystal. I'm going to use a Clark's Tropic 19 and I've seen several reference on the forums that this is a good crystal to use but there is no mention of if it is the domed version or not. When I look at the T19s in the Clark's store they have both. So, which is more true to the original? Thanks, Andy

Wrist shot.

Thanks! For aging each part I did the following: Case: -removed the crystal and bezel then taped off the dial opening. -Put the case and bezel in a box of rocks, screws, and nails and then shook it up a bit -Took a pair of pliers and random "pinched" parts of the case and bezel. -2500 grit sand paper the whole thing a little to give back a little shine. Dial and Hands: -Used a small paint brush to apply coffee and then baked in the oven at 350 for 2 minutes. Just enough to evaporate the coffee. I did this again after the dial cooled off a bit. As an aside, I don't see how the folks here get the indices to turn brown with baking. I had a couple of test dials that I used before doing this one and for each of them, the paint on the dial bubbled up well before there was any visible change in the lume. -Painted with strong iodine solution (Lugol's solution) and let it dry, then repeat. -For the dial - 2 coats of spray on semi-gloss polyurethane. I held the can moderately high over the dial. I didn't want it be evenly coated or smooth. -For the hands I just did 1 coat of poly and held the can pretty high above them so that it wouldn't coat evenly. Strap: -Scrotch brite pad until the shine was mostly gone. It's a pretty textured strap so, I couldn't get it all off in the little nooks an crannies. -Rubbed it with coffee grounds, seasalt, and olive oil. -Wrapped it in foil and baked in the oven at 350 for 2 minutes.

Thanks. Yeah, I was thinking about that. But, I hate to take it apart now that it's cased up and everything. Setting hands still gives me trouble.

Hi, Be nice, this is my first attempt at "vintagizing" a watch. But, when I showed to my wife her response was "it looks old, why would you do that?" so, I think I'm at least in the ball park:) The pictures aren't the greatest, I might try some outside later this week. The only thing I might change is the hands. I think they need a little more work. Too shiny. Thanks for looking, Andy -- The parts are as follows: -Case and dial from JMB. -Ostrich strap from Stach Straps -Seagull movement that I had where the date change mechanism never quite worked correctly. So, I removed all of that stuff and replaced the set bridge with one from a 2801 movement. So, now only two crown positions like you would expect. -Case, dial, hands, and strap moderately aged by me. Here's the dial's original state: Here's after the aging process: And the final product:

Very nice! I might just have to try that. Even the Felsa's on Ofrei are in the $80 range. So, still not bad price wise. No chance it would fit in your movement spacer un-modified is there? --Andy

I went with a case from JMB and liked it enough that I ended up buying a second from him. Plus, he's a great guy to deal with. --Andy

Hi, Today I received one of the gilt dials from Justin and I thought I'd post a a couple of side by side comparison shots with the Yuki dial I have. So, here they are: Yuki on the left, Justin's on the right. --Andy

And is is just me or does the dial look a little crooked? I think the 3 is lined up nicely with the crown but when I look at the 9, it appears a little lower. Similarly when I look at the 5 minute marker compared to the 55 minutes marker. The 55 minute marker looks lower. https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A4Grq0zwGqxr5S;B206CFD8-8C51-4386-852A-62D14E6D0BA0

Picture below. You may need to follow the link, I'm having trouble getting pictures to appear in-line. Must be an iCloud thing... https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#A4Grq0zwGqxr5S;E65BEFE8-CFD5-43EE-A718-1AA867609185

Hi, Today I received a dial and handset from Yuki. It's an explorer dial with yellow lume and it might just be me but the lume on the hands really don't match the dial lume at all. I did ask him to swap out the Rolex sized hands for ETA hands. Could that be the problem? Or, do they pretty consistently not match? Thanks, Andy

Looks great! So, are those the Yuki hands that came with dial? They fit and ETA movement without issue? Did you have to reposition the dial feet or did you remove them? Thanks, Andy Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD