Pugwash Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Recently, I won an eBay auction for 4 ETA-2892 movements in varying states of repair. Basically, it was 4 broken Raymond Weil watches, out of which I was able to make a working Gen for Mrs Pugwash and have a pile of bits left over, including two working movements. The reason I picked them up was in the hope that I could transplant them into a Planet Ocean and a future BK/WM9 Sub I'm bound to get. Apparently, 2892A2 movements are drop-in replacements for 2824s. Apparently. Here's what I learned in 30 photos. Click to embiggen any of the photos, and sorry for their lower-than-usual quality. Taking good pictures was very secondary. Both patients on the table. Donor ETA 2892A2 To be replaced ETA 2824 from a 4th Gen 42mm PO Take out the PO innards ... Prep 2892 for new gen datewheel. Remove old Raymond Weil datewheel Fit white on black. Note the other 2892 with the dark red dial and my testing of PO hands. It's wearing my old UPO hands that I replaced with genuine parts. Look at the difference between the rep and the gen wheels. I'd like to thank Ubi for pointing this out. Yes, I do have another for my 45.5mm UPO Dial on the 2824 Oh crap. Recessed datewheel. Recessed pinions. Look at the height on the 2824 Much lower on the 2892 Profile of the 2824 Profile of the 2892. Oh crap oh crap oh crap. Height of the hour wheel on the 2824 Height on the 2892 Take a break. Here's a reference photo of a 2892 ... and of a 2824 ... and a donor 2892 (not an A2) Dial from the Weil. See how thin it is? Dial from the PO with ... oh, hang on. is that ring removable? Pleasepleaseplease. Yes, it is. That looks much better with the ring removed. Phew! Still not really enough clearance on the hands, but as this is really a dry run for when I get the gen hands, I can order taller wheels at the same time. Oh, damn. If I fit the dial, the dial pins are so long without the spacer that the rotor doesn't turn. Wire cutters. Snip! Better. Next problem. The plastic movement spacer is for a 2824 and the 2892 is ever so slightly wider, so out with the files and skim off a mil or so off the inside. Next, the stem and crown. This is another step I'm allowed to botch as I have a gen tube and am getting a gen crown later. The 4th Gen crown and tube are not very realistic at all. Yes, I use a spare drill chuck as a pin vise. I bought a pack of three long stems for the 2892 so if I make a mistake, I know not to cut it that short again. Luckily, I got the cut exactly right. Hands on, they're a bit close to the dial, but they do work. The watch with its old movement. On the wrist. Note UPO in the background. There were several points where I thought it was not going to be possible to get it finished. Luckily I managed. I'm going to monitor the patient for a few days in case the hands drag or catch anything. Next, new hands and taller wheels! Oh, and a gen dial if the hands scratch this one. Comments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJGladeRaider Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Comments? Some of you guys plumb amaze me. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Nice work, Pugs! Might have to do a 2892 transplant in mine afterall... And the datewheel certainly makes a huge difference, doesn't it? Looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted August 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 And the datewheel certainly makes a huge difference, doesn't it? Such a difference I'll have to put one on my UPO now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jkay Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Bravo ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted August 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Some of you guys plumb amaze me. Don't for a minute think I'm even close to being in the same class as some of our modders. I'm a rank amateur with a 70% hit rate at best. It's why I won't do mods for anyone else now, because I reckon I'll get it wrong often enough for it to cost me more than I'd make. It's ok to botch my own stuff and take a few weeks over it, but there's no way I can make a business out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Good stuff Pugs Seems like you have overcome all of the obstacle. Nice job Off to the parts bin and hoping I didn't send all of my old ETA DW's to Lello Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted August 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Off to the parts bin and hoping I didn't send all of my old ETA DW's to Lello They're less than a fiver at Cousins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted August 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 This job inspired me to look at one of the two remaining 2892s. One was cannibalised for spares and the other seemed to stop for no reason. Armed with this: http://pugwash.info/eta/2892A2/2892A2.html I decided to have a look. I got to do stuff I'd never considered, knowing both movements were going to be chucked in the parts bin, and I even removed the escapement and winding sections. To make this fun adventure even better, I found the problem was that the pallet fork wobbled across the vertical. Rather than work out why, I stripped the cannibalised movement for the pallet fork and pallet bridge and fitted them. After reassembling, everything worked. I now feel confident that I could strip a 2892 if I had a cleaner. Such a great feeling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capice Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoobs1971 Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Nice work, Pugs! Not for the faint-hearted..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWG Technical Posted August 9, 2009 Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Well done and well documented. Only until you have attempted a job like this and tried to photograph it along the way, can you appreciate how difficult it is to stop what your doing and get the camera out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted August 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2009 Well done and well documented. Only until you have attempted a job like this and tried to photograph it along the way, can you appreciate how difficult it is to stop what your doing and get the camera out... I set the camera up beforehand on a tripod with the cable release to hand. I find photographing my work relaxing and it stops me getting stressed when it gets fiddly. If I didn't have a tripod and lighting (the area I work at is also where I take my watch photos) then this would be near impossible. And yes, if I had to stop half-way through and set up the camera, then no, I wouldn't do it. It's only because I had it all set up before I opened the first caseback that it was done. Thanks for the kind comments, The Zigmeister. We are all your students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted August 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 One day later. The hands did indeed catch on the Omega logo, but refitting them with some cleveritude (lightly curving the hands up) worked wonders. The smoothness of the sweep is quite incredible, especially from 18" away. Sure, like all our watches, you can see the ticks up close, but moving the watch away from your face, they disappear sooner with the 2892. It's keeping ok time (a minute or so in 24 hours) but that can be regulated given time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
professor_yaffle1 Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 Wow, that's amazing! When I see posts like this, I think, "I could try that......". But then I realise that if I had the inspiration, ability, patience and nerve, then I already would have Thank you Pugs for diving in where others wish they could, and for having the generosity to document it for those who follow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted August 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 Wow, that's amazing! When I see posts like this, I think, "I could try that......". That's how it all started for me. I've made my fair share of mistakes along the way, and I'm still an untrained fumbling amateur, but here's something I realised when I hit my 20s: There is nothing that one normal person can do that you cannot yourself do if you put your mind to it. Sure, you'll not be Zigaroonie in a day , or maybe even ever, but that doesn't mean you can't learn something as basic as a datewheel change or even fixing the keyless works on a 2836. There's absolutely no magic to it. As long as you've got a pair of steady hands and at least one working eye, you can learn how to uncase a movement, remove the hands and dial and get stuck in. The only resources I used to learn how to do this was this very forum (and RepGeek to some degree) and a pirated PDF of the Timezone course. The forum was more useful than the TZ course. If I can do it, I'm sure as hell that a lot more people out there can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 This is awesome...I'm thinking of walking down this road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiker01 Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 Awesome job, Puggy! I wish I have half of your Skills, both in watchmaking and photography......you're my new IDOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OrenG Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Comments? Amazing. Gave me a change to see what the guys were talking about regarding a movement change and the level of difficulty; But as you demonstrated, patience is a necessary tool in everyone's toolbox. Congrats on the successful movement swap, now I am even more fearful of destroying my movement when I try and shove it into a Submariner rep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stilty Posted September 26, 2009 Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 Nice job and write up. Just curious, how is the stem alignment with the 2892-A2 in 2824-2 case? If I do my math, the difference between the 2824-2 and 2892 is 0.30mm. Any issues with binding? If so, the way to fix it would be for a 0.30mm thick spacer between the dial and rehaut to allow the movement to line up with the case tube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Usil Posted September 26, 2009 Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 Holy crap - you are really getting serious about this. I know the feeling about figuring it out for yourself and even if you wind up screwing up a few in the process just chuck it up as tuition fees instead of ruined watches and it might not feel so bad. I can't imagine the feeling of a success for something so intricate. Now tell me are you programming at the computer while you are disassembling a watch and also taking pictures at the same time? Usil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingkitesurf Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Respect! This is the fun of our hobby... the 'outside' world will never notice or have the slightest idea what you have just achieved... We all do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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