The average cheapo reeeplica...

[automatico]

This is the story of an average 'cheapo' replica...an all steel replica omeeega seamaster.

First off, it came from NYC last week and the fellow who sent it paid $30 for it and sold it to a friend for $40 delivered.

I paid $45 for it because I just had to have it.

What is it exactly?

A black dial Seamaster with steel screwback case and screw down crown. The release valve at 10 o'clock will unscrew and screw down but it does not function as a release valve. The crown has two O rings...one just inside the case tube and one in the crown cap. The crown screws down Ok...sorta.

The caseback is hard to turn and very hard to get started straight. It has an O ring gasket...and 007 with a pistol on the back (looks like a BB gun).

Why no pictures?

1...I do not like to take pictures.

2...This watch is not worth a bunch of pictures.

3...The story is Ok without pictures.

Take your pick (pun!).

note:

The crown would not screw all the way down because it hit the crown guards on the back side.

The fix was to remove the crown and hog out some space around the crown guards with a cutoff wheel and cratex...about 10 minutes.

The dial is not too hot with a greenish tint to the lume and white lume on the hands and pearl dot. Funny thing is the dial was still glowing this am after 7 hours in the dark...not very bright but still glowing. The hands were a little brighter than the markers.

The pearl dot fell out of the bezel insert during all the work so I put a gob of white paint in its place. No glow but it looks Ok.

The bracelet is the average seamaster style with pushpins holding the removable links together and also holding the end links to the bracelet.

note:

The bracelet was attached to the case with skinny 1.5mm brass springbars.

Why little skinny springbars?

1...Cheap.

2...Easy to bend/cram into place.

The bottoms of the hoods did not fit the contour of the case and had to be bent to conform to the case.

Both hoods had to be ground on the sides so they would slip between the lugs. They were a very tight fit to start with.

The hoods look like SEL from the top but when turned over they are stamped out of sheet metal with the bracelet soldered to the hoods for the 'SEL' effect.

Very crafty...it's cheap, looks Ok from the top, and works Ok.

The clasp is a stamped affair much like what you fine on Citizens etc with a rectangular pushbutton on the left side looking at it on the left wrist. Not twin pushbuttons like original.

The engine is the tried and true Seagull ST16 with the 'magic lever' autowinder.

This example was tired and untrue.

At first it was losing about 2 hours a day. I figured the balance assembly was defective so I swapped it out with another one and set the watch at 225pm. I did not drag the timing machine out because...well, it's a replica after all and I thught I had nailed the trouble.

Guess what?

Three hours later it was still running just fine (sweep second hand moving right along...jumping a bit, but still moving...while the hands still showed 225pm!

What the hell's a matter now?

Canon pinion lost its traction. The resistance I felt while setting the hands was all in the case tube gasket.

That's just great!

What to do?

Remove the movement, hands, dial, calendar plate, a couple cogs (wheels to non Southern guys), and remove the canon pinion.

How?

With a set of rusty trusty tweezers...the CP puller is in a cabinet with the timing machine.

Then what?

I took a few steps to another cabinet and got my shiny $Bergeon$ CP tightener p/n 2803.

I know you are all impressed by my Bergeon tool so how come I got it out and left the timing machine and CP puller on the shelf?

Answer...I could not find my La Crosse nail clippers.

Nail clippers?

Ask around.

Anyway...I gave the CP a pinch (being very careful to crimp it in the right place), crammed a little grease in it and stuck it back on.

How did it work?

Fine and dandy.

note:

If you crimp the CP in the wrong place, it will 'jack off'.

Say what?

Ask around.

note:

One dial screw was broken off in the movement plate and there was a gob of Gorilla Snot smeared around the dial foot and movement plate.

I unscrewed the broken screw with a small screwdriver and replaced the screw...about 5 minutes.

The Gorilla Snot is somewhere on my bench waiting for a ride out of here on the next job.

Next, I put the cogs etc back on, mounted the calendar plate, and stuck the 'Flying U' spring (commonly known as the 'FU spring') back through the slot in the calendar plate. Oh yeah, I oiled what I could get to just for grins.

Why 'FU' spring and not 'FV' etc?

Because it is U shaped and U like in UFO when it flys away.

Then what?

I stuck the movement in the case, inserted the crown/stem, and removed the winding rotor, autowind works, and 'wishbone' spring.

Wishbone spring = magic lever/pawls.

Sometimes when you remove the a/w assembly, stuff shoots everywhere.

Not this time.

Why not?

Because I held tension on the mainspring barrel by just barely turning the crown to wind the watch, taking power off the a/w works.

Next, I removed the sweep second tension spring and bent it a little to make more drag on the SS pinion.

Note:

The tension spring screw was loose besides the tension spring not having enough tension.

I stuck the wishbone to the cam with watch grease and put it all together ONE LAST TIME.

(until the next time)

How does it run?

In 4 hours it is within 5 seconds of when I set it.

What do I think about the watch in general?

It's still a piece of damn junk.

[KB]

Canal Street....gotta love it

Ken

[PeteM]

I enjoyed reading that...Pics would of spoiled it

It was all in the imagination as I read

I asked around about "Jacking Off" but I got a smack in the mouth !!

[rek001]

LOL, you have a great sense of humor,thanks for the read.

[maxman]

I enjoyed the story but "this thread Is worthless with out pictures"

[Jkay]

Great story! thank you

[plaifender]

hahahahahahahaha!

Great story.. I like the second to last line. Very classic. Especially when read fast

[krpster]

Great stuff. Would have gone into the bin after round 2 in my hands.

[donerix]

Seems you are over-qualified for this time piece.

I would have given up of made it a christmas present for somebody I really dislike.

Excellent read anyway....

[lhooq]

This deserves a creative non-fiction award. It's the best piece I've read on RWG since offshore's GZ diaries!

[StormTooper4]

Thats Omega's for you

[modelizer]

Hahahaha! What a great read! I really hope you'll acquire more junk to fix and share the experience.. Keep'em coming!

[automatico]

"Hahahaha! What a great read! I really hope you'll acquire more junk to fix and share the experience.."

"LOL, you have a great sense of humor,thanks for the read."

"Great stuff. Would have gone into the bin after round 2 in my hands."

Thank you all!

Most of what I own is like this. I would take a picture of all my junk but I don't have a wide angle lens.

"I asked around about "Jacking Off" but I got a smack in the mouth !!"

'jack off'...

The canon pinion is just one tube (the minute wheel/hub) placed over another tube and friction is provided by the dimple/crimp in the outer tube because the dimple creates an interference fit over the inner tube. As the CP dimple wears down, the hands will get easier and easier to set until there is not enough friction left to move the hands and the watch will run but the hour and minute hands stay still.

The second hand still moves as normal.

If you put a crimp in the orginal location, all is well and it will function as intended. There is a narrow 'waist' in the inner tube where the dimple rubs so you need to restore the dimple in the same spot. If you make crimp on the CP (minute hand tube) in the wrong place...it can fail to keep the CP in place because the dimple will not be in the 'waist' and the CP can lift off, aka 'jack off' the inner tube when setting the time.

"Seems you are over-qualified for this time piece."

One aquires the skill to work on junk by working on fine swiss watches...