Loose hour hand. Help!

[gt rider]

I have a 21j Submariner that I have been wearing for a couple months now and this weekend I took the movement out for the first time to clean the crystal and I also waterproof tested it. Unfortunetaly now I realise the hour hand is loose and bounces around. I'm not sure what would have caused this but I would really like to fix it since this is my daily watch. It was not expensive so there's no sense bringing it to a watch smith.

Any help on how I can fix this problem?

[freddy333]

It is quite likely that the hand was never pressed all the way onto its pinion at the factory (there is little or no QC in rep manufacture) & the act of uncasing the watch may have been enough to loosen the hand to the point where it is now too loose to stay in place. Your only option is to uncase the movement again, remove the minute & second hand (if fitted), press the loose hour hand down (GENTLY) with a clean toothpick (I assume you do not have a proper tool for setting watch hands) until it gently seats & reinstall the other hands.

IMPORTANT - Before recasing, pull the stem out to the time-setting position & manually run the hands through an entire 24-hour cycle to be sure none of the hands are coming into contact with each other, the dial or the inside of the crystal. Check, also, to be sure the date-change works correctly. If everything is working, press the stem back into the winding position & check that it also winds properly. If all is well, recase & take pride in having repaired the watch yourself.

[TeeJay]

In addition to Freddy's comment, I would suggest instead of a toothpick, pull the ink reservoir from a Bic biro, and use the open nib-end of the barrel of the pen to apply the pressure to the hour hand, so you are applying the pressure equally, rather than possibly setting the hand 'tilted' (which I've done myself in the past ) Just the work of a few minutes to cycle the movement through 24 hours so each hand is properly aligned with regards the date change Although I have read someone say if someone is sitting up at midnight just to check that the date wheel rolls over exactly at midnight, then they have bigger problems than mis-aligned hands

[FxrAndy]

Also wind the movement through 24 hours untill the date clicks over and then fit the hands at 12 o'clock

[gt rider]

Thanks guys. I'm going to attempt that this week. How do I remove the second and minute hands to access the hour hand? Just pull them off with tweezers?

[icoopernicus]

I would avoid using metal tweezers, or anything metal for that matter, you will just end up scratching the hands. You can try thread, run a piece under the hand you want to remove, right at the fulcrum, tie a loose knot and pull up gently. Also consider some sort of dial protector, a piece of paper with a slot cut in it to fit around the hands should do the trick. Good luck and be gentle.

[freddy333]

If you lack a proper hand-puller, you can use the dial to remove the hands. But you need to protect the dial face so the hands do not scratch it. You can cut a small section out of a plastic zip-lock sandwich bag (or similar plastic sheet material) & place a slit with a hole in the center so you can slide it under all the hands with the center hole in the plastic fixed around the center pivot of the hand stack. Loosen the dial screws & carefully pull the dial up along with the hands. Of course, you will then need to reinstall all of the hands.

[gt rider]

Alright I took out the movement and reset the hands to the appropriate position and pushed them down with a toothpick. I decided to try getting it back into position without taking off the hands. If it doesn't work, I will try lifting them out with the dial/paper (although I'm not quite sure which screws remove the dial).

[freddy333]

Not paper, plastic & there should be 2 screws in the side of the main plate. Unscrew them a turn or so & you should be able to lift the dial off (unless it is glued on).

[icoopernicus]

Not paper, plastic & there should be 2 screws in the side of the main plate. Unscrew them a turn or so & you should be able to lift the dial off (unless it is glued on).

<br /><br />Why not paper Edited October 9, 2012 by iCoopernicus

[freddy333]

It is not sufficient to protect the dial. Try it on a scrap dial & see.

[icoopernicus]

I'll take your word for it, I was just curious, just trying to absorb as much as I can and if I try something and find out its a bad idea, I'm more than happy to adopt a new method. I like the idea of taking the hands off with the dial, almost seems like something I might have come up with, not so much though

[glacy]

the hand itself could become loose. this can be easily fixed by most watchmaker. Tightening itself can be done by tweezers, etc but you aren't going to get it right and you need a tool made for this.

[gt rider]

Just thought I'd let you guys know that the toothpick trick seems to have worked. It's been over a month now and nothing has moved, even after a full weekend moving a house. Thanks!