Devedander Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 Despite being very tired after a 14 hour work day and not having a movement holder or watch paper I decided to crack open my cheapest sub and try for a dissasemble... With Edges guide up on the screen and my watch in front of me I got the case open, got the crown out, got the hands off with only minor damage to the dial (the more tricky as this watch is so cheap it has no hacking signal) and got the dial off. Down to a movement, plastic movement spacer, dial, ring that goes behind the dial, 3 hands a crown and an open case... Then got it all back together again about as good as I could hope for on a first try. The only things that went wrong were that I damaged the dial a bit since I didn't have watch paper and slidig regular paper under the hands was tricky since the hour markers are considerably raised. The hour hand is about 2 minutes slow so if you set to 12:00 and look carefully you can see that it's a little off to the left Scratched the minute hand a bit with my hand puller. I am not seeing how this is really that safe to use as it's got very sharp metal grippers to pull the hands... it seems like it's just bound to scratch something up... that said my damage is mostly where it's covered at the center of the stack and maybe I will learn some tricks to avoid this in the future on the ones I care about... The great thing is that now the date changes even better than it did before It used to change at 12:20 and now it changes at 12:02. Well that's my moment of pride... I know for most of you this is something you could do blindfolded, upside down and in an alchoholic blackout but for me it was a major accomplishment... If anyone wants to contribute and can help me out with a few roadbumps I came up against it would be appreciated: 1: Is the hack supposed to remain in effect after you remove the crown? I did get the crown out of one of my other watches that does have a hacking signal and it started ticking again after I got the crown out... 2: How do you let down the mainspring? I tried moving the click on the big gear that turns when you wind it... but nothing unwound... 3: Probably less of a problem on a movement that hacks, but while I had the movement out and sitting on my desk, I had to jam the crown back in to roll the date over to properly set the hands... at this point it was a royal pain to get the crown back out since I couldn't just put the movement dial down with hands and all. Do you have hints on how to accomplish this easily? I ended up holding the movement sideways with one hand, pushing the crown release with the other and pulling the crown out with my mouth... not graceful at all... Next is to replace a scratched dial with a replacement I got from a dealer and then maybe try my hand at luming something... Thanks for taking the time to read something that offers you absolutely no value and if you offered any hints or help double thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRG Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 Dev, I don't have time to post pics so verbal only.... 1) What is the movement? 2824, 2836 should still hack with the stem pulled. However, as The Zigmeister has posted before pull the stem with the crown in the winding position....which means you should let the main spring down.......so...... 2) Yes let the main spring down. You need to move the click spring indent out from the ratchet wheel. Do this by slight rotation of the crown and holding the click out of the way with #2 tweezers. Control the unwinding by rotating the crown with your fingers...do not let go and allow the mainspring to unwind by itself! 3) Get yourself a movement holder, case holder, watch paper and make up some dial protectors! Get a 4x loop and head band so you can see what you are doing! 4) Try not to touch the dial or movement, we posted about this before What hand pullers did you use? The Bergeon 30670-6 are ideal. Always always protect the dial, I use some home made disks made from thin acetate with a slit cut to the centre to accommodate the hands... Happy Xmas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRG Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 Just wanted to add that even hobbyist/amateur watch enthusiast still needs the basic tools and kit to work on watches. Short cuts are few if any, get the basic tools (not expensive) and working on your watches will be a whole lot easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devedander Posted December 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 Thanks for taking the time to reply! The movement was some cheap asian auto, wasn't going to make an ETA my first movement Not sure what the movement was, but the crown release button was a little diveted circle if that means anything... I pulled the crown in the time set position so that's maybe that's why I couldn't let down the mainspring... will have to look again why the hack didn't keep working... either way if I can get the watch unwound it shouldn't make much difference. Is there a "good" way to freeze the rotor while working so it doesn't wind up on you anymore? The hand puller I used was one from birdman http://replica-watch.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8171 I will have to master getting it on the hands without damaging anything as in it's relaxed position the grippers exceed the rubber tips so it's possible to rub sharp grippers against the dial... I think watch paper and some careful practice will get me around this. I have never handled a real burgeron hand puller set but I think the problems I am having come more from my experience and less from the tool in this case... I will have to search for a movement holder... that would have made things a whole world easier... also will get some watch papers, rodico, gloves etc... this was a quick and dirty on a watch I don't care about screwing up to learn what unexpecteds might come up Thanks again for advice! I will be practicing on my cheapos until I am confident before risking any of my nicer watches. Hopefully next week after the holidays I can get my hands on the other tools... I can see this hobbie getting out of control pretty fast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRG Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 The movement was some cheap asian auto, wasn't going to make an ETA my first movement Not sure what the movement was, but the crown release button was a little diveted circle if that means anything... Sounds like the Asian 21J...I cant recall if it remains hacked with the stem out... Is there a "good" way to freeze the rotor while working so it doesn't wind up on you anymore? You could use a small bit of Rodico to stop the rotor spinning or better still remove it.... The hand puller I used was one from birdman http://replica-watch.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8171 I will have to master getting it on the hands without damaging anything as in it's relaxed position the grippers exceed the rubber tips so it's possible to rub sharp grippers against the dial... I think watch paper and some careful practice will get me around this. That's a good puller, yes sounds like you just need the practice. I have never handled a real burgeron hand puller set but I think the problems I am having come more from my experience and less from the tool in this case... I will have to search for a movement holder... that would have made things a whole world easier... also will get some watch papers, rodico, gloves etc... this was a quick and dirty on a watch I don't care about screwing up to learn what unexpecteds might come up Thanks again for advice! I will be practicing on my cheapos until I am confident before risking any of my nicer watches. Hopefully next week after the holidays I can get my hands on the other tools... I can see this hobbie getting out of control pretty fast No problem! It's addictive! Merry Xmas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005SUBMARINER Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 next time put a lil plastic baggie over the dial , just expose the hands that will prevent you from scratching the dial .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertieng Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 1) What is the movement? 2824, 2836 should still hack with the stem pulled. However, as The Zigmeister has posted before pull the stem with the crown in the winding position....which means you should let the main spring down.......so...... This is exactly what I hav done today. What I have to do to restore movt back to working? It can now nether wind nor hands adjustment. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazz Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 Here is a thread which discusses how to let down the main spring on an ETA. Click Me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertieng Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Here is a thread which discusses how to let down the main spring on an ETA. Click Me Thanks a lot. BTW, any how idea how to put the datewheel onto the movt. The one on mine fell off also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazz Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 There is a pic in this tread that kinda shows the way the date wheel is held in Here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertieng Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 What a great tutorial, thanks so much Bazz. But I wonder why it is necessary to remove the metal piece covering the hour wheel for pushing the keyless work back into place? Is this step mandatory? Sorry for my ignorance, but I am learning a lot here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazz Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 Nup.... if you are just trying to nudge the set lever back into place then no. The pics are of two different movements... was being a little lazy when taking the pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertieng Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 Thanks so much, Bazz. I got the movement fixed. Saves me 30 bucks for sending out for repair. This is great experience, and I enjoyed the disemablings and resemblings so much. Merry X'mas folks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.