cronsell Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 (edited) Okay, so I followed Puqwash's wonderful tutorial on how to swap the day and date wheel on a 7750 movement. It is in my brand new IWC 3717. Everything was going smoothly until I needed to fit the hands back onto the movement. The hour hand subdial (at six o'clock) would not go back on...then I noticed that the pinion was shorter than the rest. Then I noticed that I couldn't see daylight through the hand where the hole is...so I guess the presto removal tool was a little rough on it and the pinion broke. My question is this: What do I do now? Do I have to buy a new movement? Is it possible to fix the hand with the pin stuck in it, or do I need a new one of those as well? If I need to replace the pins, then is it possible to get silver ones instead of the brass colored ones, or do I need to go swiss for that? Okay, enough questions for now...time to educate the newbie...gimme whatcha got, and thanks in advance! By the way The Zigmeister, I just read your rules about consultation...sorry for screwing up, I'm trying to correct myself right now! Edited February 14, 2008 by cronsell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star69 Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 wow - would not have tried this at home ;-) bring it to the GTG - i know a watchmaker who can fix it. cheers, Frank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoobs1971 Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 Sorry to hear this Cronsell. The Zigmeister has just repaired my 7750 which had a broken 30 minute counter pinion. Since I had my movement fully disassembled and serviced it was not a difficult or expensive fix. I would suggest to contact The Zigmeister for repair and full service (which I would highly recommend for every 7750). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marrickvilleboy Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 The part is available. I am currently fixing one for a member here who had the same issue with DIY. Be careful next time. I gentle tug is enough to remove the subdial counters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cronsell Posted February 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 Thank you everyone! I feel much better this morning than I did last night going to bed...nothing irritates me more than screwing up a beautiful watch! kelster, I will bring it tomorrow...and now you don't have to feel so bad...the allure just isn't the same with a hand missing! scoobs...I contacted The Zigmeister right away, still awaiting a response. I think I violated a rule of his by asking his advice in a pm rather than on the forum but now it should be all better. I would like to get this movement serviced, as the watch is absolutely GORGEOUS, and keeper for sure. As for trying this at home, I'm still glad I did it. It went VERY well except for this one little issue, and now I feel more confident with the 7750 than I did before. I am very interested in watch smithing as a hobby and this little adventure just gave me more experience! I'm starting to wonder if using the lever style hand puller is a better idea...the presto puller seems to use a lot of force even with a gentle squeeze. Any thoughts from the more experienced "pullers"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoobs1971 Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 the presto puller seems to use a lot of force even with a gentle squeeze. Any thoughts from the more experienced "pullers"? Pulling subdials can be very tricky indeed . I know that some people don't use the hand puller at all for these tiny parts, since it's hard to control what you do, and instead use a small screwdriver to gently lift it off (obviouslly the dial should be protected with some watch paper). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cronsell Posted February 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 thanks scoobs...looking forward to meeting you tomorrow, looking forward to meeting everyone at the GTG in Brussels in fact!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offshore Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 Actually, a little "trick", I have learned, is to use a very thin piece of film, and place it over the hands. Then use the puller, outside the film, capturing both the protective film and the hands. And if the film is too thick for the puller feet, sometimes 2 screwdriver tips acting as a lever, or even fine tipped tweezers, will lift them. But do not force the issue. Offshore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 For future reference, the safest way to remove small hands Protect the dial with a piece of plastic or paperGently lever a pair of small screwdrivers like a 60 (white) & 80 (yellow) beneath the hand, coming in from opposite directions -- 180 degrees opposite each other, like east & west.Beginning with the flat of both blades parallel to the surface of the dial, slowly twist both screwdriver handles in opposite directions (simultaneously) against the covered dial surface so they essentially wedge themselves between the dial & lower side of the hand.Continue twisting the blades, slowly, in opposite directions & the hand will gently slide up & off its pinion. Alternatively, most of the supply houses sell hand 'levers' that make the task a bit easier This is the way watchmakers removed hands (safely) for a hundred years before modern hand removal tools were invented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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