Rod
WS Benefactor
Posts: 2,213
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Post by Rod on Oct 2, 2015 17:33:48 GMT -8
I have a 6105 with Duncan that has a sunken click ball. We discussed what could happen and he mentioned that he tried all manner of things to retrieve them on previous occasions. Drilling the case was my recommendation but it soon became apparent that it could go very wrong. I suppose that this is easier if there is no ball to get in the way and make the drill bit slip. I wondered if it could be sucked out using a makeshift vacuum attachment and getting the ball out that way.. Anyway, I digress, interesting idea here. So it's simply to have a larger click ball function for less wear? What i have done in the past is………strip the case and soak the whole case in WD40 etc..…push the spring ball up and down a few times then heat the case with a kitchen propane burner the WD40 boils and the ball comes free. Heating the case does no damage, nor effects the Stainless steel…..unless you go crazy and get the case red hot
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Adrian-VTA
Global Moderator
Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 5,327
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Post by Adrian-VTA on Oct 2, 2015 17:33:40 GMT -8
Possibly, I'll look into it. Geday, I've got a few of these as samples and thinking about selling them. The assembly is 1.28mm diameter, so you need to drill your old click ball hole to 1.3mm. So they are a bit larger than the stock 6309 etc one, but a bigger ball is better I think. In theory it should be less wear. Sale price would be $29AU How would people go with that? Besides that, they come as an assembly and just press in. Now doesn't one of the Tuna's have just this exact setup but the correct diameter for the 6309's etc?
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Adrian-VTA
Global Moderator
Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 5,327
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Post by Adrian-VTA on Oct 2, 2015 17:38:08 GMT -8
There's not much that heat and WD40 won't remove on these cases. My watchmaker buddies swear buy heat. One of them makes a "hot box", He has a box with open top, bolts a mesh screen to the top, and puts a $20 "footsie" heater in the box. He puts the part on the mesh, runs the footsie heater and it works really well. I have a 6105 with Duncan that has a sunken click ball. We discussed what could happen and he mentioned that he tried all manner of things to retrieve them on previous occasions. Drilling the case was my recommendation but it soon became apparent that it could go very wrong. I suppose that this is easier if there is no ball to get in the way and make the drill bit slip. I wondered if it could be sucked out using a makeshift vacuum attachment and getting the ball out that way.. Anyway, I digress, interesting idea here. So it's simply to have a larger click ball function for less wear? What i have done in the past is………strip the case and soak the whole case in WD40 etc..…push the spring ball up and down a few times then heat the case with a kitchen propane burner the WD40 boils and the ball comes free. Heating the case does no damage, non effects the Stainless steel…..unless you go crazy and get the case red hot
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Rod
WS Benefactor
Posts: 2,213
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Post by Rod on Oct 2, 2015 17:39:22 GMT -8
Possibly, I'll look into it. Now doesn't one of the Tuna's have just this exact setup but the correct diameter for the 6309's etc? Found the one i had…not a Tuna, but may be available.
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Adrian-VTA
Global Moderator
Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 5,327
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Post by Adrian-VTA on Oct 2, 2015 17:51:34 GMT -8
I've read through everyone's input and it's been really valuable. I think I concur with the general opinion that for the most part, the mod is too hard and there's a massive margin of error. That said anyone adventurous should e OK with it.
I've done these a few times before using a spring bar and loose ball. I grind off the shoulder end of the spring bar, drop that out, then the tube has a handy peen on the end. Cut the tube to size drop a ball in and the spring behind, then press it into the case. Why I like the assembly idea mostly, is that it saves me about 45 minutes of faffing around with spring bars.
This was discussed ages ago on SCWF and the opinion at the time was to avoid using BIC pen balls as they are tungsten carbide, which is considerably harder than stainless or carbon steel. Without looking at the data, I know off the top of my head it's twice as hard as carbon steel, and probably three times as hard as stainless. So it's going to munch out the bottom of the bezel over time. You can buy loose stainless steel balls of any size you want for next to nothing from Aliexpress, I'd go that way. I've seen the bottom of bezels where the ball has been replaced with a carbide ball, and even if the bezel isn't being used, the vibration from movement of the watch taps a dent into the area that is resting on where the ball sits. When this happens it gets loose in that area and the bezel rattles. The fix is to pop out the insert and turn it around so it's not resting on the non-chewed part.
So really the holy grail here would be, as Rod suggests, to find an assembly where drilling is not required.
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Adrian-VTA
Global Moderator
Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 5,327
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Post by Adrian-VTA on Oct 2, 2015 17:56:36 GMT -8
No bueno...all discontinued! Possibly, I'll look into it. Found the one i had…not a Tuna, but may be available.
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Rod
WS Benefactor
Posts: 2,213
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Post by Rod on Oct 2, 2015 18:03:23 GMT -8
No bueno...all discontinued! Found the one i had…not a Tuna, but may be available. Oh well at least we know that they once roamed the planet
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28A
WIS
Ruining original Seikos since 2015.
Posts: 1,030
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Post by 28A on Oct 2, 2015 18:30:57 GMT -8
Just snapped a pair of pictures of the empty hole in the case I want fixed. Adrian does this look chewed out to you or like its just missing the ball and spring?
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Adrian-VTA
Global Moderator
Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 5,327
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Post by Adrian-VTA on Oct 3, 2015 17:41:44 GMT -8
It's pretty much always the ball and spring missing. From the factory they just dropped in the ball and spring then belted the side of the hole with a punch, which deformed enough of the hole to retain the ball. Some have been drilled and fixed previously. The way to tell is to stick some verniers on it. The stock hole should be around 1.1mm. Just snapped a pair of pictures of the empty hole in the case I want fixed. Adrian does this look chewed out to you or like its just missing the ball and spring?
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28A
WIS
Ruining original Seikos since 2015.
Posts: 1,030
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Post by 28A on Oct 3, 2015 17:55:03 GMT -8
I don't think my verniers are small enough for that haha. I guess i might just have to buy your kit and give it a whirl and see what happens.
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cd_god
Is a Permanent Fixture
Finna set up a HOOD next door to your richie phuk suburban mansion
Posts: 12,276
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Post by cd_god on Oct 3, 2015 18:09:04 GMT -8
Is this a genuine Seiko part for a different watch that you realized could be retrofitted to the 6309 or a concept your dreampt (how is this not a recognized spell check word) up . Or is it a part from a microwave oven you saw a new purpose for
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Adrian-VTA
Global Moderator
Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 5,327
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Post by Adrian-VTA on Oct 3, 2015 19:41:55 GMT -8
They're a new replacement part for the 7S26-0050, which replaces the older replacement part which came as 3 parts. I say prototype because nobody has really tried it before and it's a relatively new-ish part. Is this a genuine Seiko part for a different watch that you realized could be retrofitted to the 6309 or a concept your dreampt (how is this not a recognized spell check word) up . Or is it a part from a microwave oven you saw a new purpose for
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cobrajet25
Needs a Life!
"Underweared curmudgeon!"
Posts: 3,357
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Post by cobrajet25 on Oct 4, 2015 4:39:03 GMT -8
...your dreampt (how is this not a recognized spell check word) It's dreamt...no "p".
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Post by Benchdweller on Oct 4, 2015 7:01:38 GMT -8
I've fixed a few cases using a spring bar as a sleeve and drilling the case is relatively easy. The old hole acts as a pilot hole so you need to be particularly ham-fisted or unlucky to mess it up.
The ideal solution is to re-fit the ball and spring into the original hole and peen it, just like it was done in the factory, but in some cases the hole is enlarged making it impossible to peen and the only solution is to drill it out and fit a sleeve.
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