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Post by tempelkim on Sept 14, 2019 5:36:09 GMT -8
What a night - finals! After some more waiting for tools, dabbling with the case, again waiting for tools, once more washing and oiling the balance and some more case work last night was going to be the night where everything should go together. Inserting the new crystal went surprisingly well. The old gasket was in good condition and only got some 'Seiko Silicon Grease TSF-451' which I hope is correct for that purpose. Next was putting the dial on after some careful Rodico treatment. Then I noticed I forgot the case ring. So off with the dial and on with the ring. Next I noticed the day wheel looked odd. Well, my 573B has the crown at 3 o'clock whereas the wheel donor has it at 4 - bollocks. Again off the dial, off the day wheel and in went the original German/English day wheel. Then came the hands - a task I have really been afraid of. The hour hand was a bit twisted, but i managed to mend that with two pairs of tweezers without making it worse. Most difficult was getting the seconds hand on, but somehow it worked at some point and it even started running though there should have been no power left in the main spring. So I faithfully popped it into its case, inserted the crown and... ...wait a minute. Why does it stick out? It is not the original one as that one is bent. Aren't they all the same? Obviously that is another case of 3 vs. 4 o'clock. Luckily the other spare movement has a crown that fits, but with the gasket missing. So for now it will do. Ordered some gaskets. Like many of the interesting Seiko parts they ship from the UK. (I hope Mr. Johnson will not get through with his stupid Brexit plans or in the future I'll be sitting at custom's office twice a week). And then was the time. Screwed the case back in, gave it a shake and it was running and looking good. And then it stopped. Gave it some more shake, it started running and it stopped. Moved it around for two minutes (thanks god nobody was looking), but it still wasn't running. So I had to open it again (is it the balance? did I break something?). Well, some may have guessed already - I forgot to put the rotor on. Having done that it was running when the case back was back in. I mounted the non-original bracelet it came with, because I currently have nothing else available in 19mm and put it on my wrist. That was 15 hours ago. It didn't stop since then. I wasn't looking at the exact second when setting the time, but there is no obvious gaining or losing since then. Fortunately I do not have a time grapher yet so I cannot tell how bad it actually is. This is what it looks like now: It is definitely far from being perfect, but it surely is better than when I started so I count that as a success. ...or quoting the great Jeremy Clarkson: 'I mended something!' I would like to thank the wristsushi forum and especially Mr. Mike_B who have been of great help in achieving this. Next is this one: PS: Extra points will be rewarded to the ones who guess which contemporary record covers have been used as background for the pictures.
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Post by Mike_B on Sept 14, 2019 7:50:32 GMT -8
@tempelkin No need to thank me, you did it all on your own! My videos may have been a guide and motivation but it’s been your determination that has seen you get to the end of the project and I would hope feeling very proud of yourself too.
It’s that achievement buzz that I still chase. I love beat up watches that I can attempt to get back running again.
I am really pleased for you and trust me this is a big rabbit hole you might just fall down now but it’s so rewarding along the way.
This watch looks fantastic now also .
Your next project is indeed a good selection an Actus which are some of my favourites.
What movement is in that one ?
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Morning
Sept 14, 2019 16:12:46 GMT -8
Post by tempelkim on Sept 14, 2019 16:12:46 GMT -8
6106C it is. I think there are some instructions on youtube. :-)
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Morning
Sept 27, 2019 16:52:16 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by anthony on Sept 27, 2019 16:52:16 GMT -8
Good luck!
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Morning
Sept 27, 2019 17:09:04 GMT -8
pip likes this
Post by tempelkim on Sept 27, 2019 17:09:04 GMT -8
Well, there is no 'Stumble Through' section, so I think I'll report here on progress with my 6106. There is a detailed four parts video on Mike's channel, so it must be easy - so I thought. The disassembly went smoothly apart from nearly all screws being super tight. I had to make triple sure it is the correct screwdriver, press hard and pray that I don't destroy it. No problem with cleaning. Unfortunately the mainspring broke, when I tried to reinsert it into the barrel. Replaced it with one from a spare 6309. Next session saw the assembly of the motion side. That went well and at the end of the day it was happily ticking (*yay*). Plan for this night was the dial side and that was where the horror began. There is a tiny difference between Mike's 6106 in the video and my Actus - that's the jewel count. Mike's has 17 jewels while mine has 23 - three Diafixes make the difference. They have to be oiled, don't they? So let's do that first. Watched again the Diashock/-fix video and then started with some Rodico and an oiler. Got the first one open and *ping* the cap stone was gone. Spent 15 minutes searching, but it was gone. So the first action of the day was bringing the project to a halt - great. As a young boy I've been used to horse riding and there was a rule: when fallen down from the horse you can't go home, you have to mount again. So I went on to the second one. That surprisingly worked well. Got it open, oiled and closed again. When opening the third one the spring went off - noooooo!!! Again I started searching the table (with little hope). After 10 minutes I found the jewel I lost in the first place. Put that back in and got the spring closed. Continued searching. No luck. Had a smoke and a glass of Gin. Remembered that the spring went in my direction. Did a close inspection of my shirt and actually found it there. Now it had to get back in and that really was a nightmare. It jumped off again and again (at least ten times) and every time I found it (can't believe that myself). Don't know exactly how but in the end it was back in. All three Diafixes are done now and it only took me about 3 1/2 hours. The dial side has to wait, I guess...
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pip
WS Benefactor
Berkshire, UK
Posts: 6,171
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Post by pip on Sept 27, 2019 23:24:31 GMT -8
That’s some good work! I’d been inside a few watches before I stated on diafix springs, they used to give me the horrors. When you have done a few, not so much of an issue but still have to be careful of course. It’s the time you think you have cracked it that one will go flying.
Keep up the good work and keep posting!
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Morning
Sept 29, 2019 23:03:53 GMT -8
via mobile
pip likes this
Post by l10n3l on Sept 29, 2019 23:03:53 GMT -8
Don't know exactly how but in the end it was back in. All three Diafixes are done now and it only took me about 3 1/2 hours. The dial side has to wait, I guess... diafixes are a real nightmare. I spent 3 hours yesterday to open 4 pieces to get access and clean the jewels, without too much troubles for the 3 first (1 hour totally thought...) but of course the 4th one went wrong and after 2 hours, crack! broken in 2 pieces so I preferred to stop there and I will resume tonight with a spare one I have luckily. I guess practise is the key 🤔
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pip
WS Benefactor
Berkshire, UK
Posts: 6,171
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Post by pip on Sept 30, 2019 1:50:36 GMT -8
I guess practise is the key 🤔 If you haven’t already then watch Adrian-VTA Adrian’s video which I found really helpful. Go on YouTube and look up VTA (Vintage Time Australia) and from his many useful vids find the one on diafix. It was a game changer for me. I believe Mike_B Mike has done one about then too on his channel but I’ve not seen it yet. I’d watch both then get stuck in.
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Morning
Sept 30, 2019 12:18:40 GMT -8
Post by tempelkim on Sept 30, 2019 12:18:40 GMT -8
Ah, thanks. Didn't know Adrian's video. Just seen it. It actually shows what to do if the spring is completely off. I didn't use Rodico when putting it back in. That was clearly a mistake. Looking forward to the next time when this happens. ( no, I don't).
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Morning
Oct 26, 2019 4:52:01 GMT -8
Post by tempelkim on Oct 26, 2019 4:52:01 GMT -8
Tool Time! One important tool has been missing in my little workshop, because it is more expensive than a fine screwdriver - until today. It is the tool that tells you how well you did, when you are finished. So the first candidate obviously was the 6309 I did in the first place. The tool told me, it was running two minutes slow per day and had a beat error of 10ms. So I started fumbling. This is what I came up with: Crystal down: Crystal up: Crown down: I know, it is not perfect, but from my point of view it's o.k.. The amplitude starts with a '2' (most of the times), the beat error is low and the rate should allow wearing for a couple of days without correction. This is actually far better than I expected it to be.
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Post by tempelkim on Oct 26, 2019 7:47:20 GMT -8
...aaaand number two got finished today. It took me a while: broken mainspring, lots of trouble with the Diafixes and finally a lost screw, but now it is done. Unfortunately there are some spots on the dial I could not remove. Tried with Rodico and carefully with some water, but they will not go away. Timegrapher reading is not perfect as well. The amplitude is too low. But all in all it is far better than before. I will wear it some days and then decide on further action required. Light is almost gone so only bad pictures for now: Since I now got some confidence in my abilities the next candidate is going to be a JDM Lord Matic - 5606-7130. It is running, but something rattles inside and the timegrapher refuses to give a sensible reading: Hope I'll not wreck it...
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Morning
Oct 26, 2019 10:41:58 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by l10n3l on Oct 26, 2019 10:41:58 GMT -8
good job I haven't dared to upgrade above 6106 so far I wish you the best for your 5606
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Post by tempelkim on Oct 27, 2019 5:37:31 GMT -8
Here is one with a little more light:
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Morning
Nov 12, 2019 16:38:19 GMT -8
Post by russtmurray on Nov 12, 2019 16:38:19 GMT -8
I'm a little late in welcoming you to the forum and based on what I've seen so far, you don't need luck
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Post by tempelkim on Dec 10, 2019 13:19:57 GMT -8
Took me a long time as I was a bit discouraged after my third project -a 7625- went totally wrong. Could not get it to run and broke two balances trying to make it work. At some point I gave up and put it aside. Next was a 5606 and I must confess that it is definitely in a different league. Every part is nice and shiny and polished and -unfortunately- everything is more complicated. So I took it very slowly and very careful. One session for disassembly - one for cleaning - one for the keyless works - one for the motion works (without pallet fork and balance) and so on. Lost one screw (again) and had to wait for parts from speedtimercollection. It's an open-through-glass-model and I had to find me a crystal removal tool (found a used Bergeon Vigor on eBay). Nevertheless I managed to bend the seconds hand when the crystal suddenly came off. Took not enough pictures on disassembly and since there is no video from Mike_B on the 5606 I spent quite some time finding out how everything has to go together back again. Last weekend finally everything came back together and it started running. Regulation took a lot of time as the timegrapher would not read a signal in the movement holder. Had to put it in the case, get some reading, remove it from the case, fiddle with the balance, reinsert in the case and so on and so on. Finally I had the beat error below 0.2 in every position with the amplitude being well above 200. Phew! Replaced the seconds hand with another from a spare Elnix I have for parts. But I am afraid it is not exactly the same. It seems to be a fraction of a mil nearer to the minute wheel then it should be be as it every now and then gets stuck. It stopped working on Monday morning, so I thought I have to find me a correct seconds hand. Put it on a table on monday and was frustrated as it had gone wrong in the end. Did not touch it since then and was quite surprised to find it running when I came home today - more than 40 hours after I left it. I have a spare Lord Matic coming from Japan in the next weeks, but maybe the Elnix hand will do for now. However for now I consider this sort of completed. No light at night, so once again a bad picture:
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