donciccio
Is a Permanent Fixture
Posts: 6,160
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Post by donciccio on Aug 8, 2014 10:09:04 GMT -8
We've all been there. Whether you are a professional watchmaker or its a hobby. We've all screwed up big time in one way or another and damaged a watch while in the process of repairing or improving it. Lets share some of the stories that made you either cry or bang your head against the wall. About six months ago I was working on a customers vintage Hamilton. It came in for the works, movement service, crystal, case polish and cleaning of the dial. The watch had an old cruddy Speidel twist-o-flex on it and it was trashed. One side came off easily , but the spring bar on the other side was rusted. Normally when this happens, I gently and slowly work on opening the end link to remove it from the spring bar then work on cutting it out or removing. This time I don't know what I was thinking , but I took a pair of clippers and just went at it. Next thing I know one of the lugs snapped right off of the case and flew across the room. My heart sank, a cold sweat broke out and I felt like an idiot. Luckily it was a clean break and once I found it after two hours of searching on my knees I was able to solder it back on good as new. Still though, I now remember that no matter how many times I've done something I must never rush the process.
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Post by timewatcher on Aug 8, 2014 10:14:15 GMT -8
Good thing you found the lug and were able to fix it or you would have had a VERY pissed off customer!
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donciccio
Is a Permanent Fixture
Posts: 6,160
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Post by donciccio on Aug 8, 2014 10:16:00 GMT -8
Good thing you found the lug and were able to fix it or you would have had a VERY pissed off customer!
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Post by seikoholic on Aug 8, 2014 11:50:38 GMT -8
I remember once I called Jonathan, and he was in a cold sweat, really upset. He'd been doing work on a solid 14k case, and had managed to seriously damage it. He fixed it, everything was fine (he was a master, after all) but even the best of plans can go horribly wrong, especially if we're rushing. But imagine roaching a solid 14k case on a vintage Swiss watch (brand withheld).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 11:52:29 GMT -8
I haven't had any mishaps with customer watches(touch wood) but there have been a few sad moments with my own watches. Lost parts; you know, the kind that launch themselves into the multiverse never to be seen again. Probably the saddest was on a small, this Avia... I still have the whole watch except for the hour hand. It would have looked very similar to this little Alprosa ... Anyway, when I was pulling the hands with my puller, they all let go at the same time and went in three separate directions. The seconds and minute hands were located easily enough, they were sitting near my keyboard. I heard the hour hand hit something that sounded like the keyboard so I assumed it had fallen inside. Well, disassembling the keyboard on a white sheet to catch anything that might fall out, turned up nothing. The hour hand was nowhere to be found So, to this day, I dont' have an hour hand even though O managed to repair the original problem. You can see a circular scratch between the 3 and 5 markers that was caused by the minute hand scraping by. It turns out the stem release on this movement... was like so many, cross threaded by airline baggage handler watch mutilators. I managed to get it unscrewed and cleaned up the threads then put it back together properly. With the stem release(which was pushing the dial up so the hand rubbed it) back in position, the minute hand no longer touches the dial. Some day a replacement hour hand will show up. They were pretty common on the 50s watches but I'm not buying a donor because I will just want to fix and restore that one too
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donciccio
Is a Permanent Fixture
Posts: 6,160
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Post by donciccio on Aug 8, 2014 13:30:07 GMT -8
I haven't had any mishaps with customer watches(touch wood) but there have been a few sad moments with my own watches. Lost parts; you know, the kind that launch themselves into the multiverse never to be seen again. Probably the saddest was on a small, this Avia... I still have the whole watch except for the hour hand. It would have looked very similar to this little Alprosa ... Anyway, when I was pulling the hands with my puller, they all let go at the same time and went in three separate directions. The seconds and minute hands were located easily enough, they were sitting near my keyboard. I heard the hour hand hit something that sounded like the keyboard so I assumed it had fallen inside. Well, disassembling the keyboard on a white sheet to catch anything that might fall out, turned up nothing. The hour hand was nowhere to be found So, to this day, I dont' have an hour hand even though O managed to repair the original problem. You can see a circular scratch between the 3 and 5 markers that was caused by the minute hand scraping by. It turns out the stem release on this movement... was like so many, cross threaded by airline baggage handler watch mutilators. I managed to get it unscrewed and cleaned up the threads then put it back together properly. With the stem release(which was pushing the dial up so the hand rubbed it) back in position, the minute hand no longer touches the dial. Some day a replacement hour hand will show up. They were pretty common on the 50s watches but I'm not buying a donor because I will just want to fix and restore that one too I can't make any promises Pete, but I might have a hand for you. I have a ton of things to go through to find it , but I'll keep an eye out.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 13:34:10 GMT -8
I can't make any promises Pete, but I might have a hand for you. I have a ton of things to go through to find it , but I'll keep an eye out. That would be great. Keep in mind this is a 30mm watch with a 23mm dial. The hour hand hole size is 190.
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donciccio
Is a Permanent Fixture
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Post by donciccio on Aug 8, 2014 13:38:16 GMT -8
Gucci makes a line of very ostentatious watches where the crystal is sapphire and cut to fit the letter G. I cracked that son of a bitch. Cracked it real good. Gucci wouldn't sell it to me with a wholesale price. Even with proof of my corporation and tax id number. I had to send it into their repair center and to pay for a full service (which I just got done doing) and the crystal replacement. Almost five bills for that mistake.
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HiBeat
Global Moderator
SEIKO Iko Iko GDTRWS
Posts: 8,684
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Post by HiBeat on Aug 8, 2014 13:53:34 GMT -8
The only man who hadn't mistakenly trashed a watch is the man who never tinkered with any.
I've had some headaches sling the way. Last time I just threw all the parts in the trash bin. A week later I wanted that dial back for an incoming that needed it. Lesson learned is once trashed , salvage the goodies once back into a calm state.
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donciccio
Is a Permanent Fixture
Posts: 6,160
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Post by donciccio on Aug 8, 2014 13:55:22 GMT -8
The only man who hadn't mistakenly trashed a watch is the man who never tinkered with any. I've had some headaches sling the way. Last time I just threw all the parts in the trash bin. A week later I wanted that dial back for an incoming that needed it. Lesson learned is once trashed , salvage the goodies once back into a calm state.
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Post by seikoholic on Aug 8, 2014 15:05:13 GMT -8
Some day a replacement hour hand will show up. They were pretty common on the 50s watches but I'm not buying a donor because I will just want to fix and restore that one too Would either these help?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 16:01:10 GMT -8
The important thing is your up front and honest about your mishap! We learn by our mistakes and in the clock game this is sooooo true as I am sure it is within the watch repairs also. As long as you do learn that's always the most important thing... well and listening to good advice
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Post by Groundhog66 on Aug 8, 2014 16:13:28 GMT -8
I've not yet done any serious damage, but my last incident is detailed HERE.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 16:17:12 GMT -8
Some day a replacement hour hand will show up. They were pretty common on the 50s watches but I'm not buying a donor because I will just want to fix and restore that one too Would either these help? The one on the left looks to be the same case and the hands look very similar. That hour hand would probably do the trick.
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Myles
Needs a Life!
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Post by Myles on Aug 8, 2014 17:51:49 GMT -8
I once sent one of the tiny screws that holds the battery clamp on a ladies Swiss quartz mov't (ETA, can't remember the model) flying three times, and found it three times! I'm not a religious man, but these are the moments when I pray. I found it the first two times crawling on my hands and knees with a flashlight. The third time, I resorted to using the vacuum cleaner floor attachment with four rare-earth metal magnets stuck to the bottom of it.
Myles
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HiBeat
Global Moderator
SEIKO Iko Iko GDTRWS
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Post by HiBeat on Aug 8, 2014 18:08:46 GMT -8
I once sent one of the tiny screws that holds the battery clamp on a ladies Swiss quartz mov't (ETA, can't remember the model) flying three times, and found it three times! I'm not a religious man, but these are the moments when I pray. I found it the first two times crawling on my hands and knees with a flashlight. The third time, I resorted to using the vacuum cleaner floor attachment with four rare-earth metal magnets stuck to the bottom of it. Myles Great thinking with the magnets.
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cobrajet25
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"Underweared curmudgeon!"
Posts: 3,357
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Post by cobrajet25 on Aug 9, 2014 1:59:01 GMT -8
I haven't had any mishaps with customer watches(touch wood) but there have been a few sad moments with my own watches. Lost parts; you know, the kind that launch themselves into the multiverse never to be seen again. Probably the saddest was on a small, this Avia... I still have the whole watch except for the hour hand. It would have looked very similar to this little Alprosa ... Anyway, when I was pulling the hands with my puller, they all let go at the same time and went in three separate directions. The seconds and minute hands were located easily enough, they were sitting near my keyboard. I heard the hour hand hit something that sounded like the keyboard so I assumed it had fallen inside. Well, disassembling the keyboard on a white sheet to catch anything that might fall out, turned up nothing. The hour hand was nowhere to be found So, to this day, I dont' have an hour hand even though O managed to repair the original problem. You can see a circular scratch between the 3 and 5 markers that was caused by the minute hand scraping by. It turns out the stem release on this movement... was like so many, cross threaded by airline baggage handler watch mutilators. I managed to get it unscrewed and cleaned up the threads then put it back together properly. With the stem release(which was pushing the dial up so the hand rubbed it) back in position, the minute hand no longer touches the dial. Some day a replacement hour hand will show up. They were pretty common on the 50s watches but I'm not buying a donor because I will just want to fix and restore that one too I can't make any promises Pete, but I might have a hand for you. I have a ton of things to go through to find it , but I'll keep an eye out. Nothing worse than getting a problem movement almost back together, then having a part fly off into the ether. I think if a person were to x-ray the carpet at my old house, it would look like the warehouse at Jules Borel!
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Post by 69ChevelleSS on Aug 9, 2014 6:44:52 GMT -8
I don't dabble in repairs . . . batteries and bracelets are as far as I go. I'm a man who knows his limits . . . . I don't have the eyes or the dexterity.
I was one sizing a bracelet for a new buy (I think it was my Sumo) and it was one of those that has cylinders for where the pins go into the links. I dropped one and could never find it (must have bounced around really well on the hard wood floor). That was my realization that I need a good watch maker in my life.
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Post by seikoholic on Aug 9, 2014 6:54:20 GMT -8
The one on the left looks to be the same case and the hands look very similar. That hour hand would probably do the trick. It's yours if you want it. Solid stainless case, even a stainless crown. Broken balance but otherwise a good movement. But the hand is what is important.
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Post by seikoholic on Aug 9, 2014 6:54:54 GMT -8
I don't dabble in repairs . . . batteries and bracelets are as far as I go. I'm a man who knows his limits . . . . I don't have the eyes or the dexterity. I was one sizing a bracelet for a new buy (I think it was my Sumo) and it was one of those that has cylinders for where the pins go into the links. I dropped one and could never find it (must have bounced around really well on the hard wood floor). That was my realization that I need a good watch maker in my life. those collars were invented by a very evil person.
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