My club of restored vintage watches

[marc_wl]

Yesterday night I wanted to conclude a post by a picture of my recently restored oldies but I finally forgot to paste the link...

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c337/marcwl/pict0003r.jpg


The 3 recent white-dial watches (this post (http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=5527)) on the right; a group of 3 golden one, 2 other French watches fitted with 23mm calibers, the 2 automatic Yema (ETA and FE calibers), my initial learning project : the Russian Raketa, plus a piece of a 1972 Timex.

[Ray MacDonald]

Thanks for posting Marc. You have a very nice collection and you must be very skilled to restore them all yourself. I particularly like your French models (Lip and Yema).

[Hartmut Richter]

Sodding hell, you have been busy!! One question: did you service the Timex? If so, what movement is inside? All the 70's Timexes I have picked up (some looking pristine on outside and dial) have had trashy pin-pallet movements which couldn't even be taken apart - the sort that the watchmaker serviced by trashing the contents and putting a new one inside!


Hartmut Richter

[marc_wl]

Sodding hell, you have been busy!! One question: did you service the Timex? If so, what movement is inside? All the 70's Timexes I have picked up (some looking pristine on outside and dial) have had trashy pin-pallet movements which couldn't even be taken apart - the sort that the watchmaker serviced by trashing the contents and putting a new one inside!
Hartmut Richter

I found this Timex at the Lyon's flea market. I serviced the watch according to a modified version of the 1966 Timex service instruction notes (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Budget_Watch_Collecting/Timex_movement_clean_and_lube).

I did not dismounted anything else than the dial, hands and the dato. I just washed the whole caliber two times in naphta, dried thoroughly with the Bergeon baloon,and oiled the pivots. Unfortunately, I don't remember the exact reference of the movement, produced massively in the 70's in the pre-quartz period and assembled by machines. The site of Christoph Lorenz ( http://www.christophlorenz.de (http://www.christophlorenz.de/watch/movements/timex_25.php)) would indicated that is a Timex 25. It seems that the cases only were produced in France but the movements in UK in 1972. The watch keep the time loosing about 1min/day. I could try to regulate it a bit.

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/6196/timex054lq.jpg

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2927/timex047bp.jpg

http://img312.imageshack.us/img312/7117/timex063ig.jpg

http://img344.imageshack.us/img344/5031/timex075zo.jpg


The other example I have in mind of such type of movement is the Ruhla manufactured in millions of exemplaries in the former DDR. No jewels too. Here is my specimen in which I have a big problem with the spiral hairspring. I had the bad idea to dismount the balance wheel + cock. Now the spiral is no more flat and very difficult to fix...

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/7035/ruhla04r7fe.jpg

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/7689/ruhla01r2rq.jpg

[JohnF]

Marc -

Amazing. Truly amazing!

I wish I had the time and determination, not to mention the talent, that you've shown...

:-)

JohnF

[sevesteen]

I found this Timex at the Lyon's flea market. I serviced the watch according to a modified version of the 1966 Timex service instruction notes (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Budget_Watch_Collecting/Timex_movement_clean_and_lube).


That was meant to be a rough draft--The next time I serviced a Timex, I was going to add pictures, clean up and organize the text. I guess I need to do that sooner if people are actually using the page.

Timex mechanical movements are either really easy or really hard to fix, with nothing between. There are so many of them that in most cases if they require anything more than a cleaning, it makes more sense to swap a different movement in. (When they were current, Timex had a movement exchange program) They are a good way to have a successful watchmaking experience and get a little skill in handling small parts, but there's so little challenge that the learning potential is fairly small.

[Hartmut Richter]

Yep, that looks fairly well like my Timex - at least the movement does! I'll have to get round to cleaning and oiling it sometime without taking apart then. As for the Ruhla, I have some similar, nice Baumgartner movements which I learnt on - the first few duly went bust but I have got as far as putting them back together without any damage.

Merci beaucoup!

Hartmut Richter

[Chascomm]

Yep, that looks fairly well like my Timex - at least the movement does! I'll have to get round to cleaning and oiling it sometime without taking apart then. As for the Ruhla, I have some similar, nice Baumgartner movements which I learnt on - the first few duly went bust but I have got as far as putting them back together without any damage.

Merci beaucoup!

Hartmut RichterLooking at a Baumgartner alongside a Ruhla, I have no doubt that the Baumgartner is a far more refined movement (although having said that, my 17 jewel Baumgartner has mysteriously died, but my 2 Ruhlas are running great).

The thing about the Ruhla is that it is descended from a long line of pin-levers going back to the Thiel Bros. 'Fearless' in the 1930s, but the calibre 24 was a design revision specifically for machine assembly. Although it is inherently more serviceable than a Timex, it was nevertheless intended to be a 'disposable' movement. And they made 130,000,000 of the suckers; so if it dies, buy another.

[Hartmut Richter]

Looking at a Baumgartner alongside a Ruhla, I have no doubt that the Baumgartner is a far more refined movement (although having said that, my 17 jewel Baumgartner has mysteriously died, but my 2 Ruhlas are running great).

The thing about the Ruhla is that it is descended from a long line of pin-levers going back to the Thiel Bros. 'Fearless' in the 1930s, but the calibre 24 was a design revision specifically for machine assembly. Although it is inherently more serviceable than a Timex, it was nevertheless intended to be a 'disposable' movement. And they made 130,000,000 of the suckers; so if it dies, buy another.


Yes, agreed that Baumgartners are more refined than Ruhlas - at least they can be fully taken apart like a high-quality swiss lever movement and serviced!

Hartmut Richter

[pacifichrono]

Great collection, Marc! :-!

[TimeLight]

I found this Timex at the Lyon's flea market. I serviced the watch according to a modified version of the 1966 Timex service instruction notes (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Budget_Watch_Collecting/Timex_movement_clean_and_lube).

I did not dismounted anything else than the dial, hands and the dato. I just washed the whole caliber two times in naphta, dried thoroughly with the Bergeon baloon,and oiled the pivots. Unfortunately, I don't remember the exact reference of the movement, produced massively in the 70's in the pre-quartz period and assembled by machines. The site of Christoph Lorenz ( http://www.christophlorenz.de (http://www.christophlorenz.de/watch/movements/timex_25.php)) would indicated that is a Timex 25. It seems that the cases only were produced in France but the movements in UK in 1972. The watch keep the time loosing about 1min/day. I could try to regulate it a bit.


Hi Marc,
You mentioned you used NAPHTA to washed the Timex movement, did you use ultra sonic machine or just dip the whole movement into naphta and dried it with bergeon baloon? I also use naphta to clean all my movements with brush and it works great but recently, I have heard that this kind of petroleum base degreaser is very harmful to health!!! Do you have any comment or suggestions on this issue? Thanks.

[James A Robertson]

Never underestimate the perseverance of the lowly Timex. I have dumped the entire movement in a solution of dishwashing soap in a glass cleaning jar and watched the balance beat like hell. I have now gone Timex mad or as some of my watch maker friends suggest just plain crazy. Sold my IWC Portuguese and a Nomos Orion to fund the purchase of 800 Timex's from a retired pharmacist. Most date to the mid sixties and are NOS. Now who's crazy. These bad boys will fetch a king's ransom on the bay, or enough to buy gasoline for my car for one month. :-D
Best, JR

[marc_wl]

Hi Marc,
You mentioned you used NAPHTA to washed the Timex movement, did you use ultra sonic machine or just dip the whole movement into naphta and dried it with bergeon baloon? I also use naphta to clean all my movements with brush and it works great but recently, I have heard that this kind of petroleum base degreaser is very harmful to health!!! Do you have any comment or suggestions on this issue? Thanks.

Yes I mentionned "Naphta" but the French exact name is "Essence F" sold to clean clothes from grease marks. I think it is a mixture of pentanes and hexanes. As all organic solvents, it could be dangerous if inhaled of course. Less however than the real benzene (C6H6) very cancerigenic and nowday forbiden for use. The best would be work in a well ventilated place or to have an air extraction above. I use a small paint brush too in this nice specific glass pot called in French watchmaching vocabulary "benzine" :

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/985/erosa005r9vy.jpg


I did not use a water detergent and utra-sound (I don't have such machine). On a whole movement it would not be possible. On a normal watch the mainsprind/barrel and balance wheel/spiral would not resist to thzt treatment.

I washed the case wih such detergent however, which better to remove old durt :

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c337/marcwl/bv_010r.jpg