Extremely Noob-ish Question: Winding a Manual Watch

[GeneWilder]

Hey Guys,

As I'm sure you've already gleaned from the title of this post, I'm a novice in the world of horology, and specifically, in the world of manual watches. I just received my first manual: a Hamilton Khaki Field Green Dial (HML-H69419363). I wound it for the first time, out of the box, yesterday, until I felt some tension/resistance on the crown, and not past that. This must not have been enough rotations, as this morning, the watch stopped (at approximately 4 AM). I wound it again, this time through some tension/resistance on the crown. My question is whether one should stop winding when he feels this resistance, or wind through the resistance until the crown completely stops. Obviously, I'm proceeding cautiously, as I do not want to damage the main spring. As usual, your insights and tips will be greatly appreciated.

Thank You!

[Ray MacDonald]

Wind gently till you feel total resistance, then stop.

[GeneWilder]

Thanks, Ray. So wind until the crown will not move anymore without the use of a lot of force or pliers?

[watchma]

Thanks, Ray. So wind until the crown will not move anymore without the use of a lot of force or pliers?

lol - Don't take pliers anywhere near your watch!!

Gentle winding with tips of finger and thumb and stopping as soon as you feel a resistance, won't get you into too much trouble :)

You will feel a gentle increase in resistance as you wind the watch up, but there will be a definite stop you will reach - this is when you stop

[GeneWilder]

Haha, thanks, Watchma. No, I'm afraid of using my fingers, let alone pliers. My only issue is that I stopped when I felt resistance, and got only about 12 hours out of the mechanism; the specifications claimed I would get ~40 hours with a full wind. That's why I think that stopping when I hit first resistance isn't enough. It might just be an idiosyncrasy with this piece.

[pithy]

Which movement does it have?

[some.idiot]

about how many rotations do you get before you feel the resistance?

[daschlag]

AFAIK it uses the ETA 2801 hand crank version of the 2824. Here's a video of a chap winding his. Different case and no date, but should give you an idea of the force required if you watch closely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7U9F_Xv3Js

[Bud001]

The movement is a 2804-2, which is similar to the 2801-2 in my glycine combat 6 (yours have date, mine doesnt.) Just wind until you feel it stop, GENTLY.

[GeneWilder]

Thanks, guys. I'll look at the video. I didn't count, but I don't think I would it more than 20 rotations.