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  • #55404
    chris mabbott
    Participant

      Hi David, sorry for the late reply, I was composing one as I got called away for the last two weeks :?

      But yes, I agree with you wholeheartedly, I hate, yes, hate, when I see things for sale that I 100% know for sure are the result of a chop shop, I see many movements that have had their cases/parts stripped and it is pure money grabbing techniques, most of the time for naught. OK, we need parts, and sometimes it is regrettably necessary to use one to repair another, but personally, I cannot bring myself to buy a movement for parts, because I end up getting it going 😆 Buying parts from dealers is kinda like when I eat meat, I ignore where it comes from :?

      When I got back I had a bunch of stuff in the mail, including the staff for this Hamilton and a nice original NOS shiny set of hands which I shall get to work on this weekend and post the hopeful completion and successful resurrection of this lovely, classic timepiece. God I love this hobby :D

      Chris

      #55405
      chris mabbott
      Participant

        Morning all,

        I’ve had a bit of spare time to progress on this watch, so as mentioned earlier, I received the new staff in the mail, which had a slight bit of surface rust and normal dirt, so I proceeded to clean it up and mirror polish it on the lathe/jacot, which took me over an hour, I’m very careful not to break anything, especially the pivots 😮
        So here is the new part ready to install after a final mirror polish with diamantine..

        #55406
        chris mabbott
        Participant

          Unfortunately, when I was completing the cleaning of the plates I found the second wheel had a badly broken jewel. I think this watch must have been dropped due to the classic damage pattern… broken balance pivot, broken roller jewel, broken second hand jewel and the cover of the mainspring barrel was out of place.

          I only had one plate jewel that was close in the O.D and the correct pivot size, out of thousands :? and it was a Seitz friction jewel. So after much inner debate, I decided to ream out and install the friction replacement, it is on the lower plate so aesthetically it’s not a huge concern, but I don’t really like to change the original setup if possible.

          #55407
          chris mabbott
          Participant

            Good news, I had an exact replacement for the upper balance hole jewel, I was about to call in a priest to exorcise the curse 👿

            I have a good selection of ruby jewels and although the original was not the ruby type, the new one is and will provide a warm, rich, red glow through the lesser garnet cap :) I was also able to rub this one back in to the setting so better than new, I believe the jewels made from rubies provide a better bearing surface, although I may be delusional in my reasoning 🙄

            #55408
            chris mabbott
            Participant

              I also replaced the broken roller jewel but I cannot for the life of me find the pics I’m sure I took. I’m a bit disorganized after being away, so gotta GMST 😆 Stay tuned..

              Here is the condition of the old jewel, the staff chewed it up pretty good, or was it vise versa :?:

              #55409
              chris mabbott
              Participant

                You guys think I’m just sitting here in the sun fluffing off (don’t you William 😆 ) But OH NOO, that is not the case here, as I’m also going into the very anal detail of mirror polishing the screws, yes all of them, including that little turd that holds the hairspring stud in place, all must be gleaming like little stars 8-)

                The screws were kinda nasty and dirty/rusty.. Not to polish them would be akin to putting on ones Sunday best with dirty shoes, no, no, no, we can’t be having that 🙄

                #55410
                chris mabbott
                Participant

                  Yeah, just like this, nasty and dull..

                  #55411
                  chris mabbott
                  Participant

                    Isn’t this better, we can see what we’re doing now, really, which screw would you rather eat dinner from :)

                    Each screw took me about an hour to reach mirror finish, I start with a fine file then use three consecutive grades of emery , followed by oil stone powder, then diamantine and buffs, then I touch up the slot with a file..

                    Those fuzzies are just from the buff stick by the way..

                    #55412
                    willofiam
                    Moderator

                      Chris, you are exactly right @Chris Mabbott wrote:

                      I’m just sitting here in the sun fluffing off (don’t you William 😆 )

                      I have always imagined you sitting in the warm sun on the deck eating cake :D ….. But you have proved otherwise, nice job ;) , I love this post, it it giving great ideas. @Chris Mabbott wrote:

                      Here is the condition of the old jewel, the staff chewed it up pretty good, or was it vise versa

                      I think it would be the jewel eating up the pivot, regardless, it has to be fixed!!!! Do you think diamantine would impregnate the pivot and cause more wear in the future? @Chris Mabbott wrote:

                      after a final mirror polish with diamantine..

                      I am not sure, but would a steel burnisher or a ruby burnisher give better results overall for pivots???? cant wait to see more….keep on keepin on and by all means have fun, William

                      #55413
                      chris mabbott
                      Participant

                        Hey buddy, ya kinda missed a few words from the first quote 😆 I’ll put it down to having cold hands, so a typo.. Was that B/day cake ;)

                        Definitely the jewel could chew up the pivot, I think most of jewels in my selection are synthetic and are made up of corundum which is an abrasive and very hard.
                        A good example of the pivot wearing the jewel, as well, is the tiny hole we can see in the cap jewel BUT, I suppose that both could destroy each other, which, under normal operating conditions should not happen. We do know, from documented reports, that a sharp blow or drop to the watch can break the pivot, which in turn would destroy its jewel bearing. I think this can be determined from the cap jewel not breaking due to sudden shock, you very rarely see both jewels broken.

                        Good point William, and my bad for not mentioning that I do use a burnisher on the jacot, after which I use a piece of hardwood with powder to achieve the mirror finish, followed by felt and buff stick, so I can say that I’m not sure if the powder will impregnate into the steel, it shouldn’t because it’s not being used straight, it’s mixed with oil as a carrier and the wood is the softer material, so it should be absorbed in this first rather than the hardened, polished pivot.

                        I hope tomorrow I can make some more progress as I’m getting a back log :?

                        #55414
                        david pierce
                        Participant

                          Chris,
                          Steffen Pahlow has a video on the polishing of screwheads. A screwhead polishing set can save you hours of time. if you are vigilant you can pick up a Wolf Jahn polishing set on Ebay for a reasonable price.
                          david

                          #55415
                          chris mabbott
                          Participant

                            David, with my obsession regarding shiny, that was one of the first things I ever picked up 😆 And although it does work well on screws with flat heads, it is not very efficient for the “rounded” head American type screws. These machines are basically the same as a lathe, small collets hold the screws which is run up against a polishing surface.
                            I just use the 6mm lathe on which I can do both types, and I have my little setup for polishing, handy and a little jig that fits over the round heads. I know I like to spend time on each screw and I suppose I could do them more effectively, but, if they are very bad, rusty or chewed up, it still takes time to properly (my idea of properly ;-) get them back to little stars 😮

                            #55416
                            randy
                            Participant

                              I assume that you aren’t using the Diamatine in the Jacot tool.
                              Any abrasives can wreak havoc on the beds over time.

                              Beautiful work…really..

                              Best,

                              Randy

                              #55417
                              chris mabbott
                              Participant

                                Randy, the answer is yes and no ;)

                                When I use the polishing powder, after I burnish, if needed, on the pivots, I back off the pivot bed and I have a small piece of box wood with a tiny hole in it. I apply a small amount of paste into the hole, with a needle then I place the wood between the adjustable bed and the pivot, using the bed to secure the wood. Then I just give it a spin and HEY, who is that good looking guy staring at me from that pivot… OH, it’s me 😆

                                I hope my explanation makes sense, I haven’t quite woken up yet after only one cup of coffee lol

                                #55418
                                randy
                                Participant

                                  It does make sense Chris…one cup seems to do the job !

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