The Year 2006

Watches and Watchmaking


I did not maintain this blog since March 2006, so sorry! However, I posted most of my new watch projects on watchuseek fora and since October 2006, in French, on "forumamontre" a local French forum under the same pseudonym.


Through about 15 differents projects, I succeeded to service and restore simple vintage watches and my Russian Strela 3017 chronograph that suddently lost its balance amplitude.


My interest for watches and watchmaking was completed by several local tourist visits to our most important French/Swiss watchmaking places : the French Jura (Morteau, Villers), Franche Comté (Besançon), Savoie (Cluses), Swiss Jura (Joux, Le Locle, Geneva).


I completed my collection of different classical Russian watches and chronographs, including two new 3017 Strela, a Sturmanskie 3133 . I continued my discovery of French horology with several Yema watches (Flygraf 1976, Sous-Marines), the marvellous 70's Lip Electronic (Nautic-Ski and Super Nautic Ski in particular).










I also created my "watch station", a small place about 80 cm wide, reserved for watchmaking unfortunately not at the watchmaking size standard (beware to the back pain!) which is shown on an earlier post.

Diving!

I don't know if the idea came from the consideration of some diving watches (!), discussion with friends or just the need to see my world differently, but in december I decided to be trained to SCUBA diving!...

This activity is enough potentialy hazardous and technical to require a proper learning with trusty instructors. I successfully passed the basic level that provide the knowledge recquired for "accompanied diving with an instructor to 20 meter deep maximum". With 4 other trainees we learned in a securing indoor pool with water at 24°C while it was -2°C outdoor...

I was amused to learn this new dimension with a Vostok-Europe "N1" watch that is resistant enough (10 Atm) for this diving grade.





I am going now to train more every tuesday and friday nighday for several month before my first open-water diving (likely in the Mediteranean sea). Humm!

(the big pool at the Lyon's aquarium)

Nice year 2007 in sight!

Digital cameras

In 2003, I decided to buy a digital camera of enough resolution and performance for real photography.

I still own a complete Minolta system that includes two 24x36 reflex cases (a Srt-100b circa 1975 and a X-500 with motor likely of late 80's or so) and a pretty nice set of lenses from 21 to 400 mm. When I was in Japan in the early 90's, I did not bring along from Europe this system that that too heavy for travelling. There, I bought instead two funny cameras: a waterproof 35 mm Fuji made of plastic and a Nikon "Nikonos V" for diving. The Fuji camera was my "notebook" and I was extremely statisfied of the pictures quality.

In the 70's, I did a lot of B&W pictures, developped and printed them by my own. It was so pleasent but required a photo lab that I could not maintained latter on. I did also color slides and finally color negative films.

Since I was very happy with the Minolta system, I was seduced by this Dimage 7i, fitted with a 5 MegaPixels Sony CCD. It's a so-called "bridge" camera, with a LCD collimator through the lens plus a screen.

I found this "machine" absolutely extraordinary. You can have all the light corrections you imagine, a B&W mode, solarization, a 28-200 mm zoom, macro, video mode, timer...For an amateur photographer, it was a paradise. The only problem is energy...with a set a 4 AA NiH battery, you operate no more than 2 hours....What is more it heats a lot on the right side . The embedded RISK processor (a digital camera is an efficent computer first) is quite active!!

Two weeks ago, on a sunday morming....Oops!? what that strange colors? white are violin, everything distorded!!!

On/of, reset, no way! I was quite disapointed!. I known that I use a lot this camera but it still has less than 3 years. The up-to-date action is nowadays to have a look to the internet to see if someone has the same problem somewhere. 10 min latter, I was aware that the Minolta series between 2002 and 2004 has a known quality problem with the mounted CCD. Minolta (or better Konica-Minolta and now Sony!) could replace it for free. I have even the address of the repair service for France and the phone number. On the next Wednesday, after a phone call, my beloved Dimage was shipped to Paris for repair. They acknowledged the receipt and it should, hopefuly, fixed by the end of March.

With this trouble, I did sooner than expected a new purchase of a new system, closer to a real camera : a digital reflex with interchangeables lens. With the undergoing evolution of Konica-Minolta sold to Sony, the vendor was happy to sell out his last model appeared by the end 2005 : the Dynax 5D.

I already thought to a specialized macro lens capable to give the 1:1 ratio without accessories. Sigma has a very nice model both as 50mm or 100mm. 50mm is equivalent in 24x36 to 75mm. It's perfect for my use. I've got also 2 regular zooms to for general purposes. I can even re-use some accessories like an expensive Minolta 90° angle viewer.

It's a 6 MP ccd with a length:height ratio different from the 24x36 or the Dimage 7i. It is bit bit wider. I should become more familiar with.

Here are some macrophotos tests:

The setting logics are very closed to the Dimage, so I had no difficulties to find the similar ones. No more video and sound recording (more for fun than else). No more estimate of the color correction before taking the picture. It's a real and regular optical viewer, not a through-lens LCD screen of course. I am bit disorientated at first, but soon I think I will like it very much!!!



Here the nice case back of a shripwrecked YEMA watch with a n automatic ETA 2472 Swiss movement, recently restored at an excercice (see this wus post)



Here with other YEMA specimen including the 2005 re-edition of their Rallygraf, issued in the 70's. Rallygraf and Yatchingraf contributed to the international reputation of French Yema watches and had some commercial sucessness in the USA.



Here with a SOG Twitch II pocket knife and mounted on a military "James Bond", NATO stripped band.

A "Watch Station"

When I collected some vintage calculators past year 2005 (electronic and some slide rules), I had soon a problem to store them safely while could use them easily without unboxing a lots of storage boxes.

At that time I found a small window that is perfect for this use and I am still very happy with this system.

With my watches, I have a double problem : a place for watchmaking and something to store them in an handy way.

A watchmaker bench is something very beautiful an desirable. The working height is about 95 cm while a regular table is about 75 cm. Working higher avoid to arc the back uncomfortably. These benches are traditionnaly not very wide. Watchmaking wrist watches does not require more than 0.80 to 1 m. Finding a vintage one a reasonable price will require sometime for sure. They are very rare and expensive if any. I could find a manufacturer in Gerarmer, France. They sell by their own and directly beautiful models for about 700 Euros. Abit too much for me, and I would prefer something more "styled" or "vintage"...

I temporally adopted a small desk, unfortunately just a bit higher than usual (80 cm) with five drawers and an expendable top.

I installed it, on free wall pan of my living room, just where I had already the seat. I had in reserve a fluo lamp that gives a pretty nice light, a critical element in watchmaking. The storage of my watches is only partially solved with the two collectives boxes that found their place on the desk shelf. I used these two boxes for my vintage watches, but what is about the new one and their original nice boxes?

Two weeks ago, I spotted a very beautiful possible additional element at the flea market: A fantastic small cupboard with windowed doors and so nice "diamonded" wood motif on both sides. The same wood tones as the desk. The depth was also remarquable and there is an additional drawer at the bottom. At the flea-market, you should decide quickly. The time necesseray to have a look around and make up my mind, I returned to the very kind and friendly sellers. We discussed a bit and we agreed for 50% of the indicated price was indeed very high (330 Euros...) but the cupboard was already entirely restored. More more works to do on it then.

On a sunday afternoon, the beauty is fixed on the wall, 30 cm above the desk. Humm... I feel very inspired, dreaming about traditionnal home watchmaking, lost in the contry side of the "Haut-Doubs" somewhere above Pontarlier or the Valley of Joux in Switzerland!

My new "watch station". The green watchmaking mat is specially concieved for comfortable working without tiring the eyes. On it: my beloved Melissa chronograph fitted with a Swiss Valjoux 7734 movement, 17 jewels and date. Offered to me in the spring 1969 and recently fully restored by a local watchmaker after 25 year deeply asleep in the botton of a forgotten drawer. On the wall at the left, a shuttle used for silk braiding (my appartement is a former silk braiding workshop...), manufactured in Lyon in the century 19 to mid 20.

So nice! I can have everything under the hand, tools, my watches, parts. What a pleasure!

With that Lip old pocket watch (manufactured in Besançon, France) suspended in the middle of the desk, that all the French horology that comes to me!!

Watchmaking V : other training restorations

After the happy USSR Raketa story, I did the same exercice on two other watches : a simple Swiss watch with central second hand (the hand set is a bit corroded) and fitted with a nice Alfred Schild (Grunchen, Switzerland) AS 1187/94. A good quality caliber mounted in generic watches widely diffused in the early 60's I guess. Here it is in its initial condition :

I did also a same type of genric watch of the French production found at the flea market : a Relliac is fitted with a French Cupillard (Villers-le-Lac, Haut-Doubt, France) 233 calibre and a Erosa with an "Horlogerie de Savoie" HS P62 caliber for which I have in my stock a box of parts!

Here they after the restoration :

The Relliac kept very good time (+4-5 s / day) for about 6 weeks, but stopped yesterday in certain positions. I should have a closer look to it...

I have still a 3 others French watches of the same period (50's early 60's) as projects. The other have broken balance wheel pivots and will more difficult to fix

My next step was however, to service an automatic watches with dato, thought a bit more difficult. The final stap will be to service a chronograph. My beloved Russian Strela needs new oils... I am not satisfied of the balance amplitude that is too narrow and the train wheel looks a bit sticky. It's strange because a "VI-05" in engraved in the interior of the case back that would indicate a possible service in June 2005. My mistake was likely to teach at my University with that watch on my wrist during my autumn courses (I still use the old-fashionned way with the dusty blackboard...). The historical cosmonaut chrono has no protection at all, I suspect some dust penetrated and mixed to the oil...

Wachtmaking training IV : reassembly

Let's remount the watch...

The first step is to remount the complete stem mechanism on the dial side of the main plate

A detailed pictures of how is was originaly is very helpful. The best is to have the manufacturer technical sheets that could found on the net, not for free however.

After this, we can remount the central wheel that has a special bridge here.

Once done, it is better to mount now the cannon pinion on its axe on the dial side. The cannon pinion should be firmly pushed with a nylon tool until a "click" indicates the proper location. Here is a picture taken on another caliber :

Occasionnaly one can adjust the friction of this cannon pinion by a careful litlle more strangling on it. It will give have an effect on the apparent forced exerted to move the hands. With a proper setting, one can stop the watch but a small reverse turn on the stem.

Before remounting the trains of wheels, I should recase the mainspring. There special tools to roll themm at the proper diameter, but here I should do this directly in the barrel turns by turns. I first mounted it in the reverse way, but the second time it was OK.

In fact, I proceeded several times to the mount/unmount of the barrel+train to test it. During these manipulations, I clearly became much more familiar with the handling of parts, screws with the brucelle.

Lubrification

Except the pivot of the pallet, all fast motion pivot (balance wheel, escapement) should be oiled with special fine oil (Moebius 9100) dispensed with a proper oil pick (Bergeon red color). The friction (strem, barrel axes, etc.) should be greased (Mobius 8200) with the green oil pick which is larger. Slow motion wheel could used a higher viscosity oil (Moebius 9200 or D5).

The shock protection system stones (Incabloc brand or similar) of the balance wheel pivots were previously disassembled for cleaning. They are different one the dial side and the cock. I first did not noticed this difference. The springs are very light and have no system to stay mounted on the supporting seats. I lost one definitively. After more practice I known that it is better to maintain them on the ring with a flat bar of wood covered by a soft leather ("cabron de peau" indicated on the picture below)

"Moelle de sureau" and "cabron de peau" on the left. A shock protection system (here of another French caliber) with its brass spring (lyra shaped). Reinstall these sort of springs require some training.

Without its spring the shock protector does not function and the watch is only running well on one side only...

At the Lyon's flea market, I negociated for 20 Euros a lot of watch parts very diverses In this lot, I found a compatible Incabloc spring to fix the problem.

There are a lot of different shock protecting systems with diffrent types of spring. The most handy are those where the spring stays on the supporting ring once opened. No more risk tehn to see them flying!

Return to the dial, hand set and recasing

After the test of the caliber runnig in all positions for sometime, it is returned to the dial with the co-axiak hours wheel underneath plus the small brass spring ring pressssing to that wheel. The and are presented with the brucelle and pressed with the nylon stick special for this use. The hour hand, the the minute, then the central second. Theay shoul firmly anchrored, should touch the dial or themself and perfectly parallel. here an example taken on another watch :

In this case I also relumed the hour and minute hands using Bergeon green lume.

I finally recased the whole and found a leather strap that matches the watch (18 mm wide to the lugs) :

Further minor problem fixed

To insert the oil between the two stones of the Incabloc, it is necessary to deposit the drop at the pivot entrance and make it penetrating by capillarity with a small pick :

On the cock side, we should put the cock on its back, get away a bit the balance wheel (without distording the spiral), pass the pick oil through two turns of the hair spring to deposit a drop of oil too. The main risk it to touch accidentaly the spiral and oil it. It will the cause the hair spring to be sticky and a risk to reduced it amplitude. The symptom is a suddent time gain (i.e. 3-4 min/day). I was not aware of thisproblem and it arrive after a week of use. I fixed the problem, just by a careful wash with "essence f", drying, correct oiling.

The watch is functionning every day since 2 months, regulated after 3 weeks to about +20 sec/day.

It's for sure now one of my preferred due to that small adventure! It found its legitimate place among my small collection. Here with other green-dialed specimen :