Burning the midnight oil has its advantages....

[Lenny]

Hey Folks,

some of you may know that my 3 month old Breitling B01 all of a sudden had some shavings of a substance inside the dial.

Having contacted the TD and got (eventually) a reply, it was more or less take it to a watch maker first.

Being in N.I., we have no such guy unfortunately....so a intuition got the best of me and tonight I did my first ever ''E.R'' style D.I.Y on a watch.

The movement in question ; a 7750.

The goal; to strip the watch down and find out what this bloody stuff was.

Big breath****

I am pleased to report it all went very well.

I had to take the movement back out a second time on reassembly as there as another particle of AR (as the issue later revealed itself to be), and had some issues getting the stem back into the movement...but alas persistency brought completion.

Have to say, quite enjoyed the experience, even though I was shaking like a leaf.

Turns out the ''glue like'' substance as i would describe it , is AR flaking off.

I have also included some photos of how bad the AR has become.

Have fun!!

All back together in one peice.

whats your thoughts on the AR after 3 months??

 

[bama1965]

Excellent job Lenny!!

Very good pictures as well. My first attempt at watch repair is in the bottom of a shoe box LOL

Very good stuff here.

Thanks,
Ken

 

[Lenny]

Thanks ken, in heinsight maybe I should not have been so haphazard and attempted to split a $318 rep, but luckily for me I took my time and was careful - at one stage though I couldn't get the stem back in to stay on position and I thought it was game over!!

Does AR tend to break down so quickly on these type of reps? You can see especially in the latter photos that there is a concentrated area were it has started to shave off!!

I really should have done q photo of finished article but I'm sure everyone knows what they look like !!

 

[rol_man]

Nice job, the first one is always a "knee knocker" but you made it. As far as the AR, looks like a poor preparation or just poor application to flake like that.

 

[txrob779]

Well done mate....well done indeed...proud of you.


Rob

 

[d4m.test]

Good for you, Lenny! You're much braver than I'd be -- and have steadier hands, too!

dave

 

[ElVino]

That's great work man! I wouldve ****** that up bad!

 

[Mikellem]

Great job my friend...

I admire you adversity to take on
this task and be successful with
a 7750. That's not a piece of cake..

Congrats...

MM

 

[levelmanroger]

I'm in awe of your guts and your success!!
AR doesn't normally do that - even on reps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Draven451]

That's an endeavor I would be hesitant to take myself. Great job with tackling this problem and doing an excellent job!

It appears this AR may create a dandruff on our crystals. May be time to break out the "head & shoulders" shampoo


Sent from my iPhone 4s using Tapatalk

 

[Lenny]

Thanks people, from what most of you are saying about the vunerability of the 7750, I can't quite believe I got there myself....

I may jsut keep na eye on it over next few weeks to ensure its running a-ok

The bad influence of buying a new screwdriver set eh ..

I may contact the TD about the AR. I agree it should not be flaking like this, being a young watch with very little wear

 

[waddster]

Great pictures, and can I just say you are a brave individual for doing that. I have decided to take on jobs like that(not on watches) that turned out horribly wrong. I do not have the gift to fix things or change the paper towels when they run out. It's just a tube-like cardboard roll where there once were Bounty paper towels. Just to give you an idea. Good job!

Oh, wait, I sized several of my bracelets. Oh no, nevermind... I just stripped the extra screws and made it literally useless to have extra links.

 

[trailboss99]

Well done! it's not that hard but the first one is nerve jangling yes?
The only thing that can go badly wrong is pushing too hard on the stem release, looks like you managed it just fine tho.

Guys, everybody needs to have a go at this tho I'd recommend a cheaper watch for your first attempt

It's an important skill as there are many reasons you may need to pull a MVT from the case at some stage. Lose markers, crap on the dial, moisture in the case and others are all things you will need to deal with sooner or later and being able to do so is a hell of a lot easier/cheaper than taking it to a 'smith.

Once you have mastered this pulling and replacing hands is the only other skill you need to be able to replace your own MVTs and since a 21J is about 20 bucks and a clone well under 100 it ensures your watches will be with you for a long time to come.

All the tools you will ever need are in Watchbitz' tool kit so for an investment of less than 100 bucks you have the tools and skills to keep your watches running. Once you have swapped that first dead 21j you have a mvt to practice on should you wish to take it further as well.

Linky to tool kit: http://www.watchbitz.com.au/shop/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=259

 

[boostin20]

Lenny, take a look in the tuorials and mods section for "AR stripping". You could do the inside AR, and still have the outside as it is.

 

[ViperGTS]

great job!

as others have said, i give you props for attempting the work yourself.

theres always a flip side to working on things that late...i can recall many times ive broken stuff and said to myself "i should have just gone to bed" lol

 

[Lenny]

Lenny, take a look in the tuorials and mods section for "AR stripping". You could do the inside AR, and still have the outside as it is.

Thanks I will have a look...though will wait to see what TD says first.

Guys, everybody needs to have a go at this tho I'd recommend a cheaper watch for your first attempt

It's an important skill as there are many reasons you may need to pull a MVT from the case at some stage.

Once you have swapped that first dead 21j you have a mvt to practice on should you wish to take it further as well.

Hit all the nails on the head here !!!

Having done it, I would do it again, but I think there is an element of luck too.

great job!

...i can recall many times ive broken stuff and said to myself "i should have just gone to bed" lol

Mate, I really should've just went to bed in all honesty lol!!



Since I cleared the dial, another fine fine fibre of AR has fallen off.

think I may look at stripping it out completely, but await TD opinion.

Thanks guys for all the feedback.

If you are attemtping, just be careful, be methodical and don't use too much brute force.

Good luck

 

[ViperGTS]

its going to keep flaking.

just redo the whole thing, you might as well

and since you've got the watch apart, clean it, redo the lume....do something, take advantage of it

 

[frankt8242]

There is no excuse for the AR..>>>

On the INSIDE of the crystal to shred like that EVER..!!!!
IMNSFHO, it is ABSOLUTELY incumbent on the "TD" to make this right...
This ain't a $100. cheapo!!!
And btw...Kudos to you on your newly discovered watchsmithing skills!!

 

[waterluver]

Well dang Lenny I trained you well my friend!!! LOL

 

[Member X]

Can the dealer send you a new crystal?

If not, I'd consider spending the money on a Chief AR run