My humble watch repair journey

[dogwood]

Hello all, past weekend I was working on servicing a SH3135 I believe it is. I had it in my parts drawer and have all the parts that needed to go into to complete the movement. I also had 2-3 balance completes for these movements. I assembled the movement first time without oiling just to see if these parts for the movement in part drawer were any good. I plan to then disassemble, clean and oil and reassemble.

As soon as i assembled the movement and put the pallets back, they had power and I placed the Balance spring. The movement did not run. I noticed the balance had some wobble and wouldn't seat properly. I decided to inspect it closely then under the digital microscope I have. Guess what? I think the balance stuff pivot on one end is broken.

I then tried to place in a VR 3135 that I had laying around, the pivots on that seem to be ok but still the movement does not run. No I can think of either the SH and VR balance are not compatible or there is something I am still missing in my assembly. If any one can help me with this, I would be very thankful. I do not have another SH balance complete to test it and also do not know if I can source one from somewhere.







Broken pivot

I think I have an SH3135 balance if you’d like it. Just DM me…

 

[Ralphista]

Hi, brother @BreatheNBeat92 and welcome from the bottom of my heart . Don’t worry . In my own small way, I collect these objects unt 33 years. My knowledge will be yours too. NEVER hesitate to send me private messages too because, for me, it’s always and only a pleasure to talk or explain something ( if within my knowledge ) about replicas. I sincerely wish you the best!

 

[Ralphista]

My sincere compliments . For me a really perfect replica . Excellent job .

 

[BreatheNBeat92]

I think I have an SH3135 balance if you’d like it. Just DM me…

Thank you sir, you have a PM. God Bless

 

[BreatheNBeat92]

Hi, brother @BreatheNBeat92 and welcome from the bottom of my heart . Don’t worry . In my own small way, I collect these objects unt 33 years. My knowledge will be yours too. NEVER hesitate to send me private messages too because, for me, it’s always and only a pleasure to talk or explain something ( if within my knowledge ) about replicas. I sincerely wish you the best!

Thank you mate, really appreciate the kind words. I will ping you if anything

 

[DJ16013]

Ehi ciao: I just wanted to give you my warmest welcome - albeit with delay - and tell you that I have subscribed so that I can follow your progress in this field. Good luck and have fun with the watch repair thing!

 

[Ralphista]

Thank you mate, really appreciate the kind words. I will ping you if anything

THANK YOU TO BE HERE .

 

[BreatheNBeat92]

Hello everyone, since my last post I have started a day date build from Raffles case, dial, hands from ebay, clone 2836 and DWOs from raffles as well. I had a case set and dial and a 2836 sitting with me since a while, I ordered the rest to go ahead with the build.

The movement and case seem compatible and the dial diameter as well. I am stuck on aligning the day wheel overlay. I do end up getting the Date wheel overlay aligned but aligning both is such a PITA. I am playing with this set of overlays and ordered a fresh set for when I get the hang of it I would want to add a fresh clean set on the build.

While trying to put the C clip back for the day wheel, I broke it haha. I ordered many more from cousins. So that is all ok now

When I align one or two days in the day window of the dial, after a couple or day changes; either the day wheel overlay can be seen in the date window or the day wheel overlay moves slight to one of the sides.

Been many days trying to work on it, been asking @KJ2020 for his help as well and he has been very kind and humble as always to guide me, yet this is all a PITA. Any input and tips are welcomed and appreciated

Onto the pictures
The last image shows what I mean day wheel showing on the date window on some dates.

 

[KJ2020]

There is really no trick to this bro but trial and error. Using slow cure epoxy ofc is necessary - I just got some new bottles of my go-to BSI 30min yesterday. They updated the nozzle caps and made what was a top shelf product into an absolutely unparalleled must have for watchmaking needs. This stuff is awesome.

Amazon.com

After seeing your result in the quoted pic, it's obvious the daywheel needs to be be centered better relative to the stock daywheel it's glued to. You can see the uneven distribution between the two at the center. This is how I would proceed:

I would remove the daywheel and the datewheel. Then separate the daywheel overlay from the stock daywheel. Clean them both up from glue and remnants. The overlay glue can be carefully scraped away with a razor blade then wiped with an alcohol dampened cloth laid over a piece of pegwood. Careful not to dent the overlay with the blade or let alcohol contact the printed side. Note that you can put painter's tape or plastic wrap on the printed side of a wheel, lay it face down on a mat, bench, or hard plastic tray and use more pressure to scrape glue off gently. But remove any of this type of printed side covering before the alcohol cleaning as alcohol can run under it and seep to the numbers. Alcohol will ruin a printed number in a heartbeat. I do the alcohol cleaning with a wheel in one hand, held between thumb and two fingers. These tasks require a high level of close attention and care.

The stock daywheel can have the glue sanded off or scraped away in similar fashion and then rinsed in alcohol for cleaning. It requires less meticulous care.

Next I would use just 2 or 3 tiny drops of BSI slow cure epoxy and experiment with the daywheel overlay. Place the drops on the stock daywheel, set the overlay, set the dial and see what you get. From there the goal is first ensure the daywheel never appears in the dial date window. Keep adjusting it until it's right. This is a lateral adjustment. It should happen when the two centers are perfectly superimposed.

Then you can address the centering of days in the day window. This is a rotational adjustment. While doing this second adjustment, don't let the lateral adjustment change. That's easier said than done but it should be possible.

There is only one "best" position of the overlay onto the daywheel. Finding and anchoring it is challenging to be sure and it may turn out that some compromises need to be made. Not all the days may appear exactly centered for example or some may be slightly higher in the day window than others, etc. Some of these deviations may be the fault of the printing or spacing on the cheap overlay. Assuming a reasonably symmetric overlay, it should be possible to find the best position for it you just have to know how to make corrections and keep at it til you get close enough to that position.

I've taken more than a dozen dial on dial off iterations checking and adjusting a DWO before. Then they can actually shift a little while curing if your last adjustment was made too late in the 30 min slow cure window. I've had to pull one apart again and start over more than once. All this makes your final success so much sweeter.

I don't think it will happen but once you have the daywheel in the best position it may be that a sliver of the daywheel still shows ALL the time in the date window. This would be the unfortunate result of two rep parts being slightly incompatible. We run into this all the time. In this case, the inner diameter of the daywheel might be able to be shaved a little (sanded back lightly) as long as it doesn't affect the day window appearance significantly.

Once you know what you really can do with your daywheel overlay and your dial, you can add the datewheel back and maybe not have to mess with it any further. It looks like its position is pretty good.

 

[BreatheNBeat92]

There is really no trick to this bro but trial and error. Using slow cure epoxy ofc is necessary - I just got some new bottles of my go-to BSI 30min yesterday. They updated the nozzle caps and made what was a top shelf product into an absolutely unparalleled must have for watchmaking needs. This stuff is awesome.

Amazon.com

After seeing your result in the quoted pic, it's obvious the daywheel needs to be be centered better relative to the stock daywheel it's glued to. You can see the uneven distribution between the two at the center. This is how I would proceed:

I would remove the daywheel and the datewheel. Then separate the daywheel overlay from the stock daywheel. Clean them both up from glue and remnants. The overlay glue can be carefully scraped away with a razor blade then wiped with a alcohol dampened cloth laid over a piece of pegwood. Careful not to dent the overlay with the blade or let alcohol contact the printed side. These tasks require a high level of close attention and care. The stock daywheel can have the glue sanded off or scraped away in similar fashion and then rinsed in alcohol for cleaning.

Next I would use just 2 or 3 tiny drops of BSI slow cure epoxy and experiment with the daywheel overlay. Place the drops on the stock daywheel, set the overlay, set the dial and see what you get. From there the goal is first ensure the daywheel never appears in the dial date window. Keep adjusting it until it's right. This is a lateral adjustment. It should happen when the two centers are perfectly superimposed.

Then you can address the centering of days in the day window. This is a rotational adjustment. While doing this second adjustment, don't let the lateral adjustment change. That's easier said than done but it should be possible.

There is only one "best" position of the overlay onto the daywheel. Finding and anchoring it is challenging to be sure and it may turn out that some compromises need to be made. Not all the days may appear exactly centered for example or some may be slightly higher in the day window than others, etc. Some of these deviations may be the fault of the printing or spacing on the cheap overlay. Assuming a reasonably symmetric overlay, it should be possible to find the best position for it you just have to know how to make corrections and keep at it til you get close enough to that position.

I've taken more than a dozen dial on dial off iterations checking and adjusting a DWO before. Then they can actually shift a little while curing if your last adjustment was made too late in the 30 min slow cure window. I've had to pull one apart again and start over more than once. All this makes your final success so much sweeter.

I don't think it will happen but once you have the daywheel in the best position it may be that a sliver of the daywheel still shows ALL the time in the date window. This would be the unfortunate result of two rep parts being slightly incompatible. We run into this all the time. In this case, the inner diameter of the daywheel might be able to be shaved a little (sanded back lightly) as long as it doesn't affect the day window appearance significantly.

Once you know what you really can do with your daywheel overlay and your dial, you can add the datewheel back and maybe not have to mess with it any further. It looks like its position is pretty good.

Hey bro, first and foremost, A BIG salute to you for the efforts and time you put in to explain and guide me. Really means a lot bro.

You are correct that the Day wheel overlay is not exactly centered along with the stock day wheel. the Distribution seems to go off after putting and removing the dial almost 30-40 times for me haha. I use the BSI slow epoxy as well as you suggested but also tried using UV glue and lamp. I add two small drops of it to the stock day wheel and adjust until near to be good. Then I placed it under the lamp for drying. Worked but if I adjust after drying then it comes loose which makes me think if it will loosen up overtime with the functions. A friend had suggested the UV idea so I gave it a go to see how it turns out.

I will take the same route as you suggested, will clean up the glue from the overlay and the stock day wheel and restart again. It's been a few dozen time I've tried to adjust but will still keep trying. It does feel more natural to adjust the overlay now after many attempts and I also feel more confident doing it. I'll keep the shaving off the inner diameter as a last resort if needed be.

Will get onto it in the coming days and update here how it went
Thank you again, Sir

 

[KJ2020]

Hey bro, first and foremost, A BIG salute to you for the efforts and time you put in to explain and guide me. Really means a lot bro.

You are correct that the Day wheel overlay is not exactly centered along with the stock day wheel. the Distribution seems to go off after putting and removing the dial almost 30-40 times for me haha. I use the BSI slow epoxy as well as you suggested but also tried using UV glue and lamp. I add two small drops of it to the stock day wheel and adjust until near to be good. Then I placed it under the lamp for drying. Worked but if I adjust after drying then it comes loose which makes me think if it will loosen up overtime with the functions. A friend had suggested the UV idea so I gave it a go to see how it turns out.

I will take the same route as you suggested, will clean up the glue from the overlay and the stock day wheel and restart again. It's been a few dozen time I've tried to adjust but will still keep trying. It does feel more natural to adjust the overlay now after many attempts and I also feel more confident doing it. I'll keep the shaving off the inner diameter as a last resort if needed be.

Will get onto it in the coming days and update here how it went
Thank you again, Sir

I added this edit after your quote, just want to make sure you see it.

"Note that you can put painter's tape or plastic wrap on the printed side of a wheel, lay it face down on a mat, bench, or hard plastic tray and use more pressure to scrape glue off gently. But remove any of this type of printed side covering before the alcohol cleaning as alcohol can run under it and seep to the numbers. Alcohol will ruin a printed number in a heartbeat. I do the alcohol cleaning with a wheel in one hand, held between thumb and two fingers."

 

[BreatheNBeat92]

I added this edit after your quote, just want to make sure you see it.

"Note that you can put painter's tape or plastic wrap on the printed side of a wheel, lay it face down on a mat, bench, or hard plastic tray and use more pressure to scrape glue off gently. But remove any of this type of printed side covering before the alcohol cleaning as alcohol can run under it and seep to the numbers. Alcohol will ruin a printed number in a heartbeat. I do the alcohol cleaning with a wheel in one hand, held between thumb and two fingers."

Got it bro. Im going to give it a try. Will post results here

 

[Tudomegalex]

Did you manage to sort out the problem with the balance? To rule out the balance as a problem itself, install just the balance on its own, onto the main plate and see if it oscillates freely, which it should for quite some time.

 

[BreatheNBeat92]

Did you manage to sort out the problem with the balance? To rule out the balance as a problem itself, install just the balance on its own, onto the main plate and see if it oscillates freely, which it should for quite some time.

Hey, my balance staff was broken and on an empty plate dint swing smoothly. I had tried to install the balance from @dogwood and the swinging wasnt optimal and very slow. His balance looks very good though so im sure its not the balance only. I put it away for now due to another work on the bench. I will try to investigate into that in the coming days and will update here.

 

[Tudomegalex]

Hey, my balance staff was broken and on an empty plate dint swing smoothly. I had tried to install the balance from @dogwood and the swinging wasnt optimal and very slow. His balance looks very good though so im sure its not the balance only. I put it away for now due to another work on the bench. I will try to investigate into that in the coming days and will update here.

Ok, have you checked the balance jewels? Did a part of the staff break and get lodged here? Correct lubrication? Cap jewels installed the right way round?
Just a few things to check.

 

[BreatheNBeat92]

Hello all,
Apologies for being delayed and following up on my previous posts, had small health obstacles in the way and waiting period for parts slowed me down.
anyway, here is the update regarding the day date I was doing. I tried MANY times and i kept count till 90 something tries haha of removing the wheel overlays and putting and removing the dial. At one point I got fed up and wanted to throwaway the project on the side, but that's not the way to face challenges and it wont grow me in skill and knowledge so kept my cool and kept going.

I tried a different way of aligning the day wheel after so many tries it was much easier at the end. I pushed out the the stock day wheel brass wheel with the teeth on it that engages with the jumper spring and I glued that to the overlay directly instead of gluing the day wheel overlay on the stock day wheel. Felt much cleaner and easier to clear the date wheel overlay. In the process of continuous putting and removing back the dial, I broke one feet. After final adjustments I put a sticky on the white movement holder and it worked like a breeze.

Not the perfect finish, could have improved more maybe, But I called it a day when it seemed somewhat decent as they are not all same manufacturer parts not gen spec so not easy to be 100% clean and accurate. While they are not top quality parts but the hard work I did so I decided to gift it to my mom, she's very happy.

Thank you all specially @KJ2020 who helped me and looked at my journey on this build. This community rocks!
Here are some bench pics, PS ignore the dust in the case in the first picture, not the final assembly just to test how it would look.

 

[KJ2020]

Apologies for being delayed and following up on my previous posts, had small health obstacles in the way and waiting period for parts slowed me down.
anyway, here is the update regarding the day date I was doing. I tried MANY times and i kept count till 90 something tries haha of removing the wheel overlays and putting and removing the dial. At one point I got fed up and wanted to throwaway the project on the side, but that's not the way to face challenges and it wont grow me in skill and knowledge so kept my cool and kept going.

I tried a different way of aligning the day wheel after so many tries it was much easier at the end. I pushed out the the stock day wheel brass wheel with the teeth on it that engages with the jumper spring and I glued that to the overlay directly instead of gluing the day wheel overlay on the stock day wheel. Felt much cleaner and easier to clear the date wheel overlay. In the process of continuous putting and removing back the dial, I broke one feet. After final adjustments I put a sticky on the white movement holder and it worked like a breeze.

Not the perfect finish, could have improved more maybe, But I called it a day when it seemed somewhat decent as they are not all same manufacturer parts not gen spec so not easy to be 100% clean and accurate. While they are not top quality parts but the hard work I did so I decided to gift it to my mom, she's very happy.

Thank you all specially @KJ2020 who helped me and looked at my journey on this build. This community rocks!
Here are some bench pics, PS ignore the dust in the case in the first picture, not the final assembly just to test how it would look.

,

Looks fabulous bro. Way to hang in there and innovate when your project throws you curve balls. Congrats on a fine looking piece!

 

[BreatheNBeat92]

Looks fabulous bro. Way to hang in there and innovate when your project throws you curve balls. Congrats on a fine looking piece!

Thank you brother, you are one gem in this community