Pull your hair out watch moment.

[Richard-]

RobinO created a thread "Embarrassing watch moments", so do you have a story of wanting to scream and pull your hair out either because of a mistake you made or the involvement of another.

I picked up this Seiko 7009a a few weeks ago and I decided that I would use it as my first real attempt at giving a watch a little make over. So I picked up some wet dry paper in several grades 240/400/800/120 and organised my small work area. I removed the crystal & crown & movement from the case and then set about my little project. About an hour into my project I heard a comment "ooh look at the little spinning wheel" followed by my words "don't touch that", but it was too late the little spinning wheel was longer spinning and it was "pull my hair out time".

I have put it all back together but it obviously now needs a service as the balance wheel is messed up. Luckily I tried the work on a cheap watch but I was so looking forward to wearing my finished project and now I feel like sickened and cheated.

What's your pull your hair out story.

[Ben_hutcherson]

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[GeneJockey]

My worst (so far) was when I tried to do a quick dial replacement while suffering from hunger and the accompanying low blood sugar. My first Lord Elgin is from 1951, with a 21j 670 movement. It had run flawlessly since I got it, but the dial was in bad shape.



I got a NOS dial, the exact model, for $6 from an Ebay seller. The day it arrived, I'd gotten home late and hadn't had dinner. I tore open the package, and when I looked at the dial, I knew I HAD to install it RIGHT NOW!!!

I popped the back off, pulled the movement out, levered off the hour and minute hands with two scewdrivers, then went after that little dart of a second hand. I couldn't get the second screwdriver under it, so I just used more force on the one that DID get under. Off came the second hand!

I unscrewed the dial foot screws, pulled off the crappy old dial, put the new one on, put on the minute and hour hands, put the second hand back on (I thought). Put it back in the case, and admired its newly restored beauty.



I wound it up. Nothing. No ticking, no motion of the hands.

Checked that the balance was free - it was, but it just ran down. Checked hand clearance - no problems. I was mystified.

Then it dawned on me what I'd done - I'd broken off the 4th wheel pivot on the dial side.

I ended up spending about $15 on a parts movement, then $50 for cleaning and servicing to replace the part I'd broken, plus $15 for a new crystal -all because I was so crazed that I took shortcuts and did something I should have known better than to do.

[RobinO]

The above stories remind me why every time I look at the "innards" of a watch movement (no matter how old) and think to myself - "that looks easy, I'm sure I could do that myself" something or someone gives me the sense not to go ahead with my idea. I reckon it's my deceased father who was a watchmaker shouting Noooooooooo, don't do it Honestly though I just don't have the courage to take a movement apart.

[GeneJockey]

The above stories remind me why every time I look at the "innards" of a watch movement (no matter how old) and think to myself - "that looks easy, I'm sure I could do that myself" something or someone gives me the sense not to go ahead with my idea. I reckon it's my deceased father who was a watchmaker shouting Noooooooooo, don't do it Honestly though I just don't have the courage to take a movement apart.

The trick is to buy a bunch of cheap movements, including some that work. Get loupes, tweezers, and screwdrivers, and just start stripping them down! You'll learn things like how to hold the screwdrivers, how to hold the tweezers and with how much force. Then start putting them back together, and you'll get a feel for things like when all the pivots are in the holes and you can tighten the screws without breaking anything. The first time you nudge the center wheel and the whole train just spins effortlessly, you'll feel great. And the first time you put the balance back into a movement and it starts ticking, you'll want to dance!

When I started tinkering, I tweezer-snapped parts all the time. Then I learned to hold them closer to the tips, how keep the tips straight and aligned, etc. I learned to support my screwdriver hand with my other hand when starting the smallest screws. These are things that you can learn by doing.

And if the movement is already not working, and you got it for a few bucks, what's the worst that could happen?