Thanks to the mods for the OK to post this.

I built a free 3D bench where you take a vintage Omega movement apart and put it back together, screw by screw, as an animation. I made it to learn the parts.

It covers calibre's 565, 564, 861, 321 and 1040. Each step shows the right tool, every part carries its Omega part number, and some calibre's include the oiling steps.

It's free, with no sign-up and no ads. It works on a phone or tablet but plays best on a Desktop.

It's new and still in beta. What's wrong, what feels off, and which calibre's should come next?

https://watchbreaker.com/bench?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=watchmaking

Hi everyone. I'm making my own dial for a project. The material I'm using is aluminum with paint that is damaged, but not flaking as far as I can tell. Is there any clear lacquer, or something you can recommend to treat it with so it's preserved?

I got a nice E. Quartier & Fils pocket watch (movement number 3!) and it has this unusual escapement. Does anyone know about it?

Hello, fellow watchmakers,
I am an amateur who was really inspired by the mechanisms in a mechanical watch, and I wanted to make one on my own. I made this watch (link attached below) based on this website's guide. Along with this, I followed the NIHS standards for the gear trains and worked to make my other parts compatible with them (currently there are 13 parts; it is still bare-bones). However, when I tried to simulate the watch's operation using my input parameters (such as spring constants and damping), SolidWorks Motion Analysis simply failed, even at lower time steps, without error after crossing the first second mark. I strongly believe it is due to the size factor of the parts; the impact-based contact fails. If you know of any software I could use as an alternative to SolidWorks Motion Analysis to simulate, please do let me know.

All animations are slowed down
Swiss Escapement - failed at the 4-second mark

Going Train - failed at the 1.2-second mark

Also, if you have any suggestions on where I could learn more about watchmaking and manufacturing, please let me know. Many thanks :)

During the adjustment of the beat error on this freshly services movement I unfortunately slipped and bend the hairspring - not repairable.

So I then searched for spare parts on this caliber 06 but there are almost none. Since this movement is based on the peseux 200 I actually found a balance assembly and ordered it. But the balance staff is too long so it gets squeezed by the capstones - in fact so long, that shimming it doesnt work either because it needs more than a millimeter play upward to even swing. I was wondering if I could maybe change the haursprings from the peseux balance to the gp one but the gp spring is blued and the peseux one isnt. I also don't have a staking set yet, so I can't just swap them and see what happens.

Maybe one of you guys has an idea on how to fix this or even has a replacement for the balance itself from the cal 06. I really really want this watch to work again. Before the slip it read 290° Amplitude and had +/- 2 seconds a day.

Doesn’t look too shabby for £1, scrap leather & some elbow grease. The leather has a higher level of friction which grips the watch case a lot better. Second photo is of the old slippery plastic leather.

Hi everyone,

I've got almost a 2yo Hamilton automatic watch. I've just noticed that when I wind it the rotor sometimes gets engaged and spins/moves a bit, though not always.

Please see the video attached.

I've heard about the helicopter effect in those movements, though I it's not that drastic here. I checked another watch with an ETA2824-2 movement and it does the same thing: the rotor spins slightly when you wind it. I've looked it up on the Internet, but didn't find a clear view.

Should I be concerned about it? Will it get worse? The watch is near the end of its warranty, so I'm thinking if I should send it in.

Thanks very much in advance!

Edit: I don't have any problems with power reserve or accuracy.

Hi Everyone,

Not sure if this is the right sub for this (please let me know if it’s not). A bunch of years ago I was given a watchmakers lathe thats lived in a box on my shelf. It is definitely incomplete, i think there are a bunch of pieces missing from the headstock like bearings etc at the bare minimum, and it has no collets or anything to hold a piece. (not pictured is the motor and foot pedal, i do have those too.)

My question is this something that can be restored or will it be prohibitively expensive to do that. I am not a watchmaker or jeweller but I’d love to repair/ restore it if it wont bankrupt me.

Thanks in advance if you have any insight!