Barry was brave enough to allow me to service his nice Bucherer, as this is my first customer chronograph. The movement is in excellent shape but bone dry and in need of a service.I start by taking the movement out of the caseThen I remove the hands.The dial side of the base plate is simple enough, as the movement doesn’t have an hour recorder.The movement looks a little daunting so before winding down I have a long look at what the different parts do.I take photos in every angle so to see how it is put back together.
I start dismantling the chronograph.Here I have removed the minute recorder and the central chronograph runner.I remove the tension springs before removing the various leversSlowly but surly I get to the base movement.Base movement is easy enough as everything is in great shape.Old mainspringAll the parts look clean and nice.New mainspringBase movement back togetherGreat amplitudeSomehow the parts find their way back into the movement 😉I take great care not to loose any of the wire springs. Working from the photos, I put all the components and their screws back onto the plate.
http://youtu.be/SXeOfwoZSf4
The movement is back together and depthing correctly adjusted with Christian’s help.
Is also a challenge to aligning the minute recorder and second hand correctly when putting the hands back on.Movement back in the caseI really enjoyed working on this nice watch and I’m looking forward to my next chronograph;)
Taking things apart and putting them back together is what grandma called (solving puzzles). Most of those puzzles were either 500 or 1000 pieces. Grandma never missed. In regards to the back end of watches, you are a watch mechanic, or a watchmaker. If you can (on paper) submit a working watch movement, you have the potential to become a watchmaker, provided you have the 27,000 dollars worth of equipment. If not, your Grammy had it right.
Not quite right. The challenge isn’t to put a movement back together. That’s easy. It’s about making sure each component works as it should, and spotting if something isn’t quite right, and knowing how to make it right. Putting the right part in the right place isn’t really a problem. As with anything, it takes about 10000 hours of practice to get there.
Hello!
I’d like to ask a technical question, if I may: do you oil the shouldered “safety” screws that hold in place the coupling clutch 8080, the sliding gear 8100 or the hammer 8219? If so, do you also put a very tiny drop of hp 1300 under them?
Thank you!
Bogdan
awesome chronograph and excellent job Mitka! you are learning from the best!
A testament to your ability Mitka.
Who was more nervous though Christian or yourself 🙂
I think that was a straight 50:50 😉
🙂
Does anyone know what the countdown scale on the right subregister is for?
It’s a five minute count down timer. Handy for regatta sailing.
Gratulerer Mitka!
Well done! 🙂
Wow, I am super-impressed. Beautiful watch and a brave owner. 😉
Slowly and… surly? I suppose that might well be the case 😉
Lovely dial on that thing.
Nice work! 🙂
… and I just love the hands on the sub dials …
Lovely watch. The first chronograph I worked on was a Landeron Cal. 48 in a Leonidas watch. I too was a little daunted but I’ve found that all the chronographs I’ve worked on use the same basic principles. Perhaps I’ve not had enough experience yet!
Well done Mitka, first of many!