Watch Rebuild 1980 Seiko 7009-8580 - Documented For OSA!

[thor447]

Not only is your work on the watch stellar work, but your photography is very good as well.

Just out of curiosity, what are you using to take the pictures?

Nothing fancy at all. All pictures are taken with an iPhone, with the exception of the one photo that has a collage of 7 photos showing the dirty parts. Those 7 were taken with a microscope camera through the trinocular port. I’m using a ring LED light around the microscope lens. The lighting works beautifully for working under the microscope, but the photos still turn out somewhat dark. There may be a camera setting that will allow the photos to look as bright as they do through the eyepiece, but I am the furthest thing from an expert regarding any of those camera settings.

 

[coolhandluke]

Please feel free to reach out if I can be of any help. I’ll be happy to provide some advice on tools, etc. There are some areas where you can get away with the cheaper alternatives, and some areas where you definitely shouldn’t. There are some things I’ve bought twice for this reason, and others where I’m still using a cheap Chinese copy of a tool that works so well I’ve never found a need to upgrade.
When replacing the crown, a pin vise will definitely come in handy for you. I’ve got a couple and you’re welcome to borrow one when the time comes if you need.

Thanks a ton for the offer. I had planned on purchasing a pin vise and a pair of front cutting pliers when I was ready to do the install. Do you have any specific recommendations as to what set of pliers would be best for cutting stems? I didn't know if I needed to invest in a quality set from Esslinger or if a cheap set off of Amazon will work fine.

 

[thor447]

Thanks a ton for the offer. I had planned on purchasing a pin vise and a pair of front cutting pliers when I was ready to do the install. Do you have any specific recommendations as to what set of pliers would be best for cutting stems? I didn't know if I needed to invest in a quality set from Esslinger or if a cheap set off of Amazon will work fine.

The stems aren't necessarily difficult to cut, as long as your pliers aren't made of some soft cheap alloy. I just used a set of front cutting pliers I had laying around. It wasn't a 'watchmaking' tool. Just a Home Depot special. Make sure when you cut the stem you cut it a bit long, then file it down gradually to get the fitment you want. Good files will be needed to do the job properly.

 

[skyhawk1]

That is a lot of small parts!! Looks good!

 

[John6185]

You have more patience than me, I would mess something up. The best I can do is replace a quartz movement.

 

[harley128]

Wow! I envy you being able to do this work !!

 

[thor447]

You have more patience than me, I would mess something up. The best I can do is replace a quartz movement.

Patience is key. It's something I have to remind myself to practice when doing this work. When I start to see it coming together, and there is light at the end of the tunnel, I have to tell myself to slow down and work methodically. In my initial days, when I'd see it coming together, or perhaps when I was frustrated over something not working correctly (taking my lumps), I'd get in a rush and inevitably screw something up or send a tiny part flying out of my tweezers. Slow and steady definitely wins the race when it comes to watchmaking.

It isn't really all that complicated to do the work. The amount of tiny parts seems daunting at first, and I believe it is what most people who would like to learn how to start working on watches are intimidated by. What helped me was to break the watch down into separate assemblies. Once you have a general understanding how that mechanism works, it's easy to identify the needed parts and assemble them correctly. I break it down into the following:
Rear side:
- Base timekeeping - wheel train, pallet fork, and barrel (with their bridges)
- Balance - in it's own category
- Automatic winding works (if the watch is so equipped)

Front side:
- Keyless works - crown, and parts needed to put the watch into winding, time setting, or calendar setting modes
- Motion works - parts that connect rear side to font side, and connect to keyless works & calendar works - this is what actually runs the hands
- Calendar works - day or date complications
- Other Complications - power reserve indicators, moon phase, etc.
- Chronograph - still taking courses on these, but this will have a few categories of it's own

None of these assemblies are that complicated on their own. Usually only a handful of parts and screws. Once you understand how each of them work, it makes it much easier to tear down, sort parts after cleaning, and reassemble the watch.

I had a good understanding when I first started, and watched enough videos to where I knew what part they were working on and what it did as I watched. The best thing that I did was sign up for some courses. My instructor broke it down into sub-assemblies like I described above. While I thought I had a good understanding when I started those courses, I learned quite a bit from them. What I really learned from those lessons is a lot of crucial detail items that most people don't show in the videos, troubleshooting techniques, etc.

 

[trekrok]

The disassembled picture gave me a little anxiety, but thanks for posting, lol.

 

[Gunbuffer]

I
Saw that pic of all that stuff disassembled and I got the sweats just thinking that someone had to put it back together.
Glad you enjoy that. I’d have nightmares

 

[okcBob]

Ever work on something like this?