Crazy Hours Removing The Movement

[elloello 5]

Crazy Hours Removing the movement out of case procedure

 

Remove screws

 

 

Screws removed

 

I like to leaver the backplate away from case with a screwdriver or use rodico as a grip

 

 

 

If you have rotor noise anxiety? Then with a little screwdriver remove it and have it as a handwind style watch movement instead of an auto movement, really easy way to get over this without oiling the rotor etc to dampen the noise, simply undo the blue screw carefully and remove all with tweezers or rodico. Be careful not to drop it near the balance wheel etc you hate yourself if you do

 

 

 

 

Tip 1.

always pull out the stem in time adjusting position on these rep crazy hours before "pressing the release button" on the movement and remove the stem safely after that while pressing down on the release button at the same time.

 

*DO NOT DO IT ANY OTHER WAY!*

two reasons

1. if you don't pull the stem out into that position you will more then likely slip the clutch lever when you reinsert the stem & crown later, then you have the classic keyless issues, "This method is for rep crazy hours movement not other movements which are similar"

2. if you don't push the release button and hold pressure with a screwdriver and you pull the stem and crown you can snap the end part of the stem in the movement, so don't do this because you'll kick yourself and say ARGGGHHHHH

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

gently turn and pull the stem while the screwdriver is pushing down on the release button "Keep pressure downwards on the button" while gently pulling the crown and stem "I didn't have enough hands to hold the camera and do this all at the same time to show in picture below"

 

 

crown & stem removed

 

 

Tip 2. you should be able to remove the movement holder/ movement & dial in one go simply put a cloth or foam, i used

foam and gently put it over the back opening then twist the watch case up and gently site it back down, then on the crystal glass tap the glass crystal with your hand, you see it slowly moving away out of the case, now simply carefully move the case completely away

 

 

 

 

 

Now it's out of the case that bit of foam becomes a nice cushion for the movement

 

 

Putting back the movement in the case, I forgot to take shots but it's pretty simple, with the above being highlighted so I borrowed pics

 

I find its better to have the case raised vertical and slowly moving horizontal while letting gravity letting the movement and plastic surround falling into the case slowly while you do this, if it still not all the way in simply tap the plastic holder with a screwdriver or toothpick to set it flush or use thumb on the plastic parts only

 

*Avoid touching the movement is best in my view*

 

 

Now the movement and plastic surround is in the case you carefully reinstall the stem, be mindful that the stem goes into the slot you can check this by looking carefully in the inner side of the case, once you see it in place yo can now put pressure on the crown by gently pushing also when you are nearly there you see the "button Spring"

you know it's in now

 

 

With these crazy hour rep movements this all it needs to be done, sometimes you can do a slight twist turns when inserting these stems if it's a bit stubborn to go in

 

"NO NEED TO PUSH THE BUTTON" when reinserting stem

 

Some may think this is unusual but it's not for these for some reason. This method works for me with these rep crazy hours movements so I keep to it

 

now set the time,put the backplate back on with screws

 

HAPPY DAYS!

 

 

 

I know there is other tutorials but I wanted to go a little deeper into this with this model & movement

 

 

 

Crazy Hours Removing hands and tweaking hands if needed or vica versa if you only need to tweak the hands to clear it self

 

Firstly tools

You can get all these cheaply for this stage

Blower

Hands remover tool

Hands reset tool

Screwdrivers

End of a unused toothpick / floss or anything small and plastic, don't do metal on metal, well you can but be very gentle

 

 

 

 

Ok let's go right into tweaking because if you don't need to remove the hands then this is a good first hand method.

 

 

 

Check if it's the minute hand needs to be tweaked up or down

Do this very lightly as these hands are soft metal so don't need a lot of force whatsoever,

 

1. This is used if it's hitting the inner side of crystal, tweaking using down pressure

 

2. This is used if the clearance of the hour hand and minute hand are in contact.

tweaking up pressure

 

don't do it too much so it can hit the inner side of crystal

 

 

3. This is used either the Hour hand & minute hand are in contact or combined this with above for the same purpose using downward pressure "don't do it too much so it doesn't clear the dial and numbers"

 

This is used if the hour hand is not clearing the dial or numbers on dial

 

tweaking using upward pressure

 

 

 

For this above you need these below only

 

 

Now on to removing hands completely

 

The tool is easy to use, if you prefer to use a plastic dial protector as well you can buy them cheaply, I have one but I didn't use it for this info,

 

Ok make sure the jaws of the tool goes under the hands and be mindful of the dial also, you can do this avoiding all with care.

 

 

 

 

 

keep a nice steady hand while doing this procedure

 

 

 

 

Keep calm, it's now done, just gently nudge the hands away with a slight shake

 

 

 

 

good time to use the hand blower

 

 

 

Ok putting hands back on using the hand reset tool

, these come in different sizes each end has a hole so make sure you get the nearest size

 

Too big you may bend one half of the circle

 

Too small you won't have enough clearance for the spindle

 

it's important you do this lightly not forcefully due to the hands are made of soft metal

 

 

Hour hand first

 

 

 

 

Now the minute hand like before do not use too much pressure and be mindful of both hands clearance, if a tweak needs to be done? You simply apply the previous info to do this

 

 

This seemed a good idea to cover this on the forums because I bet some people may have just chucked away watches in the past or may have had this happen to them without knowing what's best to do, eitherway I'm sure this will cover a lot

[MetalMickey 180]

 

Brilliant tutorial, well illustrated and written - really appreciate this!

[GenTLe 1,539]

Nice tutorial elloello.

The way to remove the stem is valid for all the 21j (those with the purple gear) and for Miyota too: I found twice that on them taking out the stem from winding position results into keyless mess up when it is time to refit it

[Genius 281]

Definitely appreciate the effort you have taken... I found that I am pretty good at fucking about inside the movement but always managed to damage the hands when trying to re fit them so seems like I need to buy more of the hand pushers not just the one that I currently have which probably isn't the right size for any if my watches

[MetalMickey 180]

I notice there is no seconds hand.

 

I believe it to be impossible to refit the second hand on a 21j movement without snapping off the pin it sits on and breaking the movement.

[Genius 281]

I notice there is no seconds hand.

 

I believe it to be impossible to refit the second hand on a 21j movement without snapping off the pin it sits on and breaking the movement.

I've tried... Broken the second hand so makes sense to me... But think plenty of better tinkerers have done it successfully just not us normal human beings

[GenTLe 1,539]

I notice there is no seconds hand.

 

I believe it to be impossible to refit the second hand on a 21j movement without snapping off the pin it sits on and breaking the movement.

Did it 3 times (a sub I sold and twice on a cheap nautilus I still have around because the movement isn't performing fine): I didn't find it more difficult than on a standard asian eta... You need to use a movement holder with the central pinion support and be very vertical when pressing the hand

[Kleen™ 45]

[MetalMickey 180]

I notice there is no seconds hand.

 

I believe it to be impossible to refit the second hand on a 21j movement without snapping off the pin it sits on and breaking the movement.

Did it 3 times (a sub I sold and twice on a cheap nautilus I still have around because the movement isn't performing fine): I didn't find it more difficult than on a standard asian eta... You need to use a movement holder with the central pinion support and be very vertical when pressing the hand

 

I'm sure I would break it on an Asian ETA too but never dared open up anything more expensive than a 21J!

[GenTLe 1,539]

I notice there is no seconds hand.

 

I believe it to be impossible to refit the second hand on a 21j movement without snapping off the pin it sits on and breaking the movement.

Did it 3 times (a sub I sold and twice on a cheap nautilus I still have around because the movement isn't performing fine): I didn't find it more difficult than on a standard asian eta... You need to use a movement holder with the central pinion support and be very vertical when pressing the hand

 

I'm sure I would break it on an Asian ETA too but never dared open up anything more expensive than a 21J!

If you managed to close the 21j then you should know that eta (not the chrono) are easier

Really attention points are the micro click spring (eaaasy to lose) and the date wheel spring which is not easy to put in place (especially on watches with large dwo).

[MetalMickey 180]

I notice there is no seconds hand.

 

I believe it to be impossible to refit the second hand on a 21j movement without snapping off the pin it sits on and breaking the movement.

Did it 3 times (a sub I sold and twice on a cheap nautilus I still have around because the movement isn't performing fine): I didn't find it more difficult than on a standard asian eta... You need to use a movement holder with the central pinion support and be very vertical when pressing the hand

 

I'm sure I would break it on an Asian ETA too but never dared open up anything more expensive than a 21J!

If you managed to close the 21j then you should know that eta (not the chrono) are easier

Really attention points are the micro click spring (eaaasy to lose) and the date wheel spring which is not easy to put in place (especially on watches with large dwo).

 

Last time I took apart and reassembled a watch, I lost the movement retaining ring.

 

I would have no chance with anything smaller!

[GenTLe 1,539]

I notice there is no seconds hand.

 

I believe it to be impossible to refit the second hand on a 21j movement without snapping off the pin it sits on and breaking the movement.

Did it 3 times (a sub I sold and twice on a cheap nautilus I still have around because the movement isn't performing fine): I didn't find it more difficult than on a standard asian eta... You need to use a movement holder with the central pinion support and be very vertical when pressing the hand

 

I'm sure I would break it on an Asian ETA too but never dared open up anything more expensive than a 21J!

If you managed to close the 21j then you should know that eta (not the chrono) are easier

Really attention points are the micro click spring (eaaasy to lose) and the date wheel spring which is not easy to put in place (especially on watches with large dwo).

 

Last time I took apart and reassembled a watch, I lost the movement retaining ring.

 

I would have no chance with anything smaller!

Lol

Look here, pic I made for my gf to show her why, as she claims, I am more patient now respect when she met me 8 years ago

My 2nd finger and the balance arbor end jewel that you need to oil when you service a movement:

 

The jewel with the correct amount of oil:

[JSJ 0]

Brilliant thread and discussion. Why this place rocks. Thanks elloello for starting and the brilliant explanation and pics. A crazy hours is on my list so if one comes up on M2M I may well need this thread.

 

Do you use dial protectors? I found a polythene bag is better than the Bergeon one which is quite thick. I cut a piece of the bag oversize, slit it and slide the slit over the pinion before removing the hand(s).

[elloello 5]

Great tips being talked about fantastic

yeah JSJ the bergeon protector is not good for these in most cases unless it's the bigger 8880 sizes which even then I don't like it much, cling film or grease proof paper is a good trick to use with a slit, ultra thin so you have clearance or if you have real anxiety on the hands a layer of cling film on the grabs can help with or some under the hands slight protection, only this morning I was doing another so I'm getting to know these pretty well, you watch I break the next one because of that comment he!he!

 

[synthahol 0]

I recently purchased one of these in a thrift shop in NYC for $3.99.   I was sure it was a fake.  It works perfectly.  When I opened the back and saw the plastic retainer I was sure it was not real...but I guess it might be after looking at these pics.  One screw is missing off the back and the  circular metal "FM" logo has fallen off the bracelet.  If anyone knows where I can get replacement parts I would greatly appreciate it.  Cheers!

[NCRich 14,918]

1 hour ago, synthahol said:

I recently purchased one of these in a thrift shop in NYC for $3.99.   I was sure it was a fake.  It works perfectly.  When I opened the back and saw the plastic retainer I was sure it was not real...but I guess it might be after looking at these pics.  One screw is missing off the back and the  circular metal "FM" logo has fallen off the bracelet.  If anyone knows where I can get replacement parts I would greatly appreciate it.  Cheers!

This one isn't real either.  Well its a watch, but not a genuine FM.