Omega Seamaster 1012 caliber

[c.kelly]

Hi All,
Just wanted to share my latest project, an Omega Seamaster 1012. Found it online with broken staff. Have just replaced balance from another broken Omega movement and watch seems to be running fine. Still needs new crystal and band is a bit snug but just especially wanted to thank Bob for giving me the knowlege to to this sort of work. Excuse the picture and if it too large please delete. I was just excited.

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[Bob Tascione]

Hey Thanks Kelly@hughes and Congratulations!

[c.kelly]

Hi Again,
I do have a question about something I found on this Omega. While I was replacing the balance I found that it would not seat properly. What I mean is that everytime I started to tighten up on balance cock the balance stopped running. Tried several times and each time balance stopped. Finally looked at watch balance came off and compared to watch I was installing it to. What I noticed was that on plate of watch I was fixing there were three tiny hand raised bumps underneath where balance was to seat. Looked as if someone had taken a sharp instrument of some kind and deliberately raised up a bit of metal there. Is there any reason someone would do such a thing? Why would you want the balance cock to be angled up a bit on end closest the balance wheel? I smoothed the bumps down and as soon as I did that balance seated first try and has been running ever since. Just curious.

[Bob Tascione]

Good repair C_Kelly!

Yes you're correct. It was deliberate. This is a quick yet unacceptable fix that you see much too often. You'll see marks like you mention that look like they were pushed up with a graver and others that are just punch marks. Many times when changing a balance staff the replacement may be a tiny bit longer than necessary. By raising the metal under the balance cock one can compensate for the extra length. Also balance cocks sometimes get bent down for whatever reason and this method is used to raise or tilt the balance. You'll also run across small shims (paper, brass sheet, aluminum foil etc.) placed under the balance cock foot.

The correct repair for an over length staff is to grind and polish a little off one or both pivots for a proper fit. It actually only takes a minute to do the job properly. I keep a Levin Pivot Polisher base mounted to the edge my bench which the tool mounts onto when needed. This is an excellent tool to have handy. For jobs that need a bit more attention a jewelers lathe and a small assortment of balloon chucks will do most jobs quickly.

It's late tonight so I'll take a couple of pictures of the Levin Polisher in the morning and will post them up here.
Bob

[Bob Tascione]

Here are the pics of the Levin tool.
Sorry about the terrible quality. Having issues with a new camera this morning. I'll try to figure out what is going on and will put better pics up ASAP.
These are better than nothing I suppose...well barely! Anyone know some tricks for taking clear photos with the Kodak Ei8? Have tried inside and outside lighting (many different sources), zooming in and out and taking from further back and close up, mounted on mini-tripod and use remote to eliminate human error and they always look the same. Maybe a setting I'm missing somewhere? Any suggestions will be appreciated. The video is great so the lens seems to be clean and working well but the pics...well take a look
Bob

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