Restoration - Heuer triple date valjoux 72c watch repair tutorial project

here we have a

triple

date

with a seventy two C value chronograph movement lurking inside, as you can see it's looking better days, this is maybe seventy years old. I wouldn't expect it to be perfect at all, but unfortunately this isn't even average. condition I suspect the perspex glass developed a crack at some point but was never replaced. I can imagine that this crack possibly around the one o'clock position developed to a point where dust and skin began to infiltrate. If this scenario is true, then that would explain the extent of the damage to the dial, which appears unrecoverable. .

I also imagine that the crystal eventually fell and the hands got caught in the clothing, as they are also in very poor condition. I'm not an expert on it. all with dial

restoration

and there is always the debate about whether a dial should be restored on vintage

watch

es but I believe this no longer exists and later as you will see I tried a conservative cleaning and although it looked a little cleaner Some numbers They began to appear as expected. I have decided to look for a second dial to

triple

a higher value of 72 C and I suspect it will not be easy to find.

I'll keep this one as part. of the Providence clock in the future, but in the meantime I'll clean this up as best I can and use it until I can get something suitable. There are a few other issues with this

watch

movement and we'll get to that shortly, but for now, go ahead and disassemble this movement. You may notice that I sometimes put a screw back into position with these older chronographs. There are so many similarly shaped screws with different shoulder depths that it's very easy to confuse which ones go where, so this is my go-to. to manage their locations so that they return to the correct position when reassembled.

I have detected a problem here with the fourth wheel. Unfortunately the extended pivot is bent, as you can see the attached chronograph wheel is becoming true. This is something I'm going to have to deal with shortly and now it would be what I dismantled. I can now clear all the paths and continue with the

repair

s. I start with the fourth wheel pivot, you may remember it has been. I'm applying a little pressure to it. the pivot against my little stake block and I'm trying to get it straight again. This is a risky job if the pivot brakes completely then a new 4th wheel will have to be got or a BRE pivot operation will need to be done but fortunately Everything seems fine, it is much straighter now and I think it will work well when I take the turn. part of the washer.

I noticed that the bridge spring was corroded and in fact had a hairline crack and broke completely. These springs break very easily and have not been made in decades, this has unfortunately made new and vintage parts very rare and even if they can be found, they are very expensive. I found a pair on sale, but they were over a hundred and forty dollars each. I decided to make a new one. I took a piece. of steel bar and a cut of a suitable size according to the dimensions of the original then we file it until it has the correct shape.

I drilled two holes one for the screw and the other is a guide for cutting the mold and now I can proceed to cut out the pattern now that I have the rough shape. I can use my diamond files to create the correct geometry. I glued the piece together with leftover glue to have a stable base that would allow me to file the leg to the correct thickness. which is 0.2 millimeters, unfortunately my pin clamp has serrated jaws and this has indented the part a little, it won't affect the functionality but I'm a little disappointed, anyway, in the future I will buy a pink lamp with smooth jaws or maybe.

I'll file this one and polish it now that the filing is done. I can heat the piece to release it from the superglue and I can test it. It looks good, but the real test will of course come when the movement is reassembled, so as you can see, I managed to clean off much of the skin that was embedded in the dial, but at the cost of the numbers on the calendar disappear, I didn't expect much, but depending on your point of view, it will even be seen. better or worse than when I started either way.

I'll keep this as part of his Providence, like I said before, I'll get a cleaner dial and do an up

date

video at some point, but for now I can deal with these hands. They have actually been quite worn out and I am now able to assemble the movement over its long life. I can tell they are taking it apart and reassembling it a lot, there are a lot of scratches and dents and I can even see evidence of clean rust, the screws are a little beat up but I suspect the watch will work fine, let's find out the new ones seem to be working well and now It's time to put everything back together in the case.

I start by removing the pushers so I can clean them and give the case a little polish. Unfortunately a polish, what's missing are case screws and I'm sure I have something old. Let's take a look and now I can adapt a new perspective and I can put the movement back into the case, secure it with the case screws and attach the hands. and let's finish the

project

with a nice new worst rap, let's take a look at the time, well, it looks good, it's gaining a little, but it has great amplitude and is perfectly in rhythm.

I can make a slight adjustment just to tighten it up and that's it. With the glass on it doesn't look as bad as I thought, but I'm interested in finding a refurbished vintage dial or a suitable new one. I'm quite pleased with the sync performance and everything seems to work well despite some issues that needed to be addressed this is fantastic, it's a real piece of history. I wonder what stories it could tell, but the main thing is that it can be enjoyed again and that's good, but thanks for watching and if you haven't. So subscribing is free and if you click the bell you will be informed every time I post new content.

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