Thank you so much! I have my dad's mechanical timex and I tried your tricks and after 20 years of it not working, it now works!!!! I can't thank you enough!!! ❤I feel like I got a little piece of my dad back :)
Thanks for taking the time to make a video on this. You may find that with this method it will stop running again in a few days when all the alcohol evaporates. I've learned this the hard way. Don't be afraid to take the dial off. You don't take the tabs around the outside off, there are 3 tabs that come up through the movement. They are pretty durable. Taking off the dial lets you get to the other oil points. Agreed the second hand in particular is pretty fiddley though. One thing on the oil is that you oiled the pallet fork pivot. You should leave that one dry as the oil actually prevents it from pivoting properly. I've been fixing Timex for a couple of years now and I'm still learning every day. I'm not brave enough to separate the movement plates yet though LMFAO. That's for people with far more patience than I have. Keep the videos coming. I love seeing them.
Same here I just got my dad's mechanical old timex to function again believe it said for 1970, not too bad to see it chum away again after 55 years ago, thank you for your video :)
I gotta say that was an exciting video! That technique of putting it into the rubbing alcohol so the face is unaffected was brilliant, can’t wait to try that. I’ve been thinking of getting a time graph or, you beat me to it. I was hoping you would show what kind of oil you were using. The only oil I’ve found to work so far is Mobius 8000 which is like $10 a bottle. That’s the non-synthetic. All the big boys use the 9010 synthetic which is like 35 bucks For the bottle. Can’t wait to get a lesson on how to use the Time Grapher. Great job👍
You should take the time to take of the hands and remove the dial so you can also oil the pivots accessible on the other side of the movement (you only oiled half of them). Also, there is a little lever under the balance for adjusting the speed (it's hard to get to, but with delicate tools you can get in there). I brought a 1965 Timex Marlin back to life by giving it an overnight soak in lighter fluid (after removing the hands and dial), fully oiling it, and then putting it back together. One of the things that made those old Timex watches so tough ("takes a licking and keeps on ticking") was an extra-heavy balance pivot. That also made for more friction and reduced accuracy. That said, you can probably get it a bit better than you have it with the extra oiling and the adjustment of the lever. I've got mine to -2 s/d in the position it sees most while I'm wearing it and -45 s/d in its "worst" position (the one it is least often held in during the course of my day). Be aware that Timex had a few mechanicals in the 70s with a bit nicer movements (visible jewels, etc). I don't know offhand about the impulse jewel and escapement jewels (if they're actually jewels or if they're all metal, like the cheaper ones), but soaking movements like that in alcohol will cause the jewels to fall out (it dissolves the shellac "glue" that holds them in place). All those cheap "soak-em" watches were designed to be soaked in lighter fluid going all the way back to the $1 pocket watches sold in the 1800s.
I usually disassemble them to clean them fully, but please note this is NOT FOR BEGINNERS. If you disassemble your Timex movement without knowing what your doing or even if you are intermediate in your skill, you need to be ok with breaking something, and even with my experience of about 5 years working on Timex movements I still can spend about 60-90 minutes fiddling them back together. Solvent dips work well, but removing the dial and handset (as long as you are careful bending the pins that hold on the dial, use a larger screwdriver to do this, not a small one) will be ideal, especially if you need time to work on multiple Timex. You will also find that Timex watches actually have 4 screws, five in the common ladies model and sometimes 6 or 7 to secure the calendar module, the Timex manual omits this since they don't want you to take apart your watch and not be able to get it back together again.
Oh and I meant to say, when you oiled the balance wheel, that oil never saw the balance pivot, you just put it on the back of the bering. In a clever bet to save money, Timex movements from this era had a different pivot type exclusive to the balance pivot, The V-Conic bering. Two hardened end retainers hold a sharp tipped cone pivot, and this gives the watch it's classic motto, Takes a lickin', keeps on tickin'! This design, while not very accurate was very easy and cheap to manufacture and also able to withstand higher force impacts then shock absorbent systems at the time, hence why Timex was a favorite working mans watch. The dial side V-Conic bering is threaded to adjust the tightness on the balance wheel, and can be undone to oil the pivots properly. Be warned, there is a knack to getting the position just right, it might take a few tries. These berings can also be the reason a Timex isn't running (on top of being dirty) since sometimes they drift over time.
@@sketchpalosotherchannel hahahah I have seen TH-camrs take these apart and it scares me. I can’t imagine and the wheels are paper thin. Hopefully one day, I can try, but I think for now my skills are not there yet
Many of these movements (including this one) have a pivoting arm on the balance spring that allows you to adjust faster/slower on the balance. Have you tried adjusting it on this one to make it more accurate? I'm curious how much of an impact it might have.
Thanks so much. I have never messed with a main spring. They are notorious difficult. I personally believe if the watch beat error is off slightly it’s not a huge deal
There is a three step process to cleaning - ammonia . water rinse - lighter fluid some also rinse in alcohol after the lighter. making it a 4 step. you also have to oil the end caps and grease the winder Don't leave in ammonia long only a few minutes remove hands and watch face before starting.
70% alcohol has 30% of water. Water was left there, when you closed the watch. It will possibly rust in a few days. Use at least 90% alcohol or something. which will dry out. Keep watch open for 24 hours to let it dry.
I’d ask the pharmacist for 99.9% isopropyl, would be nice to have a cam/scope thing to get a more detailed look at the screws on disassembly, hopefully get more in depth as “time” goes by “taking of the hands/dial” ect :)
Do you have a ultrasonic yet? If you took off the hands and dial then used the ultrasonic, I’m sure it would clean deep down inside and have a more thorough cleaning before oiling
Thank you so much! I have my dad's mechanical timex and I tried your tricks and after 20 years of it not working, it now works!!!! I can't thank you enough!!! ❤I feel like I got a little piece of my dad back :)
cool, such a sweet message
Thanks so much for your positive message. It means a lot to me
Thanks for taking the time to make a video on this. You may find that with this method it will stop running again in a few days when all the alcohol evaporates. I've learned this the hard way. Don't be afraid to take the dial off. You don't take the tabs around the outside off, there are 3 tabs that come up through the movement. They are pretty durable. Taking off the dial lets you get to the other oil points. Agreed the second hand in particular is pretty fiddley though. One thing on the oil is that you oiled the pallet fork pivot. You should leave that one dry as the oil actually prevents it from pivoting properly. I've been fixing Timex for a couple of years now and I'm still learning every day. I'm not brave enough to separate the movement plates yet though LMFAO. That's for people with far more patience than I have. Keep the videos coming. I love seeing them.
Thanks so much. I will let you know if it stops running. The first 3 days, the watch seems fine. Next time I will take the dial off
I love vintage Timex, they are beautiful
Thank you. Myself included
I just bought a 1954 timex that I found at an estate sale in a garage under 60 years of dirt, but it ran, also this timex in the video has 3 screws
Oh cool. My apologies I only saw one
@@vintagesterlingfinds the other 2 are under the dial, there is only one on the back side
@@He11cth3r3 oh thanks. I looked at one today
Same here I just got my dad's mechanical old timex to function again believe it said for 1970, not too bad to see it chum away again after 55 years ago, thank you for your video :)
@@LordsEnigma thanks so much for watching
I gotta say that was an exciting video! That technique of putting it into the rubbing alcohol so the face is unaffected was brilliant, can’t wait to try that. I’ve been thinking of getting a time graph or, you beat me to it. I was hoping you would show what kind of oil you were using. The only oil I’ve found to work so far is Mobius 8000 which is like $10 a bottle. That’s the non-synthetic. All the big boys use the 9010 synthetic which is like 35 bucks For the bottle. Can’t wait to get a lesson on how to use the Time Grapher. Great job👍
That’s so much. I just got cheap watch oil on Etsy. I will make a video on the timeagrapher soon
You should take the time to take of the hands and remove the dial so you can also oil the pivots accessible on the other side of the movement (you only oiled half of them). Also, there is a little lever under the balance for adjusting the speed (it's hard to get to, but with delicate tools you can get in there). I brought a 1965 Timex Marlin back to life by giving it an overnight soak in lighter fluid (after removing the hands and dial), fully oiling it, and then putting it back together.
One of the things that made those old Timex watches so tough ("takes a licking and keeps on ticking") was an extra-heavy balance pivot. That also made for more friction and reduced accuracy. That said, you can probably get it a bit better than you have it with the extra oiling and the adjustment of the lever. I've got mine to -2 s/d in the position it sees most while I'm wearing it and -45 s/d in its "worst" position (the one it is least often held in during the course of my day).
Be aware that Timex had a few mechanicals in the 70s with a bit nicer movements (visible jewels, etc). I don't know offhand about the impulse jewel and escapement jewels (if they're actually jewels or if they're all metal, like the cheaper ones), but soaking movements like that in alcohol will cause the jewels to fall out (it dissolves the shellac "glue" that holds them in place). All those cheap "soak-em" watches were designed to be soaked in lighter fluid going all the way back to the $1 pocket watches sold in the 1800s.
Wow thanks so much for your knowledge. I will definitely redo this video soon. Quite a few people have asked. I also have a timegrapher to use
A movement with no jewels,learned something new today 😊
Thanks so much. Also this is the m24 movement which Timex used in just about everything
I still have my grampas 78 Timex Marlin . great content!
Thanks so much
I usually disassemble them to clean them fully, but please note this is NOT FOR BEGINNERS. If you disassemble your Timex movement without knowing what your doing or even if you are intermediate in your skill, you need to be ok with breaking something, and even with my experience of about 5 years working on Timex movements I still can spend about 60-90 minutes fiddling them back together. Solvent dips work well, but removing the dial and handset (as long as you are careful bending the pins that hold on the dial, use a larger screwdriver to do this, not a small one) will be ideal, especially if you need time to work on multiple Timex. You will also find that Timex watches actually have 4 screws, five in the common ladies model and sometimes 6 or 7 to secure the calendar module, the Timex manual omits this since they don't want you to take apart your watch and not be able to get it back together again.
Oh and I meant to say, when you oiled the balance wheel, that oil never saw the balance pivot, you just put it on the back of the bering. In a clever bet to save money, Timex movements from this era had a different pivot type exclusive to the balance pivot, The V-Conic bering. Two hardened end retainers hold a sharp tipped cone pivot, and this gives the watch it's classic motto, Takes a lickin', keeps on tickin'! This design, while not very accurate was very easy and cheap to manufacture and also able to withstand higher force impacts then shock absorbent systems at the time, hence why Timex was a favorite working mans watch. The dial side V-Conic bering is threaded to adjust the tightness on the balance wheel, and can be undone to oil the pivots properly. Be warned, there is a knack to getting the position just right, it might take a few tries. These berings can also be the reason a Timex isn't running (on top of being dirty) since sometimes they drift over time.
@@sketchpalosotherchannel hahahah I have seen TH-camrs take these apart and it scares me. I can’t imagine and the wheels are paper thin. Hopefully one day, I can try, but I think for now my skills are not there yet
this is what you call "recently serviced by a watchmaker" on your ebay adds?
Hahaha no, on none of my eBay adds I say recently serviced.
Many of these movements (including this one) have a pivoting arm on the balance spring that allows you to adjust faster/slower on the balance. Have you tried adjusting it on this one to make it more accurate? I'm curious how much of an impact it might have.
Yes it was running +200 and I got it down to around 30 seconds either way. Which for a 50 year old Timex is pretty good
I have not tried it yet but do you think an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner with rubbing alcohol in it would help the difficult ones to work?
I think it will. I will try it soon. But take the dial off the watch as the alcohol will take the paint off
Would an ultrasonic cleaner destroy the balance hairspring?
@@vintagesterlingfinds Would an ultrasonic cleaner destroy the balance hairspring?
@@AstronomyGarage good question, it could. That’s why I’m hesitant to try it
Would be interested in sending you my wife’s voyage Timex for repair if possible!? Hoping to hear back from you !
@@michaelivemeyer3577 I’ll be honest I’m not great at repairs. More of a hobby
I have several battery operated Timex watches that stopped working. Do you need to remove the battery before you do this?
@@tubingstream take out battery I would recommend using electrical contact cleaner
Hello do you have any tips/tricks for fixing the beat error❓❓...i known you have may be to"play"on the axe of the hair spring...any advice...from🇨🇵
Thanks so much. I have never messed with a main spring. They are notorious difficult. I personally believe if the watch beat error is off slightly it’s not a huge deal
@@vintagesterlingfinds Merci👍
There is a three step process to cleaning -
ammonia . water rinse - lighter fluid
some also rinse in alcohol after the lighter. making it a 4 step.
you also have to oil the end caps and grease the winder
Don't leave in ammonia long only a few minutes remove hands and watch face before starting.
Ok thanks, I think, I will do a part 2 soon
do you fix other peoples timex watches ? I have an old timex from the early 60s
@@paulbergin-o7d I don’t. My skills are not that good
can you do a m21 or m22 powered timex please?
Sure but the procedure is the same
What king of product you have used?
@@danielecavoli5992 I was using normal running alcohol
@@vintagesterlingfinds thanks!
I Will try with standard alcool isoprophilic and soak for same minutes... !
@@danielecavoli5992 thank you
70% alcohol has 30% of water. Water was left there, when you closed the watch. It will possibly rust in a few days. Use at least 90% alcohol or something. which will dry out. Keep watch open for 24 hours to let it dry.
@@car5car5 right I have 99% now
I’d ask the pharmacist for 99.9% isopropyl, would be nice to have a cam/scope thing to get a more detailed look at the screws on disassembly, hopefully get more in depth as “time” goes by “taking of the hands/dial” ect :)
Kk next time I go, I will ask. The issue is, those movements are rivited not screwed. I can try and get a camera in there
Do you have a ultrasonic yet? If you took off the hands and dial then used the ultrasonic, I’m sure it would clean deep down inside and have a more thorough cleaning before oiling
@@Ypvs350r yes I do. That will be the next video in the series
For some reason my movement can’t come out. There’s a lip stopping it from falling out like that
I have the same problem I was wondering did you find a way to get the part out I can't because it's behind that rim that's holding it in there
Your timeographer will not be correct on an old timex. The pallet fork in them is not like ones in other watches and it confuses the timeographer.
Ok thanks. I wondered why it was always hard to get the time on them
I use alcohol also.
@@patriciaguillory8424 thanks it works well for me
interesting
Thank you
The Blind leading the Blind sums up this video😖😂
It’s a fun way to fix an inexpensive watch.
Collecting Timex is like collecting juice bags, unnecessary
I love timex watches. well made
Throw it away. No disrespect.
@@AIKXXVII I mean, someone could at least use it for parts
Should be titled What not to do
@@puddinsockstrophys hahaha it’s fun to try with less expensive watches