Lee Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 Ok so you've been fitting watch batteries for some time, and have been getting asked for new glass from time to time. You've been reluctant to get involved, but what is involved? well here's the most basic and most common glass you will asked to replace The pressed in mineral glass. there are 2 ways a flat mineral glass will be put into the watch case the first is it will be glued in, I will add to this tutorial this method in the future. the second and one I will concentrate on here is the press fit The pressed in glass is most common and it generally pressed into a plastic retaining ring, this ring in the majority of cases is white or cream and is easy to spot around the edge of the glass pictured is this ring removed for illustration purposes, its best to leave this in place unless cleaning the case with an ultrasonic tank. I recommend the use of surgical gloves when doing glass, the fingers are very oily and finger prints whist not visible could cause damage to the surfaces the come into contact with at a later date. Also avoid touching the movement or glass face always old the sides of these items. First job is removing the movement. Its always good practice to hold the movement in a suitable holder. A. remove watch back with your normal method. B. Remove the grown wheel & Stem. In the majority of cases this involves pushing on a small indent on a spring retainer, to locate this move the grown steam button in and out (to adjust watch) and watch the movement for a component moving near where the stem enters the movement this is usually the spot. C. Remove movement retaining holder (if fitted) lift out or turn watch over & Drop out the movement into the palm of your hand. Always place any items you remove into a plastic container with a lid (old movement packets are ideal) then if you have to order components all parts are securely keeps together. Next we need to Remove the old glass. I use my Robur press. A. fit a die larger than the circumference of the glass to the bottom of the press B. next fit on just inside the case C. press out. Never use your fingers to push the glass out, although thin it is glass after all and may cause injury! Measuring old glass. Once out if complete enough lay on a surface to measure (you can always measure the internal dimensions of the case of the glass is to far gone) you will need a metric Vernier gauge and whilst these do take some getting used to you can buy digital ones for ease of reading, but I prefer the traditional type shown. Measuring A. measure diameter. the diameter available are considerable but one rule I would recommend is when ordering order 2 of the size you want (in this case 200) and at least the numbers each side of your measurement e.g. 199 & 201 this is so not only do you increase your stocks, but you include the one you are using (by ordering 2) and have one each side of the size you want and a spare in case of mistakes! B. Measure thickness. in general there are 6 thickness' of glass 0.70mm 1.00mm 1.50mm 2.00mm 2.50mm 3.00mm Cost is between .70 to 2.95 and usually + postage. Clean. Next its important to clean the case, pay attention to areas such as seal grove & crown wheel hole. cleaning stops particles of dust and debris falling between the movement & glass on re-fitting. Fitting Glass A. press in glass. We have to press the new glass into the watch case, this is done using the flat anvil supplied with your press and a die which sits around the edge of the glass. Its amazing how much pressure you can put on a glass in this manor, but it shouldn't take to much pressure in install the glass. B. Once pressed home look along the plain of the glass and check its level in its seal and flush with the edge of the watch case. Rebuild Watch A. now your glass is in its time to rebuild the case, first of all blow out the case with either an air line or puffer as shown B. Lay movement into case c. refit movement retainer. D. Re-fit crown wheel & stem, when replacing the stem never push it straight into the movement always twist it as you push it in, you will not need to apply any pressure to the movement as you did when you removed it, it should push straight in (with a twist) E. Replace back Its worth pressure testing the case once fitted, to ensure a good seal with the glass, if you do find a leak then you could always press in the next size glass which you ordered at the same time, a size increment of .1 will probably still press in with out problems. I charge £15 for a glass, which takes around 20 minutes to fit. LEE This post has been promoted to an article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironplanet uk900 Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 top quality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh-Candoit (ENG) Posted July 6, 2007 Report Share Posted July 6, 2007 Excellant tutorial, one question. The size and thickness are covered well but are there different curvatures and if so how do you match those, is there a catalugue with shapes in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Posted July 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 but are there different curvatures and if so how do you match those, is there a catalugue with shapes in? well here's the most basic and most common glass you will asked to replace The point of this tutorial was to offer those considering expanding into glass an insight into what’s involved. The pressed in glass is the most common we get asked for and provided you can recognise the retaining ring then these are a good starting point for expansion. There are different curvatures and types of glass, a good catalogue to get hold of it the one supplied by H.S. Walsh & Sons Ltd 243 Beckenham Road Beckenham Kent BR3 4TS Tel 020 8778 7061 www.hswalsh.com However I would say that with movements and glass I have always learned a lot more through talking to companies on the phone they really know the subject and can often offer insights and questions to things you haven’t realised. A good company for this is Jevon & Stanley 19 Queen Street Wolverhampton WV1 3JW there are 2 ways a flat mineral glass will be put into the watch case the first is it will be glued in, I will add to this tutorial this method in the future. It is my plan to expand on this first tutorial to eventually include the majority of glass including curved and domed. Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh-Candoit (ENG) Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 Thanks for the info and links Lee. I thought all glasses were glued in!!! never seen a plastic retaining ring but then I'm only doing it as a hobby and dont get to see the volume you guys get in. I like to keep up to date though and I have seen more domed glasses than flat on oblong watches. Can this glass be ground on the finisher or in my case a Dremel tool if too big? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Posted July 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 I thought all glasses were glued in!!! A common mis-conceptrion and often one which puts people off starting the service! Although the glued in ones are just as easy! I will comment on this in due cause. Can this glass be ground on the finisher or in my case a Dremel tool if too big? No! these glasses are so cheap to buy in follow my recommendation when ordering order 2 of the size you want (in this case 200) and at least the numbers each side of your measurement e.g. 199 & 201 this is so not only do you increase your stocks, but you include the one you are using (by ordering 2) and have one each side of the size you want and a spare in case of mistakes! you will never get a good seal by altering a round glass.Some watches have odd shaped glasses and tooling is available to make “bespoke†Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest samtheman Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 A1+ this is what the forums for! great post, and tutorial. little did you know someone has lost his job because he was supposed to be trained to (the timpson high standard) and literally yesterday was the third cock up in a week, and looking at this i can now tell he hasnt got a clue what he isd doing will reveal more later,,, well done lee thumbs up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Posted July 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 supposed to be trained to (the timpson high standard) Its worth noting that I have NO formal training on Watch Repairs. My techniques and practices are in the main self taught and as with my sharpening tutorial may not be ethically correct. However with hundreds of satisfied customers I am more than happy to put my name to my ramblings! Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auto Key Wizard Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 trained to (the timpson high standard) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 Crackin post Lee Samtheman do you work for timpsons then? Which branch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auto Key Wizard Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 Crackin post Lee Samtheman do you work for timpsons then? Which branch He used to......before Lee posted the 'Watch Tutorial' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh-Candoit (ENG) Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 lost his job because he was supposed to be trained to (the timpson high standard) Supposedly? Was he or wasn't he!!! Did you check his references? I can claim to be Rolux trained (no its not a misspell, they are watches sold on the Beaches of sunnier resorts abroad by young African lads), If a prospective employee claims to have passed the exams of a particular company ask to see the proof or write to the company. On reflection I am not sure that they would be allowed to give out information under the data protection act. Worrying that bit. So I could claim to be a Rolux trained mechanic and you aint got a chance of finding out if I'm lying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auto Key Wizard Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 So I could claim to be a Rolux trained mechanic and you aint got a chance of finding out if I'm lying. We don't need to find out Hugh, you're always telling porkies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh-Candoit (ENG) Posted July 7, 2007 Report Share Posted July 7, 2007 So I could claim to be a Rolux trained mechanic and you aint got a chance of finding out if I'm lying. We don't need to find out Hugh, you're always telling porkies Took a long time to rumble me Tel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kam Posted July 8, 2007 Report Share Posted July 8, 2007 Hugh-Candoit (ENG) Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 7:27 pm Post subject: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- samtheman wrote: lost his job because he was supposed to be trained to (the timpson high standard) Supposedly? Was he or wasn't he!!! Did you check his references? who has the time to check references these days and with the employment laws always on the side of employees your not even allowed to tell the truth about them! you can only refuse to give references which is not helpful to any of us, even if they have come out of prison - employment law is an ass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh-Candoit (ENG) Posted July 8, 2007 Report Share Posted July 8, 2007 If you have to find time to train another bod and find time to put right the wrongdoings then you have time to ask for references. there may be a way around these new laws and that is by asking the bod to put all his skills down on paper and sign it. Ask them to send it to the company where they passed the skills test with a letter asking them to verify the tests and post to the new employer. That way they are not giving out Data that is protected and they are onlycomplying with arequest for info from the person on whom the data is held. they have the right to that information under the new laws. this is of course all conjecture, but it is my idea of a way around restrictions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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