Relive History! Incredible Transformation of WWII Watch with a Secret Hacking Feature
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- čas přidán 27. 07. 2024
- Restoration of a World War II era Waltham 1942 A-11 military spec wrist watch. These watches were produced in the 40s for pilots and navigators in the US Army Air Force USAAF (as well as the Navy and Marine Corps) and the A-11 is one of the most iconic World War II military issue watches every produced. Many were manufactured during the war for allied soldiers and features a black dial with white indices, a sweep seconds hand (which was relatively new for military watches) and outer minute track.
This particular A-11 was made by the Waltham Watch Company in Massachusetts in 1943, according to factory records. Waltham was not the only company to produce watches to the A-11 specification. Other manufacturers such as Elgin, Hamilton and Bulova were all contracted by the US government to produce these timepieces.
The watch contains a feature known as the "hack", or balance braking. Hacking was a common way to synchronize time prior to the advent of GPS. This is achieved by mechanically stopping the balance wheel from swinging so time can be set without time progressing.
Restoration included full service of the movement, including replacement of the broken balance staff and static poising of the balance wheel. I also stripped and replated the case with nickel.
#watchrepair
#restoration
#vintagewatch
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I am an amateur who enjoys restoring vintage watches to working order. Constructive critiques of the process are welcome. I am always learning.
Contact info: cspinnerwatchrepair@gmail.com
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Many of my tools I use are affordable. If you're interested in getting started with watch repair and would like to use what I use, I've included some links below. I earn a small commission from Amazon if purchases are made using these links.
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro and Disassembly
5:15 Balance Staff Replacement
10:20 Cleaning and Reassembly
19:55 Case Replating
21:30 Final Steps - Jak na to + styl
I'm sure these companies did their best to make quality watches, but they were pushed to make massive quantities for the war. This watch is probably more accurate after you worked on it than it was brand new. Great job.
The time graph performance was pretty stunning. No wonder we won the war. 😮
Just picked up an Elgin A-11 and hoping to try my hand at learning this as a hobby. Disabled veteran needing something I can do with my hands while sitting. Thank you for these videos.
If watchmaking does not work for you, give a try at scale model kit building. A great hobby you can take in all different directions to suit your interests.
I’m a collector of early military items, love seeing this piece of history brought back to life! Great job!
Thanks, George! -Chris
The calm way of working, the clear explanation... I'm not going to be a watchmaker but I enjoy watching this video. What a beautiful result!
Jan, thanks so much for the kind words! -Chris
There's an elegance to the Spartan utility of the A-11 (and its descendant, the A-17). A personal favorite.
Here from My Retro Watches. Nicely done restoration, it looks great now. Thanks for not taking off too much material, I think it looks better without taking out all the scratches and blemishes.
Thanks for visiting, Bristol! - Chris
It was a joy to see you work on watches
That’s very kind of you. Thanks!
Very well done. Narration where needed but not overdone. Also, as I've said before. I like the parts names being listed in the upper right corner as they are being removed and installed.
I appreciate that, Ron. Glad you enjoyed it.
I especially appreciate the demonstration of the balance staff work. Thats something i need to learn to advance as a hobbiest watchmaker.
Thanks for the comment. I’m glad you found it educational!
dang, exposed radium is so dangerous.....I wouldn't even touch that watch.
Nice rebuild, I’ve enjoyed watching your watch repairs, keep them coming.
Thanks, Andrew! More to come - Chris
Very good.
Turned out fabulous. What a great looking piece..and a super job on the restoration. Really great numbers on the Timegrapher. Better than some more newer pieces. Agree about refinishing cases and such on such an old pieces. You don't want them to look 'new'...its a 80 year old watch. - The 'new' Nato strap..brings up to date. Good job there...Kudos
Wow , great restoration of a lovely timepiece 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🙏🏻
Thanks, Alan! Glad you enjoyed it
I enjoyed the way you presented a whole new perspective on watch restoration, particularly your balance wheel explanation and labelling each part. Awesome, thank you. 😊
Thanks, Mark!
WOW!!! Good job; looks great
Thank you, Bill ! Thanks for commenting
Amazing work. Thanks for sharing.
Do you have a movement preference between Waltham or Elgin?
Well done I’m a new fan
Absolutely lovely video 👍 thanks
Thanks, James!
I wish you were restoring my Dad's Elgin A-11 watch. He was a US Navy pilot. I still have the watch and it still runs, a few minutes at a time before stopping. I do not know if it has ever had any repair or maintenance. I have kept it locked away for more than thirty years. The case is worn, and its original strap was replaced decades ago, but it would be a great watch for restoration. I also have his old Omega Sea Master watch. It too needs maintenance... just in case you need something to do. Neither are highly valuable, yet both are treasures to me. It would be awesome to see them running again.
Drop me a line with some photos - cspinnerwatchrepair@gmail.com
Loved your video. Great work on the balance complete. Clear and concise narrative. Thank you.
Thanks, Steve! I appreciate the comment. - Chris
Beautiful timepiece. You make it look so easy. Thanks for the look and your time.
I appreciate that, John. Thanks for the kind words.
Nice job Chris. I’m currently working on a Lemania WWII with a Tissot 27A movement. I love these military time pieces. I like how you made the nickel plating appear like 5 minutes work, I know from experience this takes hours!
Very nice video and restoration. I love vintage military watches!
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the kind comment!
Thank You Chris... I took one of my old military watches into a repair shop above Shrives & Co. in the city. The older Argentine watch repair fellow was great. He told me that the German pilots would clip their watches to their left shoulder. After reaching a certain altitude they would start their dive bombing. They would turn their head and look at the watch and time their dive only to pull up when their watch marked the correct time NOT looking at the ground only going by the watch. Interesting story and I wonder if true? .. I enjoy watching your shows & until next time..... TM
Fascinating! I wonder if that was really the case
Love that nice watch restoration, the accuracy is perfect at the end, it’s always impress to see after all these years, that this watch have a very nice Timegrapher reading ! And of course final results is perfect ! ✨👌 Thanks for sharing it’s a great pleasure to follow your work !!
Thank you, Alain. This A-11 will be useful for at least another lifetime. :)
@@csspinner Absolutely !
If I had any criticism:!?; It is beautiful in the end!!!👍👍👍
I love your videos, work and expertise. And this one is up there even if I am no fan of any military stuff at all. There is just one thing that I would probably not have done: refinish the case. It is part of this watch's history, so why erase it when history is all that makes this watch special?
Thank you. I understand case refinishing to be a polarizing topic. Out of the watches I restore for others, it’s pretty much a 50/50 split on whether to do anything to the case or not
And in my most recent video, the vintage watch had a case with the plating clearly wearing away. Discussing it with the owner, we agreed that we would retain the vintage appearance, and not touch the case in anyway.
Great work and video! Appreciate the history and tech lesson!
It truly is a great piece of innovation for its time. Thanks for watching!
There's just something about a simple three hand watch with a full Arabic dial.
Amazing
Another great restoration, I do really like the calmness you pass on while working. About the dents in the brass, have you ever try using tin/lead solder to repair it, before the nickel plating ? I personally never tried, but it may work.
Thanks! That’s a good suggestion. I wouldn’t know how, but I’ll do some research.
Great work in great video production
i would love to buy this one!
Great restoration and nice selection of tools going on. Regards Bruce
Thanks, Bruce
You have a quality narrating voice. I recently purchased a watch from your eBay store and it’s working great. I enjoyed the poise clip you showed, I hadn’t seen that before!
Thanks, Jamy!
I'm not so sure Leonardo da Vinci could have pulled that off - you have more patience and comparable skill. Another mesmerising restoration, CS, and of course, great content, production, quality and presentation as always. Cheers.
Thanks, Rick! I really appreciate the kind words. Glad you enjoyed it. - Chris
0:40 Dust cover? Are you sure this isn't a soft-iron shield to protect the movement from magnetism? After all, this is a pilot's watch.
It’s possible it had multiple purposes. The non-pilot watches (Ordnance Dept) had the same cover inside as well. It’s commonly called the “dust cover”. Interesting thought- I’ll have to do some more research
It needs one of those leather pilot straps the ones that have the 2 metal rivets it would be more period accurate than a NATO
Wow! Great.
Thanks for visiting!
You can still see WALTHAM printed under the black paint of the dial. Apparently, they just repainted some stock dials to make the sterile dials for the A-11.
Another beautiful repair as usual! Did you go to school to learn this trade? As a hobby, I self learned through trial and error and reading. I've never felt comfortable completely disassembling a watch without taking pictures through the process to remember where all the parts go. 😂 Anyhow, awesome job my friend! I've always wanted one of these watches as a WWII aviation nut!
Thanks, Sam. I’m the same way- self taught and learned from others nice enough to explain their process. I have a couple good books as well. I spent plenty of time working on junk movements early on till I gained confidence and had a good success rate to take on anything nicer.
@csspinner ,well you're much better than I am. Honestly, you look like a pro at the craft! 😉
Nice
How do you think the pivot was bent but not broken?
It’s possible the watch took a mild shock/been dropped.
This is both relaxing and educating, love the music as well. I wish I could do what you do. Edit - are you self taught? If so, how long have you been at this for?
Thanks. I’m glad you enjoyed it! Correct, no formal training but I did invest in some good texts early on, which helped tremendously. I’ve been doing this for almost a year.
@@csspinner a year?! Wow, definition of a quick study right there. Good on ya!
AWSOME job!!! … I have one Iv been restoring for about 6months now !! And Iv been waiting for this video of a Waltham A11 to come out. I had to go off the ordinance manual to work on mine. I do have to ask ??? What size crystal does that take?
Thanks. It’s such a rewarding hobby. I don’t recall the exact size but it was around 27mm
Thanks, I much enjoy a good watch repair video.
This watch came out very accurate! I take it that the work on the balance could not have had a better result. At 18:25 the timegrapher shows a rate error of 0 s/day and the balance swings with an amplitude of 327°. Congratulations.
I looked up what a beat error is. It signifies the time difference for the balance to turn in one direction and then back in the other. For this watch the beat error is 0.8ms. Why does it matter though, as the A-11 is extremely accurate anyway?
Thanks Ruud. Beat error becomes critical to maintain positional accuracy (vertical vs horizontal) when in low power reserve. This is when amplitude is dropping below 220. For these vintage watches with no stud carrier to fine tune the beat error, anything less than 1 msec is considered acceptable. Thanks for the question!
klass 👍🔥
Vintage field watches are the reason why I am now a hobbyist. Good job, especially with the balance, beautiful watch. Are those hands original? If so, how did you handle the radium? Pretty cool 3rd wheel, though painful to reassemble. Thanks again.
Thanks. The hands were not actually radium lumed. I had confirmed this with a Geiger counter
Nice job! Good sympathetic resto. I wish I had all your tools! I can’t replace balance staffs until I spend a lot more money on tools! I have a Chinese tool for squeezing the crystals, sometimes marks them with the sharp paws. Is yours Bergeon? Does it work faultlessly? I can’t believe the amplitude you got, amazing. Was it a new spring? Thanks for a great vid!
Thanks, Boyd. The spring wasn’t as badly set as most I’ve worked on so it’s possible it was replaced at some point in its lifetime. I use an off brand crystal lift, but early on I scratched up a lot of crystals learning how to use it. I found it’s critical to make sure the jaws are in the same spot all around before tightening it, or they will slide/scratch themselves into position. Hope that helps
@@csspinner thanks!!
I was thinking of getting a Vevor ultrasonic because I heard they were good and well priced but I heard they can have earthing issues. Have you encountered any problems?
I’ve used it for about a year. The only annoyance is sometimes the ultrasonic motor needs time to “warm” up before it is at full strength
Hi Raymond I was wondering what purpose the Jules serve in a watch
The jewels reduce friction (better timekeeping) and wear (longevity). Superior to metal-on-metal pivots/bushings which inevitably wear over time
I really enjoyed this so thank you. You made light work of that balance staff, still a job I am to learn to my shame.
I did wonder why you would fit the canon pinion when the minute wheel is installed as you do run the risk of the teeth not meshing.
Really nice pace of video though and a good job well done.
I wish you well with your channel.
You have a new subscriber!
Thank you! I really appreciate this comment. I am quite a fan of your content as well. Thank you so much for visiting and subscribing! - and thanks for the feedback about the canon pinion. That was out of order.
I’ll also add that your Baume and Mercier video was a tremendous resource as I stumbled through my first Felsa a while back.
@@csspinner your welcome. It’s why we make these videos as they help others with their projects.
Disagree with leaving the carbon steel mainspring in this watch- replace with a white alloy one!
300+ amplitude - help me understand the reason for replacing it? Longevity?
Excellent job! Where do you source parts from?
Thanks, Morne. Usually one of Ofrei, Esslinger, Cousins or eBay has the part I need.
@@csspinner thank you for the response. Keep up the good work. As someone just starting in this hobby, I will definitely pay attention to your channel
no thoughts or comments on the chapter ring printed on the main plate? it looks very odd
Seemed to be common practice for factory test prior to dial install
The Crown stem is rusty
You’re right there is a little surface rust where it meets the crown. Pretty common place to see that
Where did u get the new crystal?
Either esslinger or cas-ker
@@csspinner
Thanks
I've seen a little seconds dial inside, what is it for?
It serves no purpose in the A-11, which uses sweep center seconds hand. However, these A-11’s produced by waltham were adapted from their standard 1942 model movement, which still used a sub seconds dial (no hack, no sweep second). The dial printed on the plate of the movement itself helped the assembler evaluate the performance of the watch before the dial was installed. More of a convenience than anything else.
@@csspinner thanks 👍🙂
You need better lighting
It’s improved in my later videos. czcams.com/video/pWfVl2Ju3ko/video.html
Helloo I also repair mechanical watches in Turkey.
Where did you go to school for watchmaking
No formal training. I’m just an amateur.
@@csspinner Me as well. Good production quality on your videos....breaks and Scenes etc. I am in Canada, where are you
@@JDRichard South Carolina. I learn a lot from your videos. They’re entertaining and informative. Hoping to feature more lathe work in these soon
@@csspinner Very cool and thanks
How much do u charge to fix a fusee😅
Most fusee’s are in rough shape- either broken chain or balance, etc. hard to get parts for. I personally haven’t tackled one yet, but I will soon and I’ll be sure to film it!
@@csspinner mine ticks just missing one hand and the crystal
@@csspinner if u wana try I got u
@@midnightthinker5479 shoot me an email at cspinnerwatchrepair@gmail.com with pictures and details. Thanks!
@@csspinner do you have ig?
Your music puts me to sleep. You need to have something more exciting on there like Metallica. and when you show the time Grapher, you might want to explain what all those settings are and what they do and what they indicate instead of just showing a picture of it like we all know what it's supposed to read.
I guess I forgot to introduce myself. I am John, Ruth is my wife. It comes up on her name because it's her account.
Correct me if I am wrong, was this A-11 not one of the Dirty Dozen?
No es común ver un reloj mecánico, con parada de segundero. 🫤