Glycine Airman 1 Restoration
Geoff Quickfall, June 4, 2005
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From this to
this!
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Abstract: The following article is about a Glycine Airman 1 case and dial restoration. This was accomplished at home using tools readily available. Some watch maker tools would be helpful such as a movement holder and case wrench but are not necessary, unless of course you can’t open the watch back (see appendix).
Back of instruction manual.
Front of instruction manual
Contents:
page
Case restoration Bezel restoration Screw back restoration Hand re-lume Hack wire description Removing the dial Before and after pictures Completed watch pictures Summary Appendix (tools and hints)
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General description: The movement is the AS 1701/01 circa early 1960’s, 25 jewel automatic with instantaneous date, a quick set by reversing the hand to 20:00 hours then back to 24:00 hrs repeating as necessary. The rotor is a heavy metal ring winding in both directions via a click-wheel switcher with uncoupling device for hand-winding. The balance is screwless glucydur balance with Nivarox hairspring vibrating at 18,000 beats per hour. The seconds are direct centre at 5th of a second jumps. This particular movement has been adjusted to positions. The case is stainless steel screw bottom with snap on bezel. The bezel rotates loosely with no spring locks and is held in place by a clamp system at the four o'clock position.1 The crowns appear to be original although not cross hatched. A part of the case/watch interface is the hacking mechanism. This particular mechanism does not stop the balance wheel as in many other designs, but relies on a small wire that protrudes through a hole between the 2 and the 4 at the 24 hr mark on the dial.2 The wire height is controlled by the set/wind position of the stem. When the stem is pulled to the setting position the hack wire extends further through the hole and impedes the second hand which contacts the wire at the 24 hr mark. When a time signal is heard the crown is pushed in, causing the hack wire to retract towards the dial, allowing the second hand to continue. Old advertisement for the Glycine Airman found in a 1969 Pilot magazine. Included is the list price for the watch!
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See Glycine forum article on Glycine Clamp cross section Many watch regulators think that physically stopping the balance may affect the accuracy of the movement 2
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Case Restoration: The back is removed from the case with the correct case wrench (see appendix). The crystal was removed and discarded due to a deep crack; otherwise I would have polished it for use. The hack wire screw is loosened3 allowing clearance for the stem to be removed (figure 1a). The stem is then pulled to the set position or first detent. The stem retaining screw is loosened and the stem is pulled from the case (figure 1). The movement is now loose in the case and can be removed. It will still be attached to the movement holding ring by two screws which also house the hack wire mechanism. Set aside the movement in a dust proof container (figure 1b). We will deal with these later. Figure 1a
1b Old butter tray.
The case back is set aside and the bezel is removed from the case as follows. Firstly, the clamp must be loosened. A knife is inserted between the case and bezel. A gentle twist of the knife and the bezel will pop off (figure 2) Figure 2
Set the bezel aside and we will deal with the main part of the case.
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Loosened does not mean remove, it involves only enough turns to release the mechanism described.
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The following figures show the before pictures of the case. There is a large amount of dirt under the bezel as well as corrosion on the back of the case where it met the case back and gasket (figures 3 & 4). The original gasket was made of lead and will be replaced with a synthetic o-ring. The case back shows no inscriptions from previous service and as such I am assuming this watch was never serviced during its life. Figure 3
Case reverse
and obverse.
Figure 4
Case under bezel and case back showing corrosion from moisture under gasket. The following items were used during the case, bezel and case back refinishing: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Dremel high speed hand held drill/polisher/sander 600/400/220 grit wet/dry sandpaper Nylon pot scrubber Polishing compound Polishing bits for the Dremel 3 and one or clean motor Oil Drill with polishing chuck bit Plasticine Rust remover gel Various containers 6
The case, case back and bezel were washed with a stiff nylon brush and detergent to remove all compacted dirt. I would still recommend the mechanical removal of the dirt even if you have an ultrasonic cleaner. When the dirt is removed, place all three items in a bowl with the rust remover (figure 5). Figure 5
Let these soak for about 3 hours and rinse when the soaking is completed. The case was then cleaned on all sections with a brass wire brush attached to the Dremel. I held the tool and applied the brush to the dirty and corroded areas. I used this gently and only enough pressure to remove the corrosion and dirt (figure 6). Figure 6
Dremel with brass wire brush.
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The corroded areas once cleaned of corrosion were then buffed with the Dremel and buffing wheel. This is especially important where the gasket seats between the case, case back and gasket to allow a better seal (figure 7). Figure 7
Corrosion removed (color due to reflection, actually polished steel look). Now that the corrosion has been removed, the remaining pits brushed and then polished out we can address the finish on the exterior of the case. I used the 220 wet/dry sand paper, oil and Popsicle sticks to remove the nicks and scratches from the exterior of the case (figure 8). Wrap the sandpaper tightly around the Popsicle stick and sand and buff by hand. Try not to focus on one scratch, but rather blend the sanding around the scratched area similar to feathering in a car paint repair. This way the scratch doesn’t turn into a polished valley. Once the scratches and nicks are removed, I used a polishing bit on the Dremel and polished the lug tops and between the lugs at each end until a gloss finish was produced. The reverse side of the case was also polished to a high gloss where the case meets the screw back. The edges were then dressed with the 220 wet/dry sand paper in a motion parallel to the horizontal length of the case edges. This allowed a brushed steel finish to show on the edges (figure 9). The clamp crown was then polished to remove the surface blemishes Figure 8
Figure 9
220 grit wet/dry and Popsicle stick.
Case with brushed and polished areas. 8
The case was washed in lacquer thinner to remove the polishing compound and any other dirt left over from the refinishing, washed with soap and water, rinsed and allowed to dry. Set the case aside. Bezel restoration: The bezel is placed in a polishing chuck for a hand held drill (figures 10 - 12). Figure 10
Figure 11
Drill and chuck with plasticine on face of chuck. Figure 12
Bezel embedded in center of Plasticine.
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The chuck is placed in the drill and the drill spun to ensure the bezel is centered. With drill on and the bezel centered, gently place the 220 grit wet/dry sandpaper and oil on the bezel. Do this just enough to remove the nicks and scratches. You want to use the sandpaper sparingly because the higher the bas relief on the bezel the better the look. Run the drill again and apply the 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper and oil to remove the marks from the 220 grit (figure 13). The last application was with the nylon pot scrubber which gives a nice fine satin finish (figure 14) Figure 13
Finished sanding Figure 14
Pot scrubber (green pad) drill and chuck.
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The bezel was then rinsed in lacquer thinner to remove the plasticine and washed with hot soap and water (figure 15). Figure 15
Finished bezel before painting. The bezel was dried and black enamel bathroom sink paint was sparingly applied to the numbers and triangles (figures16 to 17). Figure 16
Figure 17
The paint being applied.
Finished product.
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As the paint is applied, let it set for a few minutes then remove the excess by wiping gently with a piece of clean paper (standard letter paper). In some places another application of paint was required and again excess removed with the paper. Standard white paper is abrasive enough to remove the tacky excess paint without disturbing the finish and not to absorbent, so the paint will not be pulled out of the inlay. When the paint has dried, firmly polish the bezel with a piece of clean white paper. Return the bezel to the case by; loosening the clamp and placing the bezel in position. Gently but firmly press down on four points on the bezel. It will snap into place with the correct amount of pressure. Set aside the case and bezel. Screw back restoration: The case screw-back is addressed the same way as the bezel. Place screw-back in the center of the Plasticine on the chuck (figure 18). Figure 18
The screw-back in place on the drill chuck. Once in place and with the drill on apply the 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper and oil to the case back. The correct application of the sandpaper depends on how deep your scratches are, i.e. deep tool marks, etc. Once the scratches are removed you can then apply the desired finish. In this case a high gloss polished finish was applied. With the screw-back still in the chuck finish with the 400 grit sandpaper and then apply 1000 grit wet/dry
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sandpaper and oil (figure 19). Next I polished using the Dremel polishing bit and polishing compound. Figure 19
Figure 20
Case finished with 1000 grit.
Case back polished and finished.
Hand re-lume: The hands were removed from the watch using a hand remover (figure 21) and a piece of clear plastic. Set the time to 24:00 and place the bag over the dial (figure 22). Then use the hand remover to remove the hands, the plastic will protect the dial from the hand remover Figure 21
Figure 22
Hand remover.
Plastic covering dial.
Once the hands are removed you can mechanically remove the luminous paste with toothpicks or place the hands in lacquer thinner to dissolve it. Be careful with the discarded paste. Some of the older watches used Radium to activate the phosphorus. Newer watches use Tritium (radioactive hydrogen, H3.). I use the lacquer thinner method as this precludes dust. I also have a lead container for the luminous paste which I take to the local University when required. Be careful as the hands are delicate (figure 23).
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The hour and minute hands are then placed upside down on tooth picks. Place them in some foam for support (figure 24). I took regular yellow luminous paste (figure 25) and placed some in an old watch crystal. I then added a very tiny, and I mean tiny amount of red food coloring to the yellow paste. This tinted the paste to a very slight orange tone almost identical to the original luminous on the dial. The paste was then applied to the back of the hands with the oiler, which is why you place them on the toothpicks upside down. The photo is showing a little to much pink (photo problem). Figure 23
Figure 24
Hands cleaned and ready for new paste.
Hands with luminous paste.
Once the hands were finished I lacquered them with a high gloss varnish (figure 26). Figure 25
Figure 26
Luminous paste and food coloring.
Hands, foam block and lacquer
When dry the hands were then placed back on the movement, paying particular attention to the hack wire4. To return the hands to the watch, 24:00 hours must be determined. It is coincident with the date change position. Turn the crown in the set position (first detent) until the date just changes. Place the hour hand on the hour tube with tweezers (figure 27). Then place the clear plastic over the dial as in figure 22. I use a set of tweezers with the points on either side of the hour hand base and gently push down. 4
See hack wire section
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Remove the plastic and reverse the hand set back to 20:00 hours (date quick change position) with the hour hand in place and slowly move the hour hand back toward 24:00. When the date changes, ensure the hour hand is pointing directly at 24:00, if not, remove and reposition following the above steps. Once the hour hand is pointing at 24:00 and the date changes correctly at this position then place the minute hand in position, also pointing at 24:00. Put the clear plastic over the hand and press down with the tweezers at the base of the minute hand. Be careful not to touch the second hand pinion. Now the second hand can be placed in position using the clear plastic as before. A gentle push with the tweezers on the centre of the base of the second hand is all that is needed to seat it on the second pinion. Figure 27
Tweezers placement for resetting hands on movement. Hack wire description: The hack wire assembly consists of a wire, arm, and extra detent in stem. When the stem is pulled it acts on the arm which raises the hack wire upwards impeding the second hand when it reaches 24:00. The reason for this design was to not impinge the balance wheel which may have a detrimental effect on the running rate of the watch (according to some sources). The other reason is what I call the ‘set it and forget it’ (my apologies to Ron Popiel). Once the stem is pulled you just wait for the second hand to stop at 24:00 and 0 seconds. Wait for a time signal to indicate 0 seconds, push in the stem and voila you are hacked and synchronized. Here are some photos of the hack wire from the dial side.
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To expose the dial screws and hack wire mechanism on the holding ring, the movement must be separated from the holding ring. As mentioned before, the movement is loose in the case once the stem has been removed. It is imperative that the hack arm screw be loosened to release the stem from the case and movement. Once the movement is removed from the case you will see two screws which hold the movement to the holder (figure 28). Figure 28
These screws are removed releasing the movement from the holding ring. The hack wire which is attached to the holding ring will slip out of the hole in the dial. Be very careful as this wire is extremely fine and you do not want to break it. The hard part about this is placing the wire through the hole in the dial when you reassemble the watch! This article is not concerned with the movement, since that is not something the non watchmaker should tackle. Remember, everything described here can be done by the careful amateur. Photo of the hole in the dial from the reverse side of the dial:
Hack wire stopping the second hand. Next is a description of the mechanism which raises and lowers the hack wire. It is attached to the movement holding ring via a screw. The screw raises and lowers the arm so that the stem can be removed (figure 1). The arm actually sits in an extra detent in the stem which moves the arm around its fulcrum (figure 29 & 31)
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Figure 29
Two views of the holding ring, hack arm and hack wire Here’s a view of the hack arm and holding ring with the stem and movement in place (figure 30), and a shot of the stem with the extra detent (figure 31). Figure 30
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Figure 31
That’s about all I can say on the hacking mechanism. In the above watch the hack wire had not been inserted through the back of the dial through the hole. Fortunately I was able to reinsert it as it had not been damaged sitting under the dial all these years. As stated earlier the watch appears to have not been serviced, maybe it was overlooked by an amateur, and not put back together correctly! Removing the dial: I also removed the dial after I had removed the hands. This allowed me to reinsert the hack wire through the hole in the dial. The following pictures show the dial screws on the side of the movement once the holding ring has been removed. Remember, when removing the stem; first loosen the hack wire arm screw (figure 1). I can’t stress that enough as it different then the standard watch. Then pull the stem into the set position. Loosen the stem screw and remove the stem. With the movement out and in a movement holder find the two screws on the side of the movement (figure 32). Loosen these screws and the dial should release from the movement. If your hack wire is in place do the above procedure carefully as to not disturb the shape and function of the wire. I had no choice since I was evaluating the function and presence of the wire.
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Figure 32
To summarize the above steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
With watch screw-back off loosen hack wire screw. Pull stem to first detent. Loosen stem set release screw. Remove stem. Remove movement and attached holding ring (will come out as one piece). Remove the hands. Remove holding ring screws. Carefully lift holding ring away from movement. Loosen dial foot screws. Remove dial.
To reassemble reverse the order, however when placing the movement ring on to the movement carefully insert the hack wire through the dial hole, the hardest part of this restoration. Of course if your hack wire is present there is no need to address the movement/movement ring holder and it can be set aside when removed from the case. Cover it to keep the dust off; an old wine goblet (sans wine) with the stem removed is perfect.
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Before on the left and after on the right: Bezel
Case front
Case back
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Bottom of case where the gasket seats
Top of watch under bezel showing clamp hole hidden when bezel in place
Watch
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Hands
Case edge
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Finally, pictures of the watch:
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Finally, pictures of the watch, continued
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Finally, pictures of the watch, continued
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The one on the right!
The one on the left!
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Close-up of rotor weight
Close-up of movement, dial removed
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Summary: A lot of work, about 8 hours, not including this article! But the results are worth it and being able to say, ‘I rescued this watch’ definitely makes it worth it. I don’t know about you, but I look at my watch because it is a work of art more than to tell the time! Bill Cosby is purported to have said to Larry King, when queried by Larry as to why he hand wound his watch when he could by one like Larry’s (electric) with all his money: “The difference between your watch and mine is; my watch needs me, yours doesn’t” With that I will say good bye and hope you enjoyed the article. By the way, I collect and restore watches and have no formal training in watch repair. I read a lot and have a large collection of watch books and some basic watch repair books in the library and a very forgiving wife, love you babe! Anyone should be able to do the same work with care and patience. Cheers all, Geoff Geoff Quickfall, Vancouver British Columbia, Canada mailto:geoffqf@telus.net
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APPENDIX: Tools: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.
Dremel high speed hand held drill/polisher/sander 600/400/220 grit wet dry sandpaper Nylon pot scrubber Polishing compound Polishing bits for the Dremel Oil Drill with polishing chuck bit Plasticine Rust remover gel Various containers Tweezers Watch hand removers Clear plastic wrap Oiler which doubles as luminous paste applicator and paint applicator Paper towels and regular paper Tooth picks for cleaning threads and recesses Watch movement holder Case wrench
Basic repair tools
Hand remover, tweezers, small screw driver etc. 29
Hand remover, tweezers, and movement holder. Oiler with tooth pick for scale The oiler was made from a sewing needle, heated until red and then flattened on the end. The needle was then shaped with a file and Dremel hand tool. The shape allows the oil to sit at the end of the oiler and not wick up as it does with screw drivers. It is also used for the luminous paste application for the same reason. Of course it is cleaned thoroughly after each different application. No case wrench? If you do not have a wrench and assuming the case back is not to tight, wad up some masking tape into a small ball with sticky side out. Place the ball in the palm of your hand and press the case back into the ball. Turn the ball with a lot of pressure while holding the case. This takes practice but does work. The problem with really tight case backs is that the gasket dissolves due to age and exposure to chemicals such as aftershave or cologne. It can turn into a really hard to break adhesive.
Copyright (c) 2005 Geoff Quickfall. All rights reserved. No text or images may be used without the express written consent from the author.
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