I have a case back cover that always seems to bind . Is using a tiny dab of noalox anit-oxident a bad idea ?

Brian, Did it appear to help?

Maybe slightly . I plan to at some point either have the watch cleaned or clean it myself once I have gotten some practic on a non working watch I bought on ebay but in the mean time I guess it will be ok to have in on there for now ?

One of the tips that has been on the forum somewhere is to use automotive valve grinding compound on the threads and keep working it until it cleans up the threads. You use a very tiny amount! It may take 20-30 minutes of doing this, but I have tried it and it does work. Caveat...If the threads are REALLY badly damaged, it's not going to cure that, but for minor damage and binding it will clean them up. Another Caveat or two...make certain you have the movement out of the case when you do this as you can imagine what a tiny bit of this stuff can do. There are also two types, one petroleum based and one water soluble. I use the water soluble. After you are done it is imperative that you get every bit of the compound out of the threads and case.

I don't know that the threads are damaged . It seems to turn but at one point seems to bind . It may even be that the back cover is slightly warped . Not sure about that I don't know enough to know .

It is almost certain that the threads are damaged...it is just to what degree the damage is. Probably got that way from someone cross-threading it. If it starts to bind at one point the valve grinding compound will probably clean it up. Take a close look under magnification at the threads and you will see where the damage is.

I want to do what is right for this watch . It is a Elgin 248 16s 15j with the 3 finger bridge and a fahys montauk 20 year case in reasonably good condition accept for what looks like a sluggish balance wheel and a case that binds slightly . It is keeping time although is losing time and I hope only needs servicing .

If you decide to have someone service your watch, there are people on this board (myself included) who do service work. The only proper way to service a watch is to take it completely apart. There are a lot of steps to the process and they can be found elsewhere in our forum. Beware of local jewelers because almost none of them service watches today. They send them out and just markup the cost. You have a nice watch and it deserves the proper attention.

Roger,
Yes, I have found the same as you describe. Thats what got me into watch repair is my local jeweler said his watchmaker said it was not repairable but he could sell me a new pocket watch and would even give me a $50.00 trade in. Why was he willing to pay $50.00 for a watch that didn't work? I checked it out and found I had a $300.00 RR unit in a 14K case. So much for honest jewelers. And yes, any watch that you intend to clean needs to be completely disassembled. And the club members that do COA are probably much cheaper.