Greetings again from Australia, I need to say thanks again for this site. I am learning so much from the pages on here. I am still very green but I gain more and more knowledge each time I start a new project. I still am at the basic and cheap end of the scale, but its a really enjoyable journey. I have just rescued a rust damaged 18s waltham fortune case. It is quite attractive with a scew on back and bezal with flower and bird engraving. Unfortunatelty, the 15 jewel movement ha rusted out its cannon pinion and center wheel and will have to wait until i come across the right parts. Luckily, I have a nice(to me) 17j Waltham No3 movement that I have cleaned and fitted with a new mainspring. Its running sweet and drops right in. Unfortunately, the claws on the stem/crown collet have rusted out so there is no stop between wind and set. I can remove the screw quite easily and the threads are fine. Can the 'claws' be found separate or do I need a new collet? Also, are these case specific or can I just pull one out of any other scrap case. Apologies if I am having a Homer Simpson moment. Thanks in advance Taff
Posts: 35 | Location: Victoria in Australia | Registered: July 30, 2013
Hello Paul the piece you are needing is called a Sleeve. It comes with the treaded parts and the claw all attached. There are different Diameter size and also the total length size's. A photo would be helpful.
Posts: 3326 | Location: Illinois in the USA | Registered: July 06, 2010
If you plan on getting in very deep in this hobby, keep your eyes open for a "best fit" lot of stems and sleeves to come up for auction.
Buying loose stems, sleeves and crowns can be a hit and miss proposition... but buying a couple of the old watchmaker replacement part kits can quite useful.
Don't spend big bucks for your first kit... watch them for awhile and one will come to you pretty cheap.
Posts: 2032 | Location: San Diego, California in the USA | Registered: August 30, 2012