to go any deeper into this ...than...I already have..I'm a pocket watch guy who got roped into a wrist watch repair....Here's the story....this watch would not wind up tight..nor would it run.....I took the back off....and noted the balance would move...but ...did not swing back and forth against hairspring tension...I carefully removed the balance and cock as an assembly...pivots looked good but dry...I took my finest oiler a sparingly lubed both upper and lower balance jewels...I then set the balance cock assembly back into place and off it went running like a champ...I then took that self winding weight off and ...well...question #1...do I lube that upper pivit point..looks like that weight is jeweled??...what oil do I use???..#2..do these self winders have full mainsprings?....are they supposed to wind tight?...#3...what model bulova is this??....thanks for any input..

In any event, the mainsprings in virtually all "automatic" or "self-winding" watches have "bridles" at the end, which allow them to "slip" when they reach full wind, rather than coming to a dead stop, like those in manual wind watches. If it wasn't for the "slip" of the bridle, the gearing of the rotor (weight) is such that it could actually break something once the watch reached full wind.

The rotor in the watch above appears to be a ball-bearing type, in which case you could add a small amount of a fine oil to the bearings, so long as you don't go overboard. In watches that have conventional pivots in the center of the rotor, those should be lubricated with a heavy watch oil.

For what it's worth, the movement in the image above is relatively "modern."

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Steve Maddox
President, NAWCC Chapter #62
North Little Rock, Arkansas
IHC Charter Member 49

Thanks much for the input...watch is now runnig great...That wasn't too bad...I'm going to try to fix another Self Winder...some day soon...Thanks again...Tonyzee