A general question. If a self winding watch is wound manually, shouldn't the winding stem get tight and stop at full wind just like a non self-wind?

Roger & Lindell....An Automatic,(Self Winding) watch should be wound manually just prior to wearing for the first time, say in a month or so....

This is to provide the engine with enough power to start and get up to speed, so to speak....then every three to four days, upon putting it on, wind it again to increase the reserve....

One does not need winding on a daily basis however....and as Lindell stated, you can't overwind one....

Regards,
Jerry

Thanks Lindell & Jerry. That answers my question!

I am thinking about purchasing a self winding wrist watch , I would like it to have a plain face white background with somewhat thick hands .... luminous and have a date indicator ( not necessarily a day ). I would like a leather band ( i have thin wrists ) . For a reasonable price. Too picky ?

If you know of a reputable website where I may purchase such a watch please let me know. Thanks

Bob Williams

Bob, that is a nice watch that Lindell has shown you, and in addition to that, have you check out the wristwatches that our members have for sale here on IHC185 site...?

You can go here and check them out, maybe something will catch your eye....

(NEW) HOROLOGICAL ITEMS "FOR SALE OR TRADE"

Regards,
Jerry

Bob,

If you are looking for a modern durable watch, the one mentioned by Lindell id hard to beat. Mine has taken all kinds of abuse on motorcycle trips and keeps on doing great. It survived a bad wreck last fall in which it ended up separated from the rider. Other than a few scratches it was as good as new. Wish I could say the same for the rider.

Regards,

Bob

I like the looks of the quartz watch but have always been intrigued by the self winding , ever since my uncle let me play with his when I was a kid. Can you really adjust the band to my wrist. I have very thin wrists only 6 1/2 inches in diameter. Can you size a mechanical band that small ?

In a self winding or automatic watch the mainspring does not have a fixed/anchored end to the mainspring as you would find in non auto watches, instead there are several styles of ends and various types of barrels that allow for friction to hold the spring wound and the tail to slip round when further power applied to a fully wound watch, there are special friction grease that must be applied correctly to the barrel to provide the correct amount of friction/slip (another reason to have auto watches serviced regularly) I currently carry about 5 different types of this grease for this one application. If the mainspring had anchored end and stopped by crown or auto device fully would a huge amount of force could be applied to the entire auto wind section if it was locked by the anchored mainspring. Sometimes auto watches come in that are working well and auto wind passes all tests, watch running well overall you return it and the owner say it keeps stopping, he wears it daily as he has done for 20 years etc, I retest and find no problem, and it turns out that the owner is getting old maybe retired and simply does not move as much as he did when younger sufficient to keep the watch wound.

Hi Bob,

Most bands allow for a good range of adjustments and have removable links built in, some are simple to remove others are a fight and a half even with special tools.

I am not a band expert , but is 6 1/2 inches a manageable length for a mechanical band ?

Chris, that is the best explanation of how an Automatic watch winds itself that I have ever heard anyone speak of....Thanks for the info....

BTW, can you overwind an automatic by turning the crown manually...? I was advised by a person I trust many years ago that one could not overwind an automatic, self-winding, watch....

Bob, I was visiting my local jeweler this afternoon and was there about an hour or so, he adjusted 5 or 6 bands for folks that walked in, folks from a 280 lb. gent down to a 85 year old gent and a couple of ladies as well....on one he removed 6 links and one other gent's watch he removed 5 links....my point being that most modern expansion and clasp bands can be modified to fit a very large range of wrists....especially when the links need to be removed....Your wrist will not be a problem....

Regards,
Jerry

Jerry, that is correct the watch is designed that you cannot over wind a auto watch, in some if you wind it slowly and hold to your ear you will hear a little zizz as the spring correctly slips a little it is designed that the crown winding has another clutch type to allow override of autowind, which in a incorrectly maintained watch can be stressful on the winding side, one indication you have problems if the weight spins as you wind it small movement expected, now its important you have the watch serviced correctly by a trained person there is much more to know about the auto wind lubrication not just the spring/barrel assembly but the autowind mechanism itself the reversers require special lubrication to function correctly as with all parts on autowind, as I said earlier I have many different oils with different braking coefficients for different watches to use inside the barrel, if someone slaps some normal mainspring grease in as used in a pocket/wrist watch the watch will work fine except it will not wind to full power but slip early and have short run time or maybe hold full and do a major slip down in power having no friction, if they use to high a braking force it will strain the autowind system and could destroy parts, same if you leave your watch to long between service intervals, this oil can dry or migrate or brake down and I have seen barrels badly scored away from dry spring tail scraping on the barrel walls. Some of the watches you see are marked sealed barrel, the manufactures intended that you buy a barrel complete each time for service which is a good idea came as a complete barrel assembly the ones I have seen often do not cost much more than a new spring. Cleaning and oiling gets even more complicated when you add calendar and chronograph functions or other complications.

Chris, Thank you for the great detailed responses. I have learned more than I expected from my original inquiry.

Thanks, Chris, for stepping in on this string and for sharing your knowledge with us....We all get to go to 'school' each time you make a post and we greatly appreciate what you do for us....

Best Regards,
Jerry

Thanks, I try to answer a few here and there.
Of course speaking of auto’s there are some that have different arrangements, one I had was a bumper based and had a over engineered system that as it wound a locking hook advanced to eventually catch the bumper and stop it from over winding the fixed mainspring, released again as it ran down, also drove a wind indicator from the same it had been messed with many times in the past things filed bent etc and no parts so to far gone by the time I got it, there are of course always variations to be found to the most common I mention above.

Thanks I'll keep my eye out for the "railroad approved watch" with complimentary band sizing. Thanks again.

I have a full rotor auto (winds both directions) which winds with a click but doesn't 'click' when winding back as it were, although a bumper auto (winds in one direction)does. Why is this ?

Hi Terry,

Some of the autos wind in one direction only of rotor or bumb motion, other in both, there are many different set ups for doing this, and hence different sound can be heard when listening to the motion, of course hearing a mono winding does not mean that it not a two directional with one side broken!

Thanks Chris

With an auto wind without a click when you 'wind back', how do let down the mainspring. Will the spring engage as you let down

BR

T