Can't play outside, so I regulated my watch

[sheldonsmith]

With the rain on the Central California Coast, there was no playing outside today. So rather than doing the house stuff that I should be doing, my Explorer II was running a little slow, so I decided to speed it up. Above is the before look on the timing machine. The amplitude was higher around 300 degrees. I'm not sure why it shows so low here other than this might have been the crown left measurement when I snapped the photo.


I removed the caseback and it looked like this. Gasket looked good so I left it alone.


Here's how it looked after about an hour of performing very slight tweaks to the Microstella nuts.


And for the curious, here's what my table looked like. Don't ask about the purpose of the pliers.

Obviously, this is not for the faint of heart. I followed the steps I chronicled on watch regulation posted here: https://www.minus4plus6.com/regulation.php

A fun way to spend a rainy afternoon.

-Sheldon

[natosub]

Nicely done.

[MonsterSS]

Very nice!

[albmich]

Wow you got big balls my friend. I've been wanting to do this for a while but I've made enough mistakes in my life to know this isn't for me yet.

[pd999]

You have a great website!

[RichM]

Nice work Sheldon. Thanks for sharing.

[Danny83]

Nice

[fishingbear]

Always loved your website, thanks for sharing Sheldon.

[japenney]

Wow. I wish I had that skill amd equipment

[mtgjr]

I watched Rik (Timecare) regulate my watch a couple months ago and I must say, he made it look easy. No particularly fancy equipment, save the timing machine, of course. Other than that, just that little tool made of metal and plastic (forget the name, but decidedly low tech looking). The main thing I (and most of the rest of the world) couldn't replicate is the years of experience and know-how, the accumulation of which makes those simple tools perform the necessary precise adjustments when guided by his hands. No sooner had I thought to myself, I could do that....I quickly reminded myself, better leave these types of things to the experts!

[sickened1]

[padi56]

Originally Posted by mtgjr

I watched Rik (Timecare) regulate my watch a couple months ago and I must say, he made it look easy. No particularly fancy equipment, save the timing machine, of course. Other than that, just that little tool made of metal and plastic (forget the name, but decidedly low tech looking). The main thing I (and most of the rest of the world) couldn't replicate is the years of experience and know-how, the accumulation of which makes those simple tools perform the necessary precise adjustments when guided by his hands. No sooner had I thought to myself, I could do that....I quickly reminded myself, better leave these types of things to the experts!

Microstella tool

[sheldonsmith]

Originally Posted by mtgjr

I watched Rik (Timecare) regulate my watch a couple months ago and I must say, he made it look easy. No particularly fancy equipment, save the timing machine, of course. Other than that, just that little tool made of metal and plastic (forget the name, but decidedly low tech looking). The main thing I (and most of the rest of the world) couldn't replicate is the years of experience and know-how, the accumulation of which makes those simple tools perform the necessary precise adjustments when guided by his hands. No sooner had I thought to myself, I could do that....I quickly reminded myself, better leave these types of things to the experts!

Yes agreed. I have done this before on Rolex and others, and have observed my Rolex Certified watchmaker make simple adjustments as well. It does take steady hands, proper tools, a watchmakers patience (eg dont rush and actions are deliberate) that I learned in TimeZone's watch schools. I also knew that if I did screw up something, my watchmaker just lives down the street and he could bail me out.

The tool I used is this, along with a timing machine:


I have more background on the tool on my website.

[nyc2la]

Very cool!

[gossbeau]

Good job man! For myself, I would never dare to even open the caseback. I am so clumsy that I might FSU!!

[SeaDweller50]

Good work Sheldon. I too love your website. Very informative.

[regnant]

Good job, my father also plays with his vintage pieces when he's not satisfied with accuracy of them. A Seagull movement can meet COSC if regulated correctly as far as I know

[cop414]

Kudos to you Sheldon, not something that I'd ever try myself! I echo others here about your site, love it.

[Annan]

Nice job Sheldon. Wish I had even 10% of your knowledge and ability.

[watchwatcher]

You got skills, Sheldon!

[yannis]

Nice one Sheldon!

[NKflyer]

I have never seen a contemporary rolex with tabs holding the movement in place rather than the screws which tighten outward against the case channel (not sure these are the correct technical terms ). I guess it's because of the 216570's larger case compared to the 116710 which uses the same movement?

Edit: I see the 3187 does use a larger plate than the 3186 so why the different mounting system?

[sheldonsmith]

Originally Posted by NKflyer

I have never seen a contemporary rolex with tabs holding the movement in place rather than the screws which tighten outward against the case channel (not sure these are the correct technical terms ). I guess it's because of the 216570's larger case compared to the 116710 which uses the same movement?

Edit: I see the 3187 does use a larger plate than the 3186 so why the different mounting system?

Good eye! I did not notice that. I looked on a few other images of my Explorer II with the caseback open. I do notice that the 3135 movement definitely uses large flange screws shown below:


My guess is that it is as a result of the larger diameter main plate on the 3187 movement. Here's another shot of the 3187. Yes, it's definitely a tab.


Like with anything Rolex, i am sure there is a reason for it, rather than being lazy design corner cutting (shock resistance perhaps?).

Thanks for pointing this out...

[Tomas Eriksson]

Excellent work! Picky man that regulates a piece that was well within COSC from the beginning :)

[D.F.C]

I've been so curious on trying some regulating, nice to see your results!