Looking for Omega caliber schematics, oiling guides, etc.

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Hi all!

I’m diving in the hobbyist watchmaking world and I intend to gradually start dismantling old mechanical movements including Omegas from the 50s/60s.

i was wondering if someone had Omega te hi Val sheets from back then, I read about there being oiling guides for example. Or maybe some detailed caliber schematics?
I’m trying to compile as much documentation as I can!
Thanks 😀
 
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https://watchguy.co.uk/cgi-bin/files?subdir=Omega&dir=Technical Manuals&action=documents

I would suggest though that you start with something like an A Schild or ETA movement. Or a dozen. Look for complete examples. preferably running. Avoid basket cases what look like good deals. These quickly become money pits. (Not that I heed my own advice.)

It also helps to have some sort of in person introduction. To learn how to sit, hold the tool etc. Without becoming fatigued. Depending on where you are located there are some nice intro courses. BHI in the UK and AWI/NAWCC in the US. For the serious there are Swiss schools. Similar things exist in other countries.

Books help after one has some one on one training. Most books deal with the corner cases. Others are aimed at how things were done several centuries ago. Watchmaking changed a lot in the latter half of the 20th century.

There are video sites and other forums These are mostly useful for entertainment.

If you start with something like an Omega, you will become dissapointed quickly. Parts are hard to come by and are expensive.
 
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Of course you are right!
I took a first beginner class disassembling, cleaning and rebuilding a simple movement (can’t remember what it was, almost 2 years ago…) and it went quite well. I’ll go from simple inexpensive watches gradually to Omegas and such.

The first watch I disassembled is a Kelton French diver so no big risk! 😁
 
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https://watchguy.co.uk/cgi-bin/files?subdir=Omega&dir=Technical Manuals&action=documents

I would suggest though that you start with something like an A Schild or ETA movement. Or a dozen. Look for complete examples. preferably running. Avoid basket cases what look like good deals. These quickly become money pits. (Not that I heed my own advice.)

It also helps to have some sort of in person introduction. To learn how to sit, hold the tool etc. Without becoming fatigued. Depending on where you are located there are some nice intro courses. BHI in the UK and AWI/NAWCC in the US. For the serious there are Swiss schools. Similar things exist in other countries.

Books help after one has some one on one training. Most books deal with the corner cases. Others are aimed at how things were done several centuries ago. Watchmaking changed a lot in the latter half of the 20th century.

There are video sites and other forums These are mostly useful for entertainment.

If you start with something like an Omega, you will become dissapointed quickly. Parts are hard to come by and are expensive.


Thanks a lot! I didn’t see the link at first! 😁
 
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Hello, just help out, I would strongly suggest something like the theory of horology book. I began years ago without the theory and always found myself running around trying to find why a watch did not work properly after cleaning etc. Take it from me, I have tried it all. Learning for several years in Toronto , with no schools. Finally worked in a watch shop and now my own business.
 
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Hi all!
i was wondering if someone had Omega te hi Val sheets from back then, I read about there being oiling guides for example. Or maybe some detailed caliber schematics?
I’m trying to compile as much documentation as I can!
Thanks 😀

From experience, I definitely don't recommend starting with Omega movements.

AFAIK Omega didn't release detailed oiling guides or schematics for its movements from the 1950's and 1960's. You won't find anything similar to the Seiko oiling guides that exist. You should just apply a standard servicing/oiling methodology. However, there are some technical bulletins out there addressing misc related topics. If you're in the US, I recommend joining AWCI and you will get access to their library of resourses.
 
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Thanks for the advices!
I already have theory of horology and am waiting for the repairing and maintenance practical guide from Wiles, others will follow!

when you say I shouldn’t start with Omega, is it a matter of difficulty or just value because, as I’m likely to mess up in the beginning, I should stay with cheaper movements at first? The Omega calibers qu’à looking at are 266/267 like…I probably won’t ever touch something later than the 70’ anyway
 
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Omega watches are easy to work on. It is easy to become overfond of a watch. When things to not go well, it can lead to frustration. There are also different levels of complication. A 30mm simple no date three hander is not much to be afraid of. Calendar and autowind adds in some complexity. Especially with the quickset option. I have been playing on and off with watches for 30 year. I still would be hesitant to service my speedmaster. Yet I have the same movement in a Tissot which I got as a box o loose parts.

Back when I did start one could order parts from SMH. Now it is the bottom of the barrel eBay stuff. Complete (preferably running) watches are the best to start with. Less room for disappointment.

Cheap broken incomplete watches can quickly lead to disappointment. Often the plates are worn, or sometimes even cracked. Especially where the stem meets the bridge. Winding and motion works can often be worn and butchered. In the days of pocket watches the soft iron pivots were often polished and work hardened. The modern steels can wear better, but they do wear. Many watches on the market have been sitting for 20 or 30 years. Running them dry can lead to issues. This is tedious work. The alloys can be hard to drill out. These were meant to be replaced, as the machines manufactured thousands per hour.

Cheap omegas these days are more likely to be the smaller ladies under 20mm calibers. Some were used in the 1970s often in rectangular cases. Downside is they are smaller and can take more effort.

There are plenty of run of the mill (literally) movements which house brands that use A Schild and ETA or Fontmalleon movements. Often such can be purchased in bulk lots from charity shop. Some house brands like Baylor (Zales) use high quality movements. They wound up with the remainders from Heuer (before the merge with Tag.) Other brands like Benrus or Helbros can be hit or miss. Enicar, Walkman, Helvetia usually have good movements. Tradition and Le Gran were the Sears and Wards house brands. My mentor who was basically a metallurgist Said, properly maintained such watches could last 500 years or more. As usual the chronograph complications are desirable. The three handers are great starter watches.

What it really comes down to is to not become complacent or bored. Dedication is something that has to be worked at.

I was fortunate to be able to meet an converse with the likes o George Daniels, Derick Pratt and Phillipe DuFour. Their books are a good place to start. This though is more for the horology side, which is a full fledged science. So one can quite easily become lost in the theory, which is primarily a discipline of probability and statistics. Watches are after all measuring devices of infinitely finite quantities.

Edit: I was sleep typing this and could not think of the phrase I wanted to use.
Edited:
 
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Hi everyone!

Reviving that old thread as I’m progressing in my journey…I’m now facing an out of shape hairspring on a 266 that I managed to make flat and round but I’m having trouble correctly bending the end curve to adjust the stud and when placing the hairspring (without its wheel) on the balance, the center happens to be a little off…

Are there schematics of what a 265 hairspring in perfect shape should look like exactly? I cannot find any. I’m also quite sure I once saw a tutorial video on the alignment but I can’t find it anymore :/

Thanks for the tips!
 
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Look for Henry B. Fried on You Tube. Here is the link again
Note that he is demonstrating with pocket watch springs.
I knew him personally. He wanted me to make a 3D computer model of a Tourbillon. About 30 years too soon... Perhaps someday I will. The motivation though these days is lacking. It is all I can do to keep up with the basic stuff I have. ... and I need to work some more at hairspring straightening.
 
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Thanks for the link! It’s one of the videos I had indeed seen 😀
My issue here is that I have this hairspring that I feel I managed to make quite round :

But it is off-centered when I put it back on the balance :

Where does that need tweaking? Is it near the collet?
I actually have several haut spring on damaged movements I managed to get to similar situations but cannot seem to fix it…

Any help would be greatly appreciated 😀
Thanks!
 
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Where does that need tweaking? Is it near the collet?
The very outer coil is not concentric. In the area immediately preceding the start of the overcoil, the gap to the next coil is too large, and then right at the start of the overcoil, it appears too close.

If you get that sorted, it may very well bring your overcoil back to where it should be, so the section of the spring that goes through the regulator is concentric to the other coils below…

That is where I would start.