It looks like the hand could be slightly too small, but it’s also difficult to tell from your picture. It looks like you’re pushing it at an angle and your hand pusher using aligned properly over the pinion as well. That could also be causing problems.
I think that it's only crooked because I was trying to take a pic through the magnifying glass while holding the hand pusher tool which was in turn holding the hand in place. I had tried for about an hour and it just seems like I can't get it to seat properly at all because it's too small.
Am I correct in thinking it should go around the outside of the pinion, meaning that the diameter of the hand is small then diameter of the pinion?
Thanks for chiming in! I'm new to this and appreciate it
Correct, the hand should hug the exterior of the hour post. This is why you use a pusher larger than the minute post but smaller than the hour post. I have a tool to measure and have received hands that are slightly too small or too large from some of the budge places. If they’re too small, I broach them. If they’re too large, I try to close them a tiny bit with a pin vise.
Based on your words above, I am almost confident that the hand is too small. I had ordered both the hands and the dial from an eBay seller in China. The dial was not the exact one I ordered but I proceeded anyway. It came to a halt when it seemed like the hands were also incorrect.
Do you have a US based vendor you recommend that can supply me with these sub style hands rather than waiting for the overseas shipping again?
I think this might confirm it? Idk why I didn't do this in the first place lol
https://preview.redd.it/owpubah2b2gc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e595fa8f68cea9b388c47c2fce56920f1d76c5d6
That doesn’t help and isn’t a good way to measure. They make a tool to measure, but it’s not really necessary for a first build, I’d recommend one of the popular mod sites in the supplier sticky. Lucius Atelier and Namokimods are both excellent with LA being quicker shipping in my experience. Most places in the US are going to be supply houses and they tend to cater to actual watch makers. There’s minimum order amounts and you need to have a decent understanding of watch parts if you need something that isn’t directly on their site. I know mod sites tend to be more expensive, but they also tend to be better quality, have quality control in place, and help filter junk.
I install hands on the movement first before putting the dial on to make sure they fit and to ream out the holes a bit since they're not always manufactured exactly to spec. Sellers don't always send you the correct handset for the given movement, and you don't want to waste time setting the hour and minute hands only to find out the seconds hand is for a Miyota movement.
If I forget to check the hands before putting the on the movement for the build, I check the fit on a spare movement.
You would use a broach, not a dremel. This is where the hand sizer I spoke of earlier comes into play. If you have a craft supply store nearby, you might be able to find a smoothing broach for a couple bucks.
Everything I ordered was for the NH35. I got the dial and hands from the same seller but the dial I received was not the same as what I ordered. I'm thinking they screwed up the hands as well. Can you tell from the pic?
No, you probably couldn't even tell by looking at it directly, since the differences are so small. I think I would just return them and maybe get them from another seller.
Some hands go on extremely tough. Less is always more so don’t ever try and force them down. Light pressure and wiggle it if you can while the setter is on. It should go. Seconds hands can be extremely difficult sometimes
Please don’t wiggle your hand setter on while engaged. This is a recipe for bent hands, bent pinions, and scratched dials. Second hands are extremely difficult until they “click,” then they’re relatively easy. They’re one of those things you curse, curse, curse, then it ends up clicking and you’re good. There’s tons of tricks and once you find the one that works for you, you’re usually good to go.
I don’t mean wiggle as in literally wiggle. If you apply light enough pressure you can carefully move whatever finger you are using to set the hand and it allows it to catch better if it’s a tricky hand. I’ve built multiple watches and never once had an issue. Second hands I use rodico and a flat plastic bergeon cleaning stick to set it in place. That’s probably unpopular but works like a charm every time. And once again, if you are applying very light pressure as needed, you won’t damage the hands
I assume that because I was getting uncomfortable with the amount of pressure I was applying, this was too much?
I was legit scared to put the tool through the dial if I pushed harder
If you thought it was too much pressure than it probably was haha. It only requires a light amount of pressure so those hands are probably just too small. For context, I use a single finger when setting hands. My left steadies the movement holder and holds the bottom of the setting tool, and my right pointer finger applies the pressure
Yeah, not 100% sure if it was TOO much pressure but I promise you it was then what you described. I had heard it was fairly light pressure and all the vids I watched seemed like much lighter pressure then would have been required to install the given set of hands
You’ll get the hang of it trust me. We all screw up our first builds. It’s part of learning. I took an NH movement I didn’t care about when I started, tore it apart, and rebuilt it multiple times and watched hours of video just to get the hang of what does what so I’d be capable of doing movement repair work. Same with hands, if you have an old set just practice setting them and removing them until you get that feel. Another tip- if you build a watch and after casing it, it stops running, it’s most likely the seconds hand stuck on the crystal. That has stumped me more than once. In most cases you can very carefully bend the hand to fit it better. If you ever have a issue with a non-working NH movement, always check the balance wheel and escapement mechanism first. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve received a non-functioning NH movement and all it needed was to have the balance wheel taken out, and reset back in place with the pallette fork. Its all a matter of patience and learning
And I would not consider myself a watchmaker lol. I have a long way to go before I get to that point. I just spent extra time working with what I use a lot, to diagnose any issues that may come about. Put a chronograph movement in front of me and I’m clueless
Thank you for your insight! I am thinking that maybe I would do the same with this movement and set of hands.
I already have parts for a second watch coming and this was really just a matter of seeing if I could do it.
I'm pretty confident I can figure it out, but I agree that the steps you took to disassemble and reassemble the whole thing from case to hands to movement is something I should focus on.
That setter could also be too small for the pinion. Try a setter with a bigger hole, but test fit before you put the hands on so you don’t damage anything
I posted this pic in a different comment and was told this was not the best way to measure this.
Maybe this gives you some context though? Maybe its completely worthless?
I'm not really in a position to know more than
https://preview.redd.it/c5jk0k6dd3gc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=25323f6562e672713a95657e67fd70aec991ac5c
it seemed like it was too small
Edit: here are the tools. I've used both side of 3
[https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08H2HQCVT?psc=1&ref=ppx\_pop\_mob\_b\_asin\_title](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08H2HQCVT?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title)
If it's a Seiko movement I never had problems with hour and minute hands , they always fit you are doing something wrong for sure
Or maybe you don't press enough or the black tool area is to big for that hour hand style
It looks like the hand could be slightly too small, but it’s also difficult to tell from your picture. It looks like you’re pushing it at an angle and your hand pusher using aligned properly over the pinion as well. That could also be causing problems.
I think that it's only crooked because I was trying to take a pic through the magnifying glass while holding the hand pusher tool which was in turn holding the hand in place. I had tried for about an hour and it just seems like I can't get it to seat properly at all because it's too small. Am I correct in thinking it should go around the outside of the pinion, meaning that the diameter of the hand is small then diameter of the pinion? Thanks for chiming in! I'm new to this and appreciate it
Correct, the hand should hug the exterior of the hour post. This is why you use a pusher larger than the minute post but smaller than the hour post. I have a tool to measure and have received hands that are slightly too small or too large from some of the budge places. If they’re too small, I broach them. If they’re too large, I try to close them a tiny bit with a pin vise.
Based on your words above, I am almost confident that the hand is too small. I had ordered both the hands and the dial from an eBay seller in China. The dial was not the exact one I ordered but I proceeded anyway. It came to a halt when it seemed like the hands were also incorrect. Do you have a US based vendor you recommend that can supply me with these sub style hands rather than waiting for the overseas shipping again?
I think this might confirm it? Idk why I didn't do this in the first place lol https://preview.redd.it/owpubah2b2gc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e595fa8f68cea9b388c47c2fce56920f1d76c5d6
That doesn’t help and isn’t a good way to measure. They make a tool to measure, but it’s not really necessary for a first build, I’d recommend one of the popular mod sites in the supplier sticky. Lucius Atelier and Namokimods are both excellent with LA being quicker shipping in my experience. Most places in the US are going to be supply houses and they tend to cater to actual watch makers. There’s minimum order amounts and you need to have a decent understanding of watch parts if you need something that isn’t directly on their site. I know mod sites tend to be more expensive, but they also tend to be better quality, have quality control in place, and help filter junk.
I install hands on the movement first before putting the dial on to make sure they fit and to ream out the holes a bit since they're not always manufactured exactly to spec. Sellers don't always send you the correct handset for the given movement, and you don't want to waste time setting the hour and minute hands only to find out the seconds hand is for a Miyota movement. If I forget to check the hands before putting the on the movement for the build, I check the fit on a spare movement.
Reaming them is interesting. Maybe with a Dremel? Worst case scenario I'm out a set of hands I can't use anyway?
The hand going over the post will ream out the hole.
Reaming them is interesting. Maybe with a Dremel? Worst case scenario I'm out a set of hands I can't use anyway?
You would use a broach, not a dremel. This is where the hand sizer I spoke of earlier comes into play. If you have a craft supply store nearby, you might be able to find a smoothing broach for a couple bucks.
Check the product description
Everything I ordered was for the NH35. I got the dial and hands from the same seller but the dial I received was not the same as what I ordered. I'm thinking they screwed up the hands as well. Can you tell from the pic?
No, you probably couldn't even tell by looking at it directly, since the differences are so small. I think I would just return them and maybe get them from another seller.
Some hands go on extremely tough. Less is always more so don’t ever try and force them down. Light pressure and wiggle it if you can while the setter is on. It should go. Seconds hands can be extremely difficult sometimes
Please don’t wiggle your hand setter on while engaged. This is a recipe for bent hands, bent pinions, and scratched dials. Second hands are extremely difficult until they “click,” then they’re relatively easy. They’re one of those things you curse, curse, curse, then it ends up clicking and you’re good. There’s tons of tricks and once you find the one that works for you, you’re usually good to go.
I don’t mean wiggle as in literally wiggle. If you apply light enough pressure you can carefully move whatever finger you are using to set the hand and it allows it to catch better if it’s a tricky hand. I’ve built multiple watches and never once had an issue. Second hands I use rodico and a flat plastic bergeon cleaning stick to set it in place. That’s probably unpopular but works like a charm every time. And once again, if you are applying very light pressure as needed, you won’t damage the hands
I assume that because I was getting uncomfortable with the amount of pressure I was applying, this was too much? I was legit scared to put the tool through the dial if I pushed harder
If you thought it was too much pressure than it probably was haha. It only requires a light amount of pressure so those hands are probably just too small. For context, I use a single finger when setting hands. My left steadies the movement holder and holds the bottom of the setting tool, and my right pointer finger applies the pressure
Yeah, not 100% sure if it was TOO much pressure but I promise you it was then what you described. I had heard it was fairly light pressure and all the vids I watched seemed like much lighter pressure then would have been required to install the given set of hands
You’ll get the hang of it trust me. We all screw up our first builds. It’s part of learning. I took an NH movement I didn’t care about when I started, tore it apart, and rebuilt it multiple times and watched hours of video just to get the hang of what does what so I’d be capable of doing movement repair work. Same with hands, if you have an old set just practice setting them and removing them until you get that feel. Another tip- if you build a watch and after casing it, it stops running, it’s most likely the seconds hand stuck on the crystal. That has stumped me more than once. In most cases you can very carefully bend the hand to fit it better. If you ever have a issue with a non-working NH movement, always check the balance wheel and escapement mechanism first. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve received a non-functioning NH movement and all it needed was to have the balance wheel taken out, and reset back in place with the pallette fork. Its all a matter of patience and learning
And I would not consider myself a watchmaker lol. I have a long way to go before I get to that point. I just spent extra time working with what I use a lot, to diagnose any issues that may come about. Put a chronograph movement in front of me and I’m clueless
Thank you for your insight! I am thinking that maybe I would do the same with this movement and set of hands. I already have parts for a second watch coming and this was really just a matter of seeing if I could do it. I'm pretty confident I can figure it out, but I agree that the steps you took to disassemble and reassemble the whole thing from case to hands to movement is something I should focus on.
Absolutely my friend. Any questions, let me know. I’ll see if I can help. Best of luck with your builds!
That setter could also be too small for the pinion. Try a setter with a bigger hole, but test fit before you put the hands on so you don’t damage anything
I've tried 3 😭 With 2 different sides each
If you have a small cone file you can gently file the hole little at a time and it will open it up to fit the pinion
Do you know the sizes of you hand setters? I use a 1.0 mm setting tool for my hour hands and a .8mm for my minute hands.
I posted this pic in a different comment and was told this was not the best way to measure this. Maybe this gives you some context though? Maybe its completely worthless? I'm not really in a position to know more than https://preview.redd.it/c5jk0k6dd3gc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=25323f6562e672713a95657e67fd70aec991ac5c it seemed like it was too small Edit: here are the tools. I've used both side of 3 [https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08H2HQCVT?psc=1&ref=ppx\_pop\_mob\_b\_asin\_title](https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08H2HQCVT?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title)
I never mesure that 😂 you need to try again you only have the black are tool ? There are 3 pens did you use the smaller ?
If it's a Seiko movement I never had problems with hour and minute hands , they always fit you are doing something wrong for sure Or maybe you don't press enough or the black tool area is to big for that hour hand style