I have a Citizen aqualand which I need to open up. This is the later model with the screw back and my attempts to upen it with my usually trusty three pronged adjustsble wrench have failed miserably, its as tight as a crabs a..e and shows zero signs of yielding. Any advice for dealing with a case back thats been over tightened like this?
thanks Keith
I have / had a few of theses- I usually pop it in one of those small watch vices then put that in my bench vice - tape the back to avoid scratching it the use a jaxa tool with downward pressure
It's much easier than having it in you hand- lay it flat on a rag on the work surface and grip around the java tool rather than unsung the handle
Good luck
If you get really stuck ( no pun intended), John aka ‘Thetigeruk’ on here has the mother of all caseback tools that would sort it out in a flash. Great guy too.
thanks gents i was thinking that the next stage is to use a vice on the workbench but do t want to buggervthe watch up.
cheers Keith
Something like this to hold the watch
https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/hand-or-vice-held
Gorilla tape the case back then put it in your vice
Get the jaxa nice and tight on the holes and grip it around the body of the tool not the handle, a little downward pressure and slow gentle anticlockwise turn
Last edited by lewie; 5th November 2017 at 13:46.
Use an hair dryer by putting alittle heat on the steel. I have done this afew times in the past and worked very well.
Nope. That's completely the wrong thing to do. Set it up in the vice(s) as described by lewie and give it a squirt of aerosol freezer, which will make the case-back threads contract (not expand).Originally Posted by MADDOG
Then unscrew with the Jaxa tool.
I've done loads like this in the past - never graunched a single case-back. This one was particularly stubborn (besides needing a special removal tool) - until I gave it the aerosol freezer treatment.
Last edited by Seiko7A38; 5th November 2017 at 14:04. Reason: Adding photo
Another thought ....
If you don't fancy splashing out a tenner or so on a can of aerosol freezer (and there is now the added hassle of getting it delivered, since Royal Mail won't allow aerosols any more) ....
Try leaving an ice cube on the case-back for a couple of minutes. That was what was suggested to me many years ago by a fellow watch tinkerer (and gave me the idea of using aerosol freezer instead). Obviously, it won't be as effective as the freezer spray, which almost instantaneously takes the case-back temperature down to -50°C (and evaporates nearly as quickly). Plus of course it potentially introduces the unwanted element of water. I've never actually tried it myself, but it may work in your case.
I've had success in the past by putting a watch in the freezer (inside a plastic bag to prevent any risk of water ingress).
After a couple of hours, an impossible-to-remove case back opened very easily.
Thanks gents, all good suggestions, Il have another go and report back!
I used a couple of nail polish wipes that are quite handy and fairly strong and soft to protect the front side of the case. The case really doesn't want to go anywhere.
My secret is cotton wool bud pipes....:)
This is the idea, and fortunately I've been OK with just the jaxa since. But they are easy to just hammer in place once lined up and if you have them at a slight angle away from the case the case just drops in or out at an angle.
Much prefer this over a vice as there is less chance if damage or compression of the lugs or sides.
The plastic tubes don't leave a mark on the inside of the lugs and it allows me to press down flat with my palm whilst slowly rotating the jaxa.
But yes I'm saving for a proper device but I was quite proud of my cheap invention!
Last edited by Bodo; 5th November 2017 at 18:16.
Hey Guy - I like it - I hope that's not the dining room table
Don't tell wor lass...
You should be; Ingenious. :-)
Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk
I use a wooden case clamp to grip the case, then place the clamp in my 6” garage vice. The watch is going nowhere at this point and it’s possible to press down quite hard on it. I then set the Jaxa tool to give a snug fit, press downwards on the centre whilst gently turning the tool. I’ve had a couple of really tight ones to remove and this has always worked. Holding the case in the palm of your hand is a recipe for disaster, something I would never do.
I hadn’t thought of using freezer spray on the case back, I’ll give that a try. It’s a temperature differential that’s needed and if the caseback can be cooled rapidly this should help.
Worst I’ve come across was a TAG with damaged threads, overtightened at TAG service centre! Managed to clean/redress the threads to get it acceptable but once the metal’s picked up on the threads they’re never quite the same again.
Paul
For the really tight ones I use a Bergeon 5700 and I've never had it fail yet, the beauty with this tool is the die can be tightened onto the caseback using a screw thread arrangement meaning there is no chance of slippage.
However over tightened cases with non standard casebacks can be a challenge, you can buy various bits for the 5700 including a spade type that's meant to grip a multi sided back such as some vintage Longines, Tissots, Panerai and even sided (14) Breitlings. However I wouldn't dream of using spade bits for any of these as the risk of damage by rounding the corners off is far too great, I have full sets of dies for Breitling, Panerai, Rolex, Omega etc but still get awkward shaped ones in that take some ingenuity to open. I've superglued dies to worn backs, superglued nuts to backs that have had any corners polished off and even drilled two holes to fit case opening bits into, the chap who's watch it was did have a replacement caseback to go back on by the way!
I bought a retired watchmakers stock last week and going through the hundreds of cabinet drawers some of the tools I've been delighted to find are sets of proprietary openers from quite a few manufacturers, Tissot, Certina etc and I'm hoping there's more to be found. There's nothing worse than it taking a couple of hours just to get the caseback off!
This, but I would add the suction case back tools for the 5700 to the correct dies too. Work wonders on gold case backs with unusual shapes and can open even the tightest Breitling back.
You'll be surprised what a difference it makes, Paul.
I was using a prototype 'palm held' removal tool (rather than a 'Jaxa') on that Cartier Ferrari Formula, which although 'purpose designed' gave minimal leverage. Set up in the two vices, with the addition of a healthy squirt of aerosol freezer finally did the trick.
No damage to the (slightly worn) case-back whatsoever. Once it had de-frosted !
Last edited by Seiko7A38; 8th November 2017 at 13:42. Reason: adding a few pics
I just glue a steel hex or metric nut to the case back with super glue and use a wrench to open it. Usually very easy. 18 mm is usually fine, but bigger is better.
Afterwards you use some acetone or your mrs's nail polish remover, to remove the nut.
Very good! I like that.
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