First Vostok service

I've been tinkering with watches for a fair number of years now, especially Vostoks. Nothing too major - changing dials, hands, regulating, replacing obviously knackered parts, breaking things I didn't understand. Anyway, a few months back I took the "Basic Mechanical Watch" servicing course at the British Horological Institute near Newark. It was an absolutely fantastic course and John Murphy is a brilliant instructor. I can't recommend the course enough and I've already booked myself in for another course!

This is where the magic will happen:

Room full of my watch junk and some cool posters:
https://i.postimg.cc/MTD6jq9V/IMG-20...-174454879.jpg

Sometimes it's tidier than this.
https://i.postimg.cc/bYmYyYDj/IMG-20...-174525164.jpg

Old laptop and USB microscope.
https://i.postimg.cc/kGgnQzHZ/IMG-20...-174647586.jpg

So here's service number 1: a Vostok Amphibia with a 2409 manual movement. I'll let the pics do the rest.

I'd guess this one hasn't seen any oil since the fall of the Soviet Union.
https://i.postimg.cc/BQhjVccH/IMG-20...-192909593.jpg

Check out the crystal!
https://i.postimg.cc/QCYj0SGM/voscrys-1105.jpg

With a big whack on the side against my palm the watch sprang into life. Then stopped 5 minutes later. I did manage to get a timegrapher reading though and it isn't pretty.
https://i.postimg.cc/d1K3yWwP/IMG-20...-193547525.jpg

The heart of the beast, including real dirt from Russia.
https://i.postimg.cc/Y0dCTMgM/IMG-20...-193830730.jpg

Definitely going to change the seals on this one.
https://i.postimg.cc/6QZTTssf/IMG-20...-153127801.jpg

The chrome plated bezel is wrecked so I ordered a NOS one from Russia. 6 weeks later it arrived...
https://i.postimg.cc/L4D5JBWw/IMG-20...-153957920.jpg

Almost stripped. The mainspring has had it. It's actually cheaper to order a new complete mainspring assembly from Russia than to order an individual mainspring from Cousins so I bought a load. I now have the European monopoly on Vostok 24XX movement mainsprings :D
https://i.postimg.cc/6py8J2YS/IMG-20...-201224429.jpg

All cleaned:
https://i.postimg.cc/kGJ5jB2T/IMG-20...70047756-1.jpg

The case and crystal get a damn good clean and polish finished off with a pressure test to 50m.
https://i.postimg.cc/xTdCMNDC/IMG-20...-170105309.jpg

Assembled and serviced! Yes I did polish the bridges. Why? Because it looks nice. The case back isn't clear by the way...
https://i.postimg.cc/8CLPNhWy/IMG-20...-121247795.jpg

Quite an improvement.
https://i.postimg.cc/m26rwZBS/IMG-20...-121450991.jpg

And finally, the finished item on a cheap Russian bund.
https://i.postimg.cc/x1wTwskJ/IMG-20...-130855497.jpg

Hope you enjoyed.

Nice post. How much did the course cost? I've been thinking about doing something similar eventually, when I have time. Been meaning to try some Mary Shelly inspired experimentation on some old & badly broken Vostoks first though, to get the most out of it.

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Originally Posted by robt

Nice post. How much did the course cost? I've been thinking about doing something similar eventually, when I have time. Been meaning to try some Mary Shelly inspired experimentation on some old & badly broken Vostoks first though, to get the most out of it.

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The course was £750 for the week plus an extra £150 if you need (pretty basic) accommodation. Even though the course is titled "Basic" I'd definitely recommend a bit experience and knowledge before you turn up. Sausage fingers are a big no-no :D

Brilliant work, and thanks for posting up so much detail. The movement looks great, I’m sure that polishing it must be worth a fair bit of amplitude:).

I wonder if it will stay as accurate over the coming months and years. Very impressive in any case.

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Originally Posted by Lampoc

The course was £750 for the week plus an extra £150 if you need (pretty basic) accommodation.

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Thanks. That's surprisingly good value compared to a lot of training courses.

Excellent stuff. Thanks for such an interesting thread :eagerness:

Love it.

Nice setup you have got there!
I also highly recommend the BHI course with John Murphy, he is a great watchmaker, but also a great teacher.
So are you booked on the auto course yet ;)

I imagine that it brought a great deal of satisfaction to see that final Timegrapher reading :smile-new:

I'd love to be able to fiddle with the insides but my skills stop at double-screw, rivet bracelet adjustments and Amphibia bezel swaps.

Once the kids have done one I'll be investigating the art of inside work – your post gives me hope. Thank you.

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Originally Posted by .olli.

So are you booked on the auto course yet ;)

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Yep!

Excellent, you will enjoy it!

Bravo! Ta for sharing.

Great result and fab watch cave :thumbsup:

I’d definitely recommend the Basic Watch course for anyone who wishes to find out what’s really involved with watch work. Treat the cost as a holiday and it becomes easier to justify; I was fortunate to get mine free as part of the redundancy package from my former employer but I would’ve been prepared to pay it myself.

John Murphy is a good guy, an excellent teacher and great company. I did the courses in 2010 and I still keep in touch with John, he’s helped me a lot over the years.

Here’s a tip you won’t learn on the courses. When removing small springs place the movement in a clear plastic bag as a safeguard against flying parts, that’s not how the purists do it but as a mere mortal I find it helps.

Oh yeah you got skills, great result!

Might have to check out this course, gave up butchering old pieces a while ago but always fancied learning to do it right :smug:

Nice job, nicely done! Again the BHI courses are great and John's a good laugh as well as being as qualified as you can get to teach about watches.

Is that my old mainspring winders I see on your desk? :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by Thewatchbloke

Is that my old mainspring winders I see on your desk? :thumbsup:

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Yes it is.
One of the things I also got from the course was a massive shopping list of tools. This repair hobby is starting to get very expensive so if you have any other spare Bergeon tools lying around can I call first dibs? ;)

German ebay site is good for tools....if you can hack your way through the lingo!

Cost of tools is v.significant, no way around that, but buying second- hand helps a lot.