Reply With QuoteSorry for the silly question, but what do these screws do?
Well, brother pops round the weekend and I have a look at his Breitling Avenger I sold him (for a song) a few years back. Having had no love or attention since purchase I offered to give it a quick clean and cape cod for him and in the process also had a look at the screws for tightness including those on the bezel edge, two of which were loose, won’t tighten and won’t screw out to enable use of loctite or similar.
He’s now paranoid about wearing it for fear of them coming out!
Any ideas guys, either to stop them coming out or to help get them out.....
They just spin, don’t retract and don’t even withdraw a little to enable any leverage under them to help with removal.
All and any suggestions gratefully received!
Sorry for the silly question, but what do these screws do?
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
They hold the bezel on.
Needlenose forceps / pliers and apply traction as you unscrew.
Sounds like you'll need new screws to replace them with, unless it's just gunk preventing them sitting normally.
BUK ? Might be nearing battery change time anyway.
If the two screws are flush with the bezel and next to each other you could try undoing the four other screws and removing the bezel, there may be enough clearance with them undone to remove the bezel. You can then apply pressure from behind whilst unscrewing.
If this doesn't work or isn't possible then look to see if the head of the screws are able to be gripped (all the ones I've seen are flush though). If there is enough to grip use a large balance screw holder to grip it and use ach5's technique (above) to try and unscrew. Cousins sell an Indian universal balance screw holder for £1.95 plus VAT and postage.
https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/ba...et?code=B0042B
If none of these methods work then run some superglue into the joint between the screw and the bezel, let it dry and wipe any excess off with acetone (or nail polish remover). This should prevent them rotating and coming out.
I assume the threads on the screw or the bezel have stripped.
It's a few years since I had one of these apart, from memory the screws can be removed completely and the bezel simply lifts of. If the threads are stripped the screw isn`t getting enough grip to unwind and it needs pulling whilst turning to get some purchase. You could try modifying a screwdriver blade to make it fatter (take the tip down on a stone or fine file) thus enabling it to be a tight fit in the slot. The tip will need to be square to do this. Try screwing slowly and puling, hopefully the tight fit of the screwdriver blade will allow enough 'pull' to get a grip. Alternatively, try to attach the screwdriver blade to the screw using a spot of araldite or similar epoxy adhesive. The adhesive can bbe softened by heat to break the bond, applying a small flame to the screwdriver blade will do this.
These tricks may work, but it'll be fiddly to do if you're not accustomed to working with small parts. No guarantee my suggestions will work, but they're worth a try. Someone with a micro/laser welder could attach something to the screwhead to get a pull/twist on it, but obviously the screw will be scrap (which it already is) and need replacing.
Breitling won`t supply parts, so obtaining a replacement screw will be a challenge. Your friendly local Breitling AD may be able to advise. I don`t know of any Breitling accredited repairers so if all else fails it'll need sending to the Breitling Service Centre.
There is another less professional solution to this problem. Assuming the bezel isn`t able to come of at the moment, the screw could be glued in place to prevent it coming out. A tiny spot of araldite applied around the edges of the screw head will suffice and the excess can be carefully wiped off. Not ideal, but it would secure the screw. Again, this is extremely fiddly, requiring a strong magnifier and an old oiler to apply the adhesive.....if you lack the skills or the tools don`t try it, you'll end up with a mess.
Paul
Thanks for the suggestions guys - I think the glue to keep them in is probably looking the best option at the minute.
The 'spinning' screws are opposite sides of the bezel and there is, for me anyway, zero chance of getting hold of the screws with pliers as the screws are too small and not protruding from the bezel surface.
I'll definitely get me one of those screw holder tools though as they look useful!
Its automatic as well and my brother is 'as tight as' so no service anticipated in the near future - lol
Is it a titanium Avenger? If it is, I think that I have a spare bezel, but that's not a lot of use if you can't get yours off. I swapped the bezel on mine and I can't remember removing the screws - I may be wrong but I think they may be decorative only. If that's the case, gluing them in won't cause any difficulty at a later point.
Thanks Tom but it's a stainless Avenger Chrono with Blue face - got it off Norm (Hobsong) years ago.Originally Posted by TomGW
Unless it differs on the SS model, the screws are not decorative. I have the Ti Chrono Avenger and the screws secure the bezel. I've taken mine off a few times previously.
Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app
I think I may have been having a senior moment there. I bought the replacement bezel from someone, possibly on this forum, who was unhappy with the way BUK had refinished his watch and they subsequently replaced the bezel with a new one. I bought the one that BUK had refinished, but maybe I didn't carry out the exchange myself. That would explain why I have no recollection of removing the screws.
Why not just get the ones out you can and then apply the pull/leverage to the bezel they’re holding on?
That way the screws will be lifted by the pulling on the bezel and no worries about trying to get something under the screw head. You’ll probably find a bit of that action will start them coming.
Try putting the case in an ultrasonic cleaner. Pull the movement and dial first.
Good idea and I reckon that might work if the 2 screws were on the same and not the opposing sides and also I really would like to avoid unsettling the other screws that are well tight unless I cause more problems.
Possibly if you knew what you were doing - I have neither the skill or the equipment required unfortunately!
Drill them out, if you have a steady hand!
There should be enough movement either way. Or just apply the pressure and try both a bit at a time. I have some plastic ‘razor blades’ that fit in a scraper, these could also be used to wedge under the bezel to put upward pressure without any damage.
You'll never get an avenger bezel off without serious damage if two opposing screws won't unscrew. I've been in the same situation and had to resort to drilling out one screw, but if you don't have an accurate (watchmakers or model makers) drill press that's a non starter too. You'll also have to make a screw to replace the drilled out one!
https://rwg.cc/topic/92975-replacement-bezel-screws/
Not sure if this information is relevant.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Are you suggesting that the OP's watch may be a fake; hence the problem??
IIRC, someone on here got caught with a fake Superocean, that had been bought from a reputable dealer, and possibly sold on at least once on SC, before a sharp eyed member copped it on, so not impossible.
Just managed to dig this out from my original purchase and I am absolutely sure the watch is genuine.
http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...hlight=avenger
In truth I have no idea regarding the provenance of the OP's watch, when I typed 'Breitling bezel screw' into Google there were quite a few hits, the link I posted seemed to closely match the symptoms of the OP's problem, there were others.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
That's ok, I wasn't trying to suggest anything either.
Sorry OP, I wasn't suggesting that the watch is a phoney just trying to help.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
You remember correctly, Tom
Simon
I probably remember because I am a bit nervous of Breitlings. I don't know enough about them and they do use fairly standard ETA movements, so can be replicated relatively easily.You remember correctly, Tom
Simon
Ironically, I did have an early '90s Navitimer, which had a standard, unsigned 7750 movement and standard ETA datewheel. The previous owner knew very little about it but thought it was possible the movement may have been swapped at some point, as it had water ingress. I posted on here, enquiring about getting a correct datewheel and was roundly 'advised' that my watch was most likely a fake. Turns out it was an early 7750 Navitimer and was 100% correct. Apparently the first of the 7750 Navitimers had just a standard, undecorated 7750, without a signed rotor or special datewheel.
Posting Permissions
