Bulova Watch Restoration

[@MyRetroWatches]

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[@iandooley4959]

What camera do you use for your shots pointing down at the movement and movement holder? This turned out beautifully!

[@sunxxone]

To determine year of manufacture L=50s M=60s N=70s These movements had a modified top plate as the rotor post would break off (From ex Bulova UK watch repair bloke)

[@큰강아지]

@@iandooley4959 ㅎ ㅜ ㄷ 3ㅜㅜㄷㄹ

[@MyRetroWatches]

@@djericdiesel it would always benefit from a service as fresh oil would help. That being said you have to find someone not afraid to take on vintage work. Modern shops usually decline sadly

[@foxyfox7620]

gow to order ? in mainspring ?

[@brianrusso8018]

I did a Bulova like that a while back and man what a gorgeous movement. The camera just doesnt do it justice. Youre right, it needs a display caseback. Nice job Mike!

[@belindadubois4447]

Just chanced upon Mike and his channel this evening. Absolutely brilliant!! Simply cannot believe that this genius, affable, great-to-listen-to, all round really lovely chap, is an......amateur! He is absolutely amazing and a joy to watch. And really love his banter! Speaks so beautifully. So enjoyed the last hour plus and learned so much. Wish I could give Mike a million likes; he'd deserve every single one! Thank you Mike!!

[@MyRetroWatches]

Wow thank you for such high praise. I would not class myself in any of the categories other than the amateur one. Really happy you enjoyed my video and thank you again for a nice comment.

[@TheRealBrook1968]

I have an affinity for Bulova. This watch would look good on my wrist! What a lot of work and you handle frustration well.

[@wikwyre]

Thank you for this video. With it, and lots of time, I was able to source a broken Bulova ANACD with an amazing case, dial and a broken movement. With this video, and spare bits, I have a fully sorted watch that drops 4 seconds a day. Not too bad for a watch that may be older than I. Thank you again for this video.

[@MyRetroWatches]

You are welcome. Happy the video helped you.

[@johnpinner1]

Bulova very underrated vintage watch. Great work

[@tonyclements5841]

I have two watches just like that but sadly they dont run, was really great to see you repair your one, it really looks brand new. I'm not able to fix mine as I'm not any good with small machines. Keep up your brilliant work it's a privilege for me to watch. Many kind regards, tony.

[@paulpadilla6913]

Hello Tony, If you have one of these that is in good condition but not running I might be interested in buying it if you want to sell for a reasonable price. I have a good movement but the case is in terrible condition.

[@jamesbudd9987]

My favorites you tube channel! Great job!

[@scottieh83]

Mike, I just bought a Sea King 11ANACD. This video will be a MASSIVE help to me restoring the movement. Thank you!!

[@MyRetroWatches]

Your welcome. Good luck with the project.

[@user.fedorman]

Beautiful Bulova! a real classic watch

[@rangersmith4652]

Inspirational videos. It's great that you're sharing your journey with us.

[@MyRetroWatches]

My pleasure!

[@adamnichols4687]

Really enjoyed this one! I’m going to grab myself a bulova ambassador to work on. What a lovely movement and great looking watch too

[@mikebond6328]

I have an unhealthy obsession with Bulova watches. I enjoy your videos.

[@Greg-et2dp]

My Retor watches you are good at restoring vintage watches my friend

[@Announce11]

Beautiful watch and most complicated movement's watch ever 😊

[@markevans4133]

Thanks for this. I have been using your video to work on my fathers 1970s Bulova ambassador.

[@jim1407]

Mine is a AOACD the automatic works are slightly different, I took it apart after watching this video, that’s when i realized it had two small gears that sit on a dual cantilever spring for the auto winding, now I’m a bit scared because I was planning on referencing this tutorial to reassemble it and I didn’t take any pics, lol hoping it closes enough though. Thanks for the vids I’ve always enjoyed them!

[@gazzer1609]

An old watch maker in the Village I grew up in, used to use a small spirit burner to heat up the end of the spring to allow him to work the spring ends without damage, as this took the hardness out of the spring steel on the ends only.

[@syniekos]

The dial colour on that watch is amazing !

[@nerdbot37]

That's a stunning little watch. Lovely understated dial in a gorgeous blue.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you. Its the dial that makes this watch. That and the gold movement!

[@watchmedraw4340]

Experience is learned when you step out of your box. I have a few Bulova watches and will rewatching these when I'm doing them. Awesome job.

[@neilwarner9165]

My favorit brand of watch. great vydio.I have a 1968 Acutron and 2 quartz and I have purchased a Benetton colours and cant wait for it to arrive so O can work on it. Keep up the good work Neil

[@chris6381]

Thanks Michael, this really helped me whilst servicing my own 11anacd. 👍

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you glad it helped

[@markwoods1504]

An excellent refurbishment of an outstanding vintage watch, in my collection I only have 1 Bulova Watch a Tank watch 1940's one at that, but I'll be looking out for one of these as it wouldn't look out of place in today's marketplace.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you. Yes these are a lovely watch and I’ve also seen them in a stainless case. They do seem to pop up on eBay now and again.

[@walther9161]

Very nice…. Coming from here in the states! Makes me want to try this hobby. Thanks for a great vid!!!

[@sbuzz5889]

great on camera details -nerves /eyes /tools/ patience x 4

[@jco1298]

I love Bulova. I have had a champagne dialed 333 Oceanographer, a super cool gold case minute man with a root beer dial and orange tipped hands and just sold my 666 Snorkel Oceanographer. They have all run very well and kept superb time. Anything from the mid-seventies and earlier were really well made.

[@MyRetroWatches]

NIce watches, was the 66 snorkel a accutron? I serviced a green one recently for a friend. cracking watch! Thanks for watching.

[@jco1298]

@@MyRetroWatches no it was actually this watch. I sold it about a month ago. mybulova.com/watches/1972-oceanographer-8947

[@jepkratz]

Good show. Fascinating works and engineering.

[@featherstonehobbies]

Good for you I am just starting out on this I've stripped 2 watches upto now but not rebuilt one yet

[@MyRetroWatches]

Good luck with your rebuilds. Never try to force a part into place.

[@KillerByte666]

What a perfomance ! This journey was a quite tricky, but you have done it at last ! Good job m8te !

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks

[@ruperthartop7202]

Lovely job Mike, thanks for sharing

[@anthonyhettinger9702]

This is very interesting indeed. I just found one of these laying in the weather then my son decided to break the band off that was perfect still. The inside back looks amazing, very little fine rust around 1 inside off the movement. The hands are missing with line of rust showing 6 min to 1. Lol. The crystal is missing otherwise its in amazing condition considering. The numerals look very dark soft gold my fingernail scratched it or shined it as it's very soft.

[@airbreather8928]

Michael - Thank you for a truly fantastic video. I learned so much from it. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I viewed it twice. I've never opened any of my mechanical/automatic watches, only my quartz watches and even then, it was to change a battery and quickly reseal it. But watching you and listening to your cool, calm, collected voice convinced me that I should begin learning more and be less "afraid" of what I might do to the watch. Having recently retired, I now have some time on my hands for a new hobby...and thanks to you and your videos, I may have just found the confidence I needed to begin. Thank you!

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you for this comment. I believe anyone can do this. It is all about having the right mindset and not getting frustrated. Buy a cheap mechanical watch and have a go, worst case is that you ruin a $20 watch but you then gain so much experience. I think its be best hobby if you like watches.

[@jeff1176]

Way to soldier on, perseverance pays off in the end. Nice job Mike

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks .

[@Greg-et2dp]

My Retor watches your vintage Bulova watch is awesome my friend

[@bernardocosmemorend776]

Good catch , master.But a little bit sweatting job .We sweat also at the same time watching you accomplish the task , but finally you did a great job.Thanks for a nice video. Bernardo

[@RichardT2112]

I’m old to the channel, and still love this channel! Cheers!

[@johnrogers2253]

Hi mike I like the way you use a writing bureau... I have just got and old one from Essex ... maybe I might use that. Bull. Üver is a great piece..

[@davidhammond9336]

Well done Mike, this one gave you a good workout. Cannot wait for more of these restorations. Great thing about these watches is you can get them fairly cheap but they are great quality IMO and look fantastic.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you David.

[@BobJohnson-xo7hr]

Nice job, I learned quite a bit. Thanks.

[@DannyBrown-x2y]

Awesome, coming to you from the very center of Texas. I have a similar watch that I am trying to restore, no date wheel and it is a self wind. It belonged to my wife's father. It was purchased in the late 40's. I have kept it in our museum room for 30 years and really the only thing wrong it is it runs a little fast and when I sleep the next morning it will have stopped. Obviously the weight wheel isn't far enough a head to make it through the night. I may just make a habit of a little winding before bedtime. So I will give it a good cleaning and slow the escape wheel down and hope for the best. Your videos are so helpful and just love the detail you give as you make progress. Have you ever had a watch you could not fix? Not because of unavailable parts, but because it was just possessed.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Old watches need servicing and by the sound of things yours does and that will help it no end and solve the power reserve issue. As for has a watch beaten me. No! I am too stubborn for that to the point of waiting years for a donor or a part to become available so I can finish it.

[@444slowitdown]

I would re plate it in white gold in 30microns..it would look fab..nice video and great watch 👍

[@carloscarvalhido2424]

Hi. Bulova always have a date code on the case back. In this watch is N0 - N for 70s and 0 for 1970. Great video :)

[@spidiq8]

Really lovely looking movement. Nice job on it.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks mate. Was more the frustration of parts than anything else.

[@suheilkaspar8885]

Thank you I enjoyed the video despite the little mishaps, and just subscribed.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks for the sub!

[@jayruggiero1315]

I recently found a chart showing Bulova date codes. Yours has n0 on the case back. According to the chart its from 1970. N for the 70s, 0 for the year. M if I remember is the 60s. Great channel, one of my favorites. I am just getting into repairs, and have some old movements to practice with. One is a Bulova 11afc in badshape but complete, minus thecaseback. Not sure where to get one. I have also begun collecting old Bulova. Many available for not crazy money. Keep up the good work. Jay

[@therealwatchdoctor]

Lovely movement in this Bulova watch! Good job Mike!

[@sonycraig5613]

Good job on a cool watch

[@nonomnismoriar9601]

Great work, you stuck at and got it working!!!!

[@AnitaSpankyBB]

Beautiful end result 👍👍👍👍

[@sthildas4857]

Just got my dad's Bulova after repair back...1960.

[@mgp00a]

Mike another project, well done the blue dial is wonderful considering the age , enjoy looks great on the waist.

[@MyRetroWatches]

They look better on the wrist than waist. Sorry could not resist.

[@deo53]

Wow. Very well done Mike. 👍

[@dodgydruid]

Got a treat coming on my channel next day or so... Pulsar V601 "dancing hands", just finished finally setting it up and it works brilliant yay It only has the single time and the chronograph unlike its V600 big brother or the V691 which both have dual times and countdown timers in addition to the chronograph function but its all done analogue and insanely clever... I'm waiting delivery on my V691 and my V600 doesn't work right but def recommend a "dancing hands" piece as they are so cool :D

[@steve922]

Another outstanding video! I voted for this one, and finally got a chance to watch it. Keep up the great work.

[@sonnymoorehouse1941]

Mechanical part is my favorite part of watch as well !!!!!

[@jamessmith6402]

Beautiful watch excellent video I really enjoyed every minute 👍 thanks Mike

[@MyRetroWatches]

Much appreciated!

[@dennisc.1189]

Mike, the watch turned out beautiful, great job.

[@oldiesfreek]

"I'm just a hobbyist..." Then proceeds to strip and assemble the watch like a pro. 😅

[@marekzlomianek4229]

He is most certainly no Pro. If you like to see the difference then check out KZbin channels Richard Perrett Watchmaker or Mark Lovick Watch Repair Channel - both of which are far more accomplished than this guy.

[@thegrassyknoll7792]

@@marekzlomianek4229 the guys you are referring too are the pros and been in the Trade for decades, but he is quite good, as a hobbyist, regarding myself im doing fine in the cleaning diagnosing and replacing parts and maybe fiddling with the hairspring but when it comes to make parts i hit the wall , for now !

[@patlucas8227]

to be fair it takes zero expertise to teardown a mechanical movement....anybody with basic watchmakers set of tools will find that part fairly simple....its the servicing,repairing and re-assembling correctly that requires considerably more than having the ability to use needle nosed tweesers and jewellers screwdrivers...patience and steady hands not being the least...

[@frugalliving73]

I like how you got a glass or plastic backing to see the movement. Excellent work. What're the first steps to get started in this hobby?

[@Greg-et2dp]

My Retor watches your utube videos are awesome my friend 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉😅😅

[@robertgoidel]

Very nice Job Sir.

[@mcalibo]

great video and they are great because you take it from a hobbyist view. they are less intimidating and everyone feels comfortable about making mistakes at least I do. I would highly recommending exploring different movements and watches. I think you got too many seiko videos. I enjoyed the Bulova, Russian watch restoration. I would love for you to explore more… Darwil, and most definitely do a Chinese Seagull. Cone on and Mark Lovitt pulled one of those a part. Happy to send you a loaner for a video if you need one. I do enjoy your videos!

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you. Seiko is a passion of mine and why the channel started hence seeing so many but more recently it’s been all kinds of makes and a lot of Swiss stuff.

[@jasonbean5052]

Beautiful watch!!!

[@benji2971]

Really nice watch, very complicated movement, well done ! cheers Mike! 👍

[@jenilocke8255]

Great work, such a beautiful looking movement. Can't wait for the next video.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks Jeni. Hopefully not as long to wait until the next one ...

[@gustavoabachegardie650]

Finally yyyyei. Really like this channel. Im gonna sit and enjoy and learn. Thanks.

[@gustavoabachegardie650]

It looks like the parts of calendar face its more difficult to put in place. Beautiful watch.

[@jasonalderson4016]

Nice to see a Boluva movement

[@karlfell3768]

That is a truly beautiful time piece. Keep up the good work Mike. Karl

[@davep2999]

Beautiful watch.

[@mikerotch6068]

What a beautiful movement 😮

[@layerman69]

Very nice watch

[@khalidhisham831]

Excellent, wonderful, I am grateful to you, My dream is to make very short and simple video to how to test the electric circuit and the coil in quartz watch and also about the wheels and their arrangement in quartz watch , thanks thanks thanks, I am very happy with your videos , but I hope the video of quartz watch dissambely and testing

[@darrelwillman3158]

Nice job on a complicated movement :) Great video.

[@keithwhisman]

To bend springs you need a small torch style lighter and get that spring really hot before bending and that is the only way I have ever bent a spring without breaking it.

[@carlosdelacadiz6658]

Vintage Bulovas are cool pieces.

[@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands]

Looks great.

[@klaassiersma4892]

Beautyfull watch i love to see it run again.

[@tomithecat4695]

Nice job

[@mtpokit]

Thanks for the viddy, I have an 11ALAC which seems to have the same problem, but a M7 date code (1967). Yours @3:07 shows N0 which is 1970. I've liked and subscribed and look forward to more from across the pond.

[@JDRichard]

Another good video, thanks

[@afrimselaj5824]

Excellent job

[@gopalakrishnanramaswamy6562]

Amazing! A dandy job!

[@billt888]

Nice work and diligence. Love the videos.

[@donnyboon2896]

Love your videos. More please!

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you. I have more coming!

[@maxsand1]

Very nice job! I'm going to try for the first time on a scrap watch. Would love to see what you have to say about your Microscope.

[@edwardbarron3208]

Keep doing what your doing, I enjoy the actual struggles involved with horology. I watch a ton of videos that show all parts being installed on the first attempt. Ha ha if you are a watch repairer that is not the case.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks for your feedback. I do believe in keeping it real. I’m just doing it as a hobby and mistakes will happen just like to does for everyone . Thanks for watching

[@1955mercury]

I thouroughly enjoyed this video. I collect Bulovas. You mentioned you didn't know the age of this one. Bulova uses a date code of a letter and a number starting in 1950. I think I saw "N0" stamped on the case back on this one. That would make it a 1970 model.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thank you for this information. I will take a look

[@ForestWoodworks]

Awesome job again, patience in action! Do you have a scope recommendation? I think I've checked out your list before but it's been a while and you mention a new one in a recent vid. I think it's time I get one. What are you thoughts?Thanks Mike!

[@olejohanpalsrud6896]

Great video! This is a very nice watch, and a interesting movement. I've never seen one exactly like this, but it has some simularities with the Seiko 56xx series movements. Great work!!

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks , I did like this movement. I’m going through my Swiss journey right now .

[@mrclockman1950]

Great job. Enjoy it.

[@omarnaspirandelacruz4897]

Felicitaciones por el video enseñanza. Tengo un Reloj Bulova parecido pero tiene la espiral dañada. Como se restaura. Gracias por tu ayuda

[@daleyurk4369]

Nice job Mike. That is a gorgeous watch!

[@Mephysto65]

Great job! Well done! I've seen you using an automatic oliator, maybe Bergeon. I'd like to buy one myself, but i don't know which size to buy to stsrt working with it.

[@MyRetroWatches]

I use the 1A oiler for shock jewels. The only one I use. The red one (I forget the number) is for pivot jewels. AliExpress has copies of them for little money but I dont know how good they are.

[@m1nut]

Nice watch and entertaining video. Keep up the good work.

[@BillMrWild]

Nice video Mike, enjoyed very much watching it, keep up the good work....

[@MyRetroWatches]

Thanks 👍

[@lobdsk]

I love the oldtimey Scott Joplin cleaning music.

[@valdachef]

Great job dude 👌

[@keithwhisman]

That grease you put on the outside of the barrel induced resistance, use oil instead of grease on everything but the main spring (braking grease)and parts of the keyless works and no where else.

[@MyRetroWatches]

Well that’s your opinion. 8200 loose grease is fine on main springs and barrel lids. I even see my local watchmaker use the same stuff. Oil is such a consensus issue amongst everyone . I don’t think there is a right or wrong as long as the results are good.

[@DongHoDocLa]

i like Bulova i like your channel and you!