[shimonabi]

I accidentally damaged the spring on the balance wheel while adjusting my Seiko 5. I then bought a new Chinese NH36 movement for 30$, which can also be wound by hand and is hacking (movement stops when adjusting). I also had to transplant the dial/day dial and get a new crown.

I love mechanical watches and would definetely be a watchmaker if I was born before the quartz revolution.

[hanklazard]

Yes, the “auto-only” base Seiko movement is pretty annoying, if you’re not wearing it everyday. For anyone who hasn’t experienced one, imagine that when you want to wind your watch, you have to turn it dial up in your hand and rotate the whole watch for 30 seconds (the so-called seiko shake) such that you spin the rotor inside.

I ended up swapping my SKX movement out for a hacking / hand-winding movement too, much better.

[spicybright]

That sounds terrible lol. And then you have to find some other clock to reset it after you rotate it. Is 30 seconds always enough? I'd be nervous of it running slow.

[hanklazard]

Yeah, it was just annoying enough to cause me to learn how to do surgery on my watch. It’s the only downside of [some of the] low-end Seiko’s.

30 secs was usually enough for me, but depends on how active you are afterwards—-if just typing at a desk, you’d probably have to do the shake longer than that.

Edit: actually answered the question

[kqr]

I thought it would be annoying, but for me it's not been a big deal. i wiggle it a little on my way to the bathroom in the morning and then it's fine.

Also it's something I only have to do when I haven't worn it in a few days, so there's a limit to how much of it you have to do. (Worst case is if you wear the watch for one day every three days or something. Any less or more wearing and you have to wiggle it less often.)

[puddingshop]

Where did you get a NH36 for $30?

[shimonabi]

On Aliexpress. I bought it in May, 2020.

I guess they are more expensive now because the sellers must now front the VAT to the customs of EU countries.