Hello,
I popped the back off of my Armitron wach to replace the battery and now it won't go back on. It acts like the back is slightly too big to snap back in.
Take a small thin piece of cloth or paper towel, fold it and use to cover the watch face. Put one quarter (coin) on top and one quarter (coin) on the bottom. Place the sandwich in a pair of pliers, center thhe pliers and press, when you hear the snap, the back is on. Do not use on a watch with a domed crystal, or at least use a lot more padding over the face. Takes 10 seconds.
I just tried this with a paper towel folded 4 times (16 layers) and busted the glass although the face had a flat surface (i.e.not domed).This is actually a good idea but obviously not fail safe,so try it at yourn risk.
anyone who is dumb enough to use a coin that is smaller than the glass deserves to have thier watch break.... morons
This is the best technique- and from reading several suggestions here and else where I recomend this solution. Not only did this work perfectly, but I was left with a feeling of success and duh of course,how could I not think of this ....
Yeah thanks for that. Followed all instructions and shattered my $200 armitron and broke it. Same technique broke my $75 polo watch too.
I didn't think it would work -- and I tried a few of the other solutions. But this did work: kleenex padding on face, quarter on top of padding; quarter on back, pair of pliers. Presto. It's back on now. Thanks.
No use at all on a $40 Timex Expedition. All I got were sore hands.
I know it's a little late to comment, but I found the solution. I was looking for suggestions as well as all of you here. This worked INSTANTLY!
Tools needed...
*C-Clamp (NOT PLIERS!!!!)
*Wide steak knife
*Plastic or steel gym plate screw caps (What screwes on to both sides of a barbell to prevent the weights from sliding off.)
*Massage sock or massage sole for feet
Instructions...
*If your watch is facing UP towards you, this should be the order from top to bottom...
*Moving screw part of C-clamp is on top of knife.
*FOLD THE MASSAGE SOCK OR SOLE, so that there are 2 layers. This goes under the knife.
*Under the massage sock or sole, should be the face of the watch.
*Underneath the back plate of the watch should be the gym screw cap, with it's back touching the back plate. If you face it the other way, the sides of the cap will push into and break the sides of the watch head since they are wide. Facing the cap the other way keeps them away from the watch head.
Finally, slowly turn the C-clamp and watch the back plate closely. You WILL hear an audible snap that confirms the back plate is back on and secured.
This method took me 35 seconds exactly with no failed attempts. Be very careful with the steak knife. Keep it pointed away from yourself and wear a welder's glove if you have one so you avoid injury.
That's it. Your watch is done.
×
I used to work with jewelry. !!BEWARE!!
This method is for face crystals that are completely FLAT! Any convex crystal will shatter without proper tools!!!
Any method of putting the watch cover back with the watch remotely near water/moisture is a mistake. The watch will rust sooner or later.
So if you don't want to pay a jeweler five dollars to put it back on, this is what I did to my sister's watch cover when I could not snap it back.
I took my cushy 1/4 inch mousepad to a vise. You may not have a vise. If you don't, stop reading now and take the watch to a jeweler --one who replaces batteries.
Inside the vise jaws, I used a 5 inch square piece of wood, then my cushy mousepad, then the watch facing the pad, then the back in the right place for restoring.
!!!!NOTE: Not having the back in the right place will smash the stem and damage can/will result!!!
To push the back on, I picked a 12 point socket out of my socket set that was the same DIAMETER as the watch back and placed it CENTERED behind the back.
Recapping, inside vise:
Slowly I positioned all these items with minimal pressure. Then when I was sure that I was ready (and prepared to hear the crystal break) I put as little pressure closing the vise that I could. The I heard a snap, and to my relief, it was the back going in!
I DO NOT RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO WHAT I DID. People with broken watch crystals become very IRATE when "all it needed was a battery"!
A screw clamp would also give adequate pressure. Any unsupported direct pressure over the crystal will shatter it!
Hope this helped.
Good luck!!!!
I used a wash cloth, quarter and a beer bottle. 1st you fold the wash cloth a couple of times, put it on a table, put the watch face down on the wash cloth, drink the beer because your frickin thumbs are tired from trying to press the back on, line up the back noting that some watch backs have a cutout for the stem, put the quarter on the watch back, put the small end of the beer bottle on the quarter and give the bottle a smack on the bottom, you might have to move the quarter around and smack the bottle a couple of times to get the back to pop on fully.
I was having trouble with this too, but after my wife and I played around with it for awhile it suddenly seemed to snap into place in the side opposite the notch I used to open it.
After that, it just took some moderate pressure with my thumbs right up near the corners by the notch to snap it the rest of the way in.
It seemed very unlikely I'd would have been able to open the thing if it really took the amount of pressure all of these previous posts said. I think it's all about position and there is no obvious way to tell when it's in the right position, other than it just snaps into place. Patience and persistence is all it really took.
I tried off and on for 2 months trying to get my back on my Armitron watch, finally I put my watch back in a plastic bag and put it in the deep freeze for 30 minutes, with about 10 minutes left for the watch back I set up on a counter top a paper towel folded several times, then I got out my space heater and warmed up the watch, not too hot, but fairly warm. Once The watch was warm I placed it face down on the paper towel then I quickly removed the watch back out of the freezer, with minimum handling I placed the back correctly on the watch, with a fair amount of pressure from my thumbs I was able to snap it back on.
My solution is NEVER buying another Armitron watch. I am having a problem putting mine back together right now. I paid five dollars for the battery. It's not worth investing any more money on this piece of "made in China" junk.
I just did the following:
Take a piece of smooth wood
Place watch on it, glass side down
place a wooden ruler (thick one) across the back
Clamp the whole thing and tighten
Note 1: you may not hear a click so check
2. Do not use any clothe between glass and wood, this will make teh force uneven
I was just having the same problem with an Armitron watch... this post and the comments didn't make me feel much better.... but I just managed to get it with 2 quick grip clamps... the clamp faces are rubber padded and I got the watch for 20 bux at tjmaxx 5 years ago, so I didn't bother with paper towels or anything. You just have to not be too afraid to break it... that being said... entirely possible I was on the verge of breaking it... but I finally got it and it's ticking again with the new battery.
I used a 3/4" PVC pipe fitting with a diameter slightly larger than the glass face. I placed it in a wooden clamp (Jorgensen brand) and with slight pressure it popped into place.
This will work if you have a pair of channel locks at home (You'll find one in most too boxes). You'll also need a 2$ coin, cushioning (paper towel worked for me) and a table or flat surface protect the crystal side of the watch (a wooden kitchen cutting board worked for me). Put the cushioning on the cutting board or flat surface, lay the watch face down (crystal on the cushion), then put the 2$ coin on the cover side of the watch on top of the cover. Press everything together using the channel locks and voila! Problem solved!
I spent ages on this, putting the watch back in the freezer didn't work (and it's probably not a good idea anyway due to the condensation which forms when you take it out of the freezer. What did help was getting my teenage son to help - we could press both sides together and after a couple of tries, sorted!
Pliers? Pieces of wood? Beer bottles, quarters and plastic pipe.... What a great set of sketches for a show. Anyways, let me set everyone's curiosity to an all time high when all you need is lump of what we in the UK call Blu-Tac, (I think in the US its stick tac or plasti-tac or something but the same stuff). Well here's how...
1: Roll a golf ball sized piece of blu tac around in your hands till it's warm and pliable.
2: push the face of the watch into the tac up to its depth. Repeat this process for the watch back.
Leave them in a cool place for 5 mins (a fridge is ideal) or untill it's become firm again. Now comes the fun part....
Line both up squarely, place on a carpeted floor (don't worry the blu-tac won't stick) then using the front 'ball' part of a bare foot, GENTLY step onto the watch. Your feet are one of the most sensitive parts of your body & you'll FEEL the moment it clicks back together.
Now if you've followed this tutorial exactly, you'll need to REMOVE the back again. Now you're right back where we started only this time, POP THE NEW BATTERY IN THE WATCH FIRST.
I just tried using thick cloth and pliers based on the above comments, got the back on alright....shattered the crystal and apparently messed up the hands...yay! Salvaged the new battery and managed to cut my finger in the process. Thanks armitron for 10 months of sparkle before your cheap battery petered out. }:-(
I was able to do it without breaking anything.
1) To avoid any contact with the watch glass, I placed it on a seweing line roll. It fitted the watch size so that only the borders of the watch were touching anything
2) I removed one pin of the watch bracelet, in order to make it easier to access the back of the watch
3) I placed a stick of wood on the back of the watch and hit the wood
33,048 views
Usually answered in minutes!
Me too! Did you find out how to do it?
I have the same problem. I cannot get the back on the watch. Any help?
I just want to thank the last guests for your help with trying to fix this. I actually kept it all this time with the hope that it could be fixed. That trick with the quarters and the paper towel really works to keep the crystal from breaking. I squeezed the hell out of that thing. I kept moving the pliers to different spots to see if that would do it. I forgot to put the quarter on the backside of the cover. I dented it and ended up giving up and throwing the watch out. This will be my last Armitron watch. I destroyed the twin to this watch by trying to force the cover back on after changing the battery. I wish good luck to the guys that wrote in with the same problem. I hope you get yours fixed.
Thanks again .........
Mustlx90
The Quarter method is bull It shattered and ruined my watch.
Can someone please post the trick with the quarters?
Worked very well. I tried everything to snap the back on for a few months. It was going to be $65 to have it done at the jewelers. I thought this would be a great last resort. I was careful to not squeeze too hard in the center as the citizen watch crystal is domed. I applied pressure a few times from the sides. It did not "Snap", but when checked, it was securely fastened. Thank you for sharing this great idea.
Nobody wants to hear from someone who has the same problem. Why do you think we're at this web page to begin with? For a chuckle?
×