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Did it. Did it. Did it. Finally got the Setting Lever lose. Phew! Next. NuceJoe's Coca-Cola clean. I know I'm excited. But hey. It's my fist ever dissemble in a proper manner. Ross

I made my own container. The basket hangs on a hook inside the bottle. Hold the lid secure and screw in the bottle. It's unsophisticated but it works and is far cheaper than buying that funny little bottle from Moebius. I just had to find a bottle that the epilame wouldn't evaporate from.

One of the things I have to remember to do in the future with my list is to write down more model numbers or preferably serial number for each of the watches. That way you can look it up and see exactly what it is.. But still this gives you a clue as to what the various lift angles are in other words there isn't really a standard pocket watch lift angle. ball Illinois 12 size 45° Elgin 12 size 55° Elgin 18 size 49° Elgin 590 16 size 21 J 48° Elgin GM Wheeler 16 size 52° Elgin 6 size 62° Hamilton 12 size 48° Hamilton 912 12 size 38° Hamilton 940 16 size 60° Hamilton 992 16 size 48° Hamilton 992B 51.5° Hamilton 992E 42° Louis Audemar 44° Hampton 3/0 52° Illinois 12 size 45° Illinois 305 16 size 48° Illinois six size 62° Lange and Sohne 40° Longines pocket watch 35° Waltham 18 size 38.5° Waltham 1888 16 size 60° Waltham 21 jewel 645 16 size 42° Waltham Crescent Street 45° Waltham Riverside 16 size 44°

Certainly not! It is perfectly good oil, if a little out of date and as John already pointed out, doesn't have the long shelf-life of the synthetics. I would have no concerns at all using it in the way you suggest.

The 8000 is a good universal oil from this chart:

Yay!!

I picked up a little no name key wind cylinder escapement pocket watch movement for £1 If I can get it to run, I may have a case for it. If not, it can sit in the stash. I like the elegantly simple enamel dial, and the fact that it is anonymous is intriguing. There may be some identification marks under the dial, and I'll try to remember to post a few pics of the teardown and re-assembly. Its a bit of a shame that the hour hand is damaged, but I guess for a pound, you can't complain.

I don't think it would have been packed this well from new. I have the books inside now to read through. Have a bit of cleaning and reorganising to do in the garage to be able to put things on my workbench. I may have to rethink my workbench as it spans a fair way from the front to the back and while the sheeting I have used is heavy enough, the timber I used underneath it to hold the bench flat has allowed it to sag slightly so I have a bit of work to do.

Hi plato, I guess for some task making a tent to work under might work just as well.

There are definitely outliers. A lot of JLC stuff is 56-60 range, but their pocketwatches can be as low as 38 degrees. Check the arms and figure it out- it can be all over the map. There's a Russian IG guy I follow (steamlainere282), amazing restoration work, but he regularly posts watches showing 335 degrees amplitude with video and I can see it has 270ish. Tried to explain it to him but he doesn't get it. Weishi whatever always at 52 degrees haha. I'm guessing he's older and used to paper tape machines that don't give amplitude (though we had them in school and our teacher expected us to write amplitude [visual] and rate on the appropriate sections of tape).

So I had the tracking number for my crate and when I put it in the app 3 days ago , it said "Delivering". I took that to mean that it had reached the depot and that they were logging it in etc. After 3 days of "Delivering", I rang. "You're crate has been waiting for you to collect for 3 days sir." Hmmm. Went and got it today. Apparently "Delivered" which was the next step on the tracker is not when the receiving depot has processed it for collection. "Delivered" is for when I have collected it. Anyway, when a crate becomes art. I mean he even made handles! And the crowd fell into a hushed silence as the lid was unscrewed. And the crowd went, "Ooooooo....." And then after removing at least half of the package weight in screws as well as all of the associated timber and bubble plastic, Is it politically incorrect to call a metalworking machine cute? It is bolted to the drawer that you see it sitting on in the bottom of the crate. All of the bits and pieces are in there. I knew it was going to be small. It is quite possibly smaller than what I thought it might be. The chucks on the lathes I did my apprenticeship on weighed a lot more than all of this. Condition? Immaculate. It really is. I will have to be careful as I have 'rusty' hands. I think I will either have to have oil handy to clean everything down after use or wear rubber gloves when using the lathe and mill. I could not be happier. Oh, okay. If I won millions in Lotto, I would probably be happier. Chuffed? Absolutely.

That's really good. I found this one interesting too. https://youtu.be/egCwtMMoOCU

I won an auction for a very large number of watches from a watchmakers estate. The total cost was around $1,500 but there were easily around 1,000 to 1,500 watches, not all of them complete. They came organized in several large dresser drawers sorted by movement. It's been months and I'm still going through all the watches. I come across one that sparks my interest and then go down the rabbit hole looking into a watch brand I've never heard of, so I still have quite a few to figure out exactly what's in all the little envelopes. Not sure if that counts for the 404 club though.

I'm back in India visiting my wife's family for the first time in a very long time. While here I needed a screwdriver to sort out my spectacles, and there was nothing really suitable locally, so I headed off to Amazon. I wondered if there might be some watchmakers screwdrivers for a reasonable price, and sure enough you can get a set for a whopping ₹ 789.00 INR (about £7.76 GBP or $10.61 USD). Imagining they were most likely terrible, but compelled by the need to know exactly how terrible, I bought them. They arrived a few days later from a seller in Mumbai, and are actually not nearly as terrible as I assumed. Not great, I'll grant you, but not actually terrible. They didn't come in any fancy packaging. No nice storage case, or indeed any case at all, and I didn't spring for the optional plastic stand for them (shown above), which would have added about ₹ 100.00 INR or so more. In fact they arrived in a small Amazon plastic shipping bag. Inside that there was a small zip lock bag and in that, taped in a slightly grubby polythene wrapping and covered in machine oil were nine screwdrivers, and a complete set of replacement bits. The handles are pretty sturdy, and surprisingly, as well as being colour coded, are actually individually stamped with their relevant individual bit size ( 0.5mm - 2.5mm ), so you can replace the bits with the correct replacement. The set appears to be based on the infinitely better engineered Bergeon 30081-A10 set sizes, (but without the rather attractive case and the $180.00 price tag). (Picture of the Bergeon set courtesy of Esslinger.com) It will be interesting to check, when I get back to the UK and have access to some calipers to measure them, how accurate the bit sizes are. Also I doubt if the Indian bits will remain sharp for very long (although they do appear to be hardened steel of some sort), but as a novelty item, for fixing my spectacles (now fixed, thank you for asking), I'm actually relatively pleasantly surprised by what turned up. I may even try to service a couple of 404 club watches with them to see if they are up to the task. Another worry with these cheap bits would be rust, since unlike the Bergeon ones, they are certainly not stainless. I guess that is why everything arrived with a liberal coating of heavy machine oil. The packaging suggested that the MRP for them is ₹ 1800.00 INR which, at roughly a tenth of the price of the Bergeon set (and more than twice what I paid), is probably about the most I would be willing to spend for a similar set. I would of course far rather have the Bergeon 30081-A10 offering, perhaps I'll sneak that in to next years Dear Santa list. In the off chance that you want to try to find a similar set, here are the relevant Amazon key words. (DIY Crafts Micro Precision Screwdriver Set 0.5mm - 2.5mm with Stand Replacement Tips Jewellery Watch Repair Electronics Hardened Tips 35-40 HRC (Pack Of 1 Set, Watch Repair Screwdriver Set) EDIT: Just to be clear, you get nine screwdrivers in the set I bought, it does not include the 300 Brown (3.0mm), however the first picture in the listing does show ten screwdrivers. Not that this actually matters overly much. EDIT2: Most (all?) of the Chinese sets I found online go from 0.6mm upwards, the set I got goes from 0.5mm which may prove useful when you are trying to remove those tiny screws on older balance cocks, or masochistically servicing one of those really tiny ladies movements. The fact that it differs from the Chinese sets in appearance, and in the inclusion of a 0.5mm driver suggests this may be an Indian made set rather than a Chinese import to India, but since it is completely anonymous, I guess we will never know.

Forget the old broken spindle piece, heat end of the spring to a glow to bend a 90 degrees reheat to continue bending to 180 degrees, quench in old automotive oil. You have a one piece spring with a bend that functions and lasts longer than the original spindle.

This is specially problematic when you come across a real small and somewhat rusted screw with worn slit, usually screw head pops off or one side of the slit breaks. I got a cheap set with replacable flat blade driver, and collect broken sewing machine needles( real strong) dress a bunch of needles to different sizes. I also soak old pieces in coca-cola for 48 hrs, which eliminate the chance of breaking screws. Safe removal of old screws is rewarding and worth all the work, certainly beats having to extract broken screws.

I think @oldhippy is right. From wrestling with hairsprings this is one of the trickiest repairs to do, and when doing it one whish one saved the previous discarded part in the “good to have in the future box”. When it comes to replacing the teeth the donor piece has to come from a wheel not only with the same diameter but also the same type of teeth and depth on them, this is so you will get the correct amount of freedom for the wheels to rotate in a correct way. Even small differences like these ones will make the wheels not to run correctly in the length. Another thing to consider is how to put the new piece in place. One should avoid making a rectangular shape to fit with and instead make a “dove tail” shape with a precision triangular file. Since the teeth on the wheel is subjected to lateral driving pressures a rectangular shape will eventually cause it to wriggle free and fall out, the solder hasn’t a very good mechanical resistance. This is just some small tips and tricks to think of when repairing wheels.

Hello guys, I want to show you my lately restoration project. This time it was a Seiko 7015-8000 with blue dial. Watch came to me in very poor condition. As you can see on photos the case was scratchty, crystal was totaly tarnished with deep scratches. Everywhere was dirt, gunk and mud...yuck. Movement was running and stopping with very low amplitude. After opened the caseback I wasn't suprised - it looked like as case - dirt and signs of wear. Rotor was loose and fall out the case. When I take off the crystall I saw dial which had faded Seiko logo, some scratches and hands which lost their lume. Next step was strip down the movement - everywhere dirt and dry old oil. Time to cleaning bath Look at this - it's my temporary balance wheel stand - I suspect that from temporary it will be permanent. It does job well. After cleaning it's time to assembly movement. Now it looks better - maybe not pristine but clean and shiny. New oil here and there and movement starts to run. Now it's time for bench testing before install it to the case. Meanwhile I took care of the case, dial and hands. Case got some polishing work - not to much cause I didn't want to loose the sharpness of edges. That is effect: Dial and hands got new lume - I am not perfect in this work but I still learn to do this. Additional the seconds hand was repainted to orange color. I didn't change the crystall but i just polished it with waterpaper and on the end polish paste. Effect suprissed me. Time for the pleasant work - putting this all pieces together into the watch. VID_20190927_195610.mp4

Hi When you buy Bergeon you buy quality at a price, The french ones are ok . I believe I read some where Bergeon dont manufacture anything, some one else does the manufacture. I have screwdrivers I got 60 years ago and are bog standard nothing fancy and they still work ok the knack looking after them. the best tools do not make the best workman, good tools in the hands of an idiot are not much good but its not the tools fault. Buy the best you can afford at this time and maybe up grade as time progresses and as your skill level increases. add the tools as you go. Cousins UK sell some under the A*F brand and they are ok . all the best.

Hi SiZi my pleasure we are all here to help where we can. Its what this site is all about cheers.

A good set of watch screwdrivers is necessary. The better quality ones help you in your work they are easy to work with. If your budget is high get a set of Bergeon or Horotec.I have mentioned Horotec as many members on here use them and say they are very good. With care, they last a lifetime. I still have my Bergeon set from the 70’s there as good now as the day I bought them.

My pleasure, but I would like to add, in addition to someone starting out, anyone can use them as disposables (a screwdriver you don’t bother sharpening) dropping them in the can and grabbing a fresh one when the tips break down. Main thing is the tips are hardened so they don’t bugger your screw and these appear to be. Take care and Mary Christmas to all

Good deal on screwdrivers passed on. I ran across this sale on individual screwdrivers for .25 cents each a while back, and where I had low expectation but thought I would order some to use as disposables when needing a good edge. What I found is that there actually quit good prompting me to order more. They seem to be hardened and I haven’t tossed one yet. Fact is, I find myself reaching for these over the Bergeon which I paid over $20ea for. Therefore, I am passing the find on to anyone needing a good eco screwdriver. All the best, Will https://timesavers.com/search.html?q=screwdriver&go=Search PS: shipping was $3.50 Order Details: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Quantity: 4 Item: 2.0mm Flat Fixed Blade Screwdriver(33266) Unit Price: $0.25 Total Price: $1.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Quantity: 4 Item: 1.00mm Jeweler's Flat Blade Screwdriver (01322) Unit Price: $0.25 Total Price: $1.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Quantity: 2 Item: 0.60mm Jeweler's Flat Blade Screwdriver (01319) Unit Price: $0.25 Total Price: $0.50 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Quantity: 6 Item: 1.40mm Jeweler's Flat Blade Screwdriver (01323) Unit Price: $0.25 Total Price: $1.50 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Quantity: 6 Item: 1.20mm Flat Fixed Blade Screwdriver(33267) Unit Price: $0.25 Total Price: $1.50 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Quantity: 4 Item: 0.80mm Jeweler's Flat Blade Screwdriver (01320) Unit Price: $0.25 Total Price: $1.00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ subtotal: $6.50 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ total: $6.50 Shipping was $3.50