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I can't thank Marc enough for introducing me to the Picker Upper sold by Cousins. It is the most useful tool I have purchased all year. It was originally recommended for handling balance jewels, and for that it is brilliant. When it comes to handling watch hands, I'm always a bit concerned about marking them or chipping them, especially if they are new, have old lume or just refinished. The other issue is positioning them carefully during reassembly. This where the Picker Upper excels, it lifts the hand with no effort at all, and makes locating them in the correct position a dawdle. Buy one and give it a try, you won't be disappointed! :)

I was working on stripping and staining another piece of furniture this weekend and decided to start on the watchmaker's bench. After using the stripper and sanding for about 30 minutes it's looking pretty good. I still have to fix the joints that have started to separated but it should turn out great. Before: After:

I never oil the pivots of quartz watches, for the same reason I don't oil the pallet pivots on mechanical watches. Never had a problem with this over the years. However, you cannot use any kind of harsh chemical on the plastic plates - you will find that the surface may go soft and in some cases may even melt. This is where a cheap ultrasonic machine will come in handy. Highly diluted soapy warm (not hot) water and about 15 minutes should do the trick and I should point out to dry immediately with tissue and make sure it is completely dry before re-assembly. If the wheels are plastic then cleaning them with Rodico is the safest way in my opinion. The above tricks are my own method and would possibly be frowned upon by purists. :)

I wonder if he also received "the look" from his wife??? :D