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Showing content with the highest reputation on 06/22/19 in all areas

  1. Had a bit of practice fitting a shock spring which was fun, and ended up making a little tool to fit it back into the movement. Anyone know what the spring is called, movement is a Seiko 7S26. Many thanks from Jon
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  2. Thank you very much, I certainly found it useful. In fact. Like that bloke with the shaving equipment I was so impressed I bought the co......... Erm one of them. It answers another question I had which was to which rotational direction the basket spins. I wasn't sure if it was designed to force cleaner down or create a vacuum to sick such it upwards. Going downward makes sense logically as the debris stays low but you never know. Thanks for the videos and that sounds impressively quiet in use.
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  3. So - That's it... I hope someone gets some information and maybe, a little pleasure from reading this series of posts. These Nationals are likely to become increasingly rare, especially working examples, as it seems a certain generation of older watchmakers are disposing of their ancient equipment. Or more likely, and sadly, the descendants of older watchmakers and repairers dispose of their loved one's estates and wonder what can be done with this heavy old bit of junk in Grandad's shed... I really enjoyed working on this old machine and putting it back into useful service as my own, hobbyists watch cleaner. As well learning a little bit about the business of Mr Saul Lanzetter and his National brand and some of the patents in his name, which may or may not, have led to many such machines and their derivatives being sold all over the world. All that remains now, is to find a watch of mine that is next in line for a strip down, fix, clean and rebuild and put this little machine back into productive service. To that end, I'm waiting for the new 7750 video by Mark due anytime now. Ok - now where exactly did I put that tired old Valjoux 7750 when I cleared the decks for this old thing?
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  4. A "close up" sir? Thought I would just give a close up after I had made some checks to see how much fluid was the correct amount for these jars, as they were unmarked and came with no instructions. The Elma instructions indicate that the correct level of fluid should be around 1cm above the "suction blade" where the basket is attached. Also that when in use, the suction blades should not become visible, otherwise too much suction will be caused and may result in excessive foam being created. So I thought I would try to capture this to show what the correct levels and speeds look like. This was done just using plain water. Firstly with the correct level established. In these National Jars this volume is 750 ml. This is about 75% full. Then rotation at the correct speed, move to too fast and then back down to nominal again. The action of the "wave breakers" can also be seen in these shots. IMG_1574.m4v
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  5. A video maybe... (if my upload works) It's not often these machines turn up, and less often they turn up working, so I feel justified. No commentary, just the noise of the machine itself. Dunno how it will sound to you, but right in front of me, its nice a quiet and completely unobtrusive. I start from switched off, turn it on, advance the control to what I think is likely to be normal for use in liquids. Finally turning off. Sorry - Francis Ford Coppola I'm not! IMG_1572.m4v
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  6. Absolutely, I just couldn't resist the chance to make a bad joke.
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  7. The "After" Shot. So - here it is after the work was done. I think it is a sympathetic restoration and I have tried to maintain the original look and function of the machine and have kept all of the real replacements out of sight. It looks well to my mind whilst still managing to wear it's age well. TESTING Speed control - easily controllable, steady speed when set. The new controller does have a different operating range than the old one. The new controller (when the power switch is ON) provides a minimum of 30 volts to the motor. This is not enough to move it in any visible way. Advancing the controller till the motor begins to move and I measured around 130 volts at the controller output. A slow and steady rotation happens when the control is further advanced and the output at this point is around 150 volts. Around 160 to 175 volts is needed to obtain a steady rotation at around the operational "washing" speed. This seems about right as the motor will rarely (if ever) be operated flat out. Over all speeds, the motor exhibits no detectable RF interference, according to my RF Test gear, so I'm guessing the new controller is well suppressed as standard, and the motor itself is not noisy. The heater was also measured for surface heat temperature and self-regulation. Essentially I just turned it on and measured it over a period of around 15 minutes. The surface temperature quickly reaches around 170C to 180C (after about 5 minutes), and seems to maintain that temperature fairly steadily, not really varying by more than about 10 degrees. Hot enough to burn yourself if you touch it, but well out of the way with the "tunnel" installed. Heat at the top of the tunnel was estimated to be no more than around 45 degrees (rising air temperature) with the tunnel itself remaining cool to touch over a test period of 20 minutes. My recommendation would be to turn the heater on when you start the first wash and it will be ready for you when needed at the end of the second rinse.
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  8. I think you'll find there are polarising views on the necessity of PAT testing for home use. Apologies, i'll get my coat. Looking very nice and neat, looking forward to the first test run, will you be doing a video? Also, PAT testing, it's one of those bugbear acronyms like PIN number, because, the T already stands for testing, yet we all do it, so we're saying portable appliance testing testing............(I suppose that applies acceptably to musical equipment, especially microphones?)
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  9. Apologies, I re watched and it's a product called quadralene. They're based in Derby but no info for product sales on their site. I may have to rethink that and perhaps look at L&R or Elma like yourself.
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  10. Do not grease the mainspring or the oil the chain. The oil you need is Windles clock oil. After you have cleaned the chain a few drops of oil on a clean rag, run it through the rag. You can use the oil for the mainspring. A watch oil for the balance.
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  11. I would like to see some phots first of the movement including the balance before I comment further. There is a screw called a “stop-up” screw, which was built into the model 21 chronometer by Hamilton. This screw was used to block the train wheels for transport. This screw was often removed during service. Does yours still have it?
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  12. Here's my results so far. I needed to make a jig to even out the finish on the crown and ratchet wheel as I was getting a really nice matte finish in the center of the wheel but having trouble getting it even all the way to the edge of the teeth. I cut a slightly concave disc out of brash on the lathe and have begun polishing the wheels in the disk. This ensures the edges of the wheel are always in contact with the paste. It's not perfect but it's getting better.
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  13. Thanks for this topic @OBRHorology, I just happen to be restoring a chronograph that has matte finishing on some of the steel parts and had suffered water damage. I'm trying to salvage as many parts as possible and was just about to start researching how to achieve a matte finish when you posted! I went out and picked up some Tetrabor immediately. I scored many different grits through a sale on eBay and went to work on it this evening. I'll need a bit of practice but within just a few minutes I had what I consider passable results. Awesome tip. I'll post some pictures tomorrow.
    1 point
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