Leaderboard

Here are the three pieces I printed of different sizes. Good practice using ABS filament, at least.

For basically anything rust-related, I use Evaporust. Usually, for chemicals, the safety to efficacy relationship is inverse; the more effective a chemical is, the less safe it is. Evaporust seems to have hit a nice sweet spot in that curve, where it is very safe, and very effective....mostly. I learned the hard way that you should not use Evaporust on watch movements. Or at the very least, do not use them on any part of the going train if they're composed of steel. According to their website, Evaporust causes a phenomenon called "carbon migration." Since steel is Carbon and Iron, and Evaporust removes Iron, you're left with just carbon on the surface, including in between pinion leaves, which seemingly can only be removed via manual scraping. And you have to put a good amount of elbow grease into scraping it off, and one slip and you'll definitely destroy the part. One watch was completely locked up, the other is limping by with maybe 60 degrees of amplitude. Just putting this out there in case anyone else thinks to try it.

Well, after all that, I think the only actual issue was the worn pawl lever. I'm pretty sure there was nothing else wrong with the movement. I think I was just "looking" for problems, but we'll see how long it keeps running for. All back together now, I decided to use a $5 dial I got from Ali Express, completely the wrong movement name and jewel count but I actually like the look. I don't have any nice hands so have put on some beat up old gold ones that came on a non-running movement from speedtimerkollektion. I also gave the case and bracelet a bit of a bath in the ultrasonic, it was filthy. I haven't put in back on the timegrapher yet, it still needs to be regulated/checked again, but I'll likely see if it keeps running for 24 hours first. Definitely have much more of an idea of what I'm doing now.

Yeah, it seems like I use it every day. I messed up the link in my original message, here is the page for the Bulova 11ALAC (as an example).

Gee, a 2.5 crown is quite small. I have nothing with a crown that small but you see the cup is quite deep. A 4mm crown doesn't bottom out in the cup, so it seems like it could accommodate something smaller

Hi Luke, enjoy the forum. If you wish to put up a vid you have to create a YouTube vid then post the link.

If the balance is mounted and jewels removed for cleaning, the pivots are protected and can come to no harm due to impact damage. Lighter fluid (naphtha) is not a solvent for shellac. That's not the cause of the problem. I too did an experiment with shellac in an ultrasonic, and found that as long as the shellac is 'aged', there is no significant damage using small ultrasonic cleaners for a few minutes. (I clean 3-5mins, rinse 1-3 mins) L&R and Elma cleaning fluids are advertised as 'ultrasonic' cleaners. The user guides make no mention of not using it for shellaced parts. I always clean the balance and forks in the ultrasonic. The key question is, how powerful is the ultrasonic? You use a hammer to fit a balance staff, but not a sledgehammer. If you use a big powerful, industrial ultrasonic you can cause all sorts of damage - removing shellac, pitting surfaces etc. I use a small 60W ultrasonic and have seen no damage or loss of shellac. I know that the "proper" cleaning machines are preferable to ultrasonics. But as I'm only a home hobbyist with limited space, they do the job.

Lighter fluid is not friendly to shellac in unltrasonic. I have lost several balance pivots in Ultrasonic, seems to depemd on metal pivot is made of. Rgds

The Bergeon is 25 mm diameter, 5 mm high. The notch starts 5mm from one edge. The overhang is 1mm thick. What is nice about the brass Chinese version is the lower solid base supports the cock. You can easily place the immobilized balance under the microscope to inspect the impulse jewel and extended hairspring, place it into a jar of Hexane etc for cleaning, back under the microscope etc.

Hello, I just wanted to let you all know that I'm not giving up on the project. It's just that it's taking a lot of time and progress is really slow. Here is a screenshot of the caliber page. The app will support both mechanical and quartz movements. Still a lot to do. I'll share a URL with you once I have made more progress. Cheers

You can get a replacement from Cousins UK using the measurements (120/10/300 I think—I just ordered 2). One thing I’ve found is Cousins has faster shipping and cheaper prices on most everything compared to Otto Frei or Cas-Ker (or any US material house). BTW I found a great article on the history of Bulova 23s if you’re interested (got it off the NAWCC forum). Let me know and I’ll pass it alone). Jay (Richmond VA (804) 998-3519) Just my .02 but you don’t have to replace the mainspring by default—if it looks good (good shape, no grinks), just clean it and relube and reinstall—I’ve done the majority that way and have been getting 280–300 amplitude dial U/D if all else is in order. I’ve only replaced the ones that are broken or deformed.