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Confused about lubrication.


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I decided to restore an old (and cheap) Oris watch, which is based on an ETA 969-N manually wound movement with a central seconds hand. This one has the main wheel and fourth wheel stacked, where the fourth wheel arbor goes through (inside) the center wheel tube-like arbor. The center wheel upper pivot is held in place by a jewel bearing in its own sub-bridge. The fourth wheel upper pivot is held by its jewel in the train bridge. 
Before I install the train bridge I want to lubricate the center wheel jewel (one in the sub-bridge). For this I plan to use a heavy D5 oil, and here is the problem:

When I use D5 on that jewel it will not only lubricate the center wheel jewel but I will unavoidably get in also spread inside of the tube-like arbor of the main wheel. The fourth wheel needs light oil (9010) on its bearing in the train bridge, but now I have a situation where the heavy D5 oil inside the main wheel tube pivot is getting on the fourth wheel arbor. So, the forth wheel arbor will be "fighting" the coat of a heavy D5.

Will it affect the watch operation? If so, how should I proceed?

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You do not need a heavy oil. The train should be oiled with a good watch train oil. The escapement with a very light oil for escapements Moebius oil is one of the best, go to there site and look at the types of oil and pick the ones they recommend.

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In these situations I lubricate the the arbor before installing the bridge instead of applying the oil to the jewel with the bridge installed. little chance of inappropriate oil getting into the tube this way. Also unless you can thread the extended 4th wheel pivot through the tube perfectly without it touching the center wheel jewel I would recommend applying the lubrication to the inside of the tube before installing the bridge as well. If oil is applied to the 4th wheel pivot and it touches the jewel it will inevitably seep into the bearing surfaces between the center wheel arbor and jewel.

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18 hours ago, oldhippy said:

You do not need a heavy oil. The train should be oiled with a good watch train oil. The escapement with a very light oil for escapements Moebius oil is one of the best, go to there site and look at the types of oil and pick the ones they recommend.

If I could use the same oil for 4th wheel as for the center wheel then there will be no problem. So, how about using 9020 for both? I am asking only because I have a bottle of it.

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6 hours ago, CaptCalvin said:

In these situations I lubricate the the arbor before installing the bridge instead of applying the oil to the jewel with the bridge installed. little chance of inappropriate oil getting into the tube this way. Also unless you can thread the extended 4th wheel pivot through the tube perfectly without it touching the center wheel jewel I would recommend applying the lubrication to the inside of the tube before installing the bridge as well. If oil is applied to the 4th wheel pivot and it touches the jewel it will inevitably seep into the bearing surfaces between the center wheel arbor and jewel.

This sounds tricky and problematic. I will probably go with using the same oil, 9020, for both. But I still want to try to find what ETA recommends for this movement. So far, I've been unsuccessful in finding these info but it's probably buried somewhere in ETA archives.

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9020 oil this is what it says about it.

Moebius Synta-Visco-Lube is 100% synthetic, fluid thin oil for use on slower moving units and larger watch movements. It is an oil with a high viscosity that will remain in position longer than low viscosity oils. Also very effective for use under wet conditions. With excellent lubricity and outstanding grip, this oil is ideal for lubricating the pivots of staffs, oscillating weights, pivots of center wheels and barrel arbors, and other automatic watch parts.

I would say that will do nicely.

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I agree with OH, 9020 should be A-ok for both. I knew an old watchmaker who did one of his own railroad watches all with 9010 when it came out to test it. From balance to mainspring, winding and canon pinion. He said it worked great for years. Nothing worn when he inspected. Synthetic oil is wonderful stuff.

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5 hours ago, centerwheel said:

This sounds tricky and problematic. I will probably go with using the same oil, 9020, for both. But I still want to try to find what ETA recommends for this movement. So far, I've been unsuccessful in finding these info but it's probably buried somewhere in ETA archives.

It's easy. Try it and you'll see. Use HP1300 or similar (D5 is grease territory; never heard of grease being used on train) and if the right amount is applied on the arbor it should spread itself nicely into a cone around the bottom of the arbor on top of the shoulder. As for oiling inside the tube as long as your oiler doesn't touch the outside of the tube the oil will just wick itself into the tube's interior soon as it comes in contact.

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Indeed, D5 should not be used on the wheel train, but it is sometimes recommended on center wheel. In this case it would create a problem because D5 would get inside the tube. But whether it is D5 or not, using two different oils (one for the center wheel and one for the fourth wheel) creates a difficult to control situation where they might mix, etc. So, as oldhippy suggested it's better to use the same oil for both, and 9020 seems like a good compromise.

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