Slow moving escape wheel

[Graziano]

When I pulled this little omega 484 down I noticed that the escape wheel was turning under duress so I thought I would show how I polish these tiny pivots on the escape wheel and pallet folk before I ultrasonically clean them. It gets a nice shine, I can do my hair in the reflection. Using a very fine pin polisher 

[Nucejoe]

What abrasives do you use?  Any compound?

Would this taper the edges of pivot head?  

 

 

[Graziano]

33 minutes ago, Nucejoe said:

What abrasives do you use?  Any compound?

Would this taper the edges of pivot head?  

 

 

No it doesn't taper the edges, in fact you can also polish the pinion shoulders at the same time. No abrasives used as such. Just a 3mm very fine pin polisher which I push over the pivot and gently rotate until shiny. I also do the balance wheel pivots. I do this before the ultrasonic wash it's a sure way of getting the pivots in optimal cleanliness. Hope this helps 

[watchweasol]

Hi Is it possible to have a little more detail of the polisher you use, looks interesting.           Cheers

[Nucejoe]

Thanks Graziano , Inexpensive must have.

 

 

[Klassiker]

Thanks for the tip. I wasn't aware of these. Cousins has them - Synthetic Rubber Mini Polishers - Pin Polishers (EVEFLEX), and the mandrels.

[Graziano]

7 hours ago, watchweasol said:

Hi Is it possible to have a little more detail of the polisher you use, looks interesting.           Cheers

https://www.eternaltools.com/mini-rubber-silicone-pin-polishers watchweasol hi these are a must have , I only use the green ones as they are great for pivot polishing and remove no material  and when you combine this polishing with the burnishing of the pallet fork on vintage watches you can bring your amplitude up considerably , on any watch .Hope this helps 

 

Edited February 26, 2020 by Graziano

[watchweasol]

Hi Many thanks mate    all the best

[VWatchie]

I've been curious about these pin polishers for quite a while, so I ordered the following from CousinsUK:

In hindsight, I regret not ordering the two-millimetre versions instead as the polishers tend to hit the fingers/tweezers when rotated.

On 2/26/2020 at 2:27 PM, Nucejoe said:

Would this taper the edges of pivot head?

Yes, indeed, but it depends on the hardness and grit. The medium grit and medium hardness polisher will quickly taper the pivot so stay away from it. It's very aggressive.

I would say all you need is the extra fine grit and soft polisher. As far as I can tell it doesn't remove any material, except for perhaps a few microns. Of course, it also depends on how long you keep polishing.

Although I made no extensive tests with the fine grit and soft polisher I'd stay away from that too.

Just to make sure. Do not think that these polishers can be used to burnish/repair the pivot. A Jacot tool is required for that. However, for cleaning they are well suited.

Edited August 25, 2022 by VWatchie

[Neverenoughwatches]

13 minutes ago, VWatchie said:

I've been curious about these pin polishers for quite a while, so I ordered the following from CousinsUK:

In hindsight, I regret not ordering the two-millimetre versions instead as the polishers tend to hit the fingers/tweezers when rotated.

Yes, indeed, but it depends on the hardness and grit. The medium grit and medium hardness polisher will quickly taper the pivot so stay away from it. It's very aggressive.

I would say all you need is the extra fine grit and soft polisher. As far as I can tell it doesn't remove any material, except for perhaps a few microns. Of course, it also depends on how long you keep polishing.

Although I made no extensive tests with the fine grit and soft polisher I'd stay away from that too.

Just to make sure. Do not think that these polishers can be used to repair the pivot. A Jacot tool is required for that. However, for cleaning they are well suited.

Something else to add to my cousin's order list , i had considered them previously but your suggestion of size and limited grit usage has saved me a few quid . Thanks watchie. I wonder if use in a rotary cable would be overkill, the one i have is very small and can be reduced to a low rpm.

[VWatchie]

5 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

I wonder if use in a rotary cable would be overkill

Although I don't have a rotary cable it sounds like overkill to me!

[Shane]

13 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

I wonder if use in a rotary cable would be overkill,

I think some tasks are more suited for the sensitive touche of hand work.  Power tools often help us make bad parts more efficiently.

I can't see how polishing doesn't remove at least some material,  Even as VWatchie says, it may be down in the microns.

These look very interesting.  Thanks for the heads up, I will definitely be ordering some.

I have just one question; Will these help in correcting mistakes within my correspondence?

Shane 

[VWatchie]

On 8/21/2022 at 1:36 PM, Shane said:

I have just one question; Will these help in correcting mistakes within my correspondence?

I'm afraid not! 

Oh, and I do agree! Power tools should be used with great care in watch repair. I now have an excellent Proxxon rotary tool (fantastic!) but I limit its use to polishing watch cases. Power tools can make things go very wrong very fast.

Edited October 14, 2023 by VWatchie