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On 5/20/2021 at 7:03 AM, AshF said:

I too have printed some lids for my jars.  I've been testing them with IPA for 2 weeks now and seen very little evaporation, this is at 25% infill.  But I like the idea of using a plastic circle (with the gasket) to be doubly sure.  Thanks.

Related to L&R machines.  I'm in the UK so parts are hard to find for these American machines.  I'm looking for the tray insert that has 4 or 5 compartments, if anyone could help me out.  Ebay has them occasionally but the shipping to the UK is extortionate.

I filled my jars with #111 and #3 to the middle of "L&R" over 2 months ago and the levels have not dropped.  With my nose directly on the lid edges, I can detect a slight odor of the chemicals.  Surprisingly (to me), the silicone Amazon gaskets absorb the chemicals and swell especially on the jars with #3.  So, I suspect the tiny bit of evaporation is occurring through the gasket edges.

The Amazon gaskets came in a set of 8.  If a gasket is too swollen to reseal properly, I just swap it out with a spare.  The swollen gaskets shrink back to normal size overnight.  The plastic bag lid liners are working a charm.

What is a "tray insert"?  Could it also be called a basket insert?

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On 5/18/2021 at 2:16 AM, clockboy said:

Whilst on the cleaning of hairsprings I noticed while browsing that Bergeron have replaced one dip with this. Interesting as it claims to help remove old oils which can be an issue with the vintage watches with fixed cap jewels.  I will give it a try.
 

 

740ABF07-8AA3-45F8-984F-6CEDE392CF46.jpeg.34c9b0ce5b87e0c29d306b73d23abdda.jpeg

Hi Clockboy-hey have you looked into this? I was digging and I found that this stuff and One Dip are pretty close on the chemical ladder. The 'B' is PCE Tetrachloroflourine and One Dip is TCE Trichloroethylene. Here ya go: also, there is an american version of One-Dip still available at Esslinger. 

Differences? I think one is less toxic than the other? Not much tho..

PCE/TCE?

Tetrachloroethylene is a chlorocarbon with the formula Cl₂C=CCl₂. It is a colorless liquid widely used for dry cleaning of fabrics, hence it is sometimes called “dry-cleaning fluid”.
The chemical compound trichloroethylene is a halocarbon commonly used as an industrial solvent. It is a clear non-flammable liquid with a sweet smell.

Uses

Tetrachloroethylene(preceded byTrichloroethylene) is used for dry cleaning and textile processing, as a chemical intermediate, and for vapor degreasing in metal-cleaning operations.Tetrachloroethylene became the most commonly used dry-cleaning solvent in the 1950s, replacing carbon tetrachloride, which was more toxic, and trichloroethylene, which was harsher on fabrics. 

Gawd I love it when cut n paste works.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello Guys

My name is Chris and i am new to the Site, so Hello to all.

I could do with a bit of help or information,i have 2 Varimatic machines i am going to restore but i need some parts for them, the gear that drives the Jar table has broken teeth on one machine and the shaft that holds it on has a broken thread on the other machine, can take shaft of one and gear off the other to get on done but would love to save both machines. I also need a front cover for one, so if anyone has any spares please message me.

Many thanks

Chris

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi All! I obtained an L&R Master Cleaning Machine recently and it's in great shape except the lids on the L&R jars. I've been searching around, but haven't landed on a good solution--it seems the wide-mouth mason jar lids a just a bit too small. Has anyone found a good replacement for the lids? 

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29 minutes ago, JMHChicago said:

Hi All! I obtained an L&R Master Cleaning Machine recently and it's in great shape except the lids on the L&R jars. I've been searching around, but haven't landed on a good solution--it seems the wide-mouth mason jar lids a just a bit too small. Has anyone found a good replacement for the lids? 

I see them on ebay from time to time.  I bought a lid and jar a couple of months ago.  Just keep looking.

Seems like somebody posted an stl file that can be printed...or else I imagined myself designing and printing one.  Most likely, you want a genuine lid, so the 3D route may not be of interest.

 

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28 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

I see them on ebay from time to time.  I bought a lid and jar a couple of months ago.  Just keep looking.

Seems like somebody posted an stl file that can be printed...or else I imagined myself designing and printing one.  Most likely, you want a genuine lid, so the 3D route may not be of interest.

 

Thanks! will do--I just didn't know if there was another jar lid out there that was the same size--it doesn't sounds like it outside of a 3D printed one.

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On 5/17/2021 at 11:35 AM, LittleWatchShop said:

At present, I do not put the balance wheel or balance cock in the basket, but I am probably wrong about that...just being cautious.

some of this depends upon the type of watch? If it's a modern watch with jewels for the balance that can be removed then witschi do is remove the balance with bridge. Disassemble the rest of the watch put the balance back in with a screw to hold it in place remove the jewel assemblies and clean the watch like that. The balance is protected by the bridge hairspring doesn't get distorted everything be fine. Otherwise you just take the balance off the bridge and putting her in a thimble baskets or somewhere. Because commercial shops run balance wheels through the ultrasonic all the time with no problem.

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3 minutes ago, JohnR725 said:

put the balance back in with a screw to hold it in place

Recently, I bought some one-dip. Using that, I just leave the balance in it while doing other tasks.  I take it out let it dry and after assembly, THEN I remove the shockproof jewel and drop the jewel assembly in the one dip again.  The cap jewel separates at that point.  When I remove the cap jewel and pivot jewel (probably a different name for that), I let them dry on watchmaker paper.  Most of the time, I put the flat side of the cap jewel down and using peg wood carved with a flat wedge, I try to slide the cap jewel along the paper to clean it.  This is a precarious step because sometime the cap jewel pops out from under the peg wood.  I made this up on my own, so I could be way off base.

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46 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

While on the topic...I wonder how many cycles of the L&R cleaning solutions before it should be changed.  Ten watches? Twenty?  Fifty?

In a machine that takes around 0.5l per cleaning jar it's between 10-20 pieces, depending on how dirty they are, from what other watchmakers I know tell me. That's with L&R 111A cleaner and corresponding rinse. Over here we get benzine without issue, so a typical cleaning regime in a 4 jar machine is 111A, then L&R rinse, then 2 jars of benzine. Mid "life" of the cleaner it would be normal to bump the last rinse to position 3 and put new benzine in the last jar.

 

For other cleaners the regime might change, but on this side of the pond benzine is favored as a rinse- and it cleans as well, about the same chemical as "lighter fluid", but very pure.

 

Some companies specify 99% isopropyl alcohol as the last rinse, so for example a friend of mine does cleaner/benzine/benzine/alcohol as he does some contract work for one of those companies. He limits his cleans to 10 watches per half liter of cleaner.

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57 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

While on the topic...I wonder how many cycles of the L&R cleaning solutions before it should be changed.  Ten watches? Twenty?  Fifty?

For what it's worth, the L&R Master manual says 40.

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10 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

While on the topic...I wonder how many cycles of the L&R cleaning solutions before it should be changed.  Ten watches? Twenty?  Fifty?

it probably depends a lot on how much money you have?

one is cleaning watches at home I never actually worried about how many cycles. I'd only look at the color the cleaning fluid it when it started looking dark or the first rent started looking dark or if for some reason the watch didn't look clean then I would change. So specifically I put new cleaning fluid in I'd rotate the second rents to the first rinse position and fill the third rinse with new.

then I snipped out some things from Omega. Strangely enough they don't seem to you worried about the quantity of watches per cycle which I would be. Especially if you're cleaning American pocket watches it seems like that would dirty of the fluid much faster than clean Omega watches? Another thing that's not mentioned here is to you pre-claim so if you have a pretty cleaning procedure than the life of the solutions is considerably longer.

Oh and then the one machine that runs 50,000 cycles even find it at the link below. It is a super nice machine we have one at work is probably the best cleaning machine I've ever seen but at its price it better be the best machine I've ever seen. Other   then in a commercial watch setting I don't think anyone could ever afford to buy one of these. Then you'd never want to purchase one of these used it has all sorts of interesting maintenance procedures that from time to time has to be done and at some point in time it actually has to go back to the factory for stuff they can't be done at the field. Then yes it does keep track of that in the maintenance logs on the LCD screen

https://www.elma-ultrasonic.com/en/products/watch-cleaning/elmasolvex-va/#tabs|p1123:downloads

 

cleaning cycles fluids.JPG

cleaning fluid procedure.JPG

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1 hour ago, LittleWatchShop said:

I like this idea!

yes you should always do that before you start watch repair. I really hate dictation software at times. So what is pre-cleaning rather than give you an answer I will just give you a question. That would save your cleaning fluid the other part would save your sanity perhaps

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hello Clockboy

I know this is an old post but i have just seen yours abut your varimatic,i have one i am restoring but need to re paint it, can you remember the colour used on yours as i am struggling to find it, many thanks

Regards

Chris

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  • 2 months later...

IMG_20211003_181310628.thumb.jpg.0770051a27390be2310e7ce9aa179ee5.jpgHi fellows,

I picked up this old L&R Mastermatic cleaning machine nearby for quite cheap. It is in good working order and the wiring seems in nice shape. I need advice on any preventative maintenance I should do before I start using it. I've wiped it down and cleaned the jars, but should I, for example, wipe down the post with oil to prevent corrosion?

It's missing the baffles but I plan to make those out of something in the kitchen - perhaps one of those disposable aluminum pie pans. Any reason I should not do this?

Thanks!

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14 hours ago, JohnC said:

It's missing the baffles but I plan to make those out of something in the kitchen - perhaps one of those disposable aluminum pie pans. Any reason I should not do this?

Thanks!

There have been some pretty complex baffles made, but in my older Greiner ACS 900 they are very simple, bent wire, and work fine. I think from the pic you can get the gist. Later ones are expanded metal sheet that wraps around the inside of the jar; I much prefer these as the jar and baffle should get a thorough cleaning when changing solutions and cleaning the expanded metal must be a bear.

acs 900 baffle.jpg

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