Jump to content

National Electric Watch Cleaning Machine


Recommended Posts

Hi

I have an old (very old!) watch cleaning machine that has recently been sparking a lot from the motor and cutting out. I took out the carbon brushes which are worn away - photos below. Given the age of the motor I don't see the point looking for genuine replacements, I thought I could get some generic off EBay or use some spares from another motor and shape to fit. I've no idea how long they should be though, and whether it matters providing they fit. Can anyone advise me? Thanks.

Stephen

 

post-373-0-35227300-1434870698_thumb.jpg

 

post-373-0-01046500-1434870714_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With the colour and the timer in the base, It looks so like the Elma I bought recently. :)

It'll soooooon be Friday! ;)

 

Right on Geo, it's very Elma like in structure and appearance. I really pleased about the condition, almost "NOS" in watch terms. Can't wait for it to arrive.

 

And I can't wait until Fridayyyyyyyyyyy!!!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Arrived today, just managed to get home and catch the courier.

 

Unpacking is the best part 

 

Cleaning up is the worst part.

 

I'm amazed and pleased with the condition, it really is as good as brand new, still has all of the parts and even the instruction leaflet.

 

With formal Retirement Day tomorrow I'm looking forward to this weekend when I can do some serious work with this.

 

post-1141-0-71725300-1435803389_thumb.jp

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well done Jim.

Of all the purchases I have made the best is without doubt the cleaning machine. I had an L&R refurbished *

Cleaning is now almost a pleasure. If I have a really dirty watch I give it a pre-clean first & it saves the cleaning solutions. 

 

PS Enjoy your retirement 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bet you can't wait to get started. Have you got the cleaner and rinse? what are you going to use.  Looks a fine machine.

 

I'm ready to go, but don't have any cleaning fluid left. Got 4 litres of Zenith "Drizebrite" rinse and waiting on a delivery of L&R Extra Fine Watch Cleaner. But it has to come from Brisbane by road, 1,700 kilometres away, hopefully here tomorrow or Monday.

 

I looked at all of the wiring and it's an eye opener. Everything is well insulated (1950s style) and as we say in Oz, "built like a brick sh!thouse".

 

The three jars had a lot of dried residue in the so I put them in the dishwasher. They came out like new, all sparky clean!

I just hope Annie doesn't notice the slight chemical smell in the dishwasher, maybe I'll get one of those lemon scented things and slip it in there tomorrow  :D  

 

More to come..............................

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm ready to go, but don't have any cleaning fluid left. Got 4 litres of Zenith "Drizebrite" rinse and waiting on a delivery of L&R Extra Fine Watch Cleaner. But it has to come from Brisbane by road, 1,700 kilometres away, hopefully here tomorrow or Monday.

 

I looked at all of the wiring and it's an eye opener. Everything is well insulated (1950s style) and as we say in Oz, "built like a brick sh!thouse".

 

The three jars had a lot of dried residue in the so I put them in the dishwasher. They came out like new, all sparky clean!

I just hope Annie doesn't notice the slight chemical smell in the dishwasher, maybe I'll get one of those lemon scented things and slip it in there tomorrow  :D  

 

More to come..............................

Did the same had to run the dishwasher with dishwasher cleaner to get id of the smell before you know who found out  :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Saturday here, the other half was taking her God-daughter to the flicks so I had the place to myself.

I received the 4 litres of L&R  yesterday so this morning I charged two jars with L&R and one with the Zenith rinse.

I had a movement stripped down so I filled the little baskets (even the cap jewels) and started the test.

 

Ran 5 minutes on the first clean and spun off the liquid and then into the second clean for 5 minutes, and then on to the rinse for a couple of minutes and into the dryer.

 

Aside from seeing wisps of smoke coming from beneath the machine (immediate "kill power" enacted) there were no problems. I think the smoke was either some fluff and dust I hadn't managed to blow out or possibly some rinse dripped down onto the heater plate. I'll make sure I spin after the rinse a bit longer next time.

 

Final result?

 

All parts nice and clean (even under the 'scope) so I'm very pleased with the outcome.

 

My next test will be to clean a Seiko 6309 movement that hasn't see a screwdriver for about 30 years.

 

All in all, a good outcome.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Hello everybody, sorry for the late reply. Thank you all so much for your help and your tips. I got lucky and found a replacement wheel bridge for cheap which actually ended up being in decent condition. I decided not to do anything about the mainspring barrel pivot since I didn't have the right tools and the barrel didn't have much endshake anyhow. I am happy to report that the watch now runs great, I have regulated it to about +-10/s day which is fine by my standards. The timegrapher result looks decent as well, although beat error is around 0.6ms which could be better I suppose. Amplitude reaches over 230 quite consistently which I'm happy with also. My lighter fluid has also been replaced by balance spring cleaning solution and now the springs don't stick to themselves anymore - who would have thought. I'm super happy with this watch, it might not be worth a whole lot but it's awesome that I could restore it and it makes me wear it with pride. To me it's a genuinely good lucking watch, it'll be my daily driver for a while. Thanks again to everybody for their input! I couldn't have done the repair without your help.   Here are some images for those interested, the bracelet isn't original but I don't really mind:    
    • Balance-hairspring system is oscillator with big Q-factor. When all in the movement is OK, the rate (frequency) is verry close to the own resonant frequency of the balance-hairspring. But in some cases, the movement (with foult) will force the resonator to work on pritty different frequency, sometimes faster, and sometimes slower. When this happens, the amplitude is always weak. So, the first thing to ask is what is the amplitude. If it is more than 180 and the hairspring doesn't touch itself and anything else, then for sure it is 'short'. If the amplitude is weak, then the first thing to do is to understand why and rectify the problem. At this time no point to check timekeeping. But, if one doubts that the hairspring is not correct, then He needs to calcullate the rate of the movement, then to 'vibrate' the balance-hairspring out of the movement and to measure the free oscillations frequency (period) with timer in order to ensure that they comply with the rate. If we have pictures, then it will be easier to tell something about that wheel.
    • So much work has gone into this! Thanks again @Jon. I will go back and check my adjustments from last weekend. A few questions for you, if you don't mind. In the reset position, I can understand the problem if the gap between the hammer and the minute counter heart is too big (slide 77) but what is bad about both hammers being in contact with the cams (slide 76)? I read somewhere that Landeron recommended grease on the runner cam, but the minute counter heart should be dry. Is that so, and why? How many tads in a ligne?
    • Could you glue two pieces together for rigidity and separate after forming? 
×
×
  • Create New...