Horotec oilers tip shape vs. Bergeon, and polishing tips

[ManSkirtBrew]

I've been using a set of basic Bergeon oilers since I started, and having broken a tip or two, I picked up a set of Horotec oilers with replaceable tips from Cousins UK.

I searched around the forum and didn't find much other than this thread, and this one, which led me to Alex's oiler video. All great resources, but not exactly what I'm curious about.

Here's a photo of the black handled oilers: Bergeon on the left/bottom, Horotec on the right. With the Horotec, I'm having a heck of a hard time getting the oil where I want it. It tends to gather around the fat part of the teardrop shaped tip, so the pointy part is dry, forcing me to use the side of the tool, which makes it really hard to get the oil to go exactly where I want.

Is there a different technique I should be using to pick up and/or deposit the oil?

And regarding polishing the oilers, does anyone do this, and if so, how?

 

 

[ifibrin]

22 minutes ago, ManSkirtBrew said:

Here's a photo of the black handled oilers: Bergeon on the left/bottom, Horotec on the right. With the Horotec, I'm having a heck of a hard time getting the oil where I want it. It tends to gather around the fat part of the teardrop shaped tip, so the pointy part is dry, forcing me to use the side of the tool, which makes it really hard to get the oil to go exactly where I want.

Is there a different technique I should be using to pick up and/or deposit the oil?

I’ve never used the Horotec oilers, but the shape in the picture does seem to make it more challenging to deposit oil in jewels compared to a spade shaped one.

22 minutes ago, ManSkirtBrew said:

And regarding polishing the oilers, does anyone do this, and if so, how?

 

It is possible to polish oiler tips, or reshape them, but I find that it makes the oiler tip very prone to rust after polishing. Also, you have to be very careful while doing so: it’s very easy to break the tip of the oiler off when polishing. You can use very fine (5000 grit or finer) sand paper, or Autosol. You will probably have to store your oiler tips after polishing, under molykote DX to prevent rusting.

A better alternative would be to get the smallest (superfine, red) Bergeon ergonomic oiler, the tips are shaped really nicely, and already electro-polished. Do note that it may take some practice getting used to depositing oil, but when you know how, it’s really very good. The smallest Bergeon ergonomic oiler will deposit the perfect amount of oil for all train wheels, except for the balance end jewels which require more oil…

If you aren’t comfortable depositing such small quantities of oil, you can get the next in size, the blue ergonomic oiler, which deposits around the same amount of oil as the normal superfine (red) oiler.

Edited October 26, 2022 by ifibrin

[ManSkirtBrew]

13 hours ago, ifibrin said:

It is possible to polish oiler tips, or reshape them, but I find that it makes the oiler tip very prone to rust after polishing

Thanks for the info. I was considering reshaping them because I really don't like using them, but I thought maybe they were designed that way for a reason I didn't understand and I was using them wrong.

But I guess if I were going to toss them anyway, there's nothing to lose.

[mikepilk]

I agree with @ifibrinthat the Bergeon ergonomic oilers are a much better option. You get much better control of the size of oil drop.

They're not cheap, I just bought the finest one, and use it for everything, apart from where you need a bit more oil, eg balance jewels. Then I use a Horotec (red) - but like you find it annoying, as the oil often sits too high up and you have to roll it on to the side to transfer.

Don't toss them - old oilers are useful.  Grind to a sharp point. Then you have a useful tool for oiling capped jewels through the hole, and for manipulating hairspring.

[ifibrin]

10 hours ago, ManSkirtBrew said:

Thanks for the info. I was considering reshaping them

Actually, since the oiler tips on the Horotec are removable, you can grind the oiler tips by holding it in a pin vice.