Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

A few weeks ago I purchased an L&R Special cleaning machine from a member of this forum.  Well wouldn't you know it, a few days ago I was asked by a local hobbyist watchmaker whom I've gotten to know if I'd be interested in purchasing his Elmasolvex SE machine he recently acquired.  I'm not sure if he just needed money quickly (I didn't ask), but I was offered it at a very steep discount over it's normal selling price.  Even though I now had a freshly rebuilt L&R Special, I decided to move forward with this purchase.  I knew I wouldn't come across this opportunity again, and I can sell it on eBay for a decent profit if I choose to.

I made the purchase this morning.  I was told this unit was only used a couple of times.  If I didn't know any better I'd think that this was brand new.  There isn't a mark or scratch to be found on the unit.  The jars are perfectly clean, the seals look perfect, etc.  I even got the original shipping box and packing materials.

I'm pretty happy I was able to pick this up.  I'm going to give it a try in the next few days.  It is honestly overkill for my needs, but it was too nice of a machine to pass up for the price I was offered.

image.thumb.png.d11f37850fa2b96e7fed70640bfd9abc.png

  • Like 2
Posted
3 hours ago, dadistic said:

I think the watchmaker gods are smiling on you 🙂

Cheers!

Thanks.  Let's hope so.  I'm going to give it a test run this evening.

Posted (edited)

I saw one of these for sale a month or two ago for around $1,000 with free shipping from, I think, South or Central America. I wonder if this was that one? I would have bought it at that price but I had already paid the sticker price for a new one shortly before that.

Let us know how you like it. I almost called their tech support when I first started using it as I could not get the basket to insert into the holder no matter how much force I used. I had to stop trying to mount the basket as it was hurting my hands. It took a good 4 or 5 watches before it "settled in" and now the basket just goes in easy peasy.

Edited by GuyMontag
  • Like 1
Posted
2 hours ago, GuyMontag said:

I saw one of these for sale a month or two ago for around $1,000 with free shipping from, I think, South or Central America. I wonder if this was that one? I would have bought it at that price but I had already paid the sticker price for a new one shortly before that.

Let us know how you like it. I almost called their tech support when I first started using it as I could not get the basket to insert into the holder no matter how much force I used. I had to stop trying to mount the basket as it was hurting my hands. It took a good 4 or 5 watches before it "settled in" and now the basket just goes in easy peasy.

That's good to know, because I tried it tonight and found that it took a good amount of force to get the basket in and out.  New springs on the basket holder I suppose.  Had really good results with the machine though.  It's going to make it difficult to get rid of.  Maybe I'll just keep the old L&R as a back up, or try and sell it locally.  The prospect of shipping it is not something I look forward to.  I know all of the time and effort put in by the member of this group who shipped it to me.  He told me he nearly spent 4 hours packaging everything to ensure safe shipping.  While he was successful, I doubt I could do as good of a job as he did!

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 all, just disassembling to service, but I can’t figure out the working of the calendar work…it’s not operational the jumper and spring are ok, but the operation of the driving wheel has me at a loss. I can’t see a cam to drive anything. Is something damaged or missing? Help please!
    • Believe the relume (not a fan) was done a long time after the damage. 
    • I can only think of some chemical reaction to reluming
    • I have a little milling attachment for my WW lathe, but very rarely use it and not for wheel and pinion cutting. For that I use a small Sixis 101 milling machine. I normally do direct dividing, but sometimes have to do an odd count and use the universal index which also fits on the Sixis.   Back in the day when I didn't have a mill, I would cut gearing on my Schaublin 102. It has a universal dividing attachment which fits the back of the spindle. Both it and the one for the Sixis are 60:1 ratio, and with the set of 4  index plates I can do almost any division. When I've had to do a strange high count prime number, I print a disc with the needed division and just place the plunger on the dot. Any position error is reduced by a factor of 60 so still plenty accurate.   The machines are a mess in the pics as I'm in the process of making a batch of barrels for a wristwatch 🙃.   This is the Sixis. The head can also be placed vertically, as can the dividing spindle.   Dividing plates. The smaller ones fit another dividing spindle.   Universal divider for the Sixis. I put it together with parts from an odd Sixis spindle that takes w20 collets, like the Schaublin 102, and a dividing attachment from a Schaublin mill.     The dividing attachment for the 102. The gear fits in place of the handwheel at the back of the headstock.   And the little milling attachment for the WW lathe. I just set it on the slide rest to illustrate the size, you can see from the dust on it it really doesn't get used much. I think only when I change bearing in the head, to kiss the collet head seat (grinding wheel still in the milling attachment).
    • I read a lot about the quality (or lack thereof) of Seiko's 4R, 6R, 8L  movements...or more specifically the lack of regulation from the factory. Especially when compared to similar priced manufactures using SW200's or ETA's. I thought I'd ask those more in the know, do the 4R's and 6R's deserve their bad reputation, is it fairly easy for someone with minimal skills (or better yet a trained watch mechanic) to dial in these movements to a more acceptable performance.    For background I spent more on a 1861 Speedy years ago, expecting that the advertised 0-15s/d  would probably perform more like 5-7s/d. In reality it's been closed to 2-4s/d. 
×
×
  • Create New...