Roller Jewel

[deloidtoc]

I'm having trouble (dexterity) with the placement of a 12s PW roller jewel back into it's hole. I have the correct tweezer but due to a loss of proprioception in my fingers I drop the jewel or don't release properly when seated. I have the Presto no 5 tool but not the attachment that would likely make things easier. Are there any other cheats for stabilization when placing the jewel?

Thanks

[DJW]

I've found it's better for me to abandon the use of tweezers when trying to seat a roller jewel. I have a couple of techniques that I have developed that I find give me a little more control without the risk of shooting the roller jewel over to the dark side!

 

I use a couple of finely sharpened pegwood sticks. One with a tiny bit of rodico on the end to capture the roller jewel and to maneover it into position. The other I use to finesse the jewel into the roller 

 

But, I still find it can take a couple of minutes for me to get it seated or take a half hour! 

 

Actually, I would like to hear some other suggestions as well!

Edited March 23, 2014 by DJW

[autowind]

I am particularly interested in this thread as I have a Waltham which needs a new roller jewel (my fault).  I have seen spit mentioned on the American forums but I think DJW's  idea is better and more hygienic.  I would think a tiny bit of anything which is sticky would work.  It is less likely to fly off down the black hole than if using tweezers and at $3 a go + postage,  I cannot afford to lose too many.  It's got to be one of the most difficult jobs in watch repairing,  stripping and rebuilding is easy in comparison,  I'm not looking forward to attempting it. I'm also thinking of using something like Loctite to hold it in place rather than shellac, which is another fiddly process.

 

 What I wonder about is how did they do it at the factory?  They were being mass produced so anyone taking 10 minutes to do one would soon be looking for another job.

Edited March 23, 2014 by autowind

[deloidtoc]

Last night I tried a new approach. I have been heating the roller, introducing shellac, reheating then looking like a fool as I try to get the jewel set at close to depth and close to proper facing. This time I added some alcohol (to the shellac...not me); Just enough to make the shellac thinner and extend the dry time. This gave me plenty of time to place the stone into the hole and adjust. The downside is that the mobility is too great as an eyelash could move the stone for a long period of time. I left it and today I'm going to try the "resetting the impulse stone" video approach.
My preference would be shellac that is in solution (thick) at room temperature when sealed, somewhat like what Franklin does with hide glue. This way I could lock in the table on a platform like my Horotec hand pusher and use a pin vise in a perpendicular tube to set the stone perfectly the first time. The pin vice could rotate so the face direction was correct and it could lock in place to allow the shellac to set with it's new extended time.

Or...I could develop proper skills?