Tweezer types

[rehajm]

amazing...Thanks for sharing the pictures. As an accountant will forever be outside my skill set. Respect.

[RichardHarris123]

I have the skills to do the same but I can afford to buy, so too lazy to attempt it.  All respect to @nevenbekriev though. 

[Nucejoe]

2 hours ago, Knebo said:

With all due respect to everyone else... this is probably the most impressive thing I've seen on this forum since I joined 

Listen to this knebo.

 I promissed to show my watch collection when first joined back in may 2018 and still plan or hope to do so in this lifetime .

[Neverenoughwatches]

2 hours ago, nevenbekriev said:

 

Nice job Nev, I'm definitely having a go at that. I see how you adjusted thd tension, i did that myself with the first cheap pairs that i bought. I'm interested to know how you parted the blades and put the curve in, the photo with your hand behind them.

23 minutes ago, Nucejoe said:

Listen to this knebo.

 I promissed to show my watch collection when first joined back in may 2018 and still plan or hope to do so in this lifetime .

I'm a pretty good swimmer and can deadlift 180 kg at 57 years old, and when i walk out of the shower at the gym,  guys think holy cow.

[Klassiker]

3 hours ago, nevenbekriev said:

22 hours ago, nevenbekriev said:

... Will make new tweezers to show how...

 

Thank you! Very impressive indeed! Sadly I can only hit the like/thanks-button once per post. What tools did you use to shape the tips? (Please don't say "the angle-grinder"!)

Edited December 19, 2023 by Klassiker

[Neverenoughwatches]

27 minutes ago, Klassiker said:

Thank you! Very impressive indeed! Sadly I can only hit the like/thanks-button once per post. What tools did you use to shape the tips? (Please don't say "the angle-grinder"!)

Haha I'm almost convinced it was the angle grinder.

This is what i use to make tools, it cuts into those intricate corners really well

[nevenbekriev]

Thanks to all for the good words.

The tools I used - yes, angle grinder and bench grinder, and some diamond disk used as a hand file for the finish of the tips, then some sand paper 800 grit to smooth the grinded edges.

Actually, not special skills needed, just cutting, grinding, filing.

Do not take me wring - I can afford buying tools. I just like making my own tools. I mostly use ordinary general purpose lathe, but have made by myself all the milling attachments and utilities that I use to cut gears and make all parts needed.

Long time ago simple servicing watches by cleaning/oiling/parts replacing stopped being interesting to me. Then I started making parts, restoring antique movements. Skills are needed for this and skills mus be kept alive exactly this way - by practicing htem all the time..

[watchweasol]

Hi NEV.  very good. Being in the situation you were in with the wall , it’s theses situations which make you think out side the box .  And you certainly have created your tweezers. Most excellent.  

[Neverenoughwatches]

2 hours ago, nevenbekriev said:

Thanks to all for the good words.

The tools I used - yes, angle grinder and bench grinder, and some diamond disk used as a hand file for the finish of the tips, then some sand paper 800 grit to smooth the grinded edges.

Actually, not special skills needed, just cutting, grinding, filing.

Do not take me wring - I can afford buying tools. I just like making my own tools. I mostly use ordinary general purpose lathe, but have made by myself all the milling attachments and utilities that I use to cut gears and make all parts needed.

Long time ago simple servicing watches by cleaning/oiling/parts replacing stopped being interesting to me. Then I started making parts, restoring antique movements. Skills are needed for this and skills mus be kept alive exactly this way - by practicing htem all the time..

Ah Nev you are a star, a man after my own heart, i applaud you loudy  Here is my homemade diamond micro file

Edited December 19, 2023 by Neverenoughwatches

[Kalanag]

@nevenbekriev

Wow! I‘m impressed! 

Edited December 20, 2023 by Kalanag

[Burruz]

That is just brilliant! 

[Neverenoughwatches]

2 minutes ago, Burruz said:

That is just brilliant! 

I know clever right it took me ages to make that file.  Ohh Nev's homemade tweezers er yeah they're ok as well, i suppose

[Burruz]

On 1/23/2024 at 3:58 PM, Neverenoughwatches said:

I know clever right it took me ages to make that file.  Ohh Nev's homemade tweezers er yeah they're ok as well, i suppose

The file is amazing and Nevs tweezers were quite good too!

[Neverenoughwatches]

26 minutes ago, Burruz said:

The file is amazing and Nevs tweezers were quite good too!

Haha. That was some subtle hint i made for a bit of recognition eh

[Waggy]

On 12/18/2023 at 1:11 PM, JohnR725 said:

Number five the same brand as my number two  is typically only used for hairsprings. I find any time I start to use them to grab a hold things they have a habit of flying away.

I agree with you about the #5, I have a Dumont steel set with the green coating for grip and once I get them in my hand it's hard to put them down until something inevitably pings away. I think the slimmer points of a #5 make them more springy (less stiff) and this is combined with the fact you have less contact surface area means the parts are then more likely to ping away than drop onto the work surface if you loose your grip. Like you, I am quite strict with myself and try my best to use them sparingly.

As for material I stumbled upon the titanium tweezers from CousinsUK, their own brand, and they are now my go-to tweezers the quality is excellent and they are almost as non-scratchy (hard) as brass: titanium = 70-74 Rb, brass =60 Rb and stainless steel = 121 Rb.  However they have around the same tensile strength as steel (tensile yield of titanium = 480 MPa, brass = 124-310 MPa and steel = 485 MPa) so the time between dressing and risk of deforming the tips is very similar to steel. Also, the tweezers also seem to naturally form a brushed/sand-blasted type surface finish which is good for gripping (both between the tips and finger grip). I did try some cheaper off-brand titanium, but they were thin and I had to repeatedly open-up the tips so they returned to an opening distance that was workable, they felt spongy and cheap. Finally, titanium is by nature non-magnetic so it's one headache you don't have to worry about. In short, I think I have found my 'sweet spot' in titanium, not saying they are a panacea but I would recommend that anyone should try out a good set and give them a chance. I dress the titanium with one of those M40 diamond metal plates which seems to work well. Only when working on a delicate movement (Omegas butterfly wing coatings !!) do I switch to brass, but all the time thinking in the back of my mind I can't wait to get back to my titaniums. I have a set of #7 carbon/plastic tweezers that I use for dials, and date/day rings, so they don't scratch, but find them too clumsy for anything else.

In regards to size I use a #00 for most of my work as the stiff tweezers tend to be less pingy... new word! However, when working on the finer parts or on a ladies movement I swap out the #00 for a set of #3c which are smaller version of the #00 and handle the smaller parts without the fear of damaging (crushing) them. I tend to use the #5 for removing shock springs and working on hairsprings, I use my steel Dumont #5 and the Cousins titanium #5 together for hairsprings - I can get a needle like tip on the Dumonts, but find that the titanium ones sharpen to a slightly less needle like tip, but still sharp. I use a set of #7 for holding the shock jewels as the curved jaws hold the jewel/chaton on the same plane so you seem to have more contact surface area = more grip = less pingy, you are also holding the part sideways so not pushing down, so less tiddlywinks. I also use the #7 occasionally just to change things up when working on a movement.

@nevenbekriev Wow, just wow, that's impressive! 

[Neverenoughwatches]

4 hours ago, Waggy said:

I agree with you about the #5, I have a Dumont steel set with the green coating for grip and once I get them in my hand it's hard to put them down until something inevitably pings away. I think the slimmer points of a #5 make them more springy (less stiff) and this is combined with the fact you have less contact surface area means the parts are then more likely to ping away than drop onto the work surface if you loose your grip. Like you, I am quite strict with myself and try my best to use them sparingly.

As for material I stumbled upon the titanium tweezers from CousinsUK, their own brand, and they are now my go-to tweezers the quality is excellent and they are almost as non-scratchy (hard) as brass: titanium = 70-74 Rb, brass =60 Rb and stainless steel = 121 Rb.  However they have around the same tensile strength as steel (tensile yield of titanium = 480 MPa, brass = 124-310 MPa and steel = 485 MPa) so the time between dressing and risk of deforming the tips is very similar to steel. Also, the tweezers also seem to naturally form a brushed/sand-blasted type surface finish which is good for gripping (both between the tips and finger grip). I did try some cheaper off-brand titanium, but they were thin and I had to repeatedly open-up the tips so they returned to an opening distance that was workable, they felt spongy and cheap. Finally, titanium is by nature non-magnetic so it's one headache you don't have to worry about. In short, I think I have found my 'sweet spot' in titanium, not saying they are a panacea but I would recommend that anyone should try out a good set and give them a chance. I dress the titanium with one of those M40 diamond metal plates which seems to work well. Only when working on a delicate movement (Omegas butterfly wing coatings !!) do I switch to brass, but all the time thinking in the back of my mind I can't wait to get back to my titaniums. I have a set of #7 carbon/plastic tweezers that I use for dials, and date/day rings, so they don't scratch, but find them too clumsy for anything else.

In regards to size I use a #00 for most of my work as the stiff tweezers tend to be less pingy... new word! However, when working on the finer parts or on a ladies movement I swap out the #00 for a set of #3c which are smaller version of the #00 and handle the smaller parts without the fear of damaging (crushing) them. I tend to use the #5 for removing shock springs and working on hairsprings, I use my steel Dumont #5 and the Cousins titanium #5 together for hairsprings - I can get a needle like tip on the Dumonts, but find that the titanium ones sharpen to a slightly less needle like tip, but still sharp. I use a set of #7 for holding the shock jewels as the curved jaws hold the jewel/chaton on the same plane so you seem to have more contact surface area = more grip = less pingy, you are also holding the part sideways so not pushing down, so less tiddlywinks. I also use the #7 occasionally just to change things up when working on a movement.

@nevenbekriev Wow, just wow, that's impressive! 

With you on the titanium tweezers waggy, been using my cousin's ones for around 18 months now. They are the first material type i recommend.

[Neverenoughwatches]

Had a rethink on my tweezer use yesterday, i must have 3 dozen old Dumonts , Bergeons, precista and various other good and cheap tweezers. So decided to scrap using my current choices and am now down to just 2 non brand makes. A very cheap Cousins brass pair that i dressed and polished to 2mm wide tips and a pair of antimag steel that have wide sides that i found amongst the pile and dressed these to fairly sharp tips and polished the ends leaving the handle which should have some friction built in ( who has had some tweezers slip right  through their grasp and land right in the middle of a movement ? ). Working with them both yesterday on a Smiths diver was such a nice uncomplicated change, 95% of disassembly and reassemble is possible, the brass for turning the plate and fitting bridges plus some other concentrated gripping use and the steel for everything else. For repair adjustment and cleaning a few others take over, like a steel forked tweezer for pinning a stud, a thick tipped brass for turning a  boot reg pin, very thin 4mm wide steel for barrel and mainspring work and obviously hairspring tweezers. There should be "for you" just the right amount of tension between the 2 blades, too much and you drop stuff when you lose concentration for a moment, too little tension and you will notice your fingers tremble much more as you try to resist the closing up on fine work, your finger muscles are attempting to match the tweezers tension output at low levels of tension , which is quite difficult. 

Edited June 7, 2024 by Neverenoughwatches

[rehajm]

2 hours ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

95% of disassembly and reassemble is possible,

I would say my percentage is the same with two pairs similar to yours- one brass one stainless. Of course I use four or five pairs for the last 5 percent

[Knebo]

On 6/7/2024 at 2:47 PM, rehajm said:

I would say my percentage is the same with two pairs similar to yours- one brass one stainless. Of course I use four or five pairs for the last 5 percent

Yes, exactly the same here.