ETA 1093 cap jewels

[Simeon]

I am servicing an ETA 1093 which has a number of pivots with cap jewels. This looks like a way to up the jewel count for marketing purposes rather than serve a purpose as pivot jewel.

I have tried cleaning the cap jewel, reinstalling dry and the using an auto oiler from the other side (not sure the oil is getting into the jewel). I have also cleaned the cap jewel, added a spot of oil and then installed (this seems like too much oil and not sure it is getting to the pivot end). Neither of these techniques seem correct.

Before I tear it down and reclean again, would it be OK to apply oil to the jewels directly in the usual manner/ quantity and then reinstall the clean cap jewels?

 

[VWatchie]

I had this same question several years ago and got excellent advice which I still use.

 

[Simeon]

1 hour ago, VWatchie said:

I had this same question several years ago and got excellent advice which I still use.

 

Excellent, thank you. The ETA 1080 is the base movement for my 1093, so has a lot of similarities. 

I tried using the auto-oiler but I don't think the needle actually went through the jewel. When I removed one of the cap jewels after oiling there wasn't any visible oil on the cap stone.  The Seitz manual seems to uggest that oiling through the jewel is the best way.  I have a broken oiler that i can try and stone down to use as a 'pusher'.

Oiling the cap stones seems a bit hit and miss - the ones on the dial side particularly as they are not actually located by anything other than the screw and so rotate slightly when you are tighteneing them up.  This would just serve to spread the oil spot around.

[Neverenoughwatches]

7 hours ago, Simeon said:

I am servicing an ETA 1093 which has a number of pivots with cap jewels. This looks like a way to up the jewel count for marketing purposes rather than serve a purpose as pivot jewel.

I have tried cleaning the cap jewel, reinstalling dry and the using an auto oiler from the other side (not sure the oil is getting into the jewel). I have also cleaned the cap jewel, added a spot of oil and then installed (this seems like too much oil and not sure it is getting to the pivot end). Neither of these techniques seem correct.

Before I tear it down and reclean again, would it be OK to apply oil to the jewels directly in the usual manner/ quantity and then reinstall the clean cap jewels?

 

They are considered an upgrade on a movement,  sometimes the end pieces are missing and the holed jewel is traditional with an oil sink on the outside of the plate with a matching pivot shape for that jewel manufactured as such. They do serve a purpose and that is to reduce train friction, more significantly in the smaller wheels and lever. Remove, oil and replace, the installed wheel's pivot will reach and ride in the oil, the cap sets the endshake, do not mix up the endpieces as they may differ in depth set .

[mikepilk]

2 hours ago, Simeon said:

I tried using the auto-oiler but I don't think the needle actually went through the jewel. When I removed one of the cap jewels after oiling there wasn't any visible oil on the cap stone.  The Seitz manual seems to uggest that oiling through the jewel is the best way.  I have a broken oiler that i can try and stone down to use as a 'pusher'.

This is one of those tasks which starts as a real nuisance, but once you have the technique, becomes quite easy. 

I have a ground down oiler which works well, but you have to keep the tip really sharp. I also made a copy of the Horotec Incabloc oiler (which is designed for this task)

by gluing an old balance staff in to some brass tubing (which was stuck on an old oiler).

I put a blob of oil on the jewel, push the oiler through the hole and wait for a few seconds, then turn the jewel over to check the size of the oil circle. Repeat until enough oil gets through.

 

 

 

[Simeon]

7 minutes ago, mikepilk said:

This is one of those tasks which starts as a real nuisance, but once you have the technique, becomes quite easy. 

I have a ground down oiler which works well, but you have to keep the tip really sharp. I also made a copy of the Horotec Incabloc oiler (which is designed for this task)

by gluing an old balance staff in to some brass tubing (which was stuck on an old oiler).

I put a blob of oil on the jewel, push the oiler through the hole and wait for a few seconds, then turn the jewel over to check the size of the oil circle. Repeat until enough oil gets through.

 

 

 

I actually have an old balance staff set into a piece of pegwood that may be ideal for this.  Maybe I will try that.

 

I made it as compensation when I managed to completely mangle the hairspring on a (fairly) rare Pobeda movement with centre seconds so I wanted to make use of the now useless balance. 

I also struggle to see the oil in the jewel. Not sure if it's a combination of not enough magnification or bad light. I am also colour blind so might struggle to differentiate the oil from the colour of the jewel. Maybe I need to get the fluorescent 9010

[watchweasol]

Hi   Very nifty idea there @mikepilk simple really, I use a diabetic needle, seems to work ok .

[Neverenoughwatches]

56 minutes ago, mikepilk said:

This is one of those tasks which starts as a real nuisance, but once you have the technique, becomes quite easy. 

I have a ground down oiler which works well, but you have to keep the tip really sharp. I also made a copy of the Horotec Incabloc oiler (which is designed for this task)

by gluing an old balance staff in to some brass tubing (which was stuck on an old oiler).

I put a blob of oil on the jewel, push the oiler through the hole and wait for a few seconds, then turn the jewel over to check the size of the oil circle. Repeat until enough oil gets through.

 

 

 

I use a nylon bristle from a fine paint brush , glued into pegwood x3 different diameters. The thinnest  just fits through a 0.7mm jewel hole . Also use it to grease pallet stones. 

[mikepilk]

6 hours ago, Simeon said:

. I also struggle to see the oil in the jewel. Not sure if it's a combination of not enough magnification or bad light. I am also colour blind so might struggle to differentiate the oil from the colour of the jewel. Maybe I need to get the fluorescent 9010

It can be difficult to see the oil circle. I use a microscope with bright light, and tilt the movement until I can see the oil. I imagine it would be hard without a microscope.  

I'd be interested to hear from anyone using fluorescent 9010 - how well does it show up through the jewel?