Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

I quite often attend the local auction houses near where I live, and at the sale this week was quite a few lots from a retired watchmakers workshop, so I went along to the auction the day before to see what was on offer, There where plenty of watches for sale in mixed bags, all of uncollected watch repairs, One lot caught my eye it was a bag which contained a 1973 Hamilton G10 military watch, there was nothing else of note in the bag of around 20 watches so I noted the Lot number and looked at everything else on offer.

 One lot describe as a Omega watch was a bit of a dog it was a record military watch which had a Omega Geneve dial replacing the original Record, It is a shame because with the original dial and hands it would have been quite a nice watch to have but as it stood it was neither a Omega or a original Record so not worth a great deal IMHO, I noted the lot number out of interest as I would be attending the sale.

Other lots included a Kendrick and Davis staking set which I wanted,

 Kendrick_zpszya1toi9.jpg 

A Favorite jeweling set which I also wanted

,favorite_zpslpvgh8nd.jpg

A few mixed Boxes of tools and spare parts some of which I wanted and a couple of lathes. The lathes on offer where a Coronet Diamond lathe from the 1940's and a IME lathe with around  a dozen collets but no draw bar on inspection I could not get the pulleys to turn and with no obvious lock, I think it must have been seized. The coronet was in good condition and turned freely and had no play in the bearings and came with a motor I noted the lot numbers and resolved to return the next day for the auction.

The auction started at 12:00 o'clock Having attended the auction quite a few times the first lot I wanted was lot 196 at roughly 150 lots a hour I thought I would get there about 1 o'clock and have a short wait for the first lot I wanted. Sadly the auctioneer was working faster than usual and I got there at lot 209. I did get there in time to see the franken Omega/record watch come up it went to a telephone bidder for what i thought was a staggering price of £245.00 before commission.

So I waited a hour for my next lots to come up, I got the staking set for £40.00 and the Jeweling set for £40.00 which I was very happy with. The Lathes came up next, I have wanted a lathe for quite sometime but only want one to practice and experiment with at the moment so I thought if I can get the coronet cheap I will give it a go. The bidding started at £10.00 so I thought not much interest I will bid, I got the lathe for £40.00 too, the IME went for £90.00.

The next lot I wanted was a box of tool's, on the viewing day I had looked through it contained quite a few small boxed tools, such as a pinion puller roller remover and Bergeon crystal lifter a couple of vices taps and dies, and various other useful tools, so I got that for £60.00. The thing with auctions and boxed lots is you have to be careful because when I collected the box at the end of the auction half of what I had seen in the box the day before was missing, I suspect because there where a number of open boxes someone had taken all the useful tools and placed them into a different box at the viewing to make up one very good box to bid on, ideally with boxed lots you need to view just before the auction starts.The only saving feature of the box I now had is that it contained some Georgian Guinea weights and I should be able to recoup the money for the box just from those.

weights_zpsa8t1bhqf.jpg

 

The Coronet lathe I now own came with one solitary collet and a motor,

Coronet_zpscusyxp1c.jpg

 

I have bought this just to experiment with and don't intend to throw money at it, I would just like to get used to using a lathe, so I will get the electrician at work to rewire and PAT test the motor although it does work the wire has been wrapped with insulation tape. I do though have a couple of questions that someone I'm sure could answer, What oil should I use for the bearings on the head stock ?. I also intend to buy a few individual collets to get me started, the one that came with the lathe is 35.8 mm long 7.94 mm wide and is stamped on the top with two back to back c's the collet is also stamped 2807, which type of 8 mm collet is this and which ones do I need to look out for to fit this lathe.

collet2_zpsaqowajxa.jpg

 

Wayne

 

 

  • Like 3
Posted

I use car motor oil 5W40 ; not sure this is the best but no pb with it

For the collet my Donald de Carle say they are 0.625 mm pitch (same as Boley 8mm, Star, Marshall Peerless, Lorch 8mm  ... ; the most common type)

 

  • Like 1
Posted

Thanks for the reply guys, I didn't want to make the mistake of buying the wrong collets nice to see these the most common type so should have no problem finding some,

 

Wayne

Posted
  On 5/11/2016 at 8:26 PM, chadders1966 said:

Hi

 

Nice buys - make sure you change the staking set hammer though ;). 

 

O.K now done

hammer_zpse94ybehi.jpg

Expand  

 

Very interesting site the lathes site thanks for the link,

 

Wayne

  • Like 1
Posted

I used 3 in one oil for both my lathes. If you buy chucks second hand make sure they are good, not chipped or forced to hold stuff that is to big for the chuck making it out of line.

You have got hold of some nice tools.

  • Like 1
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
  On 5/11/2016 at 1:02 PM, jnash said:

dang it.... another jewelling tool bargain i didn't get... well done, you did really well!

Expand  

Be patient, they are out there.  I have a Seitz kit, found complete on eBay for $36 USD + shipping.  I did had to wait for it to be delivered from Finland though.

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

    • Just arrived today with the case a little worse for wear so will probably just polish it back to the steel
    • I must be going nuts !! I checked the parts list to get a part number and see that there is no screw shown. Only a rotor assembly. I checked the rotor I removed and the screw is part of the assembly. What a stupid error Regards to all, Dave
    • This would have been seen before the fork and balance were even fitted if you carried out a test on the train wheel as a matter of course.  
    • With the amphibia there's also the gasket in the screw-in crown. If memory serves a correct seal for the back of the case is tricky to find as well, but maybe that's because mine are vintage. The newer cases are larger I think. 
    • As others have pointed out we discussed this subject in great lengths multiple times on multiple discussion groups. Then we have a subject that has too many variables and generalizations that make all the different things seem like one common removing staffs when it's not. There are variety of balance wheels specifically designed to be hard enough to withstand knocking or pushing a staff out. Rolex has one that the only way the staff is coming out is by pushing it out enough pressure is applied the river breaks with a very satisfying pop. This is because they hairspring cannot be removed until the staff is pushed out through. Then of course Rolex has a nice set of tools just for this purpose. A variety watch companies like Elgin made a balance wheels specifically designed to be hard enough to withstand knocking the staff have. For instance that principle is applied with jeweling tool you mention and here's the complete article down below that explains the procedure. Then of course there are variety watch companies Elgin And Hamilton that specifically designed balance staffs designed to be knocked out because the riveting shoulder is supposed to break. That of course would be the original staffs and probably the aftermarket do not have such features.   One of the problems with all of these tools would be the balance staff itself and of course whatever the balance wheel is made of. Personally I like the rule of if you're knocking the staff out and you gently tap with the hammer and it doesn't just pop out then you do not drive it out you do have to use a lathe. Because for variety of reasons staffs that are perhaps over riveted not quite the right size soft balance arms etc. driving a staff out that doesn't really want to come out it's not your best interest to do that.   A variety of American companies used friction fit staffs. For instance here's an example of Waltham Here's something interesting from Hamilton a specific type of 992 with a specific type of hairspring. Normally the Hamilton friction staff's do not have a groove to indicate such. Such as the Hamilton 992B or the Hamilton deck watch but they only have one staff which is friction. This particular staff has been marked because if you read carefully I suspect originally it might not have had a friction staff this was basically an upgrade. I know I've seen in the staffing assortments the blued hubs as a replacement components.    Then I'm attaching a PDF of Hamilton's thoughts on replacing balance staffs. Notice either the hub where the river can be cut away they don't have a preference it's whatever you like. Plus they mention the staff that is designed to break away. Although I have a suspicion you'll probably never see one of those as it would have to be an original staff and I suspect none of the after markets would have that feature. Hamilton technical data number 129 replacement of broken balance staffs.pdf
×
×
  • Create New...