Jump to content

Jeweling tools


CLS

Recommended Posts

I just recently started exploring watches; I have  taken apart and reassembled a few Elgin 18s grade 336. One thing I'm noticing is they all seem to have issues with jewels, either visibly cracked or literally in shards already. Can anyone recommend the tools needed for jewel replacement, there doesn't seem to be a ton of information that I can find on this particular subject?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Setting up to replace jewels will take some considerable expense, I'm still just gathering the tools now.

It also depends on how old the watches are to watch exactly you need. For modern watches you want a Seitz jewel press or something similar, make sure you get one with a complete set of presses or reamers, or you may struggle finding those parts separately, a good micrometer, preferably a watchmakers one like a JKA, but they are getting harder to find for a good price and a pivot gauge.

All of these items do turn up on ebay, but you need to be patient to find one for a good price.

If you are working on older watches that the jewels have the brass rolled over the top to hold them in place rather than friction fit like modern watches then you need other tools.

Have a read of this website http://www.geocities.ws/dushang2000/Jewelling.html

This video also explains the Jewelling tool, its a modern Bergeon, but all the brands work the same.

 

Edited by Tmuir
fixed video insert
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks!

For now I will only be dealing with older ones, so I should just be dealing with burnished/rubbed in (if my understanding is correct)? 

It looks like a lot of those tools are pretty specialized for stuff (I hope) I won't be needing to do much of. For example I don't think I would need the drill bits or "hole maker" right now.

What would you say would be the minimum I should buy in order to replace a hole jewel, the one in question is for the pallet fork

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you haven't already have a look at this post.

http://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/5924-another-watch-butchery-pivot-reshaping/

In particular the second video which is in szbalogh's third post in the thread.It shows you what can be done with the minimum of tools.

For rubbed in jewels as a minimum you need the tool for opening up the brass and for closing it again.

If you are having to buy replacement jewels you will also need a micrometer as a minimum and a pivot gauge would be useful, but you could get by without it. If you need to replace jewels your pivots may need polishing or reshaping, or even replacing and you would then obviously need all the tools for doing that work, pivot file / burnisher, jacot too, staking set etc. To be clear I've only been studying watch repair for just over a year via night classes and I still haven't attempted to replace a jewel, or polish pivots on a watch, I've only polished pivots and rebushed on clocks so far.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Tmuir said:

If you haven't already have a look at this post.

http://www.watchrepairtalk.com/topic/5924-another-watch-butchery-pivot-reshaping/

In particular the second video which is in szbalogh's third post in the thread.It shows you what can be done with the minimum of tools.

For rubbed in jewels as a minimum you need the tool for opening up the brass and for closing it again.

If you are having to buy replacement jewels you will also need a micrometer as a minimum and a pivot gauge would be useful, but you could get by without it. If you need to replace jewels your pivots may need polishing or reshaping, or even replacing and you would then obviously need all the tools for doing that work, pivot file / burnisher, jacot too, staking set etc. To be clear I've only been studying watch repair for just over a year via night classes and I still haven't attempted to replace a jewel, or polish pivots on a watch, I've only polished pivots and rebushed on clocks so far.

Thanks a ton for the advice, I appreciate it

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
On ‎2‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 9:07 PM, CLS said:

Thanks!

For now I will only be dealing with older ones, so I should just be dealing with burnished/rubbed in (if my understanding is correct)? 

It looks like a lot of those tools are pretty specialized for stuff (I hope) I won't be needing to do much of. For example I don't think I would need the drill bits or "hole maker" right now.

What would you say would be the minimum I should buy in order to replace a hole jewel, the one in question is for the pallet fork

 

Vintage watches may have burnished/rubbed-in jewels, friction set and jewels in settings.  One beautiful and frustrating thing about them is the huge number of variations that exist among old watches.  Two watches of the same caliber, even by the same company may use different parts.  Whew!  Means you gotta start collecting watch material ASAP if you want to do vintage work. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the input. I got the tools to open/close settings and some other tools for jeweling. Ive been tied up in CDL classes/ work lately so the watches are on hold for a bit. Im using the time to gather tools and info

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, CLS said:

Thanks for the input. I got the tools to open/close settings and some other tools for jeweling. Ive been tied up in CDL classes/ work lately so the watches are on hold for a bit. Im using the time to gather tools and info

I have a Seitz jeweling tool.  Initially it was incomplete but I've been able to pick up a full set of pushers, reamers and stumps.  Also I've gotten a Seitz jewel gauge.  They're fairly expensive.

There are other jeweling tools besides Seitz, as you see from the Burgeon model.  The Seitz tool was keyed to the Seitz system of jewels; which you can occasionally find online or at swap meets and trade fairs.  I've been working on my collection of jewels for awhile now.  Just got a nice Bestfit collection.  And the Seitz tool is not restricted to their jewel system.  Basically you just need to confirm the outer diameter and the hole size and find a reamer which is close; you can then use a broach to get the hole to the right diameter.  There are a number of tools for determining the size of a jewel hole.  I've got a couple now.  They usually cost some bucks as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This book covers the replacement of watch jewels set in chatons. It was originally a home study course that was written around 100 years ago. This was a time in watch repair when the watchmaker actually had to make their own parts from scratch, as commercially produced replacement parts were not readily available at that time. 

 

Product Details

https://www.amazon.com/Repair-Course-Wisconsin-Institute-Horology/dp/0578048450/ref=sr_1_72?ie=UTF8&qid=1489288686&sr=8-72&keywords=watch+repair+books

david

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

    • I've remained silent on this thread, and at the risk of upsetting everyone, the thing that worries me the most the the apparent absence of Mark. The moderators do a great job and the members also pitch in, and the site seems to run itself, but it is a concern for the future of this forum when the owner is absent for all intents and purposes. Like many of the comments above I would hate to log in one day and things be closed down as I rely on this site for ideas and knowledge and also cheer me up. maybe the Moderators could reach out to him, assuming he does not read this thread, and express our concerns and let us know the plans going forward? some kind of WRT ark
    • That was the exact reason for me starting this thread watchie. Still we haven't worked out how the regulars are going to hook up if it goes tits up. I honestly think something should be arranged to stay in contact, we all help each other so much. 
    • Yeah ive watched that a few times before,  i couldnt find my old school dividers to scribe it up 😅 Yep thats the guy i bought a roll from . Thanks Nicklesilver that answers that perfectly and more or less what i thought an experiment over time would prove . The jumper arm is quite thick along its length, i left it that way intentionally, i thought the original was probably very thin, i didnt see that it was already missing. Setting isn't particularly stiff as such just positive, i still need to take it out and polish where it mates with the stem release. 
    • Yes, "Sold out" is difficult to understand. There doesn't seem to be a lot going on. It's been nine months since any new video was published on the Watch Repair Channel. The Level 4 course on watchfix.com has been in progress for what feels like forever (several years!?). Maybe Mark's enterprises aren't doing well or perhaps already so profitable there's nothing much to motivate him for more material. Or, perhaps these days he's more into crochet. The real reason is probably something entirely different but it would be nice/interesting to know. I don't mean to sound gloomy or pessimistic, but I wouldn't be surprised to be met by an HTTP 404. Every day feels like a gift. Speaking of watchfix.com I've been postponing the "Level 5: Servicing Chronograph Watches" course for a very, very long time. Anyway, I just enrolled on it so it's going to be very interesting to see the videos. I must say, IMO there's nothing really that can compete with Mark's courses when it comes to presentation and video quality. It's simply world-class and makes me associate with some really expensive BBC productions.
    • Steel has some funny properties, or at least counterintuitive. The modulus of elasticity is effectively (not exactly, but close enough) the same for steel that is annealed and hardened. What changes is the point of plastic deformation* . If the movement of your spring doesn't pass that, it should work fine. It looks a little thick, I would thin it a bit maybe from the main body out about halfway, maybe 10-20% thinner (not in thickness, along its form). But if it works it works!   *So- if you have two bars of the same steel, one annealed, one at 600 Vickers (general hardness watch arbors might be), clamp them to a table so the same length is hanging out, and put a weight on the ends, they will bend the same amount. But if you continue to add weight, then remove it, at a point the annealed bar won't return to its original straightness. That's the point of plastic deformation. But up to that point, as springs, they are the same. However- their wear characteristics will be very very different. And getting the hardened bar past its point of plastic deformation takes a lot more effort.
×
×
  • Create New...