Jump to content

Tweezer Maintenance


Don

Recommended Posts

How do you dress up tweezers? "Practical Watch Repairing" says, "... the best way to do this is with an Arkansas slip." I assume that is a sharpening stone. Would anyone like to share how they maintain tweezers?

Thanks,

Don

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use a DMT Mini Sharp fine diamond stone (red), the portable type which is small and gets well inside the tweezers. I like to polish the tips to a mirror shine (I may move to the xtra fine to finish). But then, I don't maintain them that often since I am very careful and they are good quality. On the other hand, I used a similar stone (blue) for working on the watch stems after I cut them to size. They work fast and smooth for both tasks.

 

post-253-0-26154700-1409689127_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

Edited by bobm12
Link to comment
Share on other sites

+1 for diamond sharpening plates. I have a couple and they are indispensable.

 

They will not give you a polished mirror finish but to be fair you do not need this with your tweezers IMO. When polishing you should make sure the edges of the tweezers are square and not curved inwards as this will increase the chances of parts flying away from you. The diamond plates make this task very simple.

 

http://www.eternaltools.com/stones-sharpeners/eze-lap-diamond-credit-card-sharpeners

 

post-1-0-88472100-1409694308_thumb.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Excellent advise Mark. Do you find EZ Lapp better for the job than DMT?

 

I'm not very familiar from a user standpoint with the former but they look more "complete" than the DMT I'm using, i.e. they look more "surface" continuous and thinner/card-like for an easier to work with product? Durable?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's the set of hones that I use on a regular basis, they are especially good for keeping a good edge on tungsten carbide and high speed steel lathe tools. Having the plastic handle built in allows you to use it like a file. The grades I use are medium, fine and super fine.

PS. They are great for dressing the ends of stems to achieve the correct length after I have snipped off the major excess.

post-124-0-83061500-1409726390.jpg

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi frenchie, the bigger the diamonds the better...but then you would like to rent a vault! Just kidding!

 

It is the best stone you can have and its uses are plentiful just as Mark says. By the way, they can be had in different grits as shown in the pics above. Hope your b'day is soon. Once you have those you will wonder why you didn't have one before!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's the set of hones that I use on a regular basis, they are especially good for keeping a good edge on tungsten carbide and high speed steel lathe tools. Having the plastic handle built in allows you to use it like a file. The grades I use are medium, fine and super fine.

PS. They are great for dressing the ends of stems to achieve the correct length after I have snipped off the major excess.

 

Thaks, Geo. I've got a set in my Amazon cart right now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Hello All;

 

Reading this tweezers maintenance thread I was wondering whether somebody could give me some grid-sizes, this instead of medium, fine and X-fine.

I have seen on eBay some diamond plate sharpening stones with grid size #150 on one side, grid size #600 on the other. But they come also in #400 on one side, #1000 on the other.

Grid #1000 seems to me more a polishing size. I do assume you want to leave some roughness on your tweezers tips?

 

Hope to hear.......

 

Regards: Roland.

post-1663-0-36915900-1452707074_thumb.pn

Edited by Endeavor
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Roland,

co**BLEEP** would be 150, medium = 400, fine = 600 and extra fine = 1000. Sometime you want a mirror finish on the tips if you are handling very delicate stuff or want the tweezers to slide under something (I don't know it happens I guess, like picking up hands...but I avoid metal to handle those), otherwise medium grit will do. Of course, this is not written in stone. Maybe we can hear from some other members' experiences on the subject.

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

 

PS. The editor doesn't recognize the "rough" equivalent of the grit, it thinks it is profanity! :D

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As always Bob, thank you for your swift reply :-)

 

Reading the grit sizes, I guess the #150 / #600 are maybe a bit too course. Best would be than #400 / #1000

The prices seem okay, only £ 3.16 ≈ $ 4.55 including postage from our Chinese friends.

The stone size seems, for tweezers, also fine to me, 10cm x 3cm x 1.2mm thick

 

Anybody some other thoughts / advise?

 

Thanks in advance:

Roland

post-1663-0-27726900-1452709111_thumb.pn

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice Roland, good price...would they last? I switched to DMT Dia-Sharp (continuous diamond surface) and they keep forever. I have all 4 grits so I can also work the watch stems and other stuff quickly.

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whether they last, I don't know. The seller gives the following warnings:

 

Caution:
1. Do not use the knife sharpener to sharpen serrated blades
2. To avoid damaging the knife, please sharpen the knife slightly and don’t sharpen back and forth
3. Do not put the sharpener in the dishwasher or submerge in water

 

Just wonder what is meant by point 3?   Hmmm............... :huh: ?

I don't expect top quality for this price, but I also don't expect that I have to maintain my tweezers every other day. Money is an issue, so maybe worth a try?

 

Regards: Roland.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I contacted the seller and according to him, the stone was designed for dry sharpening. If made wet, it may / will start to rust. It also seems a hard base material, not a flimsy pace of plastic, or cardboard, with a diamond coating on it.

I'll give it a try and let you know............ delivery from our Chinese friends my take a month or so, so please be patient......... "I'll be back" ;-)

 

Regards: Roland.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I didn't think of rust. I believe you won't have that problem with the DMT or the EZE-LAP products but you'll never know since most of everything is made in China and you might be getting the same product for a much lesser price! I never wet my sharpening stones, even the ones that are supposed to be used wet. Not that I use them a lot, just the odd kitchen knife apart from the small stuff when I work on watches.

 

Please, do keep us posted on those!

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

A follow up on the Chinese eBay #400 / #1000 grit sharpening "stone", which I received today, 16 days after ordering.

 

post-1663-0-31091000-1454342496_thumb.pn

 

It's a solid rigid metal plate (1.5mm thick) with diamond coating on either side, #400 grit and #1000 grit. Did some tweezers and it went fast! I guess the diamonds are sharp.......

The size (3cm x 10cm) is very nice for in your hand palm and gives good control over delicate work. The #1000 grit gives a nice smooth finish, but if you wish for a mirror finish, a finer grit is required. I haven't found these "stones" in a finer (> #1000) grit yet.

Endurance....... time will tell, but price / quality (£3.30 incl. postage) seems very good to me, ideal for tweezers maintenance.

 

Regards: Roland.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you Roland, next order I'll include some of those. I suppose that with use, the grit will "drop" a little (despite of being diamond). It usually happens regardless. So, in the end the 1000 grit will be smother.

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

You shouldn't aim to get the inside face of the tower to be a mirror finish as you need some grip,

 

You do ne the out sides to be a mirror finish so they don't pick up bits of fluff etc.

 

Here is a link to another forum which explains about tweezer dressing but a highly respected watch maker.

 

Watch and learn.

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting video, thanks for posting. "My" Chinese thin sharpening stones are very well suited for the way he does it, apart from that you can polish only one tip at the time, as the stone has two different grit-sizes, unlike (by the looks of it) his file.

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Similar Content

  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Thanks Dell. I thought about silver soldering. Have never done it but would like to give it a go. Do you think to put flux on the butted joint then run the solder in or to maybe brace it with a piece of scrap spring steel?
    • Never and others. Yes, like you I do spend a fair amount of time reading the contents of this forum. I find it better that any other. Clear, lucid, no Prima Donas, and most of all an easy access without adverts. All thanks to Mark. God bless you mate. You give so much to many of us. What if? No Mark? Hypothetically. A forum. I did run a forum for a few years. Really enjoyed it, but became so engrossed that it did affect my health. I gave to to others to run. Not been back. It was very successful and rivalled a number of large paying sites. No adverts, no others but me. I did ask and listen to members comments and it worked well.    Costs Having a domain name, £10 annually.  Register the site with a forum company, free. Build the site using the forum company guide lines, free. It looked and ran almost the same a Mark's. All the same facilities. The cost was only £5 per month, but counted visits (views). If I recall, it was that price for 5,000 views. Each extra 5,000 views increased the price by £2 per month. Success was my own personal undoing. From £5 per month initially, it rose to £60 a month and looked like increasing. This was 10 years ago. I could not afford that, and asked it anyone would like to take over and someone did. I would assume that this is the price that Mark is funding for us all. His return is our continued comments on the internet about his course, and the fact that many of the big names on YouTube mention him as their Tutor. Those of us who have done, and are still using, his course, benefit. In comparison to other courses, I can't believe how cheap it is, and the value is exceptional. It is the structure that gives the value. Long may Mark reign. Ross  
    • Hi all, total newbie to watchmaking and I've had a bit of a mishap. Just completing level 2 and was doing ok, but I was just on the last part of the reassembly of my ST3620 when the balance end stone shot across the room, just as I was trying to see if I had put the correct amount of oil between it and the balance end, aarrrgh! Been on my hands and knees combing the carpet for 20mins looking for it but to no avail. Does anybody know where I can get a replacement from and what to look for please?? Thanks.
    • Get someone local to tig it ,very easy fix and should only take a few minutes so probably wouldn’t cost much ,or failing that get it very clean and silver solder it. Dell
    • Hi, The winding pin is not split, well that's how it was when I obtained the watch. The movement is front-loaded and here's a picture of where the case screws are fitted. The face picture is before I dismantled it. Quick update.  I've always had a nylon ring sitting in the parts try that I wasn't sure where it went and left it to the last thing as I know it must be part of the case assembly. Anyway, looking at the picture in my last post you can see, just under the winding stem, a white-looking object, this is the nylon ring 🤭 So, I had to remove the dial again and replace the ring. Once this was all back together I placed the movement in the case and realized my initial problem maybe is not a problem as it looks like I can screw the movement back in the case and then place the hands as the dial is nearly flush with the outside of the case anyway so I'll be able to check for alignment. if all is good then just fit the crystal and bezel 🤔 I can't think of any issues with this approach but please comment if you think I've not thought of something. Another lesson learned as well. Take more pictures not just of the movement parts and location 😅
×
×
  • Create New...