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Economical watch tools (again)

oldhippy

By oldhippy
in Tools & Equipment

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jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

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Posted
7 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

When it comes to horological tools the trade is flooded with foreign imports of inferior quality.

No doubt but since there are economical tools which do their job perfectly, our duty is to inform about these. No generalizations please.

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oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

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I recommend to members on here of the type of tools I have used which I think is justified. I am not going to advise people of tools I have never used. Watchmakers/repairers on other forums, do not recommend cheap imports.   

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jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

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39 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

I recommend to members on here of the type of tools I have used which I think is justified. I am not going to advise people of tools I have never used.

Absolutely, see all my postings mention type and purchase place of the tools that I use.

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Watchtime Super WRT Addict

Watchtime

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On 16-3-2018 at 2:15 AM, Deggsie said:

Is there a chat section entitled "Freedom of Speech In the Western World" and one about "Why I fought For my Country's Ideals"?  Meant light heartedly JDM, but we are only "chatting".

jdm just pointed out to discuss it in the correct section,...I agree with him...keeping it on topic

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ecodec WRT Addict

ecodec

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I have many Chinese and foreign tools. Cheap and cheerful screwdrivers, Tweezers, movement holders etc. All re-engineered by myself and all are very good at little cost. If the tools are prepared correctly for the work then the rest  is mainly down to the skill and know how of the repairer. Just my opinion. It is my understanding that a lot of Chinese manufactured components are used by a large movement maker and it is not unknown nowadays for expensive watches to be 1st. class air mail insured and shipped to China for service/repair if one knows where to go in China for this work. The sender then triples the cost to his customer. 

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Tudor Distinguished Member

Tudor

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On ‎3‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 6:46 AM, rodabod said:

Just remembered: I bought a Chinese Katsu Mini Pillar Drill recently and it’s incredibly good. Virtually no play, and a very clever design using a sewing machine motor. 

Interested in info on this please...

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Tudor Distinguished Member

Tudor

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On topic:

I have a (Chinese?) crystal press. I used it as such once- it is fine but the dies, with their brass inserts, are worth less than dental floss at a Willie Nelson concert. The brass works loose and scored the crystal.

I have re-purposed it however. Using the correct dies, it is the absolute best way to remove (Aluminum) inserts from Rolex bezels without inflicting any damage to the inserts. It's also good at reinstalling them. Rolex crystals don't really need a press- only the crystal retaining ring. Formerly I have used a 12-point socket and a drill press to set them. However, I plan to make a dedicated tool, with the exact angle of the retainer, to set them properly. (it's on the list!)

I also have (knockoff) Rolex case back sockets which work very well. "Ruihua" brand, with a hand-wheel wrench. They will fit the "fancy" press tools but I have only one caseback that I can't remove with this tool. It's a Titanium case with a Titanium back. REALLY stupid since Titanium LOVES to gall and I think that's exactly what happened (or it's cross-threaded but back it sitting flush). It should have a stainless back. Anyway, that will be getting a liquid oxygen bath to shrink the back away from the mid case and it WILL come off...

I think I have some knock-off plastic tweezers too. Those are fine for holding a battery. The "Faux" Dumont tweezers are absolute garbage however. I have one pair I was burned on and they would not even make a good clothespin...

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ecodec WRT Addict

ecodec

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On 6/4/2018 at 10:21 AM, oldhippy said:

 

I recommend to members on here of the type of tools I have used which I think is justified. I am not going to advise people of tools I have never used. Watchmakers/repairers on other forums, do not recommend cheap imports.   

Very sound advice but I bought a small expensive screwdriver that was right out of line two years ago and have seen "experts" using similar ones on video  that wobble around, would not do for me.  Many tools have to be re-engineered in my humble opinion.

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jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

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9 hours ago, ecodec said:

Many tools have to be re-engineered in my humble opinion.

Some only. For example my Anchor drivers are fine, so are the Vetus tweezers. But the bench type case opener needed a little bit of work to clean some screws. So all cases are different, but on both I got noo big names, small cost, excellent performance.

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ecodec WRT Addict

ecodec

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1 hour ago, jdm said:

Some only. For example my Anchor drivers are fine, so are the Vetus tweezers. But the bench type case opener needed a little bit of work to clean some screws. So all cases are different, but on both I got noo big names, small cost, excellent performance.

Me too and all agreed.

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