[GuyJ]

Well it seems as though I'm getting financial advice and lists of what everyone else uses so I've no idea if I've blacked out or something....

Anyway.. was hoping for what makes these devices better. I don't use water based cleaners. I use L&R. Have a Flashtest... a microscope...it's as if this is my first thread on here... Anyway probs not in the right frame of mind or I'm picking up "you aren't really very good to do this or warrant this stuff, " type vibes which is nice.

 

[TheTigerUK]

Well it seems as though I'm getting financial advice and lists of what everyone else uses so I've no idea if I've blacked out or something....

Anyway.. was hoping for what makes these devices better. I don't use water based cleaners. I use L&R. Have a Flashtest... a microscope...it's as if this is my first thread on here... Anyway probs not in the right frame of mind or I'm picking up "you aren't really very good to do this or warrant this stuff, " type vibes which is nice.

You know we love you and rate your work Guy but you are the one who keeps saying your skint so..........

 

[TheTigerUK]

ps: Quality tweezers are a must

 

[GuyJ]

Im getting it from all angles so meh...stressed...Anyway I am not able to really afford anything so I will maintain the status quo and be sensible.

 

[GuyJ]

ps: Quality tweezers are a must

Yes have 3 dumont sets and two on the way but mostly I use some AA brass tweezers I've refined a little.

 

[meanoldmanning]

You know we love you and rate your work Guy but you are the one who keeps saying your skint so..........

Yeah, no offense intended but that was the point I was hinting at


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[meanoldmanning]

Im getting it from all angles so meh...stressed...Anyway I am not able to really afford anything so I will maintain the status quo and be sensible.

Sorry Guy, if I hadn’t been through a major health issue recently that could ultimately have bankrupted me had I not had insurance I wouldn’t be so uptight about stretching financial limits. I certainly have no personal history of being frugal otherwise


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[ivorbiggin]

Guy, i have watched you progress over the years from someone, who like me, likes to tinker to someone who has got into the hobby seriously, and theres no doubt that you do a superb job on restoring knackered old watches. Especially the 7002's you do:grin:
At the end of the day, you do what you do with the tooling and the skills that you have, and you do it extremely well.
If you feel that investing in upgrading your tooling will make the hobby easier and yield better results then thats the way forward, but as a tradesman myself (motor trade) i found that old tools kept in good condition work just as well as the latest version. Just ask Mrs Bigginhmy:

In the last year i have upgraded from my homemade timegrapher to a Weishi 1000, and i have just ordered a bigger hammer.

 

[GuyJ]

I guess I worry about habits...so with piano I know that I don't have certain techniques down and so when I sit and play I just make something up....but I've tried and pretty much learnt Chopin prelude to a raindrop recently...found it difficult enough...but doable...then I try and learn Claire De Lune and I struggle as the technique isn't there... so I wonder if I am using tools at times that are a bad habit maker...so ultrasonic is causing me to spend too much time and maybe it's too harsh....and then with the timegrapher I wonder if I'm not looking deeper into this....so been researching microset 3 and so on. Anyway I guess at times I see lots of money and lots lf purchases but I'm in a hobby where I feel I'm wearing sweat pants at a golf course.
I need direct advice Michael so appreciate it really...does me good and sorry to hear of your health scare. I hope ya ok!

Cheers Ivor, mallet on order.

Anyway I ordered two nice Dumont tweezers...all my other stuff is good to use for now and I'll do some saving and debt paying...

 

[146105]

Guy - You’ve come this far because of the caliber of your talent - not tools.

 

[Reynaldo]

For anyone like me, just wanting to getting started to ultimately be able to service or rebuild my own watches. The movements would be 7002’s, 7548’s, 6309’s, then maybe be able to service the 6r15 on my shotgun. Just oil them and regulate I guess cuz they get minimal wear. Anyway, but I’m guessing I would be perfectly fine with whatever you want to upgrade from. Specially if just doing a project every once in a while.

 

[Reynaldo]

Not the shotgun but the shogun. And I mean me just doing a few every once in awhile.
Guy, what Ivor just said,.... we’re in good company man.
I love your passion for this hobby, you do great work! Good at multiple skills at that; reluming, dial restoration, movement rebuilds.

 

[Sir Alan]

Interesting write up Simon, thanks for sharing, some food for thought.

..........

I’d also maybe get some fancy pants auto-oilers, but that’s just me.
*edit: Actually, what is you guys who have them opinion of auto-oilers? Waste of time or good tool?


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I have the Bergeon auto-oilers.

In the last few months I've moved away from using them and gone back to conventional oilers for pallets and the gear train.

The reason being that its easy to over oil - something I'm paying more attention to as I learn.

I still use the auto-oiler for applying 9010 to the cap jewel and also when I want to oil a jewel from underneath/inside (without removing the cap jewel) - which isn't very often but its good to know I have this option.

I like the auto-oilers because the reservoir keeps the oil very clean - unlike the pots which can attract dust and micro particles. And, the holder keeps the oil in the dark (so helps to stop them degrading in sunlight).

 

[DAHASCO]

Guy, I find that I have to find my correct mindset before I get started on a project, Then the lighting is crucial (helps if the wife is out shopping or whatever also) You are your best tool, Keep that in mind

 

[TheTigerUK]

I have "upgraded" my kit consistently over the years and i'm still crap, so its the man as much as the tools

 

[bk_lake]

There is always a better tool for the job. It's just a matter of how much you want to/can spend. Can you make your money back in a reasonable time frame if you have the tool? Return on invested capital is the fancy accounting term.



You do skilled work with the tools you have. In the wrong hands, the finest most expensive Bergeon tool is just as dangerous and damaging as a pipe wrench on a movement. A tooth pick wielded by a maestro can perform spectacular feats.

 

[nzwatchdoctor]

There is always a better tool for the job.





No. Often there is no better tool.

 

[BulovaBud]

Speaking from experience, I have found


Shortly after restoring the vintage cleaning machine, I purchased an Elma cleaning machine (the ElmaSolvex SE).




Visually this is like going from the Cutty Sark to the Starship Enterpise. But, to all intents & purposes it still does the same job.

The are four cleaning jars, I have two with cleaning solvent and two with rinse. It has a timer (with cutoff) and variable speed control. And the hot air drier also has a fan and cutoff.

Its not fully automatic, which means it needs to be attended to cycle through the various stages (clean, spin, clean, spin, rinse, spin, rinse, spin, dry) which all told takes about 25 minutes.

Just wondering if you are still liking the Elma Solvex SE? Is there anything about it that you don't like? I see that it comes with an exhaust port that you are supposed to hook an exhaust fan up to. Did you end up doing that?

 

[vincentg]

I would like to start by saying that I am a tool junkie as well as a tool collector, they are two very different things and still a working tradesman (cabinetmaker), till the end of this year and then I plan to simply be a hobbyist after more than 40 years in the trade. I always tried to buy the best equipment and tools possible and because of my personal circumstances I have sold off my tools and my workshop three times, this is my fourth shop and now I am looking at downsizing my tools to fit into a new and smaller space. So many of the high end tools I have owned did not stay with me, only a few have made it this far. My personal choices and the work that I offer have refined what tools I feel I need to be effective but I still have some quite esoteric and expensive tools that I truly could not live without, ie my Gen1 Festool Domino and vacuum, Oneida air systems dust collector and my Blum multi spindle boring machine all are now over 20 years old. Had I not been a tool junkie I would never have ponied up the $$ for these tools and they all perform unique (or in the case of the Oneida far superior) tasks than anything else in existence. But I have sold off numerable tools and machinery that just did not "cut the mustard" dollars to donuts and of course took a hit on any of them I purchased new. My two cents is that if one phase of your works seems to drag you down a bit and there is a better tool that may improve your efficiency I would say to buy it and if it really does help, after sufficient time and use have passed, sell off the tool(s) it replaced. If a tool really does help your work process you will know within a relatively short time.

 

[Sir Alan]

Just wondering if you are still liking the Elma Solvex SE? Is there anything about it that you don't like? I see that it comes with an exhaust port that you are supposed to hook an exhaust fan up to. Did you end up doing that?

My Elma Solvex SE continues to perform perfectly. Given how much it gets used I would really like the significantly more expensive fully automated version (Elma Solvex RM) because the SE model requires the basket to be manually lowered into each jar, then raised to be spun, then moved to the next jar. With 4 jars and the drying location this does require a lot of interaction.

However ... I still cannot afford / justify the spend so will continue with the SE for the indefinite future. One consideration against getting the automated version was that there is a LOT more to go wrong with this and the possible need to get the machine itself serviced.

I have not vented the exhaust port - I just open a window in the room.