Quality Chinese Tools

[Michael1962]

2 hours ago, HectorLooi said:

Many of us have one of those in our drawers. Total waste of money.

OK. If that is the case, thanks for letting me know. What is the tool then that you need for getting spring bars out when you are dealing with a metal bracelet which is not soft like a leather strap to be able to remove it from between the lugs?

[RichardHarris123]

I use one of these, the fork fits in the gap on the bracelet. Replacement forks and different sizes are available. 

[Michael1962]

I have some spring bar removers which I showed in the Some Timelab Tools thread that I started. I will have another look at it all once I get set up in the room that I am removing the spa from. Not doing anything until next weekend to cut the spa up to get it out though. Have spent the last 6 weeks digging rocks up in our gardens, then adding soil where required and then putting all of the stones back to get them back on the surface and not buried in the soil.

Hands and wrists are sore. Not the best for hanging onto a reciprocating saw for hours.

[Neverenoughwatches]

2 hours ago, RichardHarris123 said:

I use one of these, the fork fits in the gap on the bracelet. Replacement forks and different sizes are available. 

I have a cheap version of this been using it for nearly 3 years now.  Works fine, i sometimes reshape the fork and when i past reworking i fit another fork insert. I try to save the pennies with cheap general tools  that add up to the pounds for the real goodies. 

2 hours ago, Michael1962 said:

I have some spring bar removers which I showed in the Some Timelab Tools thread that I started. I will have another look at it all once I get set up in the room that I am removing the spa from. Not doing anything until next weekend to cut the spa up to get it out though. Have spent the last 6 weeks digging rocks up in our gardens, then adding soil where required and then putting all of the stones back to get them back on the surface and not buried in the soil.

Hands and wrists are sore. Not the best for hanging onto a reciprocating saw for hours.

Everything takes time Michael, you take it steady. Bet you cant wait to start setting up, I have a new room planned its been on the gonna list for ages. One day . Watch the recip saw and fibreglass spells ,  a grinder does the job but you will get covered in fine fibreglass dust if thats what the tub is made of. 

[VWatchie]

22 hours ago, HectorLooi said:

Many of us have one of those in our drawers. Total waste of money.

Yep, I have one of those too. Got mine from Cousins (now discontinued). Yes, a total waste of money!

22 hours ago, clockboy said:

Overall the biggest difference between the Chinese and Swiss tools is the quality of the materials used. So for an amateur the Chinese tools are OK but I have found the build quality is not as precise as the Swiss.

That is 100 % my experience as well. If I were a pro with daily use of a tool, perhaps by several people, I would definitely go Swiss. When buying tools I always try to get used Swiss tools if I can find them for a reasonable price, and if not, I go Chinese.

[Waggy]

22 hours ago, RichardHarris123 said:

I use one of these, the fork fits in the gap on the bracelet. Replacement forks and different sizes are available. 

Just a heads up that the CousinsUK branded replacement forks and pins fit the Bergeon tool and look/feel exactly the same. I damaged my Bergeon one and found that the replacement Bergeon parts were almost the same price as a complete new tool, so I decided to try the cousins own brand version. Out of curiosity I tried the fork and pin in my Bergeon tool and found they were exactly the same, and to buy the CousinsUK replacement parts individually is far cheaper than the buying a whole new tool. Hopefully is will save someone some pennies!

Edited April 22, 2024 by Waggy

[valleyguy]

Does anyone have this type of bezel remover or used one, this looks like a step up from the cheaper chinese ones, it as cut outs below the blades, it supported at the end of the guide bars, also it goes upto 60mm.

It as round blades, would this detract from its funcionalbilty over the square type blades.

Thought i'd ask before pressing the button an ordering.

[mikepilk]

On 4/21/2024 at 11:51 AM, RichardHarris123 said:

I use one of these, the fork fits in the gap on the bracelet. Replacement forks and different sizes are available. 

That's one of the Bergeon tools I have. Reasonably cheap, and the tips are well shaped and harder than the cheaper versions.  Yes, cheapo versions do work, but you are always reshaping the tips - like hand levers. After fiddling with cheap levers I eventually bought some Horotec ones. Not cheap, but well worth the expense.

BTW how can Bergeon justify £56 for a silicone cushion or plastic dial support, when this nicely machined bit of metal is just £12?

[RichardHarris123]

13 minutes ago, mikepilk said:

BTW how can Bergeon justify £56 for a silicone cushion or plastic dial support, when this nicely machined bit of metal is just £12?

Totally agree.  I don't mind paying for a superior product but a silicone cushion is a silicone cushion. 

[tomh207]

13 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Totally agree.  I don't mind paying for a superior product but a silicone cushion is a silicone cushion. 

Absolutely, only worth paying any kind of premium if tight tolerance is required. 
 

Tom

[rjenkinsgb]

4 hours ago, valleyguy said:

It as round blades, would this detract from its funcionalbilty over the square type blades.

I thought that style looked like an improvement over the square blade ones, as it has the recesses in the blocks with the blades overlapping those, so should have more tolerance for different shape cases and crystals etc.

Just be aware that the shorter round blade versions do not seem to have the cutouts!

 

[valleyguy]

An update to my post above, i got this type of bezel remover yesterday, absolutely perfect, the build quality is very good, no slop or play, perfectly aligned, no manufacturing defects, i've tried it on a couple bezels and it just works how it should, it's a solid bit of kit, i'm more than impressed. The scores on the door say it's a 10 out of 10 from me.

What a difference in build quality from the first bezel remover i got, i slagged the first bezel remover off as chinese junk but this one makes up for it.

 

Edited June 1, 2024 by valleyguy

[VWatchie]

1 hour ago, valleyguy said:

i got this type of bezel remover yesterday

Many of us have tried this type of bezel remover but had no success at all. I've never tried this particular model though so I guess you should never say never. Anyway, there is a thread with a video showing how @Jon (a pro) removes bezels that I really recommend!

 

[HectorLooi]

I've used this kind of tool for a couple of years to remove bezels. The trick is not to rely on the screw knob to exert the force to pop the bezel off.

I think I've shared how I use this tool before. The trick is to screw the blades down into the gap between the bezel and the watch case, and apply slight pressure only. Then I use a nylon faced hammer and tap on the movable jaws. The small amount of slack in the screw threads allow the tapping to push the blades a little further into the gap. This can be confirmed by the loosening of the knob after a few taps. Retighten the knob and repeat until the tapping does not loosen the knob any further. The blade would have reached the vertical lip of the case. By now, the gap would have widened enough to allow a thicker blade of a case knife to finish the job.

I usually put the watch dial up instead of dial down. This way, I can sometimes press down on the watch crystal and the bezel would pop off.

But my tool is Korean made, not Chinese. The blades have not shown any wear or damage after two years of use.

Edited June 1, 2024 by HectorLooi
Typo

[Waggy]

On 6/1/2024 at 1:54 PM, valleyguy said:

i got this type of bezel remover yesterday, absolutely perfect,

Can you post a link?

 

[valleyguy]

I got it off ali, link below, it's listed as 7 day delivery to the UK, it took six, it was tracked all the way, the shipping company must have been on steroids.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005679514184.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller.12.145a5455x35xN6&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.40050.354490.0&scm_id=1007.40050.354490.0&scm-url=1007.40050.354490.0&pvid=1ab7382b-111a-4cd4-abab-9bf54c20c43e&_t=gps-id:pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.40050.354490.0,pvid:1ab7382b-111a-4cd4-abab-9bf54c20c43e,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238114%231999&pdp_npi=4%40dis!GBP!24.03!22.79!!!29.76!28.22!%402103890117174285697985147edb92!12000033989266123!rec!UK!162015786!&utparam-url=scene%3ApcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller|query_from%3A

[mikepilk]

My new snap watch back opener has just arrived (£20 inc tax and delivery).

It looks nice but there are no instructions.  On AliExpress It says " The strength of the firing pin can be adjusted by screwing (more power) or unscrewing (less power) the handle". But which part - the red bit unscrews but so does the bottom of the blue bit. And what is the button for?

Anyone have one of these ?

[tomh207]

@mikepilk I have the more than £20 horotec one which looks identical except for colour. The red cap is what you would use to adjust the power. I have automatic centre punches which are the same thing from a base mechanism point of view.

I use this as the next level caseback removal if  my case knife collection won’t handle it.

Tom

Edited June 6, 2024 by tomh207

[HectorLooi]

I have one of these tools. Used it a couple of times and didn't like it.

The problem is that when the power is dialed up high enough to pop the cover off, the cover usually flies across the room and then rolls under some furniture. The blade then continues to move forward due to the momentum and the hardened blade then punches a line into the lip of the case. This line would affect the seal of the gasket, making the case non-waterproof anymore.

I've switched to using a Seiko-style case knife and find that this design allows the user to exert more wedging force due to using a pushing action. Even very tight casebacks can be popped off with this tool.

[ManSkirtBrew]

On 3/3/2024 at 10:52 AM, JackH said:

Alex has a good video on polishing pushers and stumps.

Video link

As someone with one of the Chinese Horia clones, I watched this with great interest. As I was watching I thought, "But won't that round over the edges?"

Sure enough the microscope shots show domed faces. This seems less than ideal to my engineer brain, but maybe it's better for pushing jewels? And it made me wonder whether the time spent dressing the faces is really worth it at all. What benefit do we get from it?

What do the experienced heads here think?

[RichardHarris123]

As an engineer, I'm not sure what your image is meant to show.  Everything looks bad under enough magnification.  Perfection doesn't exist. 

[ManSkirtBrew]

3 hours ago, RichardHarris123 said:

I'm not sure what your image is meant to show

It's a screen capture from the video showing that the face of the pusher that used to be flat is now domed. I know we can't achieve perfection, but I'm wondering if the effort taken to dress the faces of the pushers and stumps makes a positive, negative, or negligible difference.

[Malocchio]

I was thinking the same. Looks very rounded but maybe the ring light distorts a bit. At least the technique could be improved. Many times Alex pulls the paper upwards in the end and that's bad for the edges mmkay

[VWatchie]

11 hours ago, ManSkirtBrew said:

And it made me wonder whether the time spent dressing the faces is really worth it at all. What benefit do we get from it?

It looks nice after polishing and  I think the possible negative effect of the rounded edges is negligible. However, as long as there are no obvious burrs, rust, or nicks on the faces of the pushers, I think we have much better things to spend our time on!

[Neverenoughwatches]

12 hours ago, ManSkirtBrew said:

As someone with one of the Chinese Horia clones, I watched this with great interest. As I was watching I thought, "But won't that round over the edges?"

Sure enough the microscope shots show domed faces. This seems less than ideal to my engineer brain, but maybe it's better for pushing jewels? And it made me wonder whether the time spent dressing the faces is really worth it at all. What benefit do we get from it?

What do the experienced heads here think?

Personally i wasn't keen with Alex's method, youtube strikes again !  i use a flat diamond lap plate to dress pushers and stumps. The pushing surface area has been reduced thats all i can see, might it affect its use ? a little maybe, depends how much contact has been lost and point loading occurs, jewels are hard but brittle and can fracture. I use concave pushers very occasionally , we should also look at the jewel shape as well as the size before choosing a pusher and decide which direction to push from. I've cracked a jewel in the past using a flat pusher, pushing out a  domed topped sink jewel the wrong way.