Review worth a look

[rossjackson01]

Have a look

 

[oldhippy]

So you need a 3d printer in order to have this. I wonder is the other parts that you need are available say in the UK because that is where I live. It looks a nice cleaning machine.  

[Neverenoughwatches]

3 hours ago, rossjackson01 said:

Have a look

 

Looks good, maybe a little complicated to put together. So certainly some effort, time and headscratching involved if you're not particularly tech savvy. Personally i like the more simple approach of diy cobbling, you dont end up with anything automated so the cleaning operation is a bit more hands on. But you have something simple, cheap, less to go wrong , easy to fix if it does, but in essence cleans just as well. Look at the diy watch cleaning thread Ross, there are some simple ideas in there if you feel you want to make something. 

[rossjackson01]

Never. Good comment about the DIY thread. Yes I have seen it. Adapted a few thing to make my own systems of cleaning. 

Adam and Gentlemen are my 'go to' for inspiration.

I only have about 18" by 18" as my working area for cleaning.

I have adapted. This is my system.

 

After disassemble and checking I begin the clean with pegwood and lighter fluid. Fiber brush if needed.

Everything , except shellac items, balance bridge and pallet fork, into lighter fluid jar. Large items at base and others into baskets.

Jar into ultrasonic warm water. 3 x 2 min. Balance and Pallet in small tray and lighter fluid dripped and allowed to gently clean.

All blow dried

Everything from jar moved into 2nd jar containing Isopropyl alcohol. Ultrasonic 3 x 2 min.  Balance and pallet dripped with Alcohol for under 1 min.

Everything out and placed under nail blower for 10 min.

Before assembly I recheck all parts for damage. This is when I make my decision to order parts as I can see what needs to be done.

My system in now pretty good. Well, at least for an amateur.

 

 

Edited May 25, 2024 by rossjackson01
Spelling, Grammar

[Neverenoughwatches]

1 hour ago, rossjackson01 said:

Never. Good comment about the DIY thread. Yes I have seen it. Adapted a few thing to make my own systems of cleaning. 

Adam and Gentlemen are my 'go to' for inspiration.

I only have about 18" by 18" as my working area for cleaning.

I have adapted. This is my system.

 

After disassemble and checking I begin the clean with pegwood and lighter fluid. Fiber brush if needed.

Everything , except shellac items, balance bridge and pallet fork, into lighter fluid jar. Large items at base and others into baskets.

Jar into ultrasonic warm water. 3 x 2 min. Balance and Pallet in small tray and lighter fluid dripped and allowed to gently clean.

All blow dried

Everything from jar moved into 2nd jar containing Isopropyl alcohol. Ultrasonic 3 x 2 min.  Balance and pallet dripped with Alcohol for under 1 min.

Everything out and placed under nail blower for 10 min.

Before assembly I recheck all parts for damage. This is when I make my decision to order parts as I can see what needs to be done.

My system in now pretty good. Well, at least for an amateur.

 

 

That sounds good Ross. I'll mention a couple of things if thats ok,that may or may not help and you may already be aware of them. If i start at the top, the pegwood and lighter fluid for pre cleaning , not all lighter fluids are the same though and it can be difficult to work out what you have. So lighter fluid is mostly naptha, also known by many other names such as benzine, probably more accurately described as petroleum ether. Lighter fluid also has other ingredients that relate to what it is actually used for ie. to improve the flame necessary to burn with the use of a fluid fill lighter and it could be these other chemical ingredients that often leave a residue on the surface of watch parts that many of us see ( try the drop on a mirror test ). So logically we want to make use of the same cleaning ability of petroleum ether but without the added ingredients that cause residue. We can do this by purchasing pure grade petroleum ether which is available from Ebay, I've just had a look and its around £25 / litre yes it is more expensive than lighter fluid, i guess maybe a tenner more per litre. So just a couple of notes to add to this, when choosing a lighter fluid, naptha, benzine, whatever you want to call it or the form you buy it in, try to get hold of one that is labelled " light distilled " or "light naptha " also sometimes called " light aliphatic "  this is the carbon to hydrogen ratio, an example of its equation might be something like  C3   H6 , its these two symbols that tell you how light or heavy the naptha is.  The higher the H ( hydrogen) atom value is the lighter the chemical is and will evaporate quicker.  High C ( carbon ) atom naphtha is heavier , evaporates more slowly and may be the cause of too much left residue on watch part surfaces. So in summary aim for a higher H value than C carbon value on the label. I'll find a good example of what to look for and come back with it. Other things to note are 1. A professional brand cleaner like Elma or L n R is probably cheaper than the petroleum ether, certainly when the ether is bought in one litre bottles and it could even be cheaper than the lighter fluid which is in the region of £1.50 for 100ml - 120ml tins. So thats more or less covered the cleaner to use, but now try soaking your pegwood in your cleaner ( lighter fluid ) before pegging the jewels, it will soften the pegwood making it a more pliable dirt dissolving tool .

1 hour ago, rossjackson01 said:

Never. Good comment about the DIY thread. Yes I have seen it. Adapted a few thing to make my own systems of cleaning. 

Adam and Gentlemen are my 'go to' for inspiration.

I only have about 18" by 18" as my working area for cleaning.

I have adapted. This is my system.

 

After disassemble and checking I begin the clean with pegwood and lighter fluid. Fiber brush if needed.

Everything , except shellac items, balance bridge and pallet fork, into lighter fluid jar. Large items at base and others into baskets.

Jar into ultrasonic warm water. 3 x 2 min. Balance and Pallet in small tray and lighter fluid dripped and allowed to gently clean.

All blow dried

Everything from jar moved into 2nd jar containing Isopropyl alcohol. Ultrasonic 3 x 2 min.  Balance and pallet dripped with Alcohol for under 1 min.

Everything out and placed under nail blower for 10 min.

Before assembly I recheck all parts for damage. This is when I make my decision to order parts as I can see what needs to be done.

My system in now pretty good. Well, at least for an amateur.

 

 

You can leave any watch parts that have shellac on them soaking in lighter fluid, i used to do it all the time when i started and was using light fluid and i know oldhippy did this as well when he was in the trade. I've done it overnight before without any problem to the shellac, so a couple of hours soak will be absolutely fine. Its just NOT to do that with the isopropyl as that will almost certainly soften the shellac .

Edited May 25, 2024 by Neverenoughwatches