watchcleaning
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watchcleaning
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CWR Technical Pages Cleaning Disassembly Testing Oiling Cleaning, oiling and checking a basic mechanical watch movement. This is only a basic guide to cleaning a basic watch movement and is intended for people who are just getting into watch repair but have good mechanic abilities. There are many factors to consider and some different procedures for watches with different functions. There are several tests and procedures that need to be preformed for various repairs that are more involved than I care to get into in this text such as escapement adjustment, friction jewelling, re-bushing, pivoting, staffing, lathe work and hundreds of other things, there are also many special tools that are used. I will be getting into some of these things at a later date. Proper cleaning and lubrication is one of the most important parts of watch repair. And is the most common thing that is done wrong. Every reputable watchmaker takes this very seriously and spends countless hours refining his procedures. One extremely important and frequently overlooked thing is to be sure your hands, and surroundings are very clean and dust free. One speck of dust, a tiny strand of hair or lint or piece of dead skin can and most of the time will stop even a large watch movement. A tiny piece of dead skin will cause all kinds of headaches and is very, very hard to detect so be careful. Be sure your screwdrivers are sharp and all your tools are clean and in good working condition. If you are new to all this I would suggest that you practice on worthless or larger timepieces before you try to tackle smaller or more valuable ones. And now that we have made it through all that jibba jabba lets get started. If you have a question about our services or just want help with a horological related task see our Q&A page or go to our technical pages. We also have a parts search page you could use to send us a description of a specific part you may need, we would then try to locate it for you. Some Horological tool pictures
Click on the s in these documents for more information let mainspring downs, remove stems, remove watch from cases, remove handss, remove dials, remove hour wheel, remove cannon pinion, remove set bridge, remove setting parts and minute wheels, remove transmission wheel , remove ratchet wheel , remove click and click springs, remove mainspring barrels, remove mainspring barrel cover, remove barrel arbor, remove mainspring from barrels, remove balance cock and balance complete and set it on balance tacks, remove train bridge/bridges, remove train wheels, remove pallet bridges, remove pallets, mark and remove any cap jewels from bridges and plate if shock proof springs are attached such as Incabloc be sure to secure them back into their settings or they will get broken off during the cleaning processs, to remove balance from cock loosen hairspring stud screw on balance cock and push stud through with fine needle or broach some regulators have a pin that swings over the hairspring so be sure to swing it away if watch is so equippeds, remove jewels from balance cocks. Top Disassembly Testing Oiling
Click on the s in these documents for more information Clean all teeth and leaves on all wheels and pinions, including mainspring barrel with a glass scratch brush this helps to remove hardened deposits and dirt from between the teeth. Then gently press them into a clean pith wood block. s All jewel and bushing holes should be pegged out with sharpened peg wood to remove any hardened lubricant. s Ultrasonically clean and rinse all parts in high quality cleaning and rinsing solutions designed for watch movements I use L&R solutions and equipment. I use one-dip to final clean the hairspring, jewels and shock proof jewelling. One-dip also works great to remove any fingerprints and will also cut trough thick hardened grease and grime. Any finger prints left on parts will cause permanent irreversible damage, so remove them immediately. With practice you will learn how to handle parts and movements without leaving prints. Some people use latex finger guards. Never use cotton gloves to handle parts, you will introduce lint into everything.
Top Cleaning Disassembly Oiling
Click on the s in these documents for more information Check all jewels for looseness or damage such as chips, cracks etc. cracked or otherwise damaged jewels must be replaced. s Worn bushings will need to be removed/reamed and replaced. s Check end and side shake of barrel arbor in barrel, then assemble it between the plate and bridge and check for side and end shake. s Check every wheel and pinion carefully with a powerful loupe for damaged or rusted teeth or leaves. also it is a good idea to check them for truth in truing calipers or a depthing tool, bent or out of round wheels will cause lots of problems and make it imposable to accurately adjust and regulate the movement. s Check each wheel for end shake, side shake, upright s, and depthing with its respective pinion s. I always assemble the train wheels into the movement one at a time to check each one individually, then I put them in two at a time to check depthing with each other, then I put them all including the barrel in and check them for overall freedom and function by spinning them and observing how they sound and how long they spin with only very slight tickling. I use a very fine wristwatch pivot broach for testing wheel freedom. Also assemble motion work and check for freedom and be sure the cannon pinion has the right amount of tension s. Any cap jewels will need to be temporarily assembled to perform these tests. s Then remove everything and prepare for next test. Remove hairspring from balance s and check balance for truth in balance calipers. s Assemble jewels into balance cock and plate, then place balance between plate and cock, then check it for freedom by spinning it as described earlier and check it for end and side shake. Replace hairspring onto balance and back onto balance cock, then place the entire assembly into movement and check the hairspring for truth and flat. Check regulator pins and be sure they are straight and parallel, Check for magnetism use small compass or magnetometer, check for rust on hairspring, Place pallets, escape wheel and train wheels into movement and check the escapement for proper function. Then remove everything and prepare for next test. Check transmission wheel, washer and boss for wear. s Check click for wear. s Assemble barrel bridge onto movement, insert stem and check for wear. s Assemble complete keyless work and check for wear. s Any rusted parts need to be replaced including screws. Broken springs or other parts will need to be replaced. It is very important that you check everything very carefully one thing overlooked will cause problems and big headaches in the future.
Top Cleaning Disassembly Testing Average gents movement Pocket size movements Average ladies movements The first thing to mention is to use only the highest quality lubricants and in very small quantities. To much oil is far worse than to little. This is only a basic guide and is in no way the last word in oiling.
Pocket size movements Average ladies movements For average size jeweled gents wrist watch movement Mainspring- Mainspring grease Barrel arbor- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss Center wheel pivots- light clock oil Third wheel pivots- Fine watch oil Forth wheel pivots- Fine watch oil Escape wheel pivots- Fine watch oil Pallet arbor pivots- Fine watch oil Balance pivots- Fine watch oil Pallet stones- Fine watch oil or preferably Mobius 941 escapement oil Before oiling dip escape wheel, pallets, cap jewels, shock proof jewelling, and sweep wheels in a surface fixative such as Mobius fix-o-drop, this keeps oil from spreading. Crown wheel- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss Click- Fine watch oil Stem pilot, square and bearing- Thick grease like KT-22 Clutch wheel and winding pinion ratchet teeth- Thick grease like KT-22 Yoke pivot- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss Yoke/setting lever fiction surfaces- Thick grease like KT-22 Set bridge (set lever spring)- Thick grease like KT-22 Setting wheel pivot point- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss Minute wheel- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss Cannon pinion outside surface- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss Cannon pinion/center shaft friction surfaces- Thick grease like Jisma 124 Average gents movement Average ladies movements Mainspring- Mainspring grease Barrel arbor- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss Center wheel pivots- light clock oil Third wheel pivots- light clock oil Forth wheel pivots- Fine watch oil (if jeweled). light clock oil (if not jeweled) Escape wheel pivots- Fine watch oil Pallet arbor pivots- Fine watch oil Balance pivots- Fine watch oil Pallet stones- Fine watch oil or preferably Mobius 941 escapement oil Before oiling dip escape wheel, pallets, cap jewels, shock proof jewelling, and sweep wheels in a surface fixative such as Mobius fix-o-drop, this keeps oil from spreading. Crown wheel- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss Click- Fine watch oil Stem pilot, square and bearing- Thick grease like KT-22 Clutch wheel and winding pinion ratchet teeth- Thick grease like KT-22 Yoke pivot- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss Yoke/setting lever fiction surfaces- Thick grease like KT-22 Set bridge (set lever spring)- Thick grease like KT-22 Setting wheel pivot point- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss Minute wheel- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss Cannon pinion outside surface- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss Cannon pinion/center shaft friction surfaces- Thick grease like Jisma 124 Average gents movement Pocket size movements For small ladies watch movements Mainspring- Mainspring grease Barrel arbor- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss Center wheel pivots- Fine watch oil Third wheel pivots- Fine watch oil Forth wheel pivots- Fine watch oil Escape wheel pivots- Fine watch oil Pallet arbor pivots- Fine watch oil Balance pivots- Fine watch oil Pallet stones- Fine watch oil or preferably Mobius 941 escapement oil Before oiling dip escape wheel, pallets, cap jewels, shock proof jewelling, and sweep wheels in a surface fixative such as Mobius fix-o-drop, this keeps oil from spreading. Crown wheel- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss Click- Fine watch oil Stem pilot, square and bearing- Thick grease like KT-22 Clutch wheel and winding pinion ratchet teeth- Thick grease like KT-22 Yoke pivot- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss Yoke/setting lever fiction surfaces- Thick grease like KT-22 Set bridge (set lever spring)- Thick grease like KT-22 Setting wheel pivot point- Light clock oil Cannon pinion outside surface- light clock oil Cannon pinion/center shaft friction surfaces- Thick grease like Jisma 124
Top Cleaning Disassembly Testing Oiling Larger pocket watch and tiny ladies watch movements may require different oils. Movements with special functions or unordinary parts may require different oils.
I made these pages as basic tech. help to others in the horological field and to give the public an idea of what it takes to do even the smallest repairs. If anyone has any comments or something they would like to add to list please email me. Many minds working together will accomplish much more than one working alone. Please note that there are many ways to do different things in horology and I am not implying that any ideas in these pages are the best or only ways to do any given project. I will be adding pages to this list on a regular basis so be sure to check back often. Copyright © 2001 CompanyLongName
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