Made one of these tools when I was doing the BHI course/exams. Never thought to use it for removing hairspring pins, genius!

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

Thank you Chris. Works perfect.

You changed man, watching your old videos, 1year before...yes it is aging. God bless you

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

Welcome back! I am getting older my friend

@byrnejr

3 ай бұрын

We all are

Thank you so much for making these videos! I've been looking for a video on the polishing frog forever. Truly a service to future watchmakers documenting these types on processes.

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

Thank you. That’s what I am hoping for.

Alex,Brilliant and very well explained, I love your videos

@watchrepairtutorials

Ай бұрын

Many thanks! I appreciate you brother

This screw head looks gorgeous.

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

Not bad for a couple minutes right?

Alex. Absolutely fabulous. As a person who served an apprenticeship as a ships engineer I can really appreciate the 'frog', and it is something I can make. Way to go! So interesting yet again. Thank you.

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

I think you’re the first person who got the reference and realizes why it is called a frog.

Thanks for the video. Excellent as usual.

@watchrepairtutorials

Ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it Brian. Thanks for letting me know. 🤘

Love your videos. Have learned so much from you. Thank you.

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

You are so welcome!

Hi Alex, thank you for the info about the polishing tool, i made one and been waiting a month for some lapping film, it arrived today and well i'm just down to 3 mic, thank you for the info, great channel i do enjoy watching not just for the tips, cheers mate. Dave from UK

@watchrepairtutorials

Ай бұрын

Excellent Dave, As I'm sure you already know, adding a little bit of water to the lapping paper will extend its life, But I choose not to because I don't wanna spend as much time cleaning the parts between grits.

Alex, I cannot express my gratitude for all you share with us. You are just a well of knowhow and experience. Great thanks and hats down.

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

I appreciate you brother. More videos coming down the road soon

@vesselingenadiev2526

2 ай бұрын

@@watchrepairtutorials Great thanks in advance!

The hairspring part was the most helpful. I searched for a while looking for a tutorial. I bought a micro vise on Amazon. It worked well but this tool is 2 birds 1 stone.

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

There are tools specifically for holding hairspray studs, but this works well

Man! The way you make it look so effortless! Great job! I can’t wait until I get to a point where I don’t lose/break anything. Everything’s going to get polished. Lol

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

You can do it!

Awesome Video !!!! and your using a studding table/polishing frog !!!! I have a vintage studding table but it is only a studding table

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

I appreciate you Sonny. Multi use tools are the best IMO

Cool! I would love to see more multi-purpose tools just like this. Very nice polish on that screw

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

Pretty simple eh?

Absolutely brilliant video. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge with us! I will be making one of these tools soon. I didn’t realize how versatile they can be.

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful my friend. Always good to see your comments here.

Hay Dude. You inspired me to buy some tools off Amazon and get a old Elgin pocket watch and work on it. I have no intention of being a watch maker but I do enjoy messing with it. Lots of fun, I recommend it to everyone

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

Just have fun with it man. That’s awesome.

Cool to learn! Thanks

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

My pleasure! Sailgears

Nicely done

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

Thank you! Cheers!

Great information. Thank you.

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching my friend

Thanks!

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

No problem! Thanks for the support my friend

nice video I haven't done much screw polishing Now I have no excuse.

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

Hello Amanda, Try it. It works amazing well. -Alex

Thanks Alex!

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

Hey Tim, no problemo

Excellent work... 😊

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

Thank you so much 😀

Nice to see you. Appreciate the information. Always learning.

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching my friend. There’s always something new to learn.

Thank you for a great lesson. You are a true craftsman.

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

I appreciate that! Thank you

Another great video Alex. I love black polishing anything. And anglage and the occaisional rondelage.

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it my friend.🤙

I love your videos. I plan on using your end shake video in my apprentice class to explain how you need to understand how something works before you can attempt to fix it. Question: Are the adjustment feet sacrificial since they hold the screw in plane?

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

If you’re referring to loss of material on the two leveler feet, it is minimal. The grit equivalency of these micron papers is very high.

Excellent video! Could you show in a future video how you polish the sides of the screw?

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

It’s best done on a lathe with a burnisher

Really nice and incredibly informative video! thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge with us. I have a couple of questions: 1. How did you mount the diamont lapping paper on the glass? did you glue it? 2. You are passing the whole tool on the diamant paper. Aren't the levelers affected by that? Many thanks in advance. Fabrizio

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

The diamond paper is peel and stick, so he just pulled the backing, and it sticks to the glass. To your second question all it does is polish them as well. They are also quite thick.

Another great video, could you do the same type of video but on Chrystals. I found your mainspring video a great source of information.

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

Thank you. What kind of crystal?

@andrewwebster437

3 ай бұрын

@@watchrepairtutorials any kind of watch Chrystal (glass), trying to find a replacement can be difficult should they be domed, etc. how to measure when the Chrystal is broken etc.

Just found ur channel and So glad I did ! Just absorbing info right now while waiting on $ as I’m on disability lookn fer a hobby. Been watching service videos on KZread, that I thought were educational somewhat…. But NOooo ! lol. You the man Alex ! No way now will I attempt my grandfather’s 220 grade Waltham model 94, from 1907. Until I do like ya said and learn some easier modern watches first. Like I said, still trying absorb knowledge first, yiur lessons are awesome and you present them so my DUMBASS can even understand !!

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

LOL. Smart. Start slow and learn before moving on to the heirloom. 😀

Thanks so much for sharing! My “Tools Still Needed” list just got a little bit longer. Would this process also work for flat mineral crystals?

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

In theory, but it’s not worth it because mineral crystals are so cheap

Great video mate, crammed with juicy stuff! How could you make sure you shellac items completely flat to the frog?

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

I keep a small jar of liquid shellac. That’s just shellac dissolved and denatured alcohol. It just takes a small amount underneath the part and then I hit it with a little bit of heat and it sets it.

@boydsargeant7496

3 ай бұрын

@@watchrepairtutorials thanks Alex. I guess because it’s more liquid like it’s thin and easier to get the part set flat.

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

@@boydsargeant7496 perhaps. I have never really had an issue with a part laying flat that was in good condition.

The hand tool that you made for fixing the screw to be polished- can you make it for a price so that interested viewers can buy? If yes, please let me know the cost.Thank you, Sir, for this video. Your knowledge and passion for watch repairs is truly exemplary.

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

I wish I had the time. Thanks for watching.

Alex just a quick one is HEXANE ok to use on any shellac items i.e. pallet and roller even vintage movements thanks ady

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

Yes. Yes it is.

What is a good method for polishing a domed screw head, love the channel and looking forward to more. Gu Lai Fu

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

A Lathe

I noticed in your videos that the distance between the microscope and the worktop is quite long (although the magnification seems quite high from the video). In my case, despite mainly using the lowest magnification setting (X7), the screwdriver barely gets in between the worktop and the lens, blocking the view or causing several inconveniences. Should I buy another microscope? The model name is Nikon's multipurpose real microscope SMZ-1. I was wondering if you had any advice. Thank you!

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

Try to find a .5x Barlow lens. That’s how you get a wider field of view and more working distance.

Damn, thought I was seeing Nick Nolte for a sec... 😵‍💫

@watchrepairtutorials

Ай бұрын

That’s a new one. LOL

Great method and demonstration Alex. As a caution to others, two mistakes I've made: 1. Your polish is "too good" and the polished screw stands out from the originals. 2. You polish too aggressively which results in shortening the screw head height so it sits too deep in the countersink, also telegraphing that the screw us not original. So many mistakes too be made learning this craft!

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

Good points. Often times all the screws need to be polished for consistency, that’s for sure. I have also found that the lapping films remove as little material as possible. Great comment sir.

I had a question about misaligned bezels. I've seen videos where they do a reassembly of the bezel insert to realign it, but what if the bezel is a solid piece? Do I just pop it off and press it back on, hoping to get that fraction of a millimeter to line up? Or is it possible to get a good grip on it and rotate it ever so slightly?

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

It’s hard to say without knowing how it was attached to the case. It could be pressed on or glued on. The chance of damaging it when removing are pretty high so I would caution you before you do anything like trying to pry it off or clamp onto it with a wrench to twist it.

@johnbentley364

2 ай бұрын

@@watchrepairtutorials It's a Seiko Prospex Speedtimer. It's very subtle. The second hand and 12 o'clock marker are lined up, but points just behind the 60 line on the bezel. Quality control issue from Seiko, but could be worse.

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

@@johnbentley364 what’s the model number?

@johnbentley364

2 ай бұрын

@@watchrepairtutorials SBDL103

@johnbentley364

2 ай бұрын

@@watchrepairtutorials SBDL103

Master, can you provide a first issue on how to confirm the position of the hairspring on the swing wheel without marking the position of the outer pile of the hairspring🤝

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

Use a sharpe. It’s easy to remove with a q-tip and alcohol

@user-pj2sg3od3e

2 ай бұрын

@@watchrepairtutorials Perhaps it was me expressing it，What I want to know is，When the hairspring is removed from the swing wheel, its original position is not marked. How to determine the accurate position of the hairspring on the swing wheel. thanks！！

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

@@user-pj2sg3od3e if there was no marking on the balance wheel, lay the hairspring on the balance cock with the hairspring stud in its place. Look at the position of the opening in the collet and then using that information lay it on the balance staff and stake it on. Then you can adjust it for beat error. Hope that answers your question.

@user-pj2sg3od3e

2 ай бұрын

thanks，Master@@watchrepairtutorials

Hi Alex a still can't understand how you make this tool is there better explaining from the chart

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

Did you download the lesson?

@mirauldloufoukou7364

2 ай бұрын

Not the lesson the sheet that's on the petreon web page there isn't a lesson shows how to make this tool

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

@@mirauldloufoukou7364 I have not made a video on making the tool. I will eventually but not at this time.

Were you a machinist or a mechanic in a former life, Alex? You seem very adept at fabricating and with tools of all sorts.

@watchrepairtutorials

3 ай бұрын

Not really. I was trained to work a lathe. But I also like to figure things out I live by the Creed, “ If the women don’t find you handsome, at least they should find you handy.” Red Green

Thank you once again for another top notch video. I taught you well, Grasshopper 🫡

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

lol, yes you did

where can i find the leveling bolts for this tool? what are they called? @watchrepairtutorials

@watchrepairtutorials

2 ай бұрын

They are just cut from steel rod. There’s a couple of ways to attach them to the threaded screw that moves them in and out of the brass plate depending on what you have available available for tools. If you have a laid then you can just turn the threaded rod and the foot as one piece. The next easiest way would be to drill and tap the foot piece and then thread your screw into that. Another option would be to find A bolt that is round and uses a hex or Allan key. Search this phrase, “M6 x 6mm Full Thread Cap Head Screws (DIN 912) - Stainless Steel (A2)” and you will see what I mean.