Mike, I admire your determination!

@WatchWithMike

22 күн бұрын

Hi Tom! I'm diving in head first! (I had no idea how deep this hole is!)

@mokumholland5640

21 күн бұрын

It’s amazing and teaches us to appreciate the work that goes into manufacturing mechanical watches even more.

Fun, Mike. Thank you for sharing your mistakes, as well as successes. It helps the rest of us. You're braver than most of us--not just by sharing your mistakes, but by bravely plunging in! I'm more hesitant than you, but you'll succeed by cleaning and restoring many more watches before I do! ... Alex has taught me so much. I've typed in his basic 17 lessons and many more presentations. I've created a book. He's my teacher. He's a cool guy! Thanks for your helpful and encouraging video. David Lee

Perfectly clear,Mike.Thank you.

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

Hi Angel, thank you for watching! 😁

It too am a tool collector who does a little watchmaking on the side. Lovely work on the video, cheers!

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

Well thank you, and reciprocal compliments back to you! From the land of truck nuts… 🤣

Mike, you can still use those Mosely collets in your lathe. All you need to do is cut a sleeve that’s about 3mm in length, the same outside diameter as the sleeve that your draw bar fits in, and also has an inside hole the same diameter that your draw bar will fit into. Put it on your draw bar between the bar and the lathe lengthening the space between the 2 and allowing you to tension the Mosely collets. You only need to make one and keep it in your collet box, that way you,ll be able to use everything you’ve bought on that auction. Good luck, and keep up the informative videos.

@WatchWithMike

15 күн бұрын

Thanks Paul! I consider doing that, but ended up returning the set because I would like to have a more complete selection that is all the same brand. Now the trick will be finding a set in a price range that I do not have to take out a second mortgage!

@PaulBletzer

13 күн бұрын

@watchwithmike I tried keeping everything the same when I first started buying my watchmakers lathe tools back In the 90’s but soon found to take whatever I could get when I could get it because everyone was looking for the same things I was and stuff started to get expensive. Then if I was able to complete a set or get something better I would sell off mismatched items or extras. That way I was able to get some really nice items and ended up with doubles on some cool stuff like poising tools, staking sets. I even had a pair of Jacot lathes I got this way, but traded one to a friend. Anyway, the point I was trying to make was to keep what you have and use it until you can get a better more complete set you’re happy with and then move these Mosely collets on…by then they’ll probably be worth more money anyway, because it seems everybody has taken up the hobby recently and have been scooping up everything and anything they can get there hands on. Good luck, I hope you come across some nice items and share them in your videos.

Hi Mike, liquid shellac is a perfectly valid way to secure roller or pallet jewels, it is usually used without heat. Syrupy thick liquid shellac is used to secure the jewel in the roller table and then the alcohol is allowed to evaporate. Methanol and denatured ethanol evaporate faster than isopropyl alcohol, which might take a up to day or so. Once the jewel is set in place and the shellac is dry, any adjustments can be done by heating the roller table in the tool you demonstrated to soften the shellac and moving the jewel. Hot shellac work, where liquid shellac isn’t used, is performed by drawing threads of shellac and using them similarly to solder onto the preheated roller table.

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

That all makes great sense! I haven't checked my rubbery shellac on the washer in about a day… I hope it firmed up! I'm going to do another batch using denatured alcohol and see if it evaporates quicker. I am also going to try what you suggest and pull some threads of shellac to use like solder. That's the perfect metaphor!

@GWServices

21 күн бұрын

@@WatchWithMike Denatured is much more 'powerful' on the shellac. What you did prove is that quick washes in IPA are fine on shellacked parts.

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

@@GWServices Exactly! The shellac was in no hurry to melt in the IPA...but did eventually. Good point!

@mercuriall2810

21 күн бұрын

@@WatchWithMike Shellac, being insect excrement, can vary in composition from batch to batch. It is true that isopropyl alcohol dissolves it slower than denatured alcohol (ethanol), and methanol dissolves it faster than ethanol, but due to the composition changing from batch to batch, supplier to supplier, do not count on isopropyl alcohol dissolving any given sample of dewaxed shellac JD Richard experimented with liquid shellac and once he had dewaxed shellac I told him that his isopropyl alcohol should dissolve it, albeit slowly. It didn’t dissolve. He did get it dissolved in denatured alcohol, though. Upon investigating that, I found it comes down to shellac being poo from lice, that batches can vary depending upon what the lice were eating and other factors, and isopropyl alcohol isn’t a reliable solvent for all (dewaxed) shellac. I’ve never heard of dewaxed shellac that won’t dissolve in denatured alcohol (ethanol) or methanol, though.

Hi, Mike! Thanks for another great video! I often have to adjust the pallet jewels, and this is avery simple way to work with shellac: I put the pallet fork on a metal base and use the preheated soldering iron or a wood burning pen ( I like it even more). I do not touch the shellac or the fork, just keeping the iron a couple of mm away from the part. It is enough to get the shellac to melt, and then it's possible to align everything that you need.

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

Wait, so you are melting the shellac by passing heat through the air? Or are you touching the heat to the metal base?

@kirillslov

21 күн бұрын

@@WatchWithMike Absolutely right, the heat is passed through the air. As far as I know, it starts melting at around 70 degrees Centigrade

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

@@kirillslov I thought about experimenting with my small heat gun, but then I pictured my parts selling across the room…

@kirillslov

21 күн бұрын

@@WatchWithMike I sometimes use a soldering heat gun for the same purpose. At a minimum air flow it isn't a bad idea at all. It's fully functional :))

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

@@kirillslov good to know! I really felt that the alcohol lamp was too hot. Plus the overhead lights and microphone in my studio weren't very happy about having an open flame under them!

Thanks Mike, i really enjoyed your video and comments from others❤😂👍🏼👍🏿

@WatchWithMike

15 күн бұрын

Thanks Michael! I really enjoyed the comments especially - thanks everyone! 😁

Thanks Mike

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

Thanks for watching!😀

I wonder what guy thought... Okay lets dry out cockroaches and other insects and use them as glue...😅Nice set of collets you got there! You could make a spacer or bush for them on your new fancy lathe! Interesting results you got there. Looking forward to your continued efforts in this!

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

I ended up sending back the collets, but I hear what you're saying about making a spacer… That definitely would've been an option! If I only knew that you could make shellac from bugs earlier in life... well I suppose it's never too late to learn! Hey did you know you can make glue from boiling fish? 🤣

@johanvandersandt8904

20 күн бұрын

@@WatchWithMike Thats too bad but its better that you get the right equipment! Yeah its weird haha! Fish you say. Imagine the poor guy boiling the fish for the glue... 🤢

@WatchWithMike

20 күн бұрын

@@johanvandersandt8904 😂

Great video Mike. Looking forward to the pocket watch restoration! And yes, Alex Hamilton is a real pro, with a cool name to boot!

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

Hi Jimmy, yup, Alex won the name lottery didn't he? 😁 Hey, QQ… Do you have any resources for pocket watch to wristwatch case conversions? This pocket watch is a size 0 and is begging to be worn on the wrist if I can get it running.

@Mars-zgblbl

21 күн бұрын

Aw, thanks a lot, guys. Now whenever I watch Alex’s tutorials, I’m gonna hear “Al-ex-an-der-Ham-il-ton” in my head 🤣

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

@@Mars-zgblbl 🙉

@WatchRestorationCottage

21 күн бұрын

@@WatchWithMike I know a guy that does conversions with 12s pocket watches. Let me ask him whether he has cases for 0s conversions. I'll get back to you.

@WatchRestorationCottage

21 күн бұрын

Hi Mike, just heard back. It costs $400 for the conversation case. That's cost, direct from the supplier. 😬

Wow! That tool for heating the roller table is very cool! Amazing how fast it transmitted > 165 degrees! That's one tool I didn't know existed! The iPhone IR camera attachment also kind of blew my mind! How the hell does that work!?

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

See, there is always one more new tool to learn and buy! The heat camera plugs into the lightning port on the iPhone, and has its own lens and sensor. It has a proprietary app that lets you do video or pictures. It's magic! That's all I know. 😎

@IShootWatches

21 күн бұрын

@@WatchWithMike Oh, nice! I thought it was somehow using the iPhone's camera and processing it differently. A separate little camera in the dongle makes more sense!

Mike. Thank you for this selection of videos. Really interesting. Makes me realise why, at this time of my apprenticeship, I cannot attempt shellac. Ah well. I am however thinking of purchasing get a cheap Chinese 9 in 1 lathe and attempt to do a number of DIY fixes. Cost and space is a great factor to me. Great fun this hobby. Thank you.

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

Hi Ross, thanks for checking in! Cost and space are always a factor! This is my first time playing with shellac, and I look forward to many more experiments. I don't know how shellac fits into an apprentice agenda, but you could always do experimenting on the side… Nothing wrong with figuring out your own methods in addition to knowing the traditional ways. As long as you are having fun!

Mike...it's cool seeing your new toys. It's fun but quite precarious. I was thinking about trying my hand at this, but acquiring the tools is one thing...eBay. But where do we get the jewels?. And how does one go about sizing it if there is none in the table. The old one is broken off. I have an old South Bend movement I could use for practice if I ever decide to dive in, but finding the jewel is my biggest issue, and knowing what size to get. Hang in there. You'll get it. Just a matter of practice. 😎😎

@WatchWithMike

9 күн бұрын

You can buy impulse jewels in bulk if you're lucky on the 'Bay. There are several profiles, and you need to find the one that fits the hole on your roller table. While it's hard for me to imagine, I read that you can cut them or snap them to length once again, patience is king! 😁

The Mosely collets that sort of fit only need a spacer tube for the draw bar to work if the length of the parallel "tail" is the only issue. More importantly though is the taper the same angle and is the parallel "tail" the right diameter. Same with any others you might have that seem to fit. If you simply want to get things going quickly check with local model railroad hobby shops for K&S brass tubing. If you get the size you need you can easily cut and face a spacer tube to permit using the Moseley collets.... Again assuming that the other dimensions are the same as the WW collets. I know that I've seen other videos that use solid shellac sticks to butter up the "wax chucks" to hold parts. I wonder if you're not supposed to use the shellac in solid form as the "glue". Of course with the heat it'll soon evaporate off the alcohol. The tools you got are seriously cool. But then I think most of us that take on hobbies like this are pretty much incurable toolaholics.. So no surprise to see your smile at such things. :D

@timcasey5733

21 күн бұрын

I agree. A spacer ring should be able to be installed to make up for the added length

@tweedrhino

21 күн бұрын

You can also make a shorter drawbar to use with the longer collets

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

Hi Bruce, my area is lacking for good hobby shops, so I will need to extend my search. That's a great idea to source model railroad supplies, I will have to look into that. One of my next experiments will be heating shellac into a block, and then stretching it to try to make shellac soldering sticks. I bought the big bag because I really wanted to see everything that shellac could do. I also want to try it as a finish on wood, which I remember doing as a kid. (I'm pretty sure it was a liquid in a can, but I thought it would be fun making my own.) And yes, more tools = more happy! 😁

@brucematthews6417

21 күн бұрын

@@tweedrhino That would be the ideal option of course. But it means having a suitable lathe that is bigger than the watch maker's lathe to make the drawbar. Of course now I've just opened up the door for Mike to look at buying a CLOCK maker's lathe. Tool creep ya know..... :D

Outside of a production environment where new movements are built, or when making a new balance wheel from scratch, those Ruby jaw static poising tools are largely ornamental. There is no need to statically poise a balance after replacing a roller jewel, and it would be a mistake to do so in general. Poise will be maintained as long as you take note of the orientation of the roller jewel on the balance before removing the roller table. If you didn’t do this, it’s a simple matter of repositioning the roller table turned through 180 degrees if it’s obviously causing a poise imbalance. The reason it’s wrong to statically poise after reinstalling the roller jewel is that you won’t significantly affect the poise in doing so (the tiny mass of the shellac being so close to the wheel centre), and you’ll be ruining all the precision positional adjustment the watch had originally. Any precision watch adjusted to keep time over positions left the factory having been dynamically poised, ie it is by definition out of static poise. Static poise is a great starting point when building a new balance, to set you up to dynamically poise afterwards. This watch you’re working on is perhaps a special case. I suspect the loss of metal to rusting will have ruined the poise of the balance wheel. Any dynamic poise will be lost, so the best starting point for getting the watch to keep time well is to statically poise the balance wheel. The hairspring seems to have avoided any rust damage from what I could see in the video. If this is the case you are very fortunate. The slightest rust damage to a hairspring dramatically impacts timekeeping and rusted hairsprings (even a few tiny pits of rust) are ruined - they will keep the watch ticking but forget about timekeeping.

@GWServices

21 күн бұрын

I’ve found static poising worth a look after replacing a balance staff

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

Thanks, these are all points well taken! The hairspring looked like it had rust on it, but I think it was just surface dirt from the arms of the balance. At the very least I will have a baseline to see how much the impulse jewel and shellac affect poise. I agree, being near the center lessens the effect. As far as the tool being ornamental, I could stop right there and be happy! And it comes in a cool wooden box! 🤣

@mercuriall2810

21 күн бұрын

@@GWServices If you remove the original staff cleanly and without distorting the balance wheel, this shouldn’t ever be necessary. You might see loss of poise after restaffing but it’s due to distorting the balance wheel arms and/or rim during the staff removal/staff riveting process. You’re much better off trueing the balance in the round and flat such that it’s perfect under at least 20x magnification. If you still see a gross poise error (by looking at timing in positions), you’ve likely put the roller table on 180 degrees out of position. The balance wheel left the factory dynamically poised to keep good time in positions. How can it have gained or lost weight since (vandals with screw undercutters and the like notwithstanding)? Thus restaffing with good technique shouldn’t necessitate static poising. Henry Fried condemned countless watches to be statically poised for no good reason when restaffing. Countless watches are compromised as a result. This is why it’s so difficult to find an American Railway standard watch with a good oscillator (=unmolested balance with good Q factor). The authoritative authors, like Professor Hans Jendritzki and Simonin rightly stress that static poising is for making new balances to get to a point where they can be poised dynamically and has no place when restaffing.

@mercuriall2810

21 күн бұрын

@@WatchWithMike Those poising tools are beautiful. I’ve kept mine and like it a lot although I’m unlikely to need it unless I reach the point of building a movement from scratch myself. I know so many watchmakers who bought one early in their training, thinking it was essential but have all sold theirs once they realised they won’t use them. This includes one of the best watchmakers I know of.

@mercuriall2810

21 күн бұрын

@@WatchWithMike I’ve kept my poising tool because I like it and I agree it looks great. I know a lot of watchmakers who bought one early on, thinking it would be essential, only to learn they’d never use it and so they sold it. This includes one of the best watchmakers I know of. He warned the guy who bought it from him that it should be kept as a display piece only 😂 The balance was originally poised with the roller jewel and some shellac. A slight addition or decrease to the amount of shellac used won’t affect poise. Not even the bibles of precision watch adjustment suggest poising after reinstalling or replacing a roller jewel. On the use of the tool, it can’t hurt to know the nuances of how to use it properly if you want to experiment with it. Whether poising is necessary or not, experimenting is a great way to learn. The level bubble is removable on the better tools. The levelling is so important that checking it where the bubble on your tool is isn’t adequate. On the tools where the level lifts out, you place it atop the Ruby jaws to ensure the jaws themselves are level. If your level bubble lifts out, use it on the jaws. If not, you can buy round level bubbles like this cheaply. Once you’ve levelled the tool, you need a clear cover for it to block air currents. Your breathing and drafts in the room will interfere. A single bristle brush, or cat whisker is great to gently roll the wheel once it is on the jaws. Lastly, be sure the balance wheel and the tool aren’t magnetised. I’ve known people to chase a poise issue endlessly until they realised that magnetism was causing the wheel to misbehave on the jaws.

Great video Mike ...Sure using Shellac is the traditional way to go but in today's world there must be an easier way. I mean what carpenter or joiner boils up fish to make wood glue?

@mercuriall2810

21 күн бұрын

The watch industry has embraced many new materials and techniques. Hairsprings are often glued to the collet and stud rather than being pinned. Hairsprings are made of exotic temperature invariant alloys, as are balance wheels. Yet they still use shellac to secure pallet stones and roller jewels. This is because it’s ideal for the job. It can be softened by heat so that adjustments can be made and it doesn’t off gas corrosive gases as some glues do over time.

@GWServices

21 күн бұрын

It seems to be pretty much perfect. Not least 100 year old watches and it’s still as good as the date it was set

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

Wait, I can boil fish and make glue? (...pulls out notebook of KZread video ideas...) 😁

👍👍

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

Hi Al! It's good to see that you have been shellacking KZread with videos again! Well done, my friend! 😁

@coyotecarguy2076

21 күн бұрын

@@WatchWithMike thanks

interesting

@WatchWithMike

21 күн бұрын

Hi RB, I had fun with this one! Thanks for watching! 😁