Hamilton 926 Tear Down

[tmac1956]

@mahlon wrote:

Tom, I’ve got two retired clock guys here that told me to mix 1qt. naptha with a gal. mineral spirits as a rinse, after cleaning with a non ammonia cleaner. You don’t use naptha in your ultra sound do you? Mahlon

Mahlon:

I don’t use an ultrasonic machine. I use a manual seven dip process lised in the Chicago Watchmakers Course – only because I haven’t bought one yet. However, David seems to have had good luck with that and hasn’t had any fires yet.

Thanks!
Tom

[chris mabbott]

A quick update on this watch. I have yet another broken plate jewel that I don’t have, I’ll probably have to break down and get one from Otto baby that will increase the value of the watch by $50, shipping and handling included. I’d hate to have something heavier and larger sent international, like maybe a jewel MOUNTED in a setting

Chris

[peggy332014]

Have you guys ever tried Simple Green? Mike uses it to clean his gun parts. He even uses it to clean our cooking stove! 😆

It’s a degreaser and is not abrasive, and it has a nice smell too. It removes all of the gunk! Simple Green was suggested to clean the cosmoline off of Mike’s new lathe when he got it. It’s a gummy substance but the Simple Green took it right off!

[davidjm]

@Chris Mabbott wrote:

Time to strip down the rest and plop them into my cleaning solution which is……. dare I reveal it, as most watch tinkerers really frown on its use….. Zippo lighter fluid 😆 It doesn’t melt the shellac, it de-greases and cleans perfectly, dries rapidly and it has a great smell, plus it’s cheap and readily available 🙄

Hi Chris, Could you please explain your procedure for cleaning using lighter fuel…also do you use a rinsing solution or maybe pure alcohol as a final quick rinse…hand clean, machine or ultrasonic.

[chris mabbott]

Hi David,

My cleaning technique is as basic as it gets and probably frowned on by professional swiss trained watch repairers everywhere LOL
but I don’t use alcohol except for a beer or rye & ginger, occasionally of course and not for cleaning.

first I wash everything EXCEPT GEARS, BALANCE AND MAINSPRING in warm soapy water, being careful not to damage any springs with my toothbrush.
I dry everything off in paper towel, then use a mini hair dryer to eliminate any moisture.
Then I manually clean and polish the plates with a toothpick and a metal polish, then I use a cotton dolly mop to buff.
I put the pieces in a jar with clean zippo, naphtha. I let them soak for a few hours sometimes days if I forget haha
When I take them out of the solution, i clean any residual particles that may remain, with a toothpick, I use a tiny brush that I dip in the naphtha for spot cleaning.
Then I remove the double sets of jewels and I clean the mating brass parts with diamanteen paste and finish with naphtha..
I also use lint free cotton to wipe, polish etc

The alternative is to dump the whole lot into an ultrasonic or auto cleaner, but hey, where’s the satisfaction in thaat
It’s like hand washing your car versus running it through a car wash

The watch I’m currently working on shows signs of being put into a cleaning machine and not being properly disassembled.

One of the main signs, IMHO is when you separate the hole and cap jewels, those brass or gold settings should be at least clean if not sparkling. But nearly all are so filthy that you can’t see the metal. And really the small drop of oil used should not cause that kind of contamination.
I feel that some people may not even remove both jewels, instead use a force feed bergeon oiler. Just my two cents but evidence points to it..

[davidjm]

Thanks for the information Chris.

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