Tweezers repair

[davidjm]

Brand new dumont no5 tweezers used once and the tip got slightly bent…anyone now how i can straighten the tip?

[willofiam]

Hey davidjm , I use a smooth jaw pliers and lightly draw the tip out and straight again, if you need to you can also use a fine stone and stone the tips so they match again, holding them together as I stone them. thats what I do , William

[arutha]

William gives good advice but I would also like to add – once you have them straight and the tips match up perfectly ( by stoning if necessary) just gently touch them together until the tips are just touching and then apply a slight amount of pressure to make sure the inner sides of the tweezers come together nicely and the points dont start pointing away from each other. Practice on some old ones first if you are unsure.
Paul.

[david pierce]

Davidjm,
For fine delicate lite work, Dumont #5 tweezers are unsurpassed. They should not be used for anything else except fine work. This was drilled into my head in a previous watch repair course I took before coming here. You can pick up a set of fantastic tweezers from REDROOSTER UK called STELLA TWEEZERS for about $30.00. These will suffice for all but the finest application. You will still need a Dumont #5 for the extremely fine stuff. I have purchased used #5s and gotten the tips back to working order by stoning and checking under a microscope but it takes awhile to get them back to pristine condition. There are also some other fine brands of tweezers such as VIOLA and BERGEON but you will still need a properly working pair of Dumont #5s for really delicate work.
david

[davidjm]

Thanks David. You are correct i made a silly mistake by using the no 5 for something that wasn’t delicate which bent the tip slightly…anyway i managed to correct the point best i can.

[david pierce]

Davidjm,
If you look at Ebay item #181256143158 you will see a brand new pair of Dumont #5 tweezers for sale. I don’t know what they cost new these days so this may or may not be a good price.
david

[tmac1956]

Davidjm:

I bent a pair of mine recently trying to remove a pocket watch stem from the center piece of the case at an angle. The space to grab hold of the thing was too small for even my smallest beading pliers, so I started flailing away before thinking and splayed out my tweezers tips – and still didn’t get the stem to move. Luckily, the tweezers were cheapies so it didn’t really matter. However, I learned a lesson from that as well as how to straighten and stone tweezers. I have since gotten a set made by Stella that I really like. You cannot beat the quality for the price. They’re not high end, but will serve well for general work.

I immediately bought some tiny stainless steel forceps (straight and curved), which worked great for both disassembly and reassembly. I might not ever use them again, but they will certainly be there for this stem situation should I ever encounter it again. Clearly, I wouldn’t use these on anything that might be scored by these. I might grind the teeth off just to allow me to use them for other tasks.

David Pierce:
It sounds like I need a Dumont #5!

Later,
Tom

[davidjm]

Thanks Tom. Stupid me used a No5 for trying to pull out a small holding pin on a fusee movement which equalled bent ends. Yes good reports about the Stella which are fine for general work…i ordered online yesterday.

[davidjm]

@Arutha wrote:

William gives good advice but I would also like to add – once you have them straight and the tips match up perfectly ( by stoning if necessary) just gently touch them together until the tips are just touching and then apply a slight amount of pressure to make sure the inner sides of the tweezers come together nicely and the points dont start pointing away from each other. Practice on some old ones first if you are unsure.
Paul.

Paul what main spring winder would you suggest for occasional amateur use without having to spend £800-900.

[arutha]

David,
is this for clocks or watches?
If it is for clocks I would have no hesitation in suggesting the “Ollie Baker” mainspring winder, I dont think there is anything better or safer.
When I started I bought the “Joe Collins” Mainspring winder, it can do most things but it would not cope with a big fusee mainspring and quite often on chime barrels and carriage clock barrels the winding arbor goes through the barrel the opposite way, this make the Joe Collins winder impossible to use on these types of barrel. I dont know of any UK stockist of the Ollie Baker winder so you will have to buy it from the States but it would be worth every single penny.
Ollie Baker – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCLYAasvt6M
Joe Collins – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uOsZ_ZIvLc
Bergeon (Based on the old English Mainspring winders) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RtdfhKSxNc these are expensive

If you are talking about watch mainspring winders then you would need to ask the watch guys on here.

[david pierce]

Check with UNCLE LARRY’S WATCH SHOP on the internet. He always has winders for sale and as an ex watchmaker can be very helpful in selecting a watch winding set. I have a WATCH-CRAFT set and I like it. Some people will only use a Bergeon Set but they are extremely expensive. As long as it winds the spring correctly it should not matter what brand it is.
david

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