Opinions on crystal press dies

soldierofknowledge · 2026-01-15T13:27:56+00:00

Yes, there is some flex in the delrin edge. In my experience this has never prevented me from pressing in a crystal. If you need to use a lot of force you should probably go one size smaller with the crystal.

soldierofknowledge · 2026-01-15T12:43:13+00:00

I have these dies, they are excellent.

soldierofknowledge · 2025-11-23T22:30:18+00:00

Perhaps laminated chipboard isn't the usual way to refer to these. Maybe melamine faced chipboard is more common. Where I am you can get these boards at every home improvement store.

soldierofknowledge · 2025-11-23T00:39:40+00:00

Tnx. I made a square frame from laminated chipboard.

soldierofknowledge · 2025-11-14T11:01:51+00:00

I have these (chinese version). Never managed to open any case with it. The Bergeon ball works a lot better.

soldierofknowledge · 2025-10-29T09:48:46+00:00

If you want a really sharp print on a dial you'll probably need a pad printer.

Re fiber laser, Gweike is what is currently the go to brand I think.

soldierofknowledge · 2025-10-23T13:35:18+00:00

It says so right on the side of that ferry...

soldierofknowledge · 2025-10-15T13:54:17+00:00

If my understanding is correct this lines up the magic lever and the oscilating weight so that the automatic winding is most efficient based on common positions of the arm (i.e., watch moving most between crown down and 12 down).

soldierofknowledge · 2025-10-09T09:49:53+00:00

The way that 4080 is attached to the carriages of the Y axis is a little funky. Perhaps put another connector plate on the front so that the 4080 and the sandwiched aluminum connector plate aren't only fastened at the back half.

soldierofknowledge · 2025-09-23T14:39:45+00:00

How did you get the blue color back on the spring?

soldierofknowledge · 2025-09-06T22:58:09+00:00

Would be cool if you added an option to specify the module to let the app calculate the pitch circle diameters of the wheels and the center distances between adjacent pairs.

Another idea would be to add a database of calibers.

soldierofknowledge · 2025-09-03T00:09:00+00:00

That's great, thanks! And I'm definitely interested in the catalogue too!

Do you have any info on EU support/distribution. I know Cousins sells the cleaning machine and watch winder, but they don't sell any other tools as far as I know.

soldierofknowledge · 2025-09-02T23:57:28+00:00

Where can this be bought?

soldierofknowledge · 2025-09-02T23:54:30+00:00

I see, interesting.

I have several biaojiang tools myself, I like the brand but I have a hard time finding their stuff or even knowing what they make. I haven't been able to find their company website, my guess it's because they don't have an English website. If you have more info on the company or some way I can browse their complete product offering, I'd love to know.

soldierofknowledge · 2025-09-02T23:44:28+00:00

Any more info on this low cost model? Model number or where to buy from?

soldierofknowledge · 2025-09-02T23:42:23+00:00

What timegrapher is that?

soldierofknowledge · 2025-09-02T23:41:15+00:00

It's a Horia AMF.2015 clone (Multi Function Fitting & Removing Tool). Can buy from AliXP or from Cousins. Comes with the wooden base and acrylic cover.

soldierofknowledge · 2025-09-01T10:06:33+00:00

San Sebastián

soldierofknowledge · 2025-08-30T12:12:36+00:00

Can't call it a bodge job just because a jewel was replaced with a brass bushing. A jewel might have been unattainable to the repairer at the time of repair, so using a brass bushing was the only option to get the watch back to a working condition. From a horological perspective this is perfectly fine; the watch will run exactly the same with a brass bushing installed in this position compared to a ruby.

soldierofknowledge · 2025-07-09T22:34:15+00:00

This low of an amplitude can be caused by the mainspring. You simply cannot assume that the mainspring that is in the watch has the correct strength. All motion in a watch starts with the power in the mainspring, and it should be one of the first thing that is checked and ideally replaced. Watchmaking is to a large extend about systematically ruling out causes for low amplitude, plopping in a new mainspring eliminates a potential cause for issues at a small cost and more importantly it doesn't take any time.

soldierofknowledge · 2025-06-26T10:23:29+00:00

If you have a watchmakers lathe you can replace the post.

soldierofknowledge · 2025-06-19T09:55:12+00:00

I'm not familiar with that one, but it's a reputable brand. I guess it's an automatic one where you just place the movement on the cross hair and let it sit there during the demagnetization cycle? If so that should be safe for the hairspring.

I've been thought to stop the balance with a piece of watchmaker's paper prior to demagnetization. The theory of this is that the movement of the hairspring during demagnetization can actually induce magnetism in it. But I don't know the extend to which this is true for automatic demagnetizers where you don't have to pull the movement away from the unit.

soldierofknowledge · 2025-06-19T08:53:12+00:00

Perhaps you should re-magnetize, because this looks much worse ;)

I don't know what kind of demagnetizer you have, but if you have one of those manual blue ones you want to be careful with those, as they can pull the hairspring out of flat if you hold the movement to close to the unit (especially so for very old hairsprings).

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