chris5264 Posted September 14, 2013 Report Share Posted September 14, 2013 The unitas is by far my favorite movement, but even some decent swiss versions have the more boring winding wheels....So, with only a few tools I found a way to improve on this. No, its no Benzinger, but Benzinger winding wheels will cost you around 200 (USD). This is next to nothing. Here it is step by step but the pictures pretty much tell the story. Remember (as I always forget) the crown wheel (smaller one) is backwards to unscrew....ahh...I always forget that and messed up the nice blue screw...but there are some mistakes we are domed to make over and over again.. just a tooth pic holding it...again..something that would make Benzinger faint...but works well... as I get the wheel spinning flat and even....use another dremmel with a light touch clean and oil if you can....a big improvement imo for the cost of about...nothing.. a few others easy to do versions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gran Posted September 14, 2013 Report Share Posted September 14, 2013 Benzinger This is bringing horology down to earth for the brave. Thank you for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5264 Posted September 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2013 thanks.....reminds me of when I first took a watch apart......really helps you appreciate what goes into it.....tried some perlage but I need a smaller tip...still a great way to spend a sunday morning.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5264 Posted October 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2013 after researching a few options...seems that perlage is the way to go....the trick is finding the right tip for the dremel and getting it steady....so I invested 50 (usd) in a drill press....and then searched pretty hard for the right tip...some people said that pegwood works,,,but I found it was too soft...then ...tonight I found a rubber tip that was made to polish...and ....I like it....yes I need some work...but I can see some improvement even on my second set.... here's the drill...great for the money and offers lots of control.. Here's my first set.... Here is a before and after.... next,,,the whole movement is going...perlage everywhere....I know you might think this isn't pro work,,,,but I really enjoy giving a personal touch to a piece... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5264 Posted October 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Ok,,,not too many responses on this....but sure someone out there is a perlage freak like myself....the trick,,,as I'm learning is to use a small rubber tip....it does burn off after a while...but the smaller circles look much better...plus...did a pallet bridge...but pushed too hard and went to the brass...and started a watch case....the watch case was done super fast...just to test it out..but obviously the eye catches the uneven spaces...so I need to work on that..but the best winding wheels so far turned out on my invicta...of course.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Dazza Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 Looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5264 Posted October 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 thanks,,,,if this looks good to anyone would do this service for free....just enjoy doing the work so much.....probably stick to the winding gears for now....just ordered a bunch more from otto frey...might put them up at cost to see if anyone is interested.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted October 5, 2013 Report Share Posted October 5, 2013 I think from your pics of the other parts you have tried that maybe polishing the wheels first might enhance the finished look.... Have you thought about using the boxwood dowel like they do with CDG etc.... When they do this they black polish the metal first... and then as they use the attachment to create the pattern they use a lot of polish as its being tooled... if you get what I mean mate.. I also thought about using the wire brush attachment ...those really small ones..then trimming down... similar to the way you create those swirls in a vintage car dashboard... Its great work mate...and very brave..I thought so much about trying it...like you I have seen these finsihed going for silly money..... I really like the damascus steel look that some have.. Fantastic and thanks for sharing ...you are a better man than me .... Do you want a spare asian 6498 to play with that I have ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5264 Posted October 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2013 thanks pete....not sure what the boxwood dowel is but will check it out......I've also thought about the wire brush,,,,lots to play with...thanks for the offer on the asian 6497 but I have too many left overs from other experiments that have gone bad....There is a movement from Tourby that is all perlage....might try to see how that goes...but not sure I can start with the bland unitas,,,seems that when I got to polish it,,,just goes down to the brass... I also might do a dial....start with larger circles...then work into smaller...I have the day off so perhaps I'll have some more to share.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted October 8, 2013 Report Share Posted October 8, 2013 Basically its a piece of boxwood mate or similar...its a tight grained hardwood.... usually yellowish.... I imagine you could use comaparble wood... its mainly used in musical instruments... I knw on echeaper parts the coating is poor...but again you could maybe think about DIY plating....its pretty simple to do and you may find it helps if you need to use those cheaper pieces.. If not buying up lots from the bay of Vintage stuff could be an option and useable in 6497s etc....and cheap Quality is so far better than anything from China... Tourby does some nice stuff and there are many German located movement craftsman.... Have you seen this guy http://alexander-shorokhoff.de/index.php?id=51 Or these links http://www.watchprojects.com/category/calibres/unitas-649x/ http://www.perrinwatchparts.com/ http://www.faszination-uhrwerk.de/ http://ashtonwatch.com/ http://www.independent-watchmakers.com/ http://stuhrling.com/ Not all specific but some interesting things within them.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5264 Posted October 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2013 thanks Pete,,,some cool sites....stuhrling probably gets some crap...but some of their dials are very nice...I had an old school one....one of the nicest dials...they used to say their dial maker was the same as muller's..... DId a little with a buckle....I like how it turned out.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5264 Posted October 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 Here's my first shot at a movement...used to be the boring checkerboard pattern....very thin coating that came right off.....so I ended up down to the brass...I believe...which looks ok I think....you can tell my hand is not as steady as a pro....its actually pretty hard to see what you are doing..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted October 13, 2013 Report Share Posted October 13, 2013 Look really nice mate..... Regardless of what the defined look should be...these are still very good looking and eye catching...which is what you are trying to do with any decorated movement... Great work mate... Shall we call it 'Chrisage' or Cotes De Chris' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5264 Posted October 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 thanks Pete,,,,lol...I like chrisage....but time will tell if that is a good thing to do or a bad thing to do....going to attempt the balance......see what happens...I should have practiced more before just jumping into the movement...but I have such a planned cautious life....good to live on the "edge" with watches... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 thanks Pete,,,,lol...I like chrisage....but time will tell if that is a good thing to do or a bad thing to do....going to attempt the balance......see what happens...I should have practiced more before just jumping into the movement...but I have such a planned cautious life....good to live on the "edge" with watches... I keep meaning to say mate and it keeps slipping my mind..... If you are struggling with removing the plate on some parts you shoud use a non abrasive compound and soft buff... you can achieve a mirror polish or any coloured buff etc etc without removing the plate. Its the same stuff jewellers use for plated jewllery... I have used it a few times works a treat mate.... the trick is in the method etc but just as a general polish you have to make a big mistake to end up removing the plate finish I also thought if you fancy bringing out the pattern on your wheels etc have you thought about etching it on? DIY etching is pretty easy..... basically cover area //wheel etc with masking tape or heat resistant tape depending if you are polishing at same time etc... get a 9V battery with 2 wires... and a cotton wool bud Cut out pattern you want using craft knife or razor etc... then connect positive wire from battery (easier with clips) to metal part then attach negative wire from battery to the cotton wool bud.... ensure the wire connects to the wetted area of the bud... (the bud is dipped in salted water) then hold/press cotton tip to areas cut out by masking tape...do that for about 5-10 mins moving tip around...use a few tips ie change every few minutes... you will see metal darkening ... Of course no good on plated or is but will remove plate so you could end up with a nice plate/brass look pattern ... could be a way to get some other patterned looks to metal parts But you get idea mate.... just a thought if you are playing about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris5264 Posted December 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2013 had some time over break to work on this...came out nice IMO but needs work,,,,I need to finish the balance.....I put in a cheap one for the time being....just too see how it looks....As you can see the dial is difficult....I had to do this by touch and in some places went down to the brass...If I was a pro...would just send the whole thing out for re plating...but I'm not.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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