I have aquired some watches in tha past and not knowing of how well they were taken care of i have no ideal of when they were last oiled.I have thought look at the overall condition of the movement and if it looked dirty then you should probaly get it cleaned and oiled.
But is there something else such as watch performance that might be a indicator that it is dry and needs oil.What are other people,s thoughts on this ?

Kevin West

Kevin,

I usually take my new watches apart for a good inspection and cleaning. I noticed that most of the watches I took apart had gunked up jewels and pivots. I tested a couple movments before and after cleaning them (Waltham Ball 19j and a Hamilton 974). I oiled the watch before cleaning and let them run for 24 hours. Both did ok but lost a couple of minutes. I then cleaned and oiled both and fired them up for another 24 hours. Both watches were right on.. With a good cleaning, even the oldest watch can keep good time.... Sorry, kinda got long winded Bruce

Kevin,

Visual dirt is not always the problem. Watches should be cleaned every two years dut to the oil breaking down and gumming up. You can increase your service interval with the use of synthetic lubricants.

Aaron Bereiter
NAWCC# 156432
Chapter 185 Charter 23
Chapter 185 Finance VP
God Bless America

Should a movement always be dismantled for a cleaning and oiling. It is my understanding that many watchmakers need to clean and lubricate multiple movements at one time. They only remove the balance and put it in the claning machine. Then they give it a dunk in the lubricant. Is there any time that this is really acceptable?
A couple of months ago I bought a Bunn Special on e-bay that was just serviced by a professional. when I first opened the back I thought the movement was discolored. It was light reflecting off oil residue. I can only guess that this watch was not oiled with a spade, but instead dunked.

Scott,

For a pocket watch that is never acceptable. It needs to be disassembled and thoroughly inspected and cleaned. There is no quick and easy way around it.

Those oil dips are the cheeziest half baked fix I have ever herd of. Kind of like that engine restore in a can. Nothing more than a crummy temporary repair.

Aaron Bereiter
NAWCC# 156432
Chapter 185 Charter 23
Chapter 185 Finance VP
God Bless America

Scott,

Without discussing the ethics of eBay's watch repair "Professionals", I will simply state that to properly clean and oil a watch movement, you must take it down to its individual component assemblies. Dunking movements into an ultrasonic cleaner and then giving them an oil bath does not constitute a "cleaning and oiling". It reminds me of the 'Engine Overhaul in Can' that J.C. Whitney sold for many years.

There are many books and videos on this subject. They were written and/or produced by "real" professionals. The IHC is blessed with many members of this caliber.

Note: How ironic, while writing this post, Aaron was posting the same analogy. Scary, eh?

John D. Duvall
NAWCC Member 144772
NAWCC IHC Happy Camper 192
Chapter 185 Watch Repair Moderator

[This message was edited by John D. Duvall on June 26, 2003 at 20:45.]

I'm in full agreement, a pocket watch MUST be disassembled, cap jewels removed, jewel holes pegged, etc. in order to do the clean & relubricate correctly. Swishimg a plastic lubricant all over the plates is not the proper way to maintain and preserve a fine old pocket watch.
A visual inspection, even with a loupe, can be deceiving. I've found that many of the newer synthetic lubricants tend to evaporate rather than turn "gummy" with age. These movements can appear to be sparkling clean, with little to no evidence of dirt and dried up lubricant, but the oil that protected the pivots from scoring are gone. They will even keep good time, at least for a while, although they may tend to run a little fast. These synthetic oils are better lubricants than the older natural oils, and they last longer before needing replacement, but they don't give the owner warning when their life is over, as the older ones did by getting so sticky that the movement wouldn't run.

Ed Ueberall
NAWCC 49688
IHC Member 34
The Escapement

I have heard a little different approach. It was too remove the balance, dial, hour & minute wheels, and clean the rest ultrasonically, then disassemble and oil.

Is this any more acceptable than no disassembly at all.

Charlie

Charlie,

If you were going to disassemble the watch anyway, why would you want to clean the movement prior to that? All you would be doing is loosening dirt to infiltrate other areas of the watch.

If it were a greasy car engine, that's another story but I haven't heard of anyone yet getting greasy fingernails by NOT cleaning the watch prior to disassembly.

There's really no other option than to disassemble, inspect, clean, oil and reassemble.
There are NO shortcuts in proper watch servicing.

Go with Ed's advice and do it the correct way.

John D. Duvall
NAWCC Member 144772
NAWCC IHC Happy Camper 192
Chapter 185 Watch Repair Moderator

John D.
That's exactly what the watchmaker told me when he was teaching me watch repair. "Always remember, there are no shortcuts in watch servicing".
Brian C.

pwpartsetc@webtv.net

I heard this the other day and just like you, I'm thinking "If you're going to disassemble anyway, why not do it going in".

I asked again to make sure I understood and he said this was the way the process was designed to work.

I don't clean or oil myself, but it just didn't sound right.

Any specific advise as to which oils to use on different parts? Any good source of these oils and lubricants?

Mike,

I only COA watches as a hobby. The products below were purchased at Otto Frei because I can pick them up instead of having them shipped.

RR

Mainspring- Mainspring grease: Mobius 8200
Barrel arbor- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss D-5
Center wheel pivots- Fine watch oil: Mobius 9020
Third wheel pivots- Fine watch oil: Mobius 9020
Forth wheel pivots- Fine watch oil: Mobius 9020
Escape wheel pivots- Fine watch oil: Mobius 9010
Pallet arbor pivots- Fine watch oil: Mobius 9010
Balance pivots- Fine watch oil: Mobius 9010
Pallet stones- Fine watch oil or preferably Mobius 941 escapement oil
Crown wheel- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss D-5
Click- Fine watch oil: Mobius 9020
Stem pilot, square and bearing- Thick grease like KT-22
Clutch wheel and winding pinion ratchet teeth- Thick grease like KT-22
Yoke pivot- Pressure resistant oil such as Mobius Microgliss D-5
Yoke/setting lever fiction surfaces- Thick grease like KT-22
Set bridge (set lever spring) Thick grease like KT-22
Setting wheel pivot point- Fine watch oil: Mobius 9020
Cannon pinion outside surface- Fine watch oil: Mobius 9020
Cannon pinion/center shaft friction surfaces- Thick grease like KT-22

Thanks, very helpful