Restoration and Repair of a 1940s 'National' Watchmakers Cleaning Machine
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- čas přidán 7. 11. 2021
- In this video I purchase and unbox a vintage 1940s Watchmakers Cleaning Machine. Its in a state! A full restoration, rewire and repaint is in order. Watch the video to see all the steps to fully restore this piece of vintage watchmaking history.
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love these machines , going to get one next month and do a full restoration , nice job
Really cool video, i always see those machines in wathc restoration videos but never seen one being restored, they are way more simple on the inside than what i imagined.
Really interesting journey, especially as I'm not great with electrics. Thanks for sharing.
Couple of notes if you don't mind, hopefully helpful. Grab yourself a cheap tripod or table clamp and phone holder if you're filming on the phone. Just to give yourself both hands to work with and free up your camera hand.
The metal cover above the basket should actually seal against the jar lid when it's in use. If the basket bottoms out then the spindle sleeve has been altered in the past and is too long or an intermediate cover should be there.
I'd recommend sizing it so that the basket with the lid seated is about 1cm from the base of the jar, this will prevent splashing solvents and fumes. Really Great restoration though and the paint was a very good match.
Hi buddy thanks, sorry I'm late at getting to these comments but you're totally right - a tripod is on the way for the next one. I've just started a video for an Elma restoration so hoping to get that completed in the next few weeks.
Nice job! I could have watched every second of the resto! You could have made the clock resto a separate video. Do you mind me asking how much you paid for it? How much did it sell for? I’m thinking of purchasing one. Ta!
Thanks Boyd! Off the top of my head I think it was £75 and I spent maybe £15 on paint and supplies. This one sold for £350 and I believe that the lady that bought it was for display only as she liked the look of it.
You did very well!
I enjoyed your your video and the work you've done. I just got a similar vintage Swedish made watch cleaning machine. When I plug in nothing happens, no buzzing, no movement. How do you suggest I start trouble shooting / diagnosis and go about it ?
I have very basic understanding of electric.
I'd have a check that the fuse is good first and work from there.
You could simply replace it for a known good one if you don't have a tester.
If nothing at all is working I'd suggest that, and checking the plug wiring.
Just ensure its 240v and not 110v
Did you do a wiring diagram? I noticed you used a rheostat to adjust speed. How was this connected?
I just mirrored how it was connected when I received the unit. Usually it's just a big resistor between the live feed to the motor
I'm in the process of restoring a S. Lanzetter National model 1 which has a case iron base. The motor works and I've actually had it working on 230v and 24v however I've decided to replace the internals with a modern 12v motor for safety concerning the 230v heating element using flamable solvents. The other adavantage is the possibility of connecting a audunio micro controller at a later date that would move the motor forward and reverse for given time intervals which I believe modern cleaners do. 12v fan assisted ptc heaters are available and I've got a motor on the way. I'm also swapping the pitted chromed riser pole for stainless steel. I'd be grateful for any info regarding the way modern cleaning machines work.
Hi mike I'm sorry I didn't see your comment. I hope you got into your project - more modern ones are completely automated. You can even get automated L&R ones called a variomatic which are hydraulically controlled, but they're very complicated to work on! Hope it is going well.
great video thanks, i have a similar machine and need a new heater element, are these still available? many thanks
The answer is.. sometimes. The heating element is only a coil of wire, to be honest if it's not warming up it probably has a break - it just looks like a big spring. I personally would just try and repair the one that's on it. You could either try twisting the two broken ends together or use a brass cable connector.
Just checking out your channel since you suggested it regarding your watch cleaning machine restoration. You did a really good job! You mention that you were concerned about the wires being exposed on the bottom. Just curious as to whether you have a ground wire connected to prevent any electrical shocks? I recently restored a 1930's L&R watch cleaning machine and added a ground wire since the original cloth wires did not come with a three point ground wire back then. The machine also has a reverse polarity toggle switch, but I didn't see one on your make/model? Not sure whether your machine was built with one? Thank you for the video! Cheers.
Hi there I did add an earth cable from the mains supply to the body, not sure if you're UK Based but we have them as standard. So seemed silly not to use it. I don't believe this did have a polarity switch in it either, maybe if yours was a little earlier it was a standard then? To be honest this National was very basic when compared to the Elma and L&R machines. I have just started a restoration of an Elma (I unboxed it two days ago) for which I will be creating the next video from for my channel, so keep an eye out! Thanks, Paul
@@pwrestoration can I buy the Elma when it's finished? :)
@@vayde Hi Daniel I'm afraid this one was sold a while back now, I have another if you take a look at my other videos, just got it up and running recently 🙂
Nicely done Paul! This turned out very nice and now you have a good machine for many years. I have looked at the old Elma machines but those are very expensive, even the very worn ones. Hope to see more videos, I also do videos here, see you later, from a restorer to another :)
Hey thanks for the feedback. Honestly.i would have kept this and used it if it weren't for my lack of space in the workshop. I will admit, I wasn't entirely comfortable around pure 240v and three jars of liquid though..
@@pwrestoration Yeah I'm very cautious to and thinking of 240 v that might not be 100% I agree. Yeah about space is also a question, I go manual cleaning now and it works "fine". But those machines are a joy to look at also :)
good video...... would be even better with a camera stand😋
Too true bob I'll take that away and see if I can get hold of one, thanks!
How hot does the motor get? Seeing it has an internal fan - that you had to bend the impeller to get the rotor out of the stator (assuming you correctly re-shaped the impeller when you reassembled it) but the holes at the shaft end appear to be sealed against the metal cover plate - that there is no airflow in the motor to cool it. It would be unfortunate if you put it on eBay and a watch restorer was using it and the motor overheated and they would want a part refund, if I was doing this ~ would have put some washers/spacers on the bottom of the motor to raise it off the metal plate enough to get air under it to the holes and that the impeller blades are at the correct pitch to the direction of the motor so the air is sucked into the bottom and out of the top ✅. I saw the plug that came with it had sleeved L&N pins = so it was already compliant and alright to continue using
This is now my personal machine and the motor does get warm, your post has inspired some thinking that it does indeed have no cooling channels. It does get a bit warm. I might whip the lid off and see if I can at least modify it, with screens to avoid dirt ingress.
I have got model 2 and I can't get the motor housing off I think the 2 small screws are holding back but it's stripped. I need to rewire the motor. So any suggestions getting the housing off?
The two pins are threaded into the lower housing, and then held in by nuts from memory with this one.
If you can remove the nuts, I would scalpel round the join of the two halfs to remove any paint sealing them together. Then a light tap with a small hammer on the two pins. It should force the two halfs apart.
If it's just two threaded rods with a cut for a screwdriver, if you can see the rod at all down the sides of the motor I would get some pliers on them. If all else fails cut them and replace them with some m3 threaded rod and two nuts.
@@pwrestoration genius thanks just taken it off. But looks as though the motor is dead but I brought a new one. My next question , I need an alternative shaft cause the basket I brought is 75mm and the aperture is 75mm Derrrr ...can I get an elma basket or can I get a different aperture??? This is turning into a major project!
@@vintagewatchesforchrist3436 good stuff. I would keep the shaft and modify the basket, it's a lot more difficult the other way around. Plenty of basket options though, maybe get some aluminium and make an adaptor? So your new one fits?
@@pwrestoration do you know green stars tools they got a GS 2047-03 Apparatus which is a 69mm. I do have a shaft that fits which I think would fits the elma adaptor.
@@vintagewatchesforchrist3436 there will deffo be a solution that allows you to retain your current shaft. Maybe even a 3d printed solution if you have one or know somebody who does
You should see my garage….😜
Haha well if you have any in need of restoration I might be interested!
Perhaps get a tripod for the camera.
Done!