Watchmakers Tools

Being short sighted and normally wearing glasses, my first choice of optics when I started watchmaking, was a clip-on loupe. This only lasted for a few short days when the frustration become too much. Due to all the weight of the clip-on loupe being more at the front end, I found that while working on … Read more

Every watchmaker has their own opinions on which oils and greases to use, and where to use them. Here I’m going to to go through which oils I use, but I strongly suggest you figure out, with trial and error, what works best for you. The following 4 watchmaking oils and greases are the main … Read more

You never want to work on a watch without a magnet nearby! Not too near though, as you don’t want to magnetise the movement. I’ve lost count of the amount of times a part has either dropped to the floor or sprung across the room never to be found again. This is where the humble … Read more

Initially, this may seem like a strange tool for a watchmaker, but it’s actually one of the most versatile. It’s a cross between Silly Putty – if you are old enough to remember that, and the more commonly available Blu Tack, although I would not suggest using either of these due to their high oil … Read more

A cardinal sin of watchmaking is blowing onto a watch movement with your mouth. This is because your mouth contains moisture and contaminates that will affect the functioning of the watch. This is where a dust blower comes in very handy. Rubber dust blowers are inexpensive and excellent for quickly displacing dust particles, lint and … Read more

Pith wood serves one purpose, but serves it very well. It’s made from the Elder tree, the inside of Elder wood to be precise, and its high absorption properties make it ideal to clean and dry watchmakers oilers, screwdrivers, tweezers and pivots. All you need to do is dip the tool or pivot in the … Read more

Pegwood is a special type of wooden stick used regularly by watchmakers. It works well because the wood is hard enough to remove dirt but not too hard that it will damage the movement. Pegwood is used for a number of tasks within the watchmaking process, but the five main uses I’ve found are: cleaning … Read more

The cannon pinion is what translates the movement of the train wheels into the time keeping display on the dial side. It is friction fitted to the center wheel and is the post that the minute hand is set on. There are two methods to remove a cannon pinion: using a tweezer or using a … Read more

Case cushions are another less essential but still useful tool for a watchmaker. In most cases your bench mat may be a little too hard to work on your movement or more fragile parts. Also putting a watch crystal side down on your bench mat or work bench while trying to open the case back … Read more