# Tools; Best You Can Afford Or Compromise?



## howie77

I know there's a few guys on here who appreciate fine tools, so as an update on this ... a further thought!

After a fairly comprehensive search I located a number of US based firms that could supply me the tool in question - the L-G Master Case Opener ref. CWR-600.00 - at a not unreasonable sum; it is certainly a quality tool by all accounts and a fairly realistic alternative to the Bergeon 2819.4 Jaxa and the A*F 167.775 (Jaxa style), though at a third and half the price respectively.

Sadly, with shipping quotes from the States to the UK, it just wasn't worth bothering with. Instead I then contacted Euro Tool who it appeared are the US distributor of the tool, who very kindly provided me with possible UK suppliers. While ordinarily trade, one UK supplier was more than happy to sell me one at a very reasonable Â£51 inc delivery.

I know watch tools aren't an investment, generally. I also know that despite needing it for one job removing a particle from the dial of my Amphibia and sorting out the lagging hour hand, the tool might not see much further use for some time. And, the LG basically costs the same as the watch did in the first place.

The alternative might instead simply be one of the sub Â£10 jobs i.e Am-Tech / Anchor / MKClocks / Heda (?) etc from ebay. But, the LG is quality, and the others are, well, cheap. The latter won't be as nice to use, and in the back of my mind I'm thinking, 'buy cheap, pay twice!'

Do I need the LG?

Here it is in glory (for those who are into this kind of thing):


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Thanks for reading.
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H
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## SEIKO7A38

Howie.

I still use the Anchor Jaxa copy I got off eBay 3 years ago, and it's still going strong ....

God knows how many case-backs I've taken off with it, and never managed to graunch one yet.

Nowadays I tend to use a sticky ball most of the time - a lot cheaper than any case opener.











howie77 said:


> Do I need the LG?


Only if you've got 150+ watches with screw-down case-backs. :grin:


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## howie77

Thanks Paul,

It's that old conundrum really, wanting for the sake of having over and above what I could make do with quite acceptably! (sigh..)









One thing about the need for a screw type wrench over getting a sticky ball -










The (very effective) retaining ring on the case back which secures the rear 'lid' or cap - it's a two part system where the case back gasket is compressed directly rather than suffer potential torque stress (can't think how else to put it!) say by a one piece screw back. It means the ring aspect is less accessible by sticky ball - though there was a post by a forum member who managed some trick successfully if I recall. A jaxa type is easier and simpler of course.


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## stiff muckler

Tools are da extensions of you hands and ultimately your mind.

If you are prepared to accept da increased possibility [or even likelihood] of scarred and disfigured components, launched/lost pieces and broken fasteners dat render your werks useless - don't be too concerned wid da quality of your tweezers or screwdrivers or wrenches or pliers or vises or presses or gravers or holders or loupes or ?

sm iiH!


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## Micky

I have a budget jaxa style tool off e-bay. Never slipped with it or damaged a caseback. You have to use a degree of common sense when using any tool and without this even the best tool in the wrong hands will still damage a caseback. An expensive tool wont make you any more skilled. With case openers you need a degree of "feel" and apply slow even pressure. The same applies for doing the case back up to ensure have not cross threaded or have done things up too tight and damaged the threads.


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## howie77

Good points both gentleman, thanks.

I think one thing that made me cautious about a more budget jaxa copy was whether it would hold tight - you know how with some cheap DIY / auto adjustables for instance where the grip just wobbles instead of holding strong? I presumed a similar issue with jaxa wrenches that better quality would imply better tolerance or tighter mechanism for example.

There is still a case of 'I want one of those!' syndrome to get over, alas. That said, I could have bought a cheap springbar tool but instead I got a Bergeon 6111, and I wouldn't look back.


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## SEIKO7A38

Micky said:


> Never slipped with it or damaged a caseback. You have to use a degree of common sense ....


Another earlier thread on the subject of case-back removal tools: Help, Stuck Screw Caseback - Won't budge

I still use 'the squirt of Aerosol Freezer on the case-back trick', to help loosen any that are really tight. :naughty:

Fine for my quartz 7A38's, but whether you'd want to risk it on a 7750 auto is another matter.


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## Marc H

If you're using your tools all of the time then you will soon get pretty hacked off with compromise quality. The best tools are the best for a reason and that is nearly always to do with how much more easily they allow you to do the job than cheap tools.

If you only use them occasionally then it can be hard to justify the expense of the best tools... that is until you damage something that costs even more to put right because the tool slipped/broke etc.


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## Dick Browne

For stuff I don't think I'll use that often, I'll compromise, but for frequently used items, such as screwdrivers, tweezers etc, or those where precision is important, such as staking or broaching sets, I'll get the best I can. For less-used stuff, I'll buy cheap and accept the posibility that I may need to replace them at some point, that said, I do then look for used good quality tools whenever I'm at a watchy location


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## Phillionaire

Good advice from the floor.

I bought cheap stuff initially for my foray into tinkering, but I plan to replace them as they expire (and as I get better) with good quality stuff. The difference in quality with most things is pretty obvious, but in these early days I can't justify hundreds of dollars for a screwdriver set (I'll just buy replacement tips more often on my budget set).

Maybe proportion it to the quality of the watch your working on?? :dntknw:


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## Dick Browne

Phillionaire said:


> Maybe proportion it to the quality of the watch your working on?? :dntknw:


That's a good idea - definitely make sure that your screwdriver set has replaceable tips, and get a good set of tweezers - the replacement cost of small parts pinged across the room by cheap mis-aligned tweezers will quickly outweigh the cost of the tweezers. No need to get the best you can afford, as long as they're decent quality.

Oh, and it's true what people say, a job undertaken with correct tools, of decent quality makes the job far less of a chore.

Richard


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## Dusty

"Maybe proportion it to the quality of the watch your working on"

+1 On that ..... and if like me someone else supply's the tools that statment works all the time :notworthy:


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