Assemblers Putty

[Robert Horneman]

I am looking for putty to hold wheels etc in place while assembling movements. It may have been called Assemblers Putty many years ago.
There may be something similar. It can't leave any residue on the parts.
Any thoughts?

 

[wow]

I’ve never heard of using putty before. I would like to see photos of in use.

 

[Altashot]

Rodico would work.

M.

 

[Willie X]

Oil based modeling clay might work but I've never heard of such a thing. Willie X

 

[SuffolkM]

There are hundreds of products in this category believe it or not. If you search for polycaprolactone, that's the stuff. Some brands include Multimorph and Polymorph. It melts at 60C, basically a bit like a wax chuck idea but fantastically useful for all manner of jobs.

 

[David 62]

I have used Silly Putty. It pulls off cleanly.

 

[D.th.munroe]

Putty adhesives like Rodico seem to be the same as what I was told was assembly putty.
I've been using "Dixon Holdit" instead of Rodico for a couple years, It works the same and under $2 in most places you can buy office or school supplies.

There is other brands, of course but I haven't tried many for residues this one was the cleanest I found locally.
Dan

 

[shutterbug]

I would strongly discourage the use of any type of putty. It can only cause problems. Wiggling pivots into their holes is a skill that you need to learn. There are no substitutes.

 

[Robert Horneman]

I would strongly discourage the use of any type of putty. It can only cause problems. Wiggling pivots into their holes is a skill that you need to learn. There are no substitutes.

The purpose of the putty is to hold wheels , warning pins and cams in place once you have them in the correct position.
I struggle assembling cuckoo/quails and three wheel cuckoos. Simple Regulas and Schatz etc. are no problem. Wiggling pivots into their holes is also no problem.

 

[Robert Horneman]

I’ve never heard of using putty before. I would like to see photos of in use.

There is a video on You Tube by James Martin where he does Cuckoo/Quail restoration for me. Look for #28.

 

[Willie X]

I can see one big problem. That is, getting the material completely removed from the pivot holes. Not as easy as it may seem. Willie X

 

[D.th.munroe]

Well Rodico is actually sold as a watch cleaning product that some watchmakers use to remove fingerprints and dust (this is not something I do, nothing touches a movement after cleaning except gloves/finger cots, tweezers and oil) or for cleaning tools, pulling cap jewels, etc. Some people actually use it to clean camera lenses.

 

[Altashot]

I can see rodico work if you where to install the wheel in its picot then putting a bit of rodico to hold it straight, but, I am with Willie that it would get in the picot holes and be difficult to remove if one was to stab a wheel through the rodico to hold it to the plate.

Rodico is indeed a good cleaning product, I always have some on my bench to remove finger prints or excess oil. It’s a must to service platform escapement. I also use it to hold small parts so they don’t roll off the bench or hold a screw on the tip of a screwdriver for those difficult to access holes...Many uses...

however, kept as a chunk, it sticks to itself well and pulls itself off whatever you stick it to, but, if pressed thin, as in between a pivot and its bearing surface, it becomes sticky, fall apart and leaves pieces behind.

M.

 

[D.th.munroe]

I'm not sure why you would use it in or near a pivot hole for assembly?
In the video he uses a black putty stuff to hold a cuckoo lever up out of the way and the edge of a wheel against the plate to keep a warning or strike pin in the right position for assembly.

 

[shutterbug]

I don't see any advantage of introducing foreign material into your nice clean movement. It might look like it all comes back out, but I have my doubts. At any rate, it is never necessary. Remember that you can find lots of good and lots of bad information on Youtube.

 

[D.th.munroe]

I definitely don't disagree with those points Shutterbug. Which is why I said nothing foreign touches my movements after cleaning.
I will say when I was young my BHI instructor/mentor suggested using rodico for this, (which is why I did) but I did it a few times and found it was more annoying than helpfull. Another thing suggested was small copper alligator clips with a short stiff copper wire that could be bent to hold or sit somewhere.

 

[shutterbug]

It would be nice to have a gig like the factory has to hold things. This video is very interesting, and might be useful.

 

[Jim DuBois]

When doing wooden works it is often helpful to use rubber bands to hold wheels and pinions together to maintain timing. I think this photo is one that RC published here on the MB sometime ago. After the plates are back in place the rubber bands are snipped and away we go. This is not always needed but some of these can be a real test of one's attention to keep everything timed so the bands can make a lot of difference. I have never found it necessary to use them on metal movements, but......

 

[shutterbug]

Yes. Some repairmen use them on count wheel mechanisms too, for the same basic purpose.