Thoughts on automatic oilers

[u/favourite_water]

Hello everyone. I am recently thinking about getting an automatic oiler, specifically the Bergeon 2718a. I want to oil cap jewels with it only. Normal Incabloc jewels are easy, but I absolutely hate the non shock protected Balance jewels, since they are a real pain to oil properly. But I don't work on these too often. My question: I have the chance to get an unused and original packaged one with a spare tip for 55€. Should I take the deal? I think it's more of a "want" thing than a necessity. But I think it could be worth it since the small balance screws, holding the cap jewels in place are prone to break if I have to assemble and disassemble it 2-3 times if I fuck up the assembly process and displace the oil. And if just one movement doesn't break which it otherwise would have, could be worth that price. But I am really torn. What do you guys think?

[u/qualityvote2]

u/favourite_water, there weren't enough votes to determine the quality of your post...

[u/Rowbear23]

Non shock movements really should be disassembled to really clean them
Properly so an auto oiler wouldn’t spare you of that chore. I do use one, especially for cap jewels and sometimes for non-capped jewels when it seems appropriate

[u/favourite_water → u/Rowbear23]

Yes absolutely, the disassembly and cleaning part is super important. It's justvthe assembly part with the oil that annoys the hell out of me

[u/Scienceboy7_uk]

Excellent price for a Bergeon. I’d go for it.

I got a Chinese clone from AliX and I find it faultless.

[u/No-Agreement]

If you work on a lot of non shock movements it may be worth it yeah. 55 is a good price either way

[u/favourite_water → u/No-Agreement]

Thanks for the quick feedback. I am currently working on one, but I do not have these too often.

[u/No-Agreement → u/favourite_water]

I have one and honestly barely ever use it tbh.

[u/favourite_water → u/No-Agreement]

That's my concern, too. The price is just really good, but as of now I would only use it in that specific circumstance or if there are these little plated jewels on the mainplate. You know these ones: )°(

[u/maillchort]

These are good tools, but if used occasionally they are prone to picking up contaminants and transferring that to your jewels.

For fixed balance jewels, disassemble, clean, reassemble, put a small amount of oil in the cup of the hole jewel, and push through with a small taper pin. Check your oil circle, and add as needed. This is the standard procedure. If you try to oil the cap and then reassemble it's a matter of pure luck that it goes together without spreading the oil.

If I'm not mistaken Bergeon changed the tips sometime in the last decade or so, keeping the same part number for the tool. The new tips don't fit the older tools, and the older tips are unavailable. Just for info.

[u/favourite_water → u/maillchort]

Oh thats good to know, I read they were interchangeable. Yeah, I've heard about that tip with the small pin pushing in the oil. Does that work well?

[u/UnusualDoctor]

I couldn't do the job I do without one. On the models I service daily, some of the shock settings are non-removable, so this is the only way to oil them.

[u/M4nnyfresh14]

They're very handy, but I've gotten pretty far just hand oiling cap jewels. Also those tips are mad fragile, gotta have good technique

[u/favourite_water → u/M4nnyfresh14]

The problem aren't the normal cap jewels, it's the ones that have no shock protection. Reassembling them without displacing the oil is a pain in the ass. And you only see if you succeeded, if you have it back together. And if you fucked up you have to disassemble it again which is a huge strain for the little screws holding it together. And if they break you really fucked up

[u/CapTension → u/M4nnyfresh14]

They always break or bend immediately for me, so I sharpen them up again with a degussit stone, recalibrate the setting and keep using the now shorter and sturdier tip for a few years. Don't know how to use them without the tip breaking, but I will never go back to oiling the cap stones manually.

I had a colleague who would use a normal oiler followed by a balance staff held in a pin vice to lead the oil in, but I haven't tried that myself.

[u/watchtec]

It’s nice to have and for the price I would get it. But with that said, I have one and almost never prefer to use it over other techniques.

However, if you aren’t having good luck on a particular day, it’s nice to be able to reach for the auto-oiler to at least accomplish your task.

[u/Unfair_Surprise6081]

These are good if you work a lot on the same movements, so you always add the same amount of oil. But if you work a lot on different movements, the normal ergonomic oilers from Bergeon are your best choice.

[u/gnomon_knows]

I absolutely hate the non shock protected Balance jewels, since they are a real pain to oil properly.

Listen, I have an automatic oiler, broke the tip, and never bothered replacing it.

Sticking anything in the pivot hole and using capillary action works just as well. I used cat whiskers for a while, now I use fine copper wire in a pin vice. A broken black oiler sharpened at the tip is a popular choice. Or the professional version is affordable.

I think it could be worth it since the small balance screws, holding the cap jewels in place are prone to break if I have to assemble and disassemble it 2-3 times if I fuck up the assembly process and displace the oil

I think it's amazing that you can do that at all regularly within 2-3 times.

[u/favourite_water → u/gnomon_knows]

Thank you for the compliment, I really appreciate it. Another comment here also said that you could use something to poke a tiny tip in the hole. He just didn't answet yet if that really works well. You already told me about your experience, is it really that good of a workaround?

[u/gnomon_knows → u/favourite_water]

is it really that good of a workaround?

It's not a "workaround", and as far as how good it is I literally said I own an automatic oiler and don't bother with it. And I see maillchort also endorsed it...he is an experienced pro working at the highest levels in Switzerland, but of course he got downvoted. Love it.

Not sure what more assurances I can give you. Respectfully, just go try it.

[u/favourite_water → u/gnomon_knows]

Thanks for the feedback man. I have to admit, the automatic oiler thing is more of a "wanna have" than a necessity. Man I love myself a good tool for a specific job. But that link you posted seems really interesting, I'll look further into that

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