Beginner Tool Order Sanity Check

JimInOz · 2026-04-20T22:47:43-0500

PS: The keen eyed amongst you may have noticed I've put the wave breaker in the wrong way around for my machine. The "smooth" side of the mesh is facing the direction of rotation. I think the difference would be negligible but I might test it both ways to see if there is any improvement in "enturbulation".

AHW · 2026-04-21T04:05:08-0500

ErichKeane
yep, I suggest the ST36 for exactly that reason(it is the one used in watchmaker school), but its way cheaper 😀 The Unitas is typically ~$300, the ST36 ~$30, despite being the same movement, just the latter made in china (with all that comes from that).

I have managed to find a cheap non-running Unitas 6497 for spares and also a Seiko 5 with 4r36a for the next step based on your advice! So thank you!

It turns out that the typical watch cleaners (L&R/Elma) are not allowed to be sold to private individuals here, and I am not sure I want to risk buying them from abroad as I don’t know if that will cause issues, if I can even find a shop willing to ship it. The only cleaner that I don’t believe is classified as a dangerous good is the Elma Red 1:9, but it seems to have mixed reviews. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Beginner Tool Order Sanity Check

JimInOz

AHW

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