Is there something reasonably priced that the average Joe can buy to demagnetize my Seiko automatic watch at home if it's proving to be very susceptible? Thanks.

 

There is, search as there was a thread a few months back.

 

That depends on your definition of "reasonable". You do get what you pay for and I wouldn't want to trust one of those Chinese, knock-off demagnetisers any where near one of my watches. This is the one I use as it is suitable for tools, parts and complete watches. https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/elma-antimag
It works on a single burst so you don't have to move the object you are demagnetising, slowly away from the machine before cutting the power.

 

There are vintage boxes that come up on the Bay from time to time that look just like Stewart's Elma. Minus the silver and plastic bits, of course. They usually go for $40-80. Very high quality construction.

 

For me the " the Chinese, knock off" do the job pefectly. There is no rocket sience in demagnetizing....

 

Can you use one of those bulk cassette tape erasers like Radio Shack used to sell?

 

Only if you want to make it worse. [emoji33]

 

Explain please....

 

Casette tape eraser use magnetic fields to erase the tape.

 

En how do you think a demagnetiser work???

 

I have no idea


...something about irregular magnetic fields being produced as opposed to Regular magnetic fields use to magnets and blah blah blah.

So I guess if a cassette tape produces irregular fields it would work? By the way this is information from a quick search, I actually don't really know what I'm talking about other than my iPad cover sticks t my iPad.

 

An alternating electromagnetic field "destroying" a polarized magnetic field. So everithing creating an alternating electromagnetic field (and a normal strenght) would do the job.

 

OK...so....is that what a cassette eraser makes? If so there you have the answer to your question I suppose.

 

So to sum it all up quickly. More research needed. Any ways it was just a thought.

 

That's what a cassette tape eraser does, depolarisating the tape. The field of the eraser might be strong enough for demagnetising a tweezer but might be not strong enough for a watch. Like Pvt-Public writes down....more research needed.

 

We use demagnitizers at work (not for watches), they have a large round coil which the item to be demagnetized is passed through at a slow constant speed. I've seen similar small ones for watches. I've never had the nerve to put my watch through one of our demagnetizers though

 

I have been using an inexpensive Chinese made demagnetiser for over three years now and it does a good job. Would I rather have an expensive Elma?...........yes, will I ever buy one?.............no!

 

Yeah, those inexpensive little blue Chinese things work okay, but I haven't had the same experience with them as Geo. The construction quality is absolutely disgusting, as you'd expect for a $10 demagnetizer. Hell... the prongs on the plug are so thin, they make intermittent contact with the parts in your wall socket and sometimes fall out. My first one worked great over the year I had it, but I only used it maybe a half dozen times. It dropped dead the last time I used it. The second one didn't work right out of the box. I managed to fix it, but I'm going to purchase the Vigor unit from Ofrei. It works like the Elma, using a capacitive discharge rather than a continuously varying field, so no need to remove the part slowly until it's clear of the magnetic field. There's also a tunnel for demagnetizing tweezers, screwdrivers, etc. And, it's US made. Most folks probably wouldn't use it enough to justify the $270 price tag, but I will. For me, the Chinese cheapies are a case of false economy.

Stu

 

What are all of you doing that you need an at-home way to degauss your watch?

In decades of wearing watches I have yet to experience the need for it.

 

I don't often use them on watches, but I work on a lot of small parts of other things and constantly find my smaller hand tools picking up metal fuzz from my work bench, especially near the vise. The last ebay watch I received would jerk around a compass needle from 3 inches away and was keeping really poor time. a few seconds with the demag solved that.