I am in need to proper tools to open the backs of both screw back and pressure backs. And I guess a list of other tools needed for just looking inside of a couple of beaters but I would like to buy some fairly good quality tools. I started with a Harbor Freight.......well, lets leave that alone!

 

Wonder if anyone think a caseback removal tool would be difficult to use, for the below average hobbyist?

 

This has been discussed recently. But your best bet is buying quality vintage tools off eBay. The vintage stuff is widely considered higher quality than the modern Bergeon tools, and you'll get it for 1/4 the price, plus a bit of elbow grease.

Are you talking about snap backs or screw backs, primarily? Two very different animals.

 

For snapbacks, particularly on vintage watches with grime caked on sealing them shut, there's nothing better than the Horotec Case Crab; it does double duty and works for bezels too:


For scew backs, there's a million tools, but the basic principal is that the greater the chance there is for something to move--be it the watch or the tool--the greater the potential to put a huge gnarly gash across the back of your watch. That's why people invest in the great big caseback vices with specialized holders and openers. Modern stuff will cost you a fortune, but if you're patient you might be able to pick up an old Vigor vice/opener.

 

I'm all for fancy tools when they are needed, but I've never met a snap back case (and I've opened a lot of them to say the least) that I have not been able to open with simple tools.

These are the 2 I use most of the time:



Aside from this I have a typical Swiss Army case knife, and a backed razor blade - that's all you will ever need to open snap back cases.

Now for opening screw back cases, I have a Bergeon 5700.

http://www.jewelerssupplies.com/bergeon-5700-case-opener.html

I use a variety of brand specific dies when needed. I have a full set of Rolex dies, a few Omega dies, Panerai dies, etc. Most of the time I use the Bergeon urethane friction dies and it's very rare that they won't open a case.

Cheers, Al

PS - one thing many collectors forget is that you need to clean around the case back before you open it, in particular if you are just having a look or taking a photo. If you don't, you will likely end up with dirt inside the case, and possibly in the movement.

 

I hold the watch by hand. The blue one is an A*F model 167.768.

http://twincitysupply.net/product.php?productid=20227

Cheers, Al

 

For what it's worth, for people keen on not spending lots of money, I've noticed that when I'm in a hurry and the snapback isn't cemented on, I just grab the little bits for the Horotec crab tool and use them hand held. The wider tip is more useful in that regard, and can be purchased separately for $25

http://www.ofrei.com/page1134.html

Regardless of what tool you use, it's obviously not rocket science. Just go slow until you get the hang of things.

 

For bad ass appeal, there's also the old cheese knife trick deftly demonstrated by Goldberger on his Rolex Split Seconds chrono.

 

Indeed, and I will add to never pry. The proper way to open a snap on case back is to insert a blade into the gap - push the blade straight in, and work it around the case back. If the blade you are using is not thick enough to pop the case back off doing this, then move up to the next thicker blade.

Prying with the blade is what causes gouged up case backs - it's not a pry tool, it's a wedge - remember that and you will be okay.

Cheers, Al

 

If the case back is on very tight or there is a small gap that isn't big enough to get a case knife or the blades in the tools I showed above, that is when I get out the razor blades. The kind that are sharp on one side and the other side is reinforced with a strip.

Again it's a matter of working the razor blade in carefully, then once it's in, working around the case back. Then when the razor won't open the gap anymore, you insert a thicker blade in the now wider gap. Repeat this until it pops off.

They key to this, or any task in watch repair, is patience. It might take me 5 minutes to get a case back off, but it's well worth the time spent if I have to spend 20 minutes fixing the scratches that would result in me rushing things. People think professional watchmakers all work very fast, and some do. I prefer to work efficiently, not just fast.

Cheers, Al

 

Or give a fist full of cash to a watchmaker.

 

I do the same with the help of plastic food wrap to reduce the "metal to metal.friction"

 

Hoi, do you have a hand stretcher too?