Some macro work - escapement oiling

[Archer]

I was oiling a client's watch the other day, and dug out the extension tube and macro lens to try to get a good photo of oiling the escapement. These turned out the best of any I've tried yet.

Here you can see the pallet exit stone, with the small drop of oil on it that I have placed for the first part of the oiling. The surface of this stone is one third (1/3) of one millimeter long.



So when I have placed this drop, I move the pallet back and forth and the escape wheel teeth take away a bit of oil. After 3 or so teeth, I need to add another drop of oil. Once I have done this for one revolution of the escape wheel (15 teeth) I run the wheel around and even out the oil. Then I check for the correct amount of oil by looking at the area between the stone and the escape wheel tooth.

Here you can see the oil clearly as the pallet stones are clear rather than red.



To give this some perspective, I have placed the entire pallet fork on my bench and placed a regular striaght pin and a roller ball pen beside the pallet fork.



Here is a shot of the pin's head next to the face of the pallet jewel.



Anyway, I thought these were cool pics and you guys might enjoy seeing them.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers, Al

[otis]

Wow! Great shots!
Apart from being in awe at the steadyness of hand that you'd need to oil that little thing, I'm always amazed at how different surfaces look when you examine them at a macro level... very cool mate

[atomic]

Fantastic stuff, Al. That first shot is a cracker!

[amanda]

wowzers they are awesome shots Al!

[Archer]

Thanks guys - they weren't easy shots to get and I am learning. For example using by Manfrotto tripod and macro slide makes the whole thing a bit jiggly, so the shutter going off actually creates enough motion to blur the photos. For these I propped the camera up on my workbench (very solid) and shot using my remote.

Glad you like the shots.

Cheers, Al

[CHIP]

dang... that's very close Al!

[vagen]

I have a new found respect for watch makers and now understand why a Rolex costs as much as it does. AMAZING

[Ben]

Great shots, Al!!

What rig are you using again? Incidentally, if your camera supports "mirror lock-up" I would use that as well. Eliminates any movement created by the mirror flipping up and down.

-Ben

[Archer]

Hi Ben - using a Nikon D40x with extension tubes and a Nikon 60mm Micro (macro) lens.

I'll have to check up on the mirror lock as that may solve quite a few of the macro issues I've been experiencing.

Also looking to get a D5000, but not sure about that yet...

[Ben]

Jun 10, 2009 10:14:18 GMT -6 Archer said:

Hi Ben - using a Nikon D40x with extension tubes and a Nikon 60mm Micro (macro) lens.

I'll have to check up on the mirror lock as that may solve quite a few of the macro issues I've been experiencing.

Also looking to get a D5000, but not sure about that yet...

Have you calculated the magnifications you're getting?