L-G Master caseback opener.


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I'll second that. I picked up an L-G on eBay a year or so ago, and it's quite good quality. Made in USA.

 

Thanks for the replies, im in the process of looking for on on Ebay

 

L-G may not work on the bigger cases. My regular size Swiss Jaxa opens to about 34mm while the L-G maxs at about 38mm. Large jaxa, Bergeon 2819-08, opens to 62mm.

 

L-G may not work on the bigger cases. My regular size Swiss Jaxa opens to about 34mm while the L-G maxs at about 38mm. Large jaxa, Bergeon 2819-08, opens to 62mm.

That's a legitimate concern, but I've rarely encountered it. I think the few times I've had a problem and had to use an XL jaxa was on cases housing something big like a 6497.

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You may also be able to find a HR Jaxa in good condition. They are Swiss made and were made before Bergeon took over a lot of tools.
Samantha

 

I use a spanner wrench originally designed for taking apart camera lenses
They work great for watch caseback removal
$33 CDN on Amazon

Fogta 3 Set 10-100mm Professional Half Flat/Flat/Pointed Tips DSLR Camera Lens Spanner Wrench Repair Opening Tool for Most Cameras Lenses Canon Nikon Sony Olympus: Amazon.ca: Camera & Photo

 

My jaxa is a HR. Bought new around 1975. I still keep it in the original box.

 

I bought one off Ebay made in India for $20.00. Little glitchy on the screw thread, but it works. Haven't scratched a back in 10 years from when received

Funny that my parts supplier sells the Bergeon one wrapped in oil paper along with the bits in a cardboard box

The cheap India one came in a wooden box with ports for the bits

This was about 2001, so not sure on the current Bergeon model

DON

 

The L-G opener is my go-to, and the price is a nice bit more affordable compared to the Bergeon product. I only really use the Bergeon JAXA types for larger watches... Occasionally a chunker comes through the shop that maxes out even the Large Jaxa type...

 

ebay L-G for the win. Mine came stuck - rusty and twisted up/misaligned but after a refund from the seller and some aggressive oiling/disassembly/cleaning/reassembly it works like a charm. Just don't be surprised if you need to use some elbow grease to get it to working condition. The steel is high quality - gets a harmless rust patina but does not rust through.

 

For a handheld opener the LG is by far the best. In almost 20 years here in Switzerland my LG gets borrowed all the time, and everyone remarks in its quality. Yes it can't deal with some ridiculous cases that have come out in the last 15 years but it remains a truly good tool.

 

Because it's smaller than current cases ? I researched L-G case opener and i read some can't go over a certain caseback size which exclude it from modern ones. Those need a "jumbo" jaxa opener.

I have a search set in ebay for L-G case opener and I see them a few times, still hesitating to pull the trigger on one as I have a cheap chinese Jaxa opener already.

 

My personal fave is the A*F 16774 "V" shaped lever

Only 2 tips but works on 95% of what comes through the shop and absurdly fast to adjust because you just squeeze it to the required width. It also opens somewhere beyond 60mm so haven't found a case too big yet.

Unfortunately, it's discontinued but if you see one grab it!

 

Huaxing No 2819 'Key to open the big watch case' works great. No slop in the adjustment wheel and screw, no corrosion, sturdy cardboard box with dense foam insert, 4 sets of blackened keys.it goes to a bit over 52mm distance between the keys.

 

The regular size jaxa works on small watches. Pictured is a woman's watch I recently worked on, case dia is 24mm, pin spacing on jaxa for this watch is 17mm. The jumbo and Bergeon 2819-08 jaxa is said to go down to 18mm. These jaxas may not work for this watch. The pictured HR jaxa will actually go down to a minimum of 15mm.