As an old Navy guy, I can appreciate a good, working compass. Very nicely done. Looks fantastic. Now you need to restore an old sailing ship to mount the compass on!
Three things impress me about your restorations... 1) you always pick the most interesting objects to restore; 2) you are meticulous and thorough; and 3) you don’t always find it necessary to remove all of the patina from an old piece. This one is a beauty. I love anything nautical!
Beautiful job! I agree with your decision not to bright-polish the compass frame, but to simply clean it. It shows that this was a real, working compass with a history. Other commenters have suggested building a wooden box to house it and I think this would be a great idea. A compass would normally be housed in a binnacle, but there were nautical clocks that used a similar gimbal movement that were mounted in mahogany boxes. It might be nice for display. Looking forward to your next project!
I have a compass quite like this one. Standing in a traveling box. It’s my grand grand father’s compass. He brought it with him from boat to boat. Now I’m going to restore it, and take it onboard my sailboat. Thanks ♥️
I love to see that someone took the time just save this relic. What's a good compass on your boat is the best piece of equipment you could have. Even today with how good GPS is I mostly use just my compass. I'm glad to see what is underneath the faceplate. Also could catch on realizing you need it more oil.
WOW! I'ts made in japanese!? I'm japanese. Thank you for you said "Beautiful antique". You did "BEAUTIFUL" work!! Forgive me if mistakes in my English writing.
Great job! I liked the idea of not high polishing the brass. At the end the compass looks "well maintained" (we all know it wasn't) and its obviously used. A mirror polishing would make it look like brandnew but "destroys" the "charme". As mentioned: Great job and thumbs up!
a small plastic ice cube tray is really handy for keeping screws from various areas separated and safe. even better is one of those daily plastic pill reminders with the closing lids
Great resto, loved your decision on not polishing it. Yes when I was in the US Navy, it would have been bright while in use, but now it shows its age with grace.
Well, for a start, I read the comments and I know which liquid you used; and why you chose to do so! I thoroughly enjoyed your restoration. Look forward to seeing more of your work. Thank you!
also mineral oil was used because it help to counter the rolling of the ship.. Beautifully done my friend.. fantastic.. This s very relaxing to watch for me..
Wonderfully done! Please correct me if I am wrong but I thought ship compasses were filled with mineral oil. It provided a dampening effect, wouldn't foam or evaporate.
you were close and correct about dampening effect nautical gauges and aeronautical gauges or any gauges they are going to be under vibration or heavy motion are filled with glycerine. alcohol absorbs water. back in the day they may have used alcohol i dont Know but glycerine is the preferred choice now.
You are quickly becoming one of my favorite restoration channels along with Really Random and My Mechanics. Great video production and great craftsmanship.
I have an old military compass. The liquid became "milky" after our house fire I was thinking it was most likely mineral oil too, do you know if that is correct?
@@glen1arthur I can confirm you that mineral oil can be used a dampening liquid. Ideally, you want to use isopar-L or isopar-M which as a slightly lower viscosity, but mineral oil works just fine. Make sure you don't use *scented* mineral oil or with any other additive.
I am pretty sure the air bubble is by design to account for fluctuating temperatures. Fluids (all matter really) expands as its temperature rises, and if it was all liquid inside, that could cause issues since liquid is non-compressible. But that air bubble _is_ compressible, so as temperatures rise and fall, the fluids inside do not over time damage the seals on the compass. Do note, this is all speculation on my part, so I could be completely off for all I know.
@@konekoray9323 No, there's no need for an air bubble. If look at both vintage and modern compasses you'll notice that there's never an air bubble, and if there is people try to get that fixed since it can get in the way of a good reading. Many compasses also use kerosene as the liquid since it extends the life of the compass.
If you want to get rid of the bubble put the compass and the alcohol in the freezer. When you pull it out fill to the top right away and as the alcohol warms it expands not allowing air to be trapped.
Well done work. Using a medical syringe, you can completely fill the fluid, without air bubbles. Hole position at the top. Fill through a thin needle into the hole until liquid begins to flow through the hole. The body of the compass is heated. Liquid happens - oil, high molecular weight alcohol.
I think he should have given it a full polish. If this compass was being use in a vintage ship presently, sailors make a routine of polishing all the bronze regularly. A boat is nothing but constant cleaning, polishing and maintenance due to the harsh wet possibly salt environment. Your life depends on every part of the vessel being in tip top condition.
Well I do agree about polishing it but it is his not ours so he can do what he wants with it,if he wants to leave it like that ,that's his decision,not yours,mine or anybody else's and before you go telling me off for being "rude" I'm just stating the facts 🙂👍
Wrong, wrong, wrong, The brass parts of a compass in use are NEVER polished, to avoid reflections from the sun blinding the people using it. Polished compasses are only good to decorate your living room. Take it from someone who serviced and repaired compasses for a living for over 30 years,
Nice job, but you've fitted the outer gimbal ring upside down (see original assembly). Compasses up to about 1860 were filled with a water/alcohol mixture. Later compasses are usually filled with compass oil, which is a mineral oil. You should use the same type that was used originally, to ensure the compass card is not affected.
No it is assembled correctly now. The assembly before it was renovated was incorrect. The “blade” on the stub axles ride in the curved recess in the gimbal
Usually, liquid filled instruments had an air bubble to allow expansion of the liquid without breaking the glass. Often the instrument design allowed the air bubble to be ‘moved’ into a location that captured it and was not visible to the user.
Minden elismerésem Barátom! A szívembe hatoltál ezzel az iránytűvel! Imádom, és gyűjtöm a nautical dolgokat, van sextanom, telescopom, kicsi iránytűm, térképem, de egy ilyen szép nagy compass még hiányzik a gyűjteményemből! Ha esetleg megválnál tőle (amit nem hiszek :) ), akkor szívesen átveszem... Vagy esetleg valami jó steam punk dolog/tárgy.. Nagyon adom az ízlésed, nem mindenkinek adatik meg 😉😊😎
Thanks for pointing that out, how absolutely pointless is your life that you have to correct grammar on a youtube comment, you must be the life and soul of any party you go to. Oh and by the way that phrase is a local colloquialism, it is used in quite a few areas in the Uk. So how about you go and sit on your own, rest your head in your hands and have a hard think about how messed up your life has become.
This turned out great my friend! Just my opinion, but it would have been nice if you left the patina on the brass housing. It would have showed the character of the compass very well. However, you still did a great job as always! Love your videos!
I think it would originally have had a second outer ring to support the second set of pivots and provide free movement in both directions. Probably left in the binnacle when it was removed...
Sorry thumbs down . There is no need for additional rings . It has full motion with the pivot points that are already there. Fore and aft , side to side . The binnacle would have the saddles for those outer trunnions.
NIce work, I think the solution of alchool is ok, but, I prefer use mineral oil instead, for two reasons; the dampening effect of the oil is better, because it´s has a little more viscosity, and it expand and contracts less then alchool solutions! But nice job and choice of the object, the compass is gorgeous!
I've never seen a compass filled with alcohol before. I would think that mineral oil would work better just so the indicator dial doesn't swing around too fast. I really appreciate that you kept it looking a little old tho. You gave it the respect it deserves!
They were filled with alcohol. My uncle served in the Navy during World War II. They had a problem with the Marines and Sailors stealing the compass on the ships, breaking the glass and drinking the alcohol. Majority of them ended up in Sick Bay with alcohol poisoning. Some didn't make it.
Great job on compass most of them are filled with aircraft instrument oil so they do not freeze or fog and those style were made into a wooden box with a cover and little hook to keep it closed. hope this helps.
Please make a restoration video for table fans from 70s or 80s because it’s reminds us about the beauty and the quality of the products from good old days
Nice, the outer Gimbal and Bezel is probably still in the Ship/Boat that this came from. They were filled with Glycerine to present a dampening effect, the glass would have originally been mounted with oiled leather "O" rings. This one does not appear to be as old as it would seem(?) The inscriptions on the plate give me the feeling that this was a latter version or maybe a Chinese knock-off(?). Still, a great resto...
I like it. Just far enough, not too far. you could have gone to the extreme, but why. I imagine it looked much like than when first installed on whatever ship or boat. Frankly I think it's for a smaller boat, a ship's compass would be larger one would think. In most ships I've seen, they are. Of course, a lot of ships don't even have them these days, they rely on electronics, always a mistake I think you should have a compass like this just as backup if nothing else.
If you want to get rid of that air bubble, you can put it in your refrigerator over night with the current liquid in it, when it comes out, top it back up and you will loose the air bubble
I believe that the compass needs a special type of compass fluid in order to function properly. But if alcohol does the trick, then I can't say anything bad about it. Nonetheless, great restoration. ✌🏻🧭
As an old Navy guy, I can appreciate a good, working compass. Very nicely done. Looks fantastic. Now you need to restore an old sailing ship to mount the compass on!
I never knew there was alcohol in a compass
@@jmsmom67 me either!
Brains Ironically 😂😂😂👍
@@jmsmom67 Usually mineral spirits.
@@DavidCAdams nope usually oil
Three things impress me about your restorations... 1) you always pick the most interesting objects to restore; 2) you are meticulous and thorough; and 3) you don’t always find it necessary to remove all of the patina from an old piece. This one is a beauty. I love anything nautical!
Vickie Fowler Thank you.🙏
As a former sailor I agree 100% .
Beautiful job! I agree with your decision not to bright-polish the compass frame, but to simply clean it. It shows that this was a real, working compass with a history. Other commenters have suggested building a wooden box to house it and I think this would be a great idea. A compass would normally be housed in a binnacle, but there were nautical clocks that used a similar gimbal movement that were mounted in mahogany boxes. It might be nice for display. Looking forward to your next project!
Good job! And thank you for keeping your mechanical sounds and not adding crap music!
I have a compass quite like this one. Standing in a traveling box. It’s my grand grand father’s compass. He brought it with him from boat to boat. Now I’m going to restore it, and take it onboard my sailboat.
Thanks ♥️
I love to see that someone took the time just save this relic. What's a good compass on your boat is the best piece of equipment you could have. Even today with how good GPS is I mostly use just my compass. I'm glad to see what is underneath the faceplate. Also could catch on realizing you need it more oil.
what i really love is the company that made this, is still in business, and still making navigational equipment for ships!
Really?
@@theminiyosshi2901 It's now Saura Keiki Seisakusho Co., Ltd
Beautiful, I like you kept it vintage looking. Great job!
WOW!
I'ts made in japanese!?
I'm japanese.
Thank you for you said "Beautiful antique".
You did "BEAUTIFUL" work!!
Forgive me if mistakes in my English writing.
Great job! I liked the idea of not high polishing the brass. At the end the compass looks "well maintained" (we all know it wasn't) and its obviously used. A mirror polishing would make it look like brandnew but "destroys" the "charme". As mentioned: Great job and thumbs up!
A very sympathetic restoration. Sometimes old things need to show their age. Well done.
As a sailor, it's nice to see things like this brought back. Looks good.
Looks like it was salvaged from a wreck. Super nice job you did. Thanks for sharing it for us.
Beautiful. So much character and history in those. Great just to sit around and look at or to put back in service..
a small plastic ice cube tray is really handy for keeping screws from various areas separated and safe. even better is one of those daily plastic pill reminders with the closing lids
ice cube trays work great as long as you aint got little kids around because they are cheap.
Excellent work. Not everything has to be pristine. This shows it's quality and history.
Wow. I almost couldn't tell it was mostly brass in the thumbnail. Beautiful resto without the mirror polish. Nice to see a more authentic finish!
You do great work! Am hooked on the refurbs you do. Oh.... thanks for not adding crappy music to background!
Nicely done. Cleaned it up just enough
Great resto, loved your decision on not polishing it. Yes when I was in the US Navy, it would have been bright while in use, but now it shows its age with grace.
Kevin Williams 🙏Thank you.
Well, for a start, I read the comments and I know which liquid you used; and why you chose to do so! I thoroughly enjoyed your restoration. Look forward to seeing more of your work. Thank you!
Lois Chilcott Thank you.🙏
Can you please elaborate, Lois? I have a large air bubble in my A. Lietz Co. Compass, and want to add fluid, but don't want to ruin it.
That looks great. All it needs is a nice wood display box. :)
Who put this is a display box man, put it in your work desk or even yourship.
Best decoration piece.
This is so cool. I wish I could come across something like this, awesome!
also mineral oil was used because it help to counter the rolling of the ship.. Beautifully done my friend.. fantastic.. This s very relaxing to watch for me..
Beautifully done. Nice job. Thank you!
Very nice work, its good to see a piece of history revived.
Wonderfully done! Please correct me if I am wrong but I thought ship compasses were filled with mineral oil. It provided a dampening effect, wouldn't foam or evaporate.
GodzillaB210 They filled with alcohol.
Yarimasu they can be filled with either , depends on age and makers choice.
you were close and correct about dampening effect nautical gauges and aeronautical gauges or any gauges they are going to be under vibration or heavy motion are filled with glycerine. alcohol absorbs water. back in the day they may have used alcohol i dont Know but glycerine is the preferred choice now.
If a ship's compass dropped some of it's fluid the compass was topped up at sea with gin
I know that today’s high quality gages to measure pressure or vacuum are filled with glycerin because of its dampening effect on vibration.
You are quickly becoming one of my favorite restoration channels along with Really Random and My Mechanics. Great video production and great craftsmanship.
immasurvivor Thank you.
WOW....LOVED THAT ONE!
Solid job well done. now to find it a home on the sailing seas, thanks
with that air bubble its now a compass and a level. Great job.
😂😂😂😂
Very nice work. A very interesting restoration project.
Fabulous piece. I think you could polish it up by hand with a bit of metal polish. It would have been polished in its work life.
ORLY? I had no idea. I thought all that talk about “spit and polish” must have included the brass. Thx
That is so cool, I always loved ships compasses, nice work!
Mineral oil is normally used in nautical compasses for dampening. Alcohol isn't viscous enough.
@Britt Smith I*knew* it. I had thought it should be moving slower when tilted. Nice job all the same.
Britt Smith Thanks for sharing.
I have an old military compass. The liquid became "milky" after our house fire I was thinking it was most likely mineral oil too, do you know if that is correct?
@@glen1arthur it is oil can become milky after heated due to the minerals leaching out into it,but it should be replaceable
@@glen1arthur I can confirm you that mineral oil can be used a dampening liquid. Ideally, you want to use isopar-L or isopar-M which as a slightly lower viscosity, but mineral oil works just fine.
Make sure you don't use *scented* mineral oil or with any other additive.
That's really cool personally I would have polished the brass but I'm glad you didn't repaint it replaced anything great work
Pretty cool but that air bubble drives me nuts.
Bubble Bubble Bubble Bubble Bubble Bubble Bubble Bubble Bubble Bubble Bubblely 😃😃😃😃
I am pretty sure the air bubble is by design to account for fluctuating temperatures. Fluids (all matter really) expands as its temperature rises, and if it was all liquid inside, that could cause issues since liquid is non-compressible. But that air bubble _is_ compressible, so as temperatures rise and fall, the fluids inside do not over time damage the seals on the compass.
Do note, this is all speculation on my part, so I could be completely off for all I know.
@@konekoray9323 No, there's no need for an air bubble. If look at both vintage and modern compasses you'll notice that there's never an air bubble, and if there is people try to get that fixed since it can get in the way of a good reading. Many compasses also use kerosene as the liquid since it extends the life of the compass.
It's so easy to not get a bubble. Just assemble the compass while fully immersed in liquid.
@@395leandro Okay, my mistake.
Great work! I was surprised how simple the "mechnism" was, not sure what I expected :D Funny ending also!
If you want to get rid of the bubble put the compass and the alcohol in the freezer. When you pull it out fill to the top right away and as the alcohol warms it expands not allowing air to be trapped.
That was very neat. What a lovely piece.
Well done work.
Using a medical syringe, you can completely fill the fluid, without air bubbles.
Hole position at the top. Fill through a thin needle into the hole until liquid begins to flow through the hole. The body of the compass is heated. Liquid happens - oil, high molecular weight alcohol.
Thanks Deena for sharing. I thought it should be oil. Must have been great watching you Grandfather working on ship compass. Cheers!
Great restoration job, thanks for not playing annoying music in the back ground.
My compliments.
Very well done!
Glad you didn't restore it to new. The way you did it shows the character and life it's had.
I'm from Russia (Baltisk) and I like this compass ;p
Greetings comrade!
I agree with the others that mineral oil is a better choice than alcohol but otherwise a very nice restoration. Big thumbs up. Subscribed!
I think he should have given it a full polish. If this compass was being use in a vintage ship presently, sailors make a routine of polishing all the bronze regularly. A boat is nothing but constant cleaning, polishing and maintenance due to the harsh wet possibly salt environment. Your life depends on every part of the vessel being in tip top condition.
Well I do agree about polishing it but it is his not ours so he can do what he wants with it,if he wants to leave it like that ,that's his decision,not yours,mine or anybody else's and before you go telling me off for being "rude" I'm just stating the facts 🙂👍
Wrong, wrong, wrong, The brass parts of a compass in use are NEVER polished, to avoid reflections from the sun blinding the people using it. Polished compasses are only good to decorate your living room.
Take it from someone who serviced and repaired compasses for a living for over 30 years,
Nice job, but you've fitted the outer gimbal ring upside down (see original assembly). Compasses up to about 1860 were filled with a water/alcohol mixture. Later compasses are usually filled with compass oil, which is a mineral oil. You should use the same type that was used originally, to ensure the compass card is not affected.
No it is assembled correctly now. The assembly before it was renovated was incorrect. The “blade” on the stub axles ride in the curved recess in the gimbal
Usually, liquid filled instruments had an air bubble to allow expansion of the liquid without breaking the glass. Often the instrument design allowed the air bubble to be ‘moved’ into a location that captured it and was not visible to the user.
That rubber rings... awesome idea!
Minden elismerésem Barátom! A szívembe hatoltál ezzel az iránytűvel! Imádom, és gyűjtöm a nautical dolgokat, van sextanom, telescopom, kicsi iránytűm, térképem, de egy ilyen szép nagy compass még hiányzik a gyűjteményemből! Ha esetleg megválnál tőle (amit nem hiszek :) ), akkor szívesen átveszem... Vagy esetleg valami jó steam punk dolog/tárgy.. Nagyon adom az ízlésed, nem mindenkinek adatik meg 😉😊😎
🙏
Lovely job as always. The recess in the brass plate under the glass would have accepted a thick o-ring instead of using silicone
Instead of using an o-ring or silicone, it should of been wax, that's what was used originally.
@@MrNadefodder , "it should OF been" SHOULD have been, "it should have been."
Thanks for pointing that out, how absolutely pointless is your life that you have to correct grammar on a youtube comment, you must be the life and soul of any party you go to. Oh and by the way that phrase is a local colloquialism, it is used in quite a few areas in the Uk. So how about you go and sit on your own, rest your head in your hands and have a hard think about how messed up your life has become.
@@MrNadefodder No, the phrase has always been "would have". It's shortened to "would've" which is where the confusion comes from.
@@MrNadefodder however as a sailor friend of mine told me the wax eventually settles and it can leak
Just need the Teak Box to set it off, great job!
I missed the part of the draining, so I was yelling at my screen “Oh no! You forgot to fill it!” 🤣🤣🤣. Great job!
Refreshingly different. Nice choice and well done.
That bubble must be taken out adding more liquid.
Really nice job,congrats.
This turned out great my friend! Just my opinion, but it would have been nice if you left the patina on the brass housing. It would have showed the character of the compass very well. However, you still did a great job as always! Love your videos!
Thats was a good job, keeping old patina is a must
I think it would originally have had a second outer ring to support the second set of pivots and provide free movement in both directions. Probably left in the binnacle when it was removed...
Sorry thumbs down . There is no need for additional rings . It has full motion with the pivot points that are already there. Fore and aft , side to side . The binnacle would have the saddles for those outer trunnions.
@@Pocketfarmer1 maybe he meant that?
It would have been sat in a wooden box on the outer pins. This is a 'portable' binnacle.
Beautiful work, Yarimasu. Another lovely restoration. Greetings from Southport UK.
Kevin Hookham Thank you. 🇬🇧 😁
Love it, what a beautiful job!
Master piece! Great restoration!
NIce work, I think the solution of alchool is ok, but, I prefer use mineral oil instead, for two reasons; the dampening effect of the oil is better, because it´s has a little more viscosity, and it expand and contracts less then alchool solutions! But nice job and choice of the object, the compass is gorgeous!
A craftsman making it whole... verdad,Domo,danka.... Thankyou. You do good
Thank you.
Your sound quality rivals ASMR ... love this channel!
😂👍
FANTABULOUS restoration
Fantabulous is right!
Very nice work, a good, sympathetic restoration.
I've never seen a compass filled with alcohol before. I would think that mineral oil would work better just so the indicator dial doesn't swing around too fast. I really appreciate that you kept it looking a little old tho. You gave it the respect it deserves!
They were filled with alcohol. My uncle served in the Navy during World War II. They had a problem with the Marines and Sailors stealing the compass on the ships, breaking the glass and drinking the alcohol. Majority of them ended up in Sick Bay with alcohol poisoning. Some didn't make it.
@@TheNutriarat OMG. That's desperate!
Alcohol does not freeze and oil gets thick when cold.
@@TheNutriarat WWII was when they invented denatured alcohol, to keep the sailors from drinking the torpedo fuel.
This is awesome! Well done.
Very well done!
Cool a nice easy simple restore 👍🏽
Nice job, I kind of expected individual polishing of the brass parts, but I guess you weren't going for that.
Excellent restoration. I would use glycerin, to give more stability, like it is used in pressure gauges.
Bloody nice work mate
Thank you.
Are you British that's pretty cool! Greetings from America!🇬🇧🇺🇸
@@Taylor-xh8uh aussie
Nice work.
Thank you for sharing!
Wow man, what a beauty!
Nice piece! well done
I just love it! Wish I had one =)
Can't add more than, great work, great video!
Thanks.
Great job on compass most of them are filled with aircraft instrument oil so they do not freeze or fog and those style were made into a wooden box with a cover and little hook to keep it closed. hope this helps.
Now she needs a beautiful Wooden box.
Buenísimo el trabajo realizado
Great restoration Yarimasu!
It is nice to have the proper tools for the job
Very nice! Cheers from Canada
Thank you.
EH?😂
Please make a restoration video for table fans from 70s or 80s because it’s reminds us about the beauty and the quality of the products from good old days
Nice, the outer Gimbal and Bezel is probably still in the Ship/Boat that this came from. They were filled with Glycerine to present a dampening effect, the glass would have originally been mounted with oiled leather "O" rings. This one does not appear to be as old as it would seem(?) The inscriptions on the plate give me the feeling that this was a latter version or maybe a Chinese knock-off(?). Still, a great resto...
Looks awesome! Nice job
Uniquely satisfying , thanks.
It takes mineral oil. An O Ring for the glass and its worth about 3 grand.
Once more.First Class!!!
Restauration or cleaning?
Good work my brother.
I was hoping he will restore the points of the compass
Nice job! What was the liquid you put inside? Is the main metal brass or copper? What material brushes did you use to clean the metal?
I like it. Just far enough, not too far. you could have gone to the extreme, but why. I imagine it looked much like than when first installed on whatever ship or boat. Frankly I think it's for a smaller boat, a ship's compass would be larger one would think. In most ships I've seen, they are. Of course, a lot of ships don't even have them these days, they rely on electronics, always a mistake I think you should have a compass like this just as backup if nothing else.
If you want to get rid of that air bubble, you can put it in your refrigerator over night with the current liquid in it, when it comes out, top it back up and you will loose the air bubble
Very nice, and am loving your subject matter
Nice job. I like the patina.
this is pretty fucking SWEET
I believe that the compass needs a special type of compass fluid in order to function properly. But if alcohol does the trick, then I can't say anything bad about it.
Nonetheless, great restoration. ✌🏻🧭