Hi all

I'm new to watches, but now realise I love them.

I'm always a total weirdo about things I like (I want to understand the details of the details) so as expected I'm now looking at watch repair and watchmaking books on Amazon.

I'm thinking of picking up a few of the recommended books, getting my hands on some old, cheap watches with the goal of fixing them, or at least taking them apart and putting them back together again. I will probably reach out to my friends and their friends to see if they have some old, "broken" watches they don't care about, and I will see if I can disassemble them, figure out what's wrong, and try to do some repairs.

Have any of you gone down this path?

I understand it's probably a black hole but I need a new hobby.

Cheers.

 

Have you worked out how to remove a springbar yet......

 

It's like most hobbies.

You start out small. A set of screwdrivers, a caseback opener, some budget tweezers, a variety of oils/greases and a loupe.

Outlay? Maybe a few hundred dollars.

And after a couple of years you look back and go "WTF! How did it get to this!".

Microscopes
VOH screwdrivers
screwdriver blades
blade sharpener stones
case presses
caseback removers
hand removers
hand installers
work lamps
timing machine
staking set
poising table
Dumont bronze tweezers
aplanatic loupes
movement holders
ultrasonic cleaners
watch cleaning machine
air compressor
Oilers
more oils
demagnetiser
lathe
lathe tools
etc
etc
etc

Be careful what you wish for.

 

I started here.

http://www.clockmaker.com.au/diy_seiko_7s26/index.html

Very basic, not hard to follow and it gives you some ground level knowledge.

You can also follow Mark at WRT

http://www.watchrepairtalk.com/watch_repair_videos.html/

That should be enough to keep you busy for a year or two.

 

Haha... baby steps!

Thanks, lots of useful information there!!

 

Start with a movement that works and for which parts are readily available - you will lose or break some. I bought a job lot of cheap Chinese movements on eBay when I started and I was on number five before I got one ticking again. Now this was partly due to the fact that they had used shims to adjust end shake, rather than adjusting the jewels (something I learned later)

As Jim says, when you look back at what you have spent on tools, it will frighten you. About 18 months ago, I estimated that I had spent about £5,000 and at the time I was probably 100% out. 18 months later, and I have probably spent the same again. Once you have the basic tool set, you will find yourself upgrading things so that £150 screwdriver set gets replaced by a £300 set. The £100 hand pressing tool gets replaced with a £900 press. The £15 crystal press is replaced with a £400 one. Eventually, your £150 Chinese timing machine will morph into £3,500 of Swiss precision - that's the next step for me. Before you know it, you could spend as much as a pro and your bank account will be lighter to the tune of £50,000 (ish)

And you thought collecting watches was expensive.......

 

I'll start with a few books and take it from there...

Actually the deal I have with myself is the money I save from not drinking alcohol + coffee I can spend on whatever I want. That's probably $1200 per month so maybe it's doable...

 

Shit! I wish I'd thought of that. Let's see, one bottle of Scotch ($90 to $120) per week or two, over three years, Hmmmmmmm....$8 or $9K.

And a bottle of wine every other night, and beers with mates at the footy etc........

I could have saved Thowwwwwwwwsands and spent it on watch gear.

But I'm here to enjoy life, so bugger all of that talk.

Now for a nice Lagavulin to finish off after dinner.

 

Haha... yeah it's a trade-off. I quit booze and coffee as I'm a bit of a gym rat and even a little bit of alcohol messes with my concentration and motivation. I do miss them though.

 

Ah yes, the boundless enthusiasm of a n00b.

 

Just wondering, you going to do the watchmaker thang before or after you've finished the new Omegapedia thang?

 

Haha... I'm doing both. I'm lucky that my full-time job is very much part-time, and I'm one of those weirdos who always needs a few side projects.

For the Omegapedia thing, I'm starting with Constellations as that's what I enjoy the most.

 

Hi Stewart

Sound like you're looking at one of these. I've been reading what a scope can do for me so I think that could become a must have. As you said, costs escalate very quickly!

Cheers, Chris

 

That's the one Chris, you must be a mind reader

I do like the idea of having the scope as an analytical tool.

 

FIFY.

 

$1200 a month?, Amateur!

 

Great making me rethink things... Naw I'll drink the limited release Bruchladdie and Ardbeg I just got. Well maybe not the Ardbeg it might go into investment storage those tend to appreciate...