Did a quick search on the forum without success.

The idea is to learn the basics and “play” with a few cheap watches and movements.

I know there will be lots of youtube material out there, but also suspect that it will be very unstructured.

Anybody know of a good place to start?

Found this online course that looks good, be it at a price.

https://learnwatchmaking.com/

 

Right off the bat....you can watch this 3-part series a couple of times 'How to service a mechanical watch AS 1900 in a Rotary watch'. I watched a lot of this guy's videos. He's a pro working out of the UK.

 

This guy is not a pro at all, but I watched a bunch of his videos when I was starting out and they're very entertaining and informative. He's out of upstate NY and has a skill set and tool set that is more along the lines of what you expect to have as a hobbyist:

 

I’ve watched many of both these guys’ videos, some more than once.

You’ll figure out in short order who these guys are as watchmakers. The second guy, in particular, can be very entertaining, albeit in an unexpected way. He can also be annoying, but he’s very real.

If you’re interested in such things, I would strongly recommend both of them.

However, I would not be surprised to have Archer chime in, as a professional, and tell us that these videos are bunk.

 

I've commented on both these guys before. Bunnspecial is a hoot - again I imagine Steve Buscemi as I listen to him work. I haven't watched enough of his videos to say a lot, but he is clearly an amateur, so I cut him some slack.

I don't think I'd seen that specific video by Mark before, but in the first 60 seconds I see two bad practices that make me cringe, so I stopped watching (these are typical things he does that are pretty basic things to avoid). I cut him less slack as he's a professional and also charges for some lessons apparently. I believe he has been taken to task for some of his bad habits on other forums by other watchmakers, and has been unrepentant.

I won't say these videos don't have value, but they are far from teaching you the basics in a proper way.

Cheers, Al

 

Knew it!

Thank you Al! As always, trying to keep us on the straight and narrow.

 

I guess I understand how tinkering with watches might be alluring to some watch aficionados. I'm just not one of those guys. There are many fascinating technological wonders and I'm quite happy to let professionals do their thing in keeping them working (car engines, computers, software/programming...). It seems to me the vast knowledge and level of fine motor skills required for watchmaking puts it squarely in the category where I'm happy to pay trained expert to service and repair my watches.

I love reading insider tips and explanations, and it's cool to somewhat live 'vicariously' through those who do decide to dabble and post about it here, but I'm happy to remain a spectator!

 

When I first decided to make a hobby of tearing apart watches I started with a second hand set of tools from the estate sale of a local jeweler that included a few old watches and movements, and then I bought this book, Watch Repairing as a Hobby by D.W. Fletcher. I tore down and pretty much destroyed a couple old Elgin movements that came in the tool sale before I finally got one to function after reassembly. The book I mention is very antiquated and I'm sure some of the practices are not recommended by anyone who has become a watchmaker in the last fifty or sixty years but it did teach me quite a bit about the basic functions of all the parts and the basics of servicing a watch. I also spent a lot of time with my local watchmaker before she retired and learned quite a bit from her.

 

I took a few courses offered by the National Assoc.of Watch and Clock Collectors. It was fun and informative, although a bit on the pricey side, for me at least.
https://nawcc.org/index.php/main-education

 

Think about that YouTube is not the only place where collect information... there are a lot of books, especially old editions, for few pounds or dollars on eBay!

 

I wonder if he let down the mainspring? I don't think he did.

 

There are also resources out there in print form that have been scanned and are free access on the internet. One that may be helpful is a military ordnance manual found here:

https://archive.org/details/TM9-1575

TM 9-1575 Ordnance Maintenance: Wrist Watches, Pocket Watches, Stop Watches, and Clocks 1945-04-06

"This manual is published for the information and guidance of ordnance maintenance personnel. It contains detailed instructions for inspection, disassembly, assembly, maintenance, and repair of pocket watches, wrist watches, stop watches, and message center clocks, and is supplementary to those in the Field Manuals and Technical Manuals prepared for the using arms. This manual does not contain in formation which is intended primarily for the using arms, since such information is available to ordnance maintenance personnel in TM 9-575."

Being from 1945 it certainly doesn't cover modern practices, but it still has useful information in it. The one problem with these old publications is that people who are new to watchmaking won't know what's now considered good practice and what isn't.

Cheers, Al