Pictures speak a thousand words, and words in pictures even better.

Step 1. Take a nice watch.



Step 2. Well, the words say it all.

 

"How to bend a hairspring in one easy step".

.....or, in Classic Rocky & Bullwinkle alternate title fashion....

"Installing your own garbage disposal does NOT mean you're a watchmaker".

 

Wow, you can get Seiko box and pillow for cheap money though.

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I've been in the same boat too. It's a good (albeit expensive) way to learn the innards of the watch and how it works (sort of). In fact, I've got a couple of watches in pieces right now. Some are broken from my n00b-ness, others I just havent gotten the time to put together. Gotta start from somewhere right? =)

 

I broke the balance on my first attempt to regulate a watch. I didn't sell the watch, however, I bought a new balance and figured it out.

 

For me, these things have happened before (and I'm still learning...)

* Scratch dial while removing hands (clumsy hands and no dial protector)
* Break tension ring crystals due to incorrect size crystal press die
* Have mainsping fly out and lose arbor
* Drop a clip spring and have no idea where it goes back to
* Wearing a pinion down with it being unable to fit again
* Demagnetize a balance and have it go flying as I haven't held it securely

Yup, lots of fun times to be had here...

Cheap money may be lots for others. Especially those who are compulsive buyers and will agonise over the smallest of amounts on things that they know are necessary, yet completely random things will warrant a handover of money on the spot.

 

Read tons of books on watch and clock mechanics and theory, looked at all the diagrams, understand how they work and how there're regulated, own lots of nice fine tools (ex robot mechanic) even put some trashed pocket watches together well enough to make them run and after all that I've learned enough to know to keep my damn fingers out of my watches!

 

This is exactly what it is. Nice to see folks from the industry here.
I am pretty much the same way, I'm working on all different kind of robots and automated equipment,but I was studying for it. Read a lot of literature about watches mechanics, but let people who knows what they are doing to work on watches.
I do have a lot of respect for the watchmakers and for that fine job they are doing.

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Watchmakers make mistakes, too! But they know how to get themselves out of messes! Don't practice on anything you wouldn't throw away!

 

I haven't screwed the pooch yet...key word "yet"...I've limited the adventures to regulating...and I've limited the amount of Dunkin' Donuts coffee consumed prior to conducting the adventures in regulating.

 

The Perils of the Amatuer Watchmaker is EXACTLY how I found this forum.