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Lovely, cheap bracelet set from India. The box is beautifully finished with a magnetic lock. The tip stays in place and works just fine, it's not not bulky and heavy like some that I had bought before. Tips and spare handle also available. Cousins B38403.

Over the last 2 weeks at my watch and clock repair class we have been learning how to manipulate hairsprings. We were shown that if you sit the hairspring on a sheet of glass and have it raised up by a 1 or 2cm over white paper the shadows of the hairsping are out of your way making it easier to see what you are doing. After the first night of playing with hairsprings I went home and designed myself a holder based around some 50mm spare torch glass I had lying around. I also added cross hairs to make it easier to work out where to hold the spring when adjusting it. This is my end result. Should anyone have a 3D printer and want to make one themselves I've uploaded it to Thingaverse. The glass I used was 50mm diameter and 1.5mm thick, but it should also work with 2mm thick glass. The parts are made to friction fitted so you don't need to glue it so it can be taken apart if needed to clean the glass. Bottom photo shows a clock hairspring I had fixed and I'm in the process of attempting to make it a breguet overcoil, for no other reason that practice Thingaverse Link to STL files

My thought is, remove money from the equation first. Judge things for what they are, their objective physical characteristics. And then you will be able to judge what is overpriced and what is cheap, with all the large lot in between. Works for tools, for watches, and most other material objects.

Hands up.. I've used a smooth broach to remove a stubborn bit of crud from a jewel hole but it's not an acceptable practice and is very risky. The problem is the last thing you want to be doing, is attempting to ream the hole but more problematic is the jewel being very hard. So if the broach isn't maintained absolutely vertical during the process, the jewel is almost certainly going to chip. The problem you may encounter with bamboo is its a harder substance on its outer skin than pegwood. So it may give the impression of having a finer edge after shaping but will be far less pliable than pegwood when attempting to clean the jewel hole. Sent from my SM-T585 using Tapatalk

Here is a real beautiful clock made in England and it made its way to the U S A. It’s had its repairs but it’s a cracker, the dial looks as if it’s from a Longcase Clock but this is original. Plenty of photos so you can see the works and what goes on behind the dial. Note how thin the steel work is for the wheels and the finish on parts, a sign of a good craftsman. A fine clock for anyone’s collection. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1840s-Striking-Fusee-Bracket-Clock-sold-in-Philadelphia-by-John-L-Lawson-/232343376052?hash=item3618be90b4:g:L6UAAOSw8lpZILtp

Thanks for the info Clockboy but I don't think you read the thread thoroughly. I'm fixing a number of older Swiss watches that are NOT Rolex starting with the Rado Voyager pictured above. The parts are no longer available from the official manufacturer. I have to use generic parts but can't find the correct size. But thanks for the info anyways. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Parts seem to be plentiful on the cousins web site an escape wheel is listed at £12.94 and pretty much anything else you may require is still available

You only need a brass bushing hole size 4mm. 8mm. diameter. then you need to drill the hole from 4 mm. to 4,7 or whatever the 2BA is. and then you need 2BA screw to fasten it ! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4mm-x-8mm-x-8mm-Self-lubricating-Bushing-Sleeve-Brass-Bearings-10PCS-/391717481023?hash=item5b342e6a3f:g:eeYAAOSwLkdY8bq1