It seems I have been defeated so many times already that I don't even care anymore
- Spent 5 hours making a new component, only to ruin it on the last operation? Just start over. The second time you can do it in 4 or 3 hours anyway.
- Bent hairspring by catching it on center wheel again? Learn to be more careful and spend 2 hours spring-tweaking under the microscope. Even more fun if it's a ladies watch.
- Some part pings into oblivion? Scout for new one on ebay. I actually force myself to purchase a new (old) part as a form of self-punishment, even if the watch is not worth the expense (unless extreme, hehe).
One part of learning watchmaking is to stay calm in the face of soul-crushing defeat.
A few days ago I assembled and cased an ETA 2824 in a miserable front-remove case. The watch ran great on the timing machine without the automatic module installed. I installed the module, closed the back and wore it for testing -- and it stopped after just a few minutes. I haven't quite figured out what's wrong, but if the ratchet driver wheel of the automatic module exerts pressure on the ratchet wheel, the wheel train loses power somewhere. Most likely there's something wrong with the barrel, or the intermediate wheel. So, start from scratch!
Cheers!
Rob