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As a complete novice I am somewhat nervous about offering tips to you experts. However I had occasion to remove the caseback from my GS Mk2 pocket watch. It is so well machined there is virtually no visible joint to put a blade in without scratching it plus I did not know if it was screw on or not. I was thinking I needed a suction device which I don't have. After a few vodkas I came up with the idea of using the suction windscreen mount off my Garmin sat nav. It worked a treat. I also used it on my stepdaughter's Rolex ''replica'' which is tiny and has the authentic style Rolex caseback. I'm sure you guys have tools for every occasion but this tip might just get a hobbyist like myself out of trouble.

Excellent document. Although you comment that it does not seem to be aesthetically good, for me it is. It's the best I've seen.

I’m retired and have been for many years. I do not think I had any trouble, because the springs in watches are of very little height you don’t distort them, unlike clock main springs.

Some repairers just replace with a new spring as part of the service. I could not get on with hand winding so I have purchased several winders over the years., However as oldhippy says they can also be troublesome.

My advice is to buy a replacement mainspring for the 6497. They are about £12 at cousinsuk.com. I did the course myself and that's what I did, and if I remember correctly, Mark recommends replacing the mainspring as a best practice, if possible. However, if you decide not to replace it, I really think it is possible to get away with it doing it by hand. It's a big spring so that should resist more, but on the other hand, as it is bigger it should make it easier to handle by hand. oldhippy, how often do you destroy/kink your mainsprings replacing them by hand, and how much of "a pain" is it?

I’m probably going to get crucified on here for saying this. I could never get on with watch mainspring winders. I found them awkward to use due to me mainly being left handed.

I eventually bought some second hand winders. The vast majority of watches I repair are 11 - 13", which means the barrels are all similar in size, so I don't really need that many. I think hand winding is ok if you are careful; you can prove you are doing it well by removing and reinspecting the spring for deformation.

Thanks Adam. Very clean!

I've already posted this on another popular watch forum, but I think it better fits here. I'm sorry if this post get too lengthy due to all the images. Hey everyone! I would like to share a project that I've been working on for a while. After a few different variations, I think that this is my final design for the time being. Project background: For many in this hobby, applications like Toolwatch are great because they allow you to determine daily rate, but it doesn't provide anything beyond that. Those of us who enjoy tinkering with watches should have a way to also check the amplitude and beat error. Sure, I could have purchased a timegrapher from China but I thought it would be a fun project to attempt constructing one myself (with the help of several resources). I used these microphone stand plans for reference and made some changes. There are also plans for a DIY pre-amp on the Watch-O-Scope website, but I followed the instructions from my good friend Guido (also posting on this thread) and modified a PYLE pre-amp by removing a capacitor from one channel and replacing the electrolytic capacitor with a ceramic capacitor on the same channel. The first iteration gave promising results but I wasn't entirely pleased with it. It seemed like the audio levels were somewhat inconsistent and I would get a ringing or echoing noise depending on the amount of pressure against the piezo disk (the contact microphone element). After some discussion with a friend, we came to the conclusion that many professional timing stands never have direct pressure against the piezo element - instead, the metal clamp that holds the watch is coupled with the piezo using a different piece of metal that transfers the vibrations. We came up with these sketches for a better design. Completed and polished pin before attaching it to the piezo. Pin installed. Soldered some thin cables from broken earbuds to a 3.5mm connector mounted in the stand. The results are good. Now it's time to add a copper plate to the back to reduce electromagnetic interference. Another good idea is to add some felt so I don't scratch any crystals when testing the dial down position. Finally, the build is complete! I'll admit that this might not be the most beautiful creation, but it's definitely functional and it does exactly what I need it to do. I have ideas for further improvements, but they are not necessary and are really just a challenge to get the cleanest audio signal (there's still quite a bit of static). Waveform from Watch-O-Scope (highly recommended software, made by a fellow WUS user). This is amazing software that I pair this microphone stand with. An alternative is TG Timer, but Watch-O-Scope definitely is the better option. Quick audio recording I made: Test Recording #1 - Mega.nz