Jump to content

Daniel here and joined a few days ago.

calcmandan

By calcmandan
in Introduce Yourself Here

 Share

Recommended Posts

calcmandan New Member

calcmandan

Posted
Posted

The last time I wore a watch, it was my third in no less than a week. I was on the flightdeck of my ship assisting with the onboarding of supplies for our multi-month cruise. The watch was on my wrist for no more than a few hours and was shiny new. Our ship store had indiglo watches for sale and I thought it was a cool design. I was directing the crane operator on the pier with a pallate of soda when the watch back popped off and the innards dropped down, bounced off the corner of the catwalk and into Hong Kong harbor. I angrily ripped off the watch band and flung it into the nether. This was 1993. Growing up, watches were a pain in the ass. They were either too loose and the watch head would roll off the visible side of my arm or it was too tight and I would get rashes. Naturally, they were kid watches and made of plastic. Either way, I was done with them.

 

A few days ago, I happened upon the watch repair channel on youtube and was mesmerized by the dude's skills. It was a gentleman's watch from the 1960s that he serviced. For an inexpensive watch, it was intricate and loaded with parts. I was blown away. As if I don't have enough hobbies at any given time, I now have a budding interest in watch repair. If done right, the cost of entry should be relatively affordable.

 

My life is a busy one. Aside from my day job and side business, I have a home, partner, and an airplane (yes I'm a private pilot).

 

If i'm not flying on day excursions, i'm at my hangar tinkering. If I'm not in the hangar, I'm home fiddling with something. Or I'm handling my side business affairs, or I'm in training of some sort. Or, I'm out smoking cigars and drinking scotch with my bros. Mostly, though, I'm home with my loving partner of nearly fourteen years.

 

Why do I have a budding interest in watch repair as a hobby? I love small, intricate devices and I didn't know anything about watches until now. Well, I still don't. Until a few days ago I thought all watches were powered by a battery or are mobile computers with enough battery capacity to barely fit a workday. I had no idea that watches are still made to be powered with unsprung force. This wakes up the physicist in me. You can say I was enthralled by the concept.

 

Incidently, I joined this forum last week because it showed up on tapatalk after a cursory search. I didn't notice that the guy from the youtube channel refers to this forum at the end of his videos. It always amazes me what a small world it is.

 

So I'd like to approach watch repair by obtaining a mechanical watch and repairing it. I'm going to start searching ebay/craigslist for an inexpensive automatic watch that no longer operates. Nothing fancy, but functional by design. I will start looking for used tools of the trade and learn the craft by restoring the watch back into service. Then, I will take a stab at wearing a watch again. It would be nice to have accurate time on my wrist when I'm calculating fuel consumption on the plane or marking takeoff/lading time.

 

I intend to utilize this forum as a training tool and discover other websites as I go. If it turns out that I don't have the skill or talent to be a hobby, then I won't feel bad since it won't take alot to get started.

 

I hope.

 

Or maybe it will cost a fortune.

 

I have a question regarding chat. Are there any IRC servers with populated watch repair channels I can join? I noticed that this forum has a tapatalk chatroom but it's seldom used. I did a cursory search on freenode to no avail.

 

I hope to make great friends on here, in the meantime.

 

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
calcmandan New Member

calcmandan

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Oh, and I forgot to mention this. If someone can suggest an inexpensive mechanical watch witih parts that are readily available (if necessary), I'm open to suggestions. I'm here to learn above all.

 

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
calcmandan New Member

calcmandan

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I read on a watchmaker's website that the best way to learn about movements is to get a 6498 ETA or a clone. For various reasons he listed, one of them is the low cost. So I did a cursory search and I see them listed for about $80. Is this right?

Sent from my SM-T720 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
calcmandan New Member

calcmandan

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The last time I wore a watch, it was my third in no less than a week. I was on the flightdeck of my ship assisting with the onboarding of supplies for our multi-month cruise. The watch was on my wrist for no more than a few hours and was shiny new. Our ship store had indiglo watches for sale and I thought it was a cool design. I was directing the crane operator on the pier with a pallate of soda when the watch back popped off and the innards dropped down, bounced off the corner of the catwalk and into Hong Kong harbor. I angrily ripped off the watch band and flung it into the nether. This was 1993. Growing up, watches were a pain in the ass. They were either too loose and the watch head would roll off the visible side of my arm or it was too tight and I would get rashes. Naturally, they were kid watches and made of plastic. Either way, I was done with them.
 
A few days ago, I happened upon the watch repair channel on youtube and was mesmerized by the dude's skills. It was a gentleman's watch from the 1960s that he serviced. For an inexpensive watch, it was intricate and loaded with parts. I was blown away. As if I don't have enough hobbies at any given time, I now have a budding interest in watch repair. If done right, the cost of entry should be relatively affordable.
 
My life is a busy one. Aside from my day job and side business, I have a home, partner, and an airplane (yes I'm a private pilot).
 
If i'm not flying on day excursions, i'm at my hangar tinkering. If I'm not in the hangar, I'm home fiddling with something. Or I'm handling my side business affairs, or I'm in training of some sort. Or, I'm out smoking cigars and drinking scotch with my bros. Mostly, though, I'm home with my loving partner of nearly fourteen years.
 
Why do I have a budding interest in watch repair as a hobby? I love small, intricate devices and I didn't know anything about watches until now. Well, I still don't. Until a few days ago I thought all watches were powered by a battery or are mobile computers with enough battery capacity to barely fit a workday. I had no idea that watches are still made to be powered with unsprung force. This wakes up the physicist in me. You can say I was enthralled by the concept.
 
Incidently, I joined this forum last week because it showed up on tapatalk after a cursory search. I didn't notice that the guy from the youtube channel refers to this forum at the end of his videos. It always amazes me what a small world it is.
 
So I'd like to approach watch repair by obtaining a mechanical watch and repairing it. I'm going to start searching ebay/craigslist for an inexpensive automatic watch that no longer operates. Nothing fancy, but functional by design. I will start looking for used tools of the trade and learn the craft by restoring the watch back into service. Then, I will take a stab at wearing a watch again. It would be nice to have accurate time on my wrist when I'm calculating fuel consumption on the plane or marking takeoff/lading time.
 
I intend to utilize this forum as a training tool and discover other websites as I go. If it turns out that I don't have the skill or talent to be a hobby, then I won't feel bad since it won't take alot to get started.
 
I hope.
 
Or maybe it will cost a fortune.
 
I have a question regarding chat. Are there any IRC servers with populated watch repair channels I can join? I noticed that this forum has a tapatalk chatroom but it's seldom used. I did a cursory search on freenode to no avail.
 
I hope to make great friends on here, in the meantime.
 
Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk
 
 
I read that learning from a nonfunctioning watch is a bad approach. The reasoning is logical due to the possible complications. I will start with a working movement so I can understand how these genius device work.

Sent from my SM-T720 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
calcmandan New Member

calcmandan

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Hi and welcome to the forum. Get yourself a Seiko 5, there are zillions out there and cost very little.
My gawd not only are there tons of them but they are attractive. I have a dozen on watch list deciding which I want to start learning from.

Started collecting equipment too.

Sent from my SM-T720 using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • ManSkirtBrew
      1972 Bulova President "E" Sea King 11ACACB movement

      By ManSkirtBrew · Posted

      Unfortunately I'm not that lucky. I started on the train side and after I noticed the binding I pulled everything out except the driving wheel to rule everything else out. It still binds. I'm going to double check that the pinion is fully seated on the staff first, then if no joy I'll push the bridge jewel up a fraction of a mm. Fingers crossed!
    • Waggy
      Rado rotor removal

      By Waggy · Posted

      Happy to have helped, great way to start the day with a win! 🥳
    • doober
      Rado rotor removal

      By doober · Posted

      Thank you for the advise!! It worked. The setting screw was a lock/unlock to remove the rotor. 
    • GuyMontag
      1972 Bulova President "E" Sea King 11ACACB movement

      By GuyMontag · Posted

      I have that French tech sheet too, it is a little different than the English one (eg, it doesn't have the auto works diagram). BTW, it looks like you are looking up the case number in the 1979 ABC supplement. The 1974 ABC catalog does have the 3093 case. As you determined it takes the 1222-5 crystal.  When I serviced my President 'A' (which also takes that crystal), I was able to fit a 29.8 crystal from my DPA crystal assortment. Those are, in my opinion, a great deal. The assortment comes with 10 sizes each from 27.8mm to 32.4mm in 0.2 increments. I pretty much use them for any non-armored crystal that takes a high dome crystal. I think they no longer make them but Cousins has still has some in stock but when I bought them they were around $40 for the set and now they are around $100. Still, at 40 cents a crystal it's still a good deal. For the large driving wheel, I remember I once assembled the keyless/motion works first and when I placed the large driving wheel it was interfering with the setting wheel on the dial side as the teeth were not fully meshing and it wouldn't fully seat. If that isn't the issue I got nothing and am looking forward to see how you solve it 🙂
    • Waggy
      Rado rotor removal

      By Waggy · Posted

      Not sure, but just looking at it, it seems like the screw on the right may be a fake? The one on the left may not be a screw in the regular sense at all, rather a 2 position device, I think you need to point the slot towards either of the 2 dots and one will secure and one will open. Like I said this is just my best guess looking at the pictures.
×
×
  • Create New...