Jump to content

New member


owlet72

Recommended Posts

Hello and welcome to the forum , Get the best tools you can afford in order to persue your hobby, Dumont tweezers  A*F/bergeon/french pattern screwdrivers and of course some good optics, regarding a cleaning machine, not totaly necessary for the Hobbyist. Cleaning by with Benzine, Naptha, Isopropyl Alchohol  or a small ultrasonic will suffice .       enjoy 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for your introduction and welcome to this friendly forum.

No not necessary but once you have used a watch cleaning machine you will see just how quick and how much better it is. 

watchweasol has suggested tweezers and screwdrivers I support his advice. You will probably need a few different eye glasses for  very close up work normal work etc. of cause it will depend on your sight, do not strain your eyes,  good light is also very important and posture so get a nice comfy seat and make sure you have ample leg room. Working on carpet is not advisable as things get lost. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi folks, Im Paul, another new member here. I'm keenly paying attention to the advice given. Great tips on what tools to start collecting, got A*F screwdrivers on the spindle, got some locking tweezers from when i did gemmology, but I'll look for the dumonts.

I'm inspired to fix my grandfathers watch, but I'm scared to touch it as my first. So I'll need to get some tinkering watches to start. Any advice on good books to read? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi welcome to the forum,  A good idea not to start with the family heirloom,  Have a look on the bay for some cheap Russian and Seikos (india)  to plactice on there is plenty of data on them and they are sound and robust.  Regarding books  Henry B Fried and Donald De Carls books although quite old and probably not relavant to todays modern watches still contain a wealth of knowledge on Horology.   Our Administrator Mark Lovick has produced some videos on UTube  and are well worth the time to look at. He has also provided a paid for watch repair course on line which is available.  It depends on how far you want to go.           cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great suggestions, I shall get cracking this weekend. Thanks watchweasol. Very exciting. I do worry about the condition of the dial on grandpa's watch, i think that is the only thing that can deteriorate over time. Is there any way to arrest the spread of oxidation or verdigris? At least until i am good enough to restore. It's very sad, looks like algal bloom on a pond :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is a fabulous document, what a remarkable collection of tips. Thank you for sharing, and thanks DrG for creating it. It's such a daunting prospect to start from scratch, but this site is a treasure trove of wisdom and friendly advice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi  You can try a moist cotton bud  and only moist not wet  mild soapy water,  and remove as much as you can but be careful of the printing some will come off , A soft pencil rubber may also be used but again careful is the watch word, and try the method in an unconspicious place first.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, Pjmat2 said:

Have you seen a more tragic dial?

Usually one uses a petri dish to grow fungi in. 
I would recommend you sent the dial to a professional restorer. It will be a stunning old watch when finnished.
 

403477404_RolexFungi.jpg.861582dcdc0454abdcd83a2f05008b3b.jpg

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.



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • I've remained silent on this thread, and at the risk of upsetting everyone, the thing that worries me the most the the apparent absence of Mark. The moderators do a great job and the members also pitch in, and the site seems to run itself, but it is a concern for the future of this forum when the owner is absent for all intents and purposes. Like many of the comments above I would hate to log in one day and things be closed down as I rely on this site for ideas and knowledge and also cheer me up. maybe the Moderators could reach out to him, assuming he does not read this thread, and express our concerns and let us know the plans going forward? some kind of WRT ark
    • That was the exact reason for me starting this thread watchie. Still we haven't worked out how the regulars are going to hook up if it goes tits up. I honestly think something should be arranged to stay in contact, we all help each other so much. 
    • Yeah ive watched that a few times before,  i couldnt find my old school dividers to scribe it up 😅 Yep thats the guy i bought a roll from . Thanks Nicklesilver that answers that perfectly and more or less what i thought an experiment over time would prove . The jumper arm is quite thick along its length, i left it that way intentionally, i thought the original was probably very thin, i didnt see that it was already missing. Setting isn't particularly stiff as such just positive, i still need to take it out and polish where it mates with the stem release. 
    • Yes, "Sold out" is difficult to understand. There doesn't seem to be a lot going on. It's been nine months since any new video was published on the Watch Repair Channel. The Level 4 course on watchfix.com has been in progress for what feels like forever (several years!?). Maybe Mark's enterprises aren't doing well or perhaps already so profitable there's nothing much to motivate him for more material. Or, perhaps these days he's more into crochet. The real reason is probably something entirely different but it would be nice/interesting to know. I don't mean to sound gloomy or pessimistic, but I wouldn't be surprised to be met by an HTTP 404. Every day feels like a gift. Speaking of watchfix.com I've been postponing the "Level 5: Servicing Chronograph Watches" course for a very, very long time. Anyway, I just enrolled on it so it's going to be very interesting to see the videos. I must say, IMO there's nothing really that can compete with Mark's courses when it comes to presentation and video quality. It's simply world-class and makes me associate with some really expensive BBC productions.
    • Steel has some funny properties, or at least counterintuitive. The modulus of elasticity is effectively (not exactly, but close enough) the same for steel that is annealed and hardened. What changes is the point of plastic deformation* . If the movement of your spring doesn't pass that, it should work fine. It looks a little thick, I would thin it a bit maybe from the main body out about halfway, maybe 10-20% thinner (not in thickness, along its form). But if it works it works!   *So- if you have two bars of the same steel, one annealed, one at 600 Vickers (general hardness watch arbors might be), clamp them to a table so the same length is hanging out, and put a weight on the ends, they will bend the same amount. But if you continue to add weight, then remove it, at a point the annealed bar won't return to its original straightness. That's the point of plastic deformation. But up to that point, as springs, they are the same. However- their wear characteristics will be very very different. And getting the hardened bar past its point of plastic deformation takes a lot more effort.
×
×
  • Create New...