New To Watch Repair

[Stryker11]

Hi people. Just joined the forum after watching Mark's video on YouTube.

Have been collecting watches for the past 2 years and have amassed quite a few good pieces.

Ordered a couple of spare watches from eBay to practice repairing watches and my.....I've yet to assemble a single piece.

Mark's video made it look so simple. But in reality its a very tough exercise.

After dissembling the movement, I tried to put back together and each and every time, I can't seem to put the cover for the wheel train. I tried alighning the sheets to the jewel but some how can get it to fit right.

I have been at the process for the past 2 weekends and getting very demoralized.

Would be helpful if you guys share your experience on the 1st time you tried diy on your watch. How many tries it took.

[clockboy]

Stryker,  

Welcome to the forum.  We have all been there, problems with line up,s, flyers from the tweezers, lost bits etc, etc , but if you keep calm with practice it's amazing how your brain & fingers start to coordinate.

Alignment of the train wheel bridge or any bridge is about making sure the wheel/wheels are all seated in their jewels correctly and straight. Then align the bridge (I find best to hold with tweezers through one of the holes for the retaining screw) as exactly as possible before lowering it & with very gentle pressure as Mark would say worry them in just never force because the pivots are delicate.

As Gary Player once said "The harder you practice, the luckier you get"

Enjoy the forum & let know how you progress

Edited March 8, 2015 by clockboy

[Don]

Welcome to the forum,Stryker.

I've only worked on a few moments, but I can tell you it gets easier. Yesterday I had to remove the train wheel bridge on a movement I'd already assembled. The first time it took me 8-10 attempts to locate the pivots. The second time I did it in two.

You’ve got to look under the bridge at eye level and very gently manipulate the wheels. I use a broken oiler for the escape wheel and brass tweezers for the other wheels. Probably the most important thing is to step away when it's not going well. I copied a quote from a watchmaking video and always keep it in mind. "Often...you're too hasty or too irritated, you do stupid things."

Don't give up. It'll come. Every failure pays with experience.

[bobm12]

Welcome to the forum, Stryker. All has been said and it is good advise. Just make sure you take plenty of pictures and most important, the last thing you assemble is the balance wheel and hopefully the rotor!

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

[Geo]

A warm welcome to the forum Stryker. :)

That is excellent advice from Clockboy and Don, persevere and it will become easier. It's all to do with acquiring a feel for it, never force anything or tighten screws before to know everything is running very freely. When tightening screws, do it a little at a time and checking that everything is still free, until they are fully tightened.

[Stryker11]

Thank you guys. After several attempts I manage to assemble the train assembly. This watch I was working on had the crown stem loose. Though it winds and keeps good time, the crown stem can be easily removed from the movement. Any idea why?

[DouglasSkinner]

Don't get discouraged!  I'm still in the beginning phase myself.  When I first tried to put on a train bridge it took me forever--now it only takes me forever minus 1.  But I'm improving.  I use an old oiler to move the pivots into their jewels while applying a very slight pressure with my forefinger.  One has to be careful not to bend the pivots in the process--which I've also done.  But that gives me a chance to use my staking tool!  For me, the most difficult one to set is the escape wheel (unless it has its own bridge which I've encountered a couple of times).

 

Awhile back I had lunch with a very experienced watchmaker of 25+ years who works on very high-end watches.  At an early point in his career he started to work at Breitling.  He told me that there, he broke watches for two years before he started to get things right.  He said he appeared regularly at the Breitling parts supply room and it was the virtually inexhaustible supply of parts available for "do overs" that allowed him to develop.  I found this very heartening and it has propelled me ever since.  I'm no longer afraid to break things!  (I try not to, of course.)  But for me the greatest psychological block I've had to overcome is the fear of breaking something.  When I break a watch I'd really like to keep I make up a set of notes to remind me of what went wrong and put it away until my skills improve or I get the necessary tool or part to try again to fix it.

 

One thing I've been doing is getting cheap but fixable watches and movements from eBay, flea markets, pawnshops, etc.  Not only does it give me a chance at fixing them but I've encountered a large variety of movements--most of which I've never heard of.  It allows me to see commonalities and differences and it's my equivalent of Brietling's supply room.

[frenchie]

Thank you guys. After several attempts I manage to assemble the train assembly. This watch I was working on had the crown stem loose. Though it winds and keeps good time, the crown stem can be easily removed from the movement. Any idea why?

Did you push the stem in far enough ?