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Manxcat

By Manxcat
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Manxcat Member

Manxcat

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My name is Jeff...and I am a chronic hobbiest.  Toward the end of last year, I watched a watch repair video on Youtube...then another...then another...then I got out all my old watches (all quartz), bought a very very basic watch repair toolkit off Amazon and got them all working.  Then I bought an old parts pocketwatch...and another...and another.  Then I mentioned that watches interests me to a co-worker who had a broken Tissot with an ETS 2824 in it...the stem had come out when he took his hand our of his pocket and it would not adjust the time anymore.

To be clear, I am a amateur hack at best and have no business taking apart anything nice, especially this beautiful LeLocle...but with the help of some videos, and a few more too purchases, I was able to identify that the yoke was bent from having jumped the clutch so even after I put it back in place, it would not properly select the date or time adjust positions...so I replaced the yoke and the setting level as well as the stem.  Since it had been ripped out of the watch, it had some scaring and I figured it would happen again easier if I didn't.

While I was waiting on parts, I bought more watches including an Andre Rivalle pocket watch.  It was a very pretty watch, but it had a junk movement in it (a BRAC 509 I believe).  I discovered it had a pivot missing on the 3rd wheel which would allow the barrel to jump gears and unwind.  Its not easy to find parts for that, its easier to replace it, but I took a chance that a BRAC 518 would have the same 3rd wheel and found one...with a cost higher than the entire watches value...but I wanted to fix it and I did.  

At this point, I decided to branch out...so I got an old junk Timex with a model 74 from 1968 and fully took it apart...whoops!!!  What a nightmare to get back together, but I did and it still works today.  I also played with a junk Westclox pocket watch full of plastic gears and rivets which also works today...its my loudest watch.

Last week I took a really nice looking old Westclox ladies wristwatch apart, the movement was coated with something that had the consistency of honey.  Got it cleaned, oiled, and put back together and it is running about 220 amplitude and would vary from gaining 100 to loosing 100 seconds a day depending on the position on the timegrapher...I know that's not great, but I am pretty proud of it.

Until December 2021 I have never owned a mechanical watch...which is crazy with how many mechanical hobbies I already have.  I dont know where I am going with this hobby, I dont know how long I will be this passionate about it, but right now its all I think about every day.  I am not married to just mechanical, quarts watches can be very interesting and extremely mechanical too.  I have attached a few pics of some of the projects I mentioned here.  Thanks for providing a place to chat!

Thanks,

Jeff

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