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Posted

Hi all. 

Been tinkering on watches for about 2 months now.  some success some failure.  My plan is to learn as much as possible before I turn 60 (9 years from now) so that when I retire, maybe I can earn some extra income repairing and restoring watches.  I am a lifelong tinkerer .  Known to many as "macgyver"  I have a knack for figuring out how things work.  last 10 years been working on scooters, dirt bikes, motorcycles, and cars.  Made pretty good money flipping them.  Not to mention the honey do's around the house and my inventions with my camper.  I work in the wine industry here and have been for pretty much my whole life. I have bought all the tools that I need for now for watch making. I am currently working on pocket watches.  I buy them in bulk for cheap and repair them (if possible) and clean them up.  No loss $$ if I break them or loose a piece, they are there for learning for me.  I got a bumch of ladies movements too but those are for later down the road

Look forward to getting to know you all, and a pre emptive thank you for the info I'm sure I will get from here!

 

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Posted

Welcome to the forum!

I visit daily (at least for the last few months) and have yet to have my first eBay purchase really get going. I started with an Elgin grade 313, bought a second 313 and incorrectly assumed that I could mix-and-match parts. Ended up screwing up the balance after getting one assembled version running for a while but in trying to get beyond 60 seconds or so I did more part swapping and eventually screwed the pooch.

Anyway, I've subsequently cleaned and started the re-assembly of a Buren Grand Prix, found a broken setting lever spring and purchased another which appears similar as far as the plates, bridges and wheels go but the keyless is different.

Have also fooled with a Seagull ST36 and dissolved the glue holding the h/s to the balance stud - so purchased another one of those too.

There's also an Omega 620 but I've been advised to leave it alone until I stop shooting screws and springs off into never-neverland with my tweezers. Sounds like good advice.

So, what I'm saying is that you may see posts from me but I'm still a padawan learner...   🙂 

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Posted

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

We all look forward to your contributions and continued involvement. 

I have bought all the tools that I need for now for watch making. 

Do you have a watch cleaning machine, lathe, staking tool and Jewelling tool. Expensive tools to buy. 

 

Posted

OLD Hippy - No haven't got those tools yet.  I have the screw drivers, oils, digital microscope, and the weishi 1000, plus a couple other nick nacks.  So far for what I am doing its been all I have needed.  As time progresses and I hone my skills i will start getting the other equipment

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    • I would remove the wheels, check for damage and if not damaged, clean. 
    • Thanks for the replies! Here's a photo of the front of the clock and a GIF animation of the movement (exposed by removing the black cap in the centre of the clock). You can see the behaviour of the gears. It's a fairly valuable clock from the 80s (Braun ABW 35). I'm not sure if replacing the movement would diminish the value, so I'd prefer to keep the original parts if it's easy to fix. But since the movement itself is pretty generic, I guess, maybe replacing it wouldn't make any difference with regard to the value of the clock? Or would it? I suppose the value is mostly in the design.
    • Well, my fundamental stance is that I want to go in and out without leaving any trace other than a shining, perfectly running movement. So, no scratchings on the inside of the case back lid, no marred screws, no debris, no fingerprints, and so on. That is, my goal is to make it impossible for the FBI to track me down. As a professional, I suppose you might want to keep track of returning watches, but as @JohnR725 mentioned, we can keep detailed computer records without marking the watch at all. That may not be true for every watch, but luxury and COSC-certified movements do have unique numbers. John also says it’s best to leave no sign you were ever there, and I couldn't agree more. Now, suppose the Sea-Dweller I'm working on is one day scrapped, and you want to sell the case-back separately (perhaps the case was destroyed in a plane crash). Then the scribbles on the inside no longer reflect the current movement inside the case. Also, the engraving will likely halve the market value of the case back. It had been "sleeping" for about a week and a half. Yes, the "debris/old lubricant" theory is my hypothesis as well! It will be interesting to see what I find once I have time to start disassembling the movement.
    • I've repaired a few of these, having some success with stripping and cleaning the mechanism.  They are so cheap though, its hardly worth the effort in many cases.
    • Get well soon Old Hippy, torn muscles.,  not good
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