I'm going to be setting up a decent little workshop here at home.

[Michael1962]

So the house we live in has a dedicated spa room. (as in the water filled one) Liz and I hardly use used it and it has been empty for a while now as the circulation pump shaft seal died and all the water that was meant to be inside the spa decided it would be better off being adventurous on the outside of the spa. So out with a bit of garden hose and siphoned it all out.

We have also bought ourselves a very nice free standing induction stove and oven. The catch with it is that it needs a 40A supply. The spa was 32A so the sparkle is going to disconnect the spa completely, upgrade the circuit breaker in the board inside the house. I am not sure if this will also involve upgrading the external board as well. New wiring has to be run to the stove. Not the easiest of jobs in a 2 storey house. We have some things in our favour so we will see how we go.

The upside is that we have a friend who wants a spa so I'll be getting a new pump, fitting that and then selling the spa on.

So now I will have an empty room with a very handy door to the house which has a much higher than usual door handle. Pool rules. So that will keep out nosy grandchildren unless Poppy is with them.

It will be turned into a watch and clock workshop and I will be moving all of my gear from a dusty garage into a lockable, closed part of the house. Wife's idea. Go figure. I'm quite chuffed about it, to be honest.

[rossjackson01]

Billy Fury applies. Jealousy. 

Your bride is like mine. Pure gold.

[VWatchie]

5 hours ago, Michael1962 said:

Wife's idea. Go figure. I'm quite chuffed about it, to be honest.

That wife of yours is definitely a keeper! I'm lucky too, whenever I shoot a part across the room (bedroom so far) I call my wife and she searches, often without my help, because she thinks I'm in the way. She has hawk eyes. So, definitely a keeper too! 

2 minutes ago, rossjackson01 said:

Billy Fury applies. Jealousy. 

Your bride is like mine. Pure gold.

"Beside every great man is a great woman" I wouldn't say I'm great, but my wife sure is!

Edited November 25, 2023 by VWatchie

[rossjackson01]

1 minute ago, VWatchie said:

That wife of yours is definitely a keeper! I'm lucky too, whenever I shoot a part across the room (bedroom so far) I call my wife and she searches, often without my help, because she thinks I'm in the way. She has hawk eyes. So, definitely a keeper too! 

You sure you don't have my bride? Sounds like her. 

[oldhippy]

I can tell you no matter how big you have your workshop it will never be big enough. Good luck with it and don't forget to post some photos. 

[Michael1962]

I will definitely post photos @oldhippy The room gas a tiled floor which should make anything that 'pings' off into the wild blue yonder just a littlwe bit easier to find. I am going to have a good look at it to make sure that I have a decent workflow set up in there. The little Unimat will be coming in there. The 3D printer as well. The stereo as well so I have something to listen to. Also made myself a test stand for movements with long pendulums. I have already worked out that I need to modify it and cut some holes in the upright sections so that some large pendulums will have unrestricted movement. I will be building a new bench or getting flat pack stuff as the bench that I have now is a bit to deep, so getting to stuff at the back is a bit of a stretch. Not sure what a good depth would be, but what I have at the moment is too much.

I have an offer in my email about Marks course and I am trying to work out how to tell Liz the I want to spend some more money to do this. Definitely cheaper then the BHI course which would need me to travel to England at some stage as well.

Ok. So Mark's course is for watches. I would like to think that the principles still apply to clocks. I have to do something as I have been thinking about this for years and haven't done a bloody thing about it. Bought some tools. Whoop de do. If I'm not doing anything with them, I may as well have just set fire to the money and kept warm for about 2 minutes.

Need to make a big commitment and turn all of this thought into something. Speaking to a clock repairer in Melbourne and he said Geelong really needs one as there is no=one here at all. Watches as well.

So clocks I have are the one that I bought from a store in Daylesford. There's photos somewhere on the forum of it. I really like it.

The Hettich mantle clock that was my grandmothers that I am restoring.

Cuckoo clock that my dad (RIP) bought when he went to Germany on a training course. Some people would say to just replace the movement, but I am determined to not go down the route unless the Darwin weather has played havoc with everything for the amount of time that the clock lived in the Northern Territory.

The Urgos Grandmother clock.

The mantle clock that I bought for $20 dollars which I think is worth much more then that.

The 'learner' as I call it that I got from Darwin.

Our Grandfather clock that Liz won't let me touch as she is not sure that I know what I am doing.

Another very old clock that was her great grandfathers which is desperately in need of being serviced. Another clock that Liz is reluctant to have me look at as yet.

Watches that I have.

My Seiko which just needs some work doene to the band. I t has been serviced by a company in Sydney and looks great.

My Tissot quartz which needs a new battery, but I am not sure hw ti get the back off yet. I would say it a snap on back, but I can't find any are ain the back that would accept any type of knife to open it. One fo the Tissot's that I have coming is the women's versions of my mans watch. Really happy about that.

I have the Rotherham pocket watch tat I need to work on to get going again. Fully wound but does not run. Catch has gone on the dial cover so it stays open and won't lock closed.

Then they'll be the other 2 automatic Tissots that are coming as well.

The neighbour across the road has just moved away after losing her husband to a stroke one morning. Kylie has a beautiful Jahrensfabrik Anniversary clock that I would have bought from her in a heartbeat. It is an heirloom that has been passed down by Bills' (RIP) parents to him so it was not for sale obviously. I can say that I have seen one now. I really need to get one. Thing was just beautiful. Never know, maybe I will pick one up here that has flaking paint etc and just remove all the paint except for the dial and turn it into a brass clock. Up to me I suppose.

I just looked back at this post. Didn't mean to write that much.

Isn't in funny what a bit of alcohol does for you. If there any spelling mistakes , I apologise.

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Michael1962

[RichardHarris123]

Hehe.  Going on ebay isn't a good idea after drinking either. 

[Michael1962]

Not going to do that. I'm trying to work out how to tell Liz about Mark's course and that is cheaper than most things I can find on eBay

[oldhippy]

Make sure when it comes to you sitting at your bench you have it at the height where it is most comfortable for you, and the same with your seating because you will be spending hours at your bench, don't end up like me with spondylitis, that is one reason I retired. I used to restore Longcase clocks and all high grade clocks, I had to learn on simple movements first all to do with my apprenticeship. If you need any help or advise just ask.  

[tomh207]

51 minutes ago, Michael1962 said:

Not going to do that. I'm trying to work out how to tell Liz about Mark's course and that is cheaper than most things I can find on eBay

Could you couch it as being a cheap way to learn about the trade with the view of turning it into a side hustle if that works out for you?

 

Tom

[Michael1962]

That's the plan.

[gpraceman]

If I had the space, I'd have two workbenches.  One tall for when using loupes and one short for when using the optical microscope.  Sadly, I just have a little nook to use (wife wouldn't give up any of her craft room space lol).  Only one workbench for me, which is a regular desk with hutch that I found 2nd hand.  I just got an optical microscope and my back and shoulders will be thanking me.  I did manage to squeeze the desk over enough that I can fit a skinny set of drawers to give me some extra storage.  I may get a 2nd one and stack them.  If you've got a whole room at your disposal, then you likely have a lot more flexibility.

[watchweasol]

Hi Michael. Looks like a busy time for you. Regarding clocks with Old

Hippy and others you have no problem same regarding watches  , Nicklesilver and John, ever the professional will keep you right along with the rest of us   Good luck with the workshop. I have a fair space but I am afraid it’s got cluttered and as ma activities have been curtailed after catching Covid which has left me on oxygen for how long who knows, I keep managing to do a bit enough to keep it tidy.

[Marc]

 

19 minutes ago, watchweasol said:

after catching Covid which has left me on oxygen

WW so sorry to hear of your predicament, I wish you a speedy recovery to full health.

[VWatchie]

1 hour ago, watchweasol said:

catching Covid which has left me on oxygen for how long who knows

Sorry for being OT.

“I said ‘What I’m hearing from Wuhan is that they made a big mistake in putting people on intubated ventilators for an extended period’. This is actually what is damaging the lungs, not Covid. It’s the treatment, the cure is worse than the disease. And people yelled at me and said I'm not a doctor, yeah but I do make spaceships with life support systems. What do you do?” ~ Elon Musk

I take it you're not on an intubated ventilator, but I thought it was an interesting quote. Get well!

[HectorLooi]

1 hour ago, watchweasol said:

after catching Covid which has left me on oxygen

Sorry to hear that @watchweasol. Praying for your speedy and complete recovery. 

[Michael1962]

This is the room I’ll be setting up in. That’s a 5 person spa to try and give you a size reference. To the right of the photo is a glass sliding door.

3 hours ago, watchweasol said:

... after catching Covid which has left me on oxygen for how long who knows...

Hope you get better soon @watchweasol

Edited November 25, 2023 by Michael1962

[Neverenoughwatches]

15 hours ago, watchweasol said:

Hi Michael. Looks like a busy time for you. Regarding clocks with Old

Hippy and others you have no problem same regarding watches  , Nicklesilver and John, ever the professional will keep you right along with the rest of us   Good luck with the workshop. I have a fair space but I am afraid it’s got cluttered and as ma activities have been curtailed after catching Covid which has left me on oxygen for how long who knows, I keep managing to do a bit enough to keep it tidy.

You just take it easy WW, plenty of rest mate to get better. We need you around at least until we are all professional enough to have our own businesses .

[watchweasol]

Hi. 7 weeks in hospital kicked the crap out of me, and at nearly   80. Was a bit severe bur I survived although not able to get back to the watches, hands a little unsteady I shall in time.  I have a cylinder in the workshop ready tp go. But I remain on here to help where I can. After 60 years doing watches and clocks  I can’t let go yet. Cheers to all

[Neverenoughwatches]

23 hours ago, watchweasol said:

Hi. 7 weeks in hospital kicked the crap out of me, and at nearly   80. Was a bit severe bur I survived although not able to get back to the watches, hands a little unsteady I shall in time.  I have a cylinder in the workshop ready tp go. But I remain on here to help where I can. After 60 years doing watches and clocks  I can’t let go yet. Cheers to all

You're an absolute bloody legend to stay with us WW, i know we all look forward to many more years of your help and appreciate all the years that you've put in. 

[rossjackson01]

On 11/26/2023 at 4:19 PM, watchweasol said:

I can’t let go yet. Cheers to all

Watchweasol. Looking back on my posts, you were the third person to reply to me when I started in November 2021. You've given me a plethora of advice, information and direction. Way to go! I'm still a novice, but you can see how far I have progressed. We, other novices like me, are in your debt. I don't regret it. As you can see by my posts. I relish my time learning. 

Regards

Ross

[watchweasol]

Hi Ross. Kind of you to say so,  help is what we do, and helping each other along with encouragement.  The horological journey is a long one and can be lonely sometimes but a kind word and a helping hand is all you need.   I have watched your progress Ross and I am impressed.   Long may it continue.

[Michael1962]

Just enrolled in Mark's course.

Was running out of time for the discount.

I haven't told Liz.

I'm in the poo.

Sleeping outside tonight, I imagine.

Or if anyone has a spare room that I could rent?

Edited November 27, 2023 by Michael1962

[RichardHarris123]

2 minutes ago, Michael1962 said:

Just enrolled in Mark's course.

Was running out of time for the discount.

I haven't told Liz.

I'm in the poo.

Sleeping outside tonight, I imagine.

Or if anyone has a spare room that I could rent?

We've a couple of spare rooms but it would be a  bit of a journey.  Hehe. 

[watchweasol]

Hi Michael. Will the dog make room for you.  Hope it’s not a cold night, wrap up warm.   By the way how much is a divorce in Aussie ?.