My first attempt! Elgin Sportsman

[levic900rr]

Well Im starting to think Im at my first know when to hold em, know when to fold em  moment. I cant seem to get the shock setting spring out of my donor shock setting and when I think about buying a complete separate balance Im starting to realize I'm in too deep here. The case of the watch is really hammered so this thing isn't ever going to be that nice and I am considering folding on this project. I've learned a lot, both about buying and repairing. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Are there certain watches that just dont make sense to fix?

[RichardHarris123]

Many watches don't make sense to fix, but we do it anyway.  If you have learnt something, then definitely not a waste of time, your call. 

[levic900rr]

I might put it all back together and re-sell it on ebay "for repair"

[Razz]

Just box it up and store it for a few weeks. Move on to another project watch. As you gain skills and experience, go back to this one with a fresh set of eyes and see if you can make progress. No rush if it is for your personal collection or to keep as a practice watch! Your journey is just beginning...

[levic900rr]

On 3/8/2024 at 11:01 AM, Razz said:

Just box it up and store it for a few weeks. Move on to another project watch. As you gain skills and experience, go back to this one with a fresh set of eyes and see if you can make progress. No rush if it is for your personal collection or to keep as a practice watch! Your journey is just beginning...

Love this

[mbwatch]

On 3/8/2024 at 10:01 AM, Razz said:

Just box it up and store it for a few weeks.

The longer it sits aside, I promise you the better you'll feel about giving in once again to the sunk cost fallacy and laying out the cash for the next replacement part or donor. I have a cursed Waltham wristwatch project like this where everything has gone wrong. Every few months I buy the next expensive part so that a new issue can crop up after that or it will turn out to be the wrong part. Eventually the watch will work and I might recoup a third of what I spent on parts when I sell it.