Timezone Watch School Level 1 Overview / Review / Thingy

[bobm12]

I had to provide the comic relief, you know.

 

Now, seriously, I'm enjoying your narrative and comparing with my own experience. Better, I'm sure this is not only a testimony of what others might find with the TZ courses and their own purpose when taking them...if they finally decide it is for them. As it is, nothing is hidden like in advertisements out there, the good and the bad are coming to light! What they will learn and what they will not. Also the feelings they'll experience both ways: frustration, sense of accomplishment, pride...

 

I also believe that if any of the TZ people involved in the course (responsible for the page, business, whatever) or even the ofrei people stop to read this, it will give them food for thought and maybe a way for them to improve and make things better for the rest of us. If they could "capture" some of the spirit of THIS forum and add it to their side, they will probably be the best watch school on line and best watchmaker provider out there. Something all of us -- them inclusive -- will benefit of and that will make our life easier, and watchmaking more enjoyable.

 

Just MHO.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

[ramrod]

i'm just letting you know that this is a good and interesting read. i felt like i was the only one on ANY forum that had problems removing and reinstalling a balance (that was in the past - i'm a "pro" now). we are all trying to accomplish the same thing - to get better at our hobby so we aren't at the mercy of others to service our beloved timepieces - and no insult intended to our lovely host.

i get lost when it comes to movement types and labels. all i mainly know is seiko, but i'm trying to grasp the swiss movements. so far, i know 7750 and 2824-2 but i'm totally unfamiliar with their variants.

so, keep on and you have my rapt attention. and thank you for taking the time in doing this. i pictured myself stopping mid-teardown and taking pictures, and it seems like a lot of effort.

[Rolo]

Sounds like you and I had similar experiences with the course and came to similar conclusions.  

 

Knowing what I know now, as a hobbyist, I could have read "Watch Repair for Beginners: An Illustrated How-To Guide for the Beginner Watch Repairer" and "Practical Watch Repairing"; price shopped ebay and amazon for tools; and picked up cheap old pocket watches at flea markets to practice on.  That would have saved me hundreds of dollars.

 

But when you first start out with anything new, you don't know what you don't know.  I too have mixed feelings about recommending the courses (and had bad experiences with otto frie), but I don't regret going through them.

 

OP your going to have fun with it, and I look forward to your follow up posts.

Hi Rahible,

Thanks for the recommendations for the books, I already own 'practical watch repairing' but have looked in to 'watch repair for the beginner' so thanks, thanks for reading !

 

I had to provide the comic relief, you know.

 

Now, seriously, I'm enjoying your narrative and comparing with my own experience. Better, I'm sure this is not only a testimony of what others might find with the TZ courses and their own purpose when taking them...if they finally decide it is for them. As it is, nothing is hidden like in advertisements out there, the good and the bad are coming to light! What they will learn and what they will not. Also the feelings they'll experience both ways: frustration, sense of accomplishment, pride...

 

I also believe that if any of the TZ people involved in the course (responsible for the page, business, whatever) or even the ofrei people stop to read this, it will give them food for thought and maybe a way for them to improve and make things better for the rest of us. If they could "capture" some of the spirit of THIS forum and add it to their side, they will probably be the best watch school on line and best watchmaker provider out there. Something all of us -- them inclusive -- will benefit of and that will make our life easier, and watchmaking more enjoyable.

 

Just MHO.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

Hi Bob,

it would be great if otto frei took a look at this thread to not only see what they are doing right but also how they are getting it wrong. The sad thing is though Bob is that even if they did by chance come across this thread I doubt they would even care.

regards

 

i'm just letting you know that this is a good and interesting read. i felt like i was the only one on ANY forum that had problems removing and reinstalling a balance (that was in the past - i'm a "pro" now). we are all trying to accomplish the same thing - to get better at our hobby so we aren't at the mercy of others to service our beloved timepieces - and no insult intended to our lovely host.

i get lost when it comes to movement types and labels. all i mainly know is seiko, but i'm trying to grasp the swiss movements. so far, i know 7750 and 2824-2 but i'm totally unfamiliar with their variants.

so, keep on and you have my rapt attention. and thank you for taking the time in doing this. i pictured myself stopping mid-teardown and taking pictures, and it seems like a lot of effort.

Hi Ramrod,

I think were in a similar situation, I watch youtube videos all the time and listen to people identifying and talking about movements and look on with a certain amount of envy because it takes me hours of research on the internet to identify a movement. That's why I went for the TZWS course in the first place because the courses were written for specific movements so when I follow along with the course I know that everything is going to be where they say it is.

Im Glad your enjoying following my progress, it can be a bit of a pain stopping to take pictures after every step but its worth it if I know people are enjoying it.

 

PS

I started the 'rebuild' process today and decided to film the entire process instead / as well as taking pictures  so stay tuned for that.

 

regards  

[Rolo]

TIMEZONE WATCH SCHOOL LEVEL 1 PART4  (WHEEL TRAIN)

 

So after my success with the balance assembly I was eager to get the 'tear down' finished.

Next on the list was the wheel train bridge which is held in place with 2 screws, with those removed the wheel train bridge was safely transferred to the parts tray.

 

Next I removed the 3rd, 4th & escape wheel before removing the crown wheel (remembering that this screw has a left handed thread so needed to be turned clockwise) With that done I removed the ratchet wheel followed by the click which is held in place by a single screw, then I held down one end of the click spring with a piece of pegwood to avoid 'pinging' it across the room while I took hold of it with the tweezers and then carefully placed it in the parts tray.

   

 

Next on the list was the barrel bridge which is held in place by three screws. Feeling confident and knowing that the end of the disassembly was in sight I removed the first 2 screws without incident, then on the 3rd screw disaster struck..............I must of had a sudden rush of blood  to the head which obviously made me pinch the tweezers slightly too hard resulting in the screw 'pinging' out of the tweezers and hitting me on the cheek before bouncing off the table into the deep pile carpet.........I just want to take this opportunity to say AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!

After 2 hours scratching around on the floor with my magnetic retrieval tool (in which time I found a sewing needle, a wheel off my sons toy car, and randomly a tiny round magnet) I resigned myself to the fact that the screw was gone forever :thumbsd: I then removed the bridge and put it in the parts tray. 

 

 

With only the mainspring barrel and the centre wheel remaining I removed these and placed them with the rest of the parts and with that done the disassembly was complete. I should be feeling pretty proud of myself right now but instead I am feeling so stupid and disappointed that I managed to get so close to completing the work without any screw ups and then managed to stumble at the final hurdle and ping a screw across the room never to be seen again. 

 

Does anyone know anywhere in the UK I can get the missing barrel bridge screw from?? I believe it is part #5110 I know I can get this from otto frei but they have a minimum order amount ($50 I think) plus it would be good to find a UK based parts supplier in case I need anything else in the future.

 

You may of heard of me referring to my 'parts tray'. I just want to share with you an idea I had which may help someone else who is new to the hobby and is about to start the TZWS course. To avoid me getting screws etc mixed up with other similar sized screws I bought a tray from a craft shop with more compartments in it that a usual watchmakers parts tray. I then numbered all of the individual compartments of the tray, Then every time I complete a step of the course and remove a part I make a note next to that step of the instructions with the number of the compartment I have placed that part in, Then when it comes to reassembling I know exactly where every part is and I know that I have got the correct screw. (I didn't explain that very well but if you look at the picture below you will hopefully get the idea)

 

If anyone can help with the screw supplier then please get in touch

 

More to follow.......

    

 

 

[bobm12]

Hi Rolo,

 

First, the screw: try cousinsUK, they may have the screw and not only are they local to you but have a nice page with lots of goodies even the tech data for your movement free to download if I'm not mistaken.

 

Second, the screw up :) : I've done the same thing several times and yes I don't feel proud even though I should have because of  the greater accomplishment...same mixed feelings and this time I'm not joking about the similar situation! But you shouldn't feel bad at all knowing you are not alone: we all walk that road...several times.

 

Did you know that insurance companies have found that the majority of accidents happens when you are arriving to your destination? Remember, it is not a problem, it is a lesson to be learned so it won't happen again...soon it will happen much more rarely...but even the pros have those moments! Just keep up the good work and don't let those small matters faze you.

 

BTW, that system with the bigger tray and all, I find it very good! You can almost go backwards on the tray to put together the movement...pictures would be only the icing of the cake, almost overkill. Very nice! The difference in screws is something you will eventually figure out but somewhere in WRT there is a chart that might help. I'll try and find the link later.

 

If you get to disassemble the barrel, take special care with the barrel arbor, if the spring disengages while you are pulling the arbor out, it may shoot it to the next galaxy, in addition, just grabbing the arbor a little off may make it ping away maybe not that far...only to maybe Neptune. In any case, it is a straight forward operation but that arbor at times doesn't like to cooperate. The spring may also want to take a vacation in the Bahamas and because it can't ping away will end up camouflaging itself as a pretzel somewhere in your shop. So, the trick is not only to find it, that is easy, the real difficult part is to turn it back into a spring without deforming/bending it.

 

So there you have it, in a nutshell, the psychology and behavior of the watch barrel assembly! :)

 

Cheers,

 

Bob

[rahible]

With only the mainspring barrel and the centre wheel remaining I removed these and placed them with the rest of the parts and with that done the disassembly was complete. I should be feeling pretty proud of myself right now but instead I am feeling so stupid and disappointed that I managed to get so close to completing the work without any screw ups and then managed to stumble at the final hurdle and ping a screw across the room never to be seen again. 

 

You may of heard of me referring to my 'parts tray'. I just want to share with you an idea I had which may help someone else who is new to the hobby and is about to start the TZWS course. To avoid me getting screws etc mixed up with other similar sized screws I bought a tray from a craft shop with more compartments in it that a usual watchmakers parts tray. I then numbered all of the individual compartments of the tray, Then every time I complete a step of the course and remove a part I make a note next to that step of the instructions with the number of the compartment I have placed that part in, Then when it comes to reassembling I know exactly where every part is and I know that I have got the correct screw. (I didn't explain that very well but if you look at the picture below you will hopefully get the idea)

 

 

You should be very proud right now!  I've found that it's a given that you will loose parts into the great watch part black hole.  My first timezone movement I lost no parts, but stripped the left handed screw thread.  My second timezone I lost 3 including the arbor that bobm12 mentioned in is post.  I found it a few weeks later AFTER I got a replacement from otto frie.  Then I went about 4 watches without loosing anything, and one day a click spring.  The last part I lost is a jewel spring on a Zodiac GMT Aerospace, I'm currently working on.  Luckily, I had a spare AS 1701 movement with the exact spring.

 

As far as your tray.  That is awesome and I'm not going on the lookout in my area for one!  Especially since I often get in the middle of dis-assembly / assembly and can't get back to it for sometimes weeks.  Thanks for the tip.

Edited December 31, 2015 by rahible

[ecodec]

On 12/27/2015 at 10:28 PM, Rolo said:

Hi Guys,

 

Now that I've  got my desk sorted and Christmas out of the way of and the kids are spending the day at their grandparents house I have finally got time to start the Timezone watch school level 1 course that I bought the kit for about 4 months ago !

 

It occurred to me that someone else out there might be considering doing the course themselves so I though I would post a 'journal' of my experience with the course and give people an insight in to what to expect.

 

Here it goes...........

 

Firstly I feel that I should get some moaning off my chest before I start with the interesting stuff at hand, The timezone watch school tool kits are sold / distributed by otto frei and if im being honest I feel that I received poor service from them on this occasion. firstly after waiting for 2 weeks for my kit to arrive i contacted otto frei to see what the hold up was and was informed that a movement holder that i ordered at the same time as my tool kit was out of stock so my entire order was being held back until this was in stock (another 2 weeks) eventually after some moaning they agreed to send my kit out and would send the movement out at a later date when it came back in stock (result!)

 

Another week later my parcel arrived and upon checking the contents against the list of kit items i noticed that my tool kit was missing the dials and hands sets that should come with the kit.............another email was sent to otto frei and i was assured that the hands and dials would be sent out to me. Yet another week later and my dials / hands were delivered along with the movement holder that was originally out of stock, Awesome Right?.....WRONG, due to a mess up on otto frei's behalf instead of being billed for just the movement holder as i should of been otto decided to bill me for my complete original order again (almost $1000)

 

To cut a long story short this left me having to postpone a work trip to France as i didn't have enough funds left in my account to pay for my airfare until otto frei released the funds back to me which took 48 hours! to this day even though i have called them several times and sent numerous emails and even asked my bank to contact them i have never received an apology for their immense mess up. 

 

Moaning over - Back to the course

 

included in the course tool kit are the following items - however you can choose between a couple of different movements and either a loupe or optivisor version. Its also worth mentioning that the course itself along with access to the support forum is not included with the tool kits and must be purchased separate at a cost of $75

 

1 - ETA 2804-2 movement

1 - set of Bergeon screwdrivers with stand and spare blades

2 - Compartment parts trays

1 - movement cover

1 - bar of rodico

1 - Pithwood button

1 - Bergeon dust blower

1 - Bergeon 4040 movement holder

1 - #2 & #5 Dumont tweezers

1 - Optivisor with additional Optiloupe

1 - Box of Watch tissue 

2 - Dials and Hand sets for movement

1 - Bundle of pegwood

 

I also bought

1 - Case for movement with clear back

1 - Leather strap

 

 

That's all for today but in the morning i will upload my progress with the course so far including some pictures.

if you are interested in the course then you can find details here http://www.timezonewatchschool.com/WatchSchool/

 

Expensive lot of tools! I beg to be excused please !!. Good wishes to you tho, Mike.

[Watchtime]

good job Rolo, really nice seeing your progress, keep up the work...

[KelSolaar]

Congrats and best of luck with it. 

[phydaux]

On 12/28/2015 at 9:36 AM, Rolo said:

the thing is though bob I don't think there are any alternatives to the timezone course is there? although I have also bought the ticktockpro watch repair dvds which are pretty informative http://www.ticktockpro.com/WATCH-REPAIR-video-order-page.htm

 

Thank you, Rolo!  Those DVDs have been ordered.