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gmoodyii

By gmoodyii
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gmoodyii Member

gmoodyii

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Hello all! I have to start off by saying what a great site, lots of good advice and a wealth of knowledge.

I have always been fascinated by anything mechanical, although I do electrical work by trade. And have been fascinated by mechanical watches most of my life but never too serious. I started watching videos on YouTube about watch repair, and I think I have been bitten. The idea of working on a watch and repairing it is the ultimate in skill and precision, this is why I am fascinated. To me anything hard, tedious, and requiring nerves of steel is appealing.

So I have started ordering basic tools, what I think is a decent screwdriver set, movement holders, magnifiers, tweezers, hand levers, and oilers. Ordered a couple $12.00 movements to practice on.

I do have a couple of questions, is the traditional watchmakers bench as valuable tool as it seems like it would be?

And two, do you get to the point that you just know where all of the parts go or do you use a drawing of the movement as a reference?

 

Thanks in advance!!

George

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jdm Distinguished Member

jdm

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Welcome to the forum. The most important things about the bench is the work base, so buy a mat or use something suitable like a linoleum flooring tile, and the height you sit, which has to be lower than a regular chair. And of course decent lightning. With these details sorted a regular desk will do just fine. Drawings (technical manuals) are useful to keep near, maybe see if you can keep them on a reading support or something like that. 

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vinn3 Distinguished Member

vinn3

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welcome to the  forum.   the didital  camera ( or phone ) makes the job of a mechanic or engineer much easer than having a reference library or  making  sketches for re assembly.  BUT  a  " how to do it book"  is good to have near your bench.   vinn

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gmoodyii Member

gmoodyii

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I did get the book "Practical Watch Repairing" and am currently reading through it. Seems to be one of the go-to books from what I can tell. Thanks for the pointers about the bench and digital camera. Looking forward to getting started on my journey.

Really I think what got me started is an aircraft clock I pulled out of my 1959 C172. Forgot the maker but the balance staff is broken, tried to find a replacement and could not find one. I was going to get the part and carry it to a local repair shop, even went so far as to call the company rep in the US. She said that they do not do repairs on these or the same movements used in older automobiles, so no spares from manufacturer.

Would someday like to get a watchmakers lathe and make one myself. Confident aren't I?

Should I start looking for mainspring winders? 

 

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oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

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Hello and welcome to the forum. So you are another bitten by the watch bug so good for you. Nice to know you have started to do something about it.

There has been a very good discussion on here about how important a watch repairs/ makers bench is, I suggest you look it up and read peoples thoughts.

It's good that you have got some watch movements to start with. To help you it might be better to pick up some pocket watch movements as there a lot bigger and would be easier for you to start with. Just getting in the practice of taking apart and the putting together. Learn the names of the parts that will help you.   

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Cad101 Super WRT Addict

Cad101

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Hello and welcome to a great place to learn. I would say some work area that you can sit at that's about shoulder height it doesn't half save your back from aching from bending. Also I cant stress how much good tweezers and screwdrivers are to cheap ones. As oldhippy said pocket watches are also great for learning how parts go together and interact with each other and once you've taken it apart and put it back together a few times it all starts to fall into place where parts go.

Mick

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gmoodyii Member

gmoodyii

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Small victories. Took my $12.00 Chinese movement apart and put it back together. And it ran!

I did discover that proper work height is a must, cramped over a standard desk is not the way to work on a watch. But you guys already knew this. Will be looking for a proper workbench. Also forgot about the right handed threads on the screw for the transmission gear. Oops!

IMG_0029.MOV

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oldhippy Distinguished Member

oldhippy

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Well done to you. Good light is also a must but be very careful in what you decide on, you don't want anything that will generate heat if you are working close to the lamp it will be very uncomfortable. The position of the lamp is also critical because you want to avoid shadow.      

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gmoodyii Member

gmoodyii

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Good point about the light, I am wearing a headband magnifier and kept hitting the light with it. 

Since my last post I disassembled the watch again, this time even unwound the mainspring. Not as hard as I thought it would be to hand wind it back. Not wearing gloves since this is my practice movement  

guess oils and cleaning supplies are on my wish list now  

 

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bobm12 Distinguished Member

bobm12

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Welcome George! Yes, the right height is important! In my mind, it is the bench that is taller but some people simply lower their chair...oh well! If you don't mind sitting with your knees in the air lower the chair, otherwise, raise the bench! :D

Next, I'd say optics, most people use loupes and even a sort of wire to help hold it in place, I use the optivisor, the real one not a Chinese copy. Those make a difference but your lights need to be out of the way or you will hit them once in a while with it...and of course, you need good lights.

Then, a mat to work on, something that won't bounce or contaminate the parts...I use the bergeon mat but it is expensive.

Once you have all that, your main tools, where you shouldn't skimp, are: tweezers, screwdrivers and case holder in that order. The reason I add case holder is because a crappy one won't hold the cases when you are trying to open them and the result could be quite heartbreaking when your tool slips...which leads to movement holders, good case opening tools, hand levers, good oilers so you can really calculate the oil you are taking from the pot...a good pot that closes and keeps dust away and even protects the oil (some of them do) from evaporation....The list goes on and on.

Take good pictures and many. Don't use the digital zoom if you can since it only blows up pixels not the actual object. Service Data is important mostly because they include the oil schedule and some tech annotations if lucky...and parts' numbers in case you need to order something...and more. 

Plan on investing in a good press and a staking tool...and a jeweling tool. The first, right away, the others later on.

Don't forget that Rodico is your best friend and so is pith wood and peg wood. Ronsonol is a good all around cleaner specially for jewels and balance complete...and you can get a decent ultrasonic machine and appropriate chemicals...makes your life easier and won't break the bank.

I doesn't stops here but little by little you will identify what you need and also what you want...which sometimes is the difference between solving a problem and going broke! :)

So, there you have it in a nutshell. Make sure to visit our resources section and check out what is there about oils, tools, etc.

Cheers,

Bob

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