To Fusee or not to Fusee, that is the question.

[Scouseget]

My friends now seem to think that I am capable of fixing anything they own that ticks, and that either gets strapped onto their wrists, or resides in a pocket, presumably a pocket in a vest. The truth is that I can just about manage to service a conventional pocket watch, whereas wrist watches I find are way above my pay grade at this time, though I do try from time to time.  And then there's fusee style pocket watches, which are a whole different level of complication. 

Why am I telling you this, well it's because a friend of mine gave me three old pocket watches to service for him, and two of them are fusee types. I did open one of them up, took a look inside, then carefully closed it up again without dismantling it. Call me conservative, but I do know my limitations, and while I understand that only be pushing ourselves a little bit out of our comfort zones do we progress our skills, I think this is a quantum leap rather than just a small advancement in skill level.

So I'm wondering if you agree or not? Should I accept my current limitations with grace and dignity, knowing that at some point in this lifetime I may be able to rise to this challenge, or should I just jump in and tackle these two watches head on? If the latter, what happens if I muck it up by breaking the chain or do something equally irreparable? Where do most of you draw the line as far as what you are capable of, and just as importantly, what you want to take on?

[MANCHESTERROB]

Firstly let me say I don't know what I'm talking about and am woefully inexperienced.

But I'd have a go as fixing some fusee watches of my own before I went neer anyone elses!

I've been working on one of my fusee watches for 3 months.

I had to fix the ratchet wheel in the fusee cone. Successfully I might add

The chain was broken. So I bought a new one. It was the wrong hight. So didn't fit in the grooves on the cone. Rookie error. Who knew 0.05mm could make such a difference. I've brought another chain.

What I'm learning is ... Practice makes perfect and the book my wife bought me is invaluable (there are I'm sure better books but I like it). The pocket watch, restoration, maintenance and repair. New and revised edition by Christopher Barrow.

Now over to the wonderful and very helpful experts on this forum.

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

[oldhippy]

In my time I have restored fusee pocket watches. They are very different in movement to a pocket watch. The first thing is do you understand the fusee and know how it works. Do you know how to wind the chain back into the movement. You are more than likely to come across more wear with a fusee movement, so do you have the right tools if say a pivot is worn and pivot hole needs to be re-bushed. Don't expect the balance to have a great action as the hairsprings in these types are made of a different metal and the balance wheel tends to be much bigger, the staff will have been turned by hand and may look odd compared to modern balance staffs. Be extremely careful with the chain, I'm surprised how easy it is to buy chains, back in the 70's and 80's they were very hard to come by, I'd repair them rather than try and obtain a replacement. One last thing are they valuable and have they been made by famous makers, most have a name and sometimes a number.   

 Only you can make that step as what you intend to do.  Good luck in whatever you decide.

[WileyDave]

I'd rather say no or refer to more experienced hands than have to explain to how/why something gets broke worse after I looked at it. Seasoned pros can tell if somebody's been messin' with a movement, again I would defer to someone who knows, rather than loosing a friends confidence.

The worst case scenario would be your friend taking it to a pro (after you looked at it), and that person telling him someone mucked his watch. That's why it takes years, even decades to know all there is to know about all types of watches. One day you might attain that level of knowledge and attempt such a repair.

Clint Eastwood/Dirty Harry once said "A man's got to know his limitations"

Hope this helps.

Far from an expert,

Dave

With deflation, my two cents in now worth a penny and a half!

[swordfish]

The key point here is that this watch is not yours; it belongs to a friend.  I recommend you not attempt any repair unless you give him an explicit disclaimer that there is a high risk that you will leave the watch in worse condition that it is now.  Only if he accepts that should you proceed.  If his considered options are your amateur repair versus discarding the watch, he may ask you to do the attempt.  If he has any emotional or financial investment in the watch, he should not.  In fact, if you discern that he has either of those, you should decline the invitation to repair the watch, since he and you may both come to regret an attempt even if he has accepted your disclaimer.

--Eric

Edited July 20, 2016 by swordfish

[WileyDave]

1 hour ago, swordfish said:

The key point here is that this watch is not yours; it belongs to a friend.  I recommend you not attempt any repair unless you give him an explicit disclaimer that there is a high risk that you will leave the watch in worse condition that it is now.  Only if he accepts that should you proceed.  If his considered options are your amateur repair versus discarding the watch, he may ask you to do the attempt.  If he has any emotional or financial investment in the watch, he should not.  In fact, if you discern that he has either of those, you should decline the invitation to repair the watch, since he and you may both come to regret an attempt even if he has accepted your disclaimer.

--Eric

Well said.....

[Scouseget]

1 hour ago, swordfish said:

The key point here is that this watch is not yours; it belongs to a friend.  I recommend you not attempt any repair unless you give him an explicit disclaimer that there is a high risk that you will leave the watch in worse condition that it is now.  Only if he accepts that should you proceed.  If his considered options are your amateur repair versus discarding the watch, he may ask you to do the attempt.  If he has any emotional or financial investment in the watch, he should not.  In fact, if you discern that he has either of those, you should decline the invitation to repair the watch, since he and you may both come to regret an attempt even if he has accepted your disclaimer.

--Eric

Actually, that's a great guideline for anything we do for others that has a potential for going horribly wrong. And based on this, I will decline to repair these two items, so thanks for the very sound advice.