New Member

[Tigertim]

Always had a facination with watches so I thought I would give repairing and servicing a go, I am now dismantleing my first watch and it's going to take a while(I think patience is a virtue). I am using the book  repairing old clocks and watches by Anthony J Whiten but I have seen several references to Practical watch repairing by Donald De Carle anybody got any preferences? I saw someone on the forum said you always mess up your first watch so i am probably well on the way to doing that! At least I bought six more from Ebay so ihave plenty to practice on, they include a Rotary (not attempting this yet) and a Talis with a broken crown so i will probably be after advice in the near future. Any hints would be appreciated. I have a few old watches and will try to post some pictures when i can. Wish me luck!

Tim

[Lee]

i wish you good luck! its true you can make lots of mistakes (no matter what your experience) but its one of those labours of love that if you can hold your nerve is most rewarding!

[Geo]

A warm welcome to the forum Tigertim.

I wish you well with your new hobby, I find it it fascinating. You are doing the right thing by reading about it, and if you watch Mark's videos a few times the mystery that is watchmaking will soon becomes clear. The one thing you will have to achieve is the delicate feel required. Go carefully and do not force anything, it will come to you eventually. One thing to practice, is removal and replacement of the balance wheel and the escapement lever as these are the most fiddly and delicate pieces.

[autowind]

Welcome to the forums Tigertim, "Practical watch repairing" must be one of the best books on the subject ever written and worth the cost for Appendix 1 alone,  "101 reasons likely to cause a watch to stop".  Just taking apart and putting a movement back together will give you an idea of the delicate touch required when working on watches.  As they say "Practice makes perfect".