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Hello from North Carolina

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By CLS
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Hey All,

I've been on here a few times looking for help on a few watches and now that I have a decent startup tool kit I'm hoping to learn some more about horology. I'm mostly interested in the old mechanical watches. I'm always looking for a hobby to keep busy

Cody Stout

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sperki77 WRT Addict

sperki77

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Welcome to one of the friendliest and most helpful forums on the web.  You're embarking on a hobby that puts your entire existence into one square inch for entire moments, interrupted only by hours on your hands and knees looking for pinged springs which are looking down at you and laughing an evil laugh from somewhere in the upper atmosphere.  (Of course there is that rare aha! moment when you find the dastardly creature hiding in the crevice of your shoe.) Those are the moments you live for.  Well, those and the even rarer moments when you see straight lines merging on the timing machine... but those moments come many, many springs later.

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adiorio110 WRT Addict

adiorio110

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3 hours ago, vinn3 said:

welcome to the forum. ;I used to work on tractors, but got tired of lifting those heavy wrenches. had various hobbys, but here is the  best part about starting out watch repair, all the tools and several watches will fit in a cigar box.   vinn

Welcome CLS

Vinn you must have one big cigar box..All I know is there is a tool for everything. Seems just when I think I'm good I need something else LOL

 

Anthony

 

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adiorio110 WRT Addict

adiorio110

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48 minutes ago, vinn3 said:

for those just starting.    its easy to buy tools you don't need,  unless to start a tool collection;

I disagree ..Can never have to many tools. If you buy right you can always sell what you don't need. I rather buy and try, never know whats going to work best for you.  Of course you need some basic restraint.

 

Don't have a clue how to use them properly but I'll learn and I have them when I need them 

00c0c_bOs2gEASBQl_600x450.jpg

Edited by adiorio110
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CLS

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I love the idea of "You have it in case you need it" but realistically I prefer to start with the minimum and cheapest tools needed to get the job done, and then gradually upgrade/expand once I know what's worth investing in

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Douglas1701 Watch Enthusiast

Douglas1701

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6 minutes ago, CLS said:

I love the idea of "You have it in case you need it" but realistically I prefer to start with the minimum and cheapest tools needed to get the job done, and then gradually upgrade/expand once I know what's worth investing in

Ive been making some of mine, got a few more i can make, after that gotta start buying :(

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ricardopalamino Distinguished Member

ricardopalamino

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3 hours ago, adiorio110 said:

I disagree ..Can never have to many tools. If you buy right you can always sell what you don't need. I rather buy and try, never know whats going to work best for you.  Of course you need some basic restraint.

 

Don't have a clue how to use them properly but I'll learn and I have them when I need them 

00c0c_bOs2gEASBQl_600x450.jpg

Like yourself , I bought a staking tool but don't have formal training to know how to use most of the stakes and stumps .

I bought the book , "The Watchmakers Staking Tool " by George G . Lucchina and Archie B. Perkins from amazon . So far it has definitely  been worth the price of the book and am glad I started out with this book .

 This quote is from a member of The National association of watch and clock collectors and mentions a couple of other books .

 " The most valuable info I've found on how to use the staking tool is contained in "The Watch Repairer's Manual", and "Bench Practices for Watch Repairers", both by Henry Fried. One book has a chapter on the various types of stakes and the other has a chapter on the various types of stumps. I think "Bench Practices for Watch Repairers" is not as commonly found as "The Watch Repairer's Manual", but it's every bit as informative. "

 

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ricardopalamino Distinguished Member

ricardopalamino

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19 minutes ago, Douglas1701 said:

Ive been making some of mine, got a few more i can make, after that gotta start buying :(

Make sure you get good tweezers . I bought 2 brass tweezers for an ebay seller that has some from Italy for $10 - $11 and I love them . I finally got a used pair of Dumont SS tweezers for $40 and the difference from the much less expensive ones I started out with is like night and day .

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Douglas1701 Watch Enthusiast

Douglas1701

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2 hours ago, CLS said:

Which ones are you able to make? 

 

2 hours ago, CLS said:

Which ones are you able to make? 

So far i have made a balance holder, working on an oiler station now..going to make brass hand removal tool (x2) , watch cushion, and possibly several movement holders....here are some pics that might help you out. The oilers were made from various needle sizes...heated them up and used a ball peen hammer to make the cup ends....the balance tool was made from a 3/16" brass rod with a file on my lathe or you could use a drill. Still gotta seal the oil station holes and make caps for them. Then i gotta glue it all up.

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

Edited by Douglas1701
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adiorio110 WRT Addict

adiorio110

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2 hours ago, CLS said:

I love the idea of "You have it in case you need it" but realistically I prefer to start with the minimum and cheapest tools needed to get the job done, and then gradually upgrade/expand once I know what's worth investing in

Don't misinterpret what I meant.  I said I'll have them "WHEN" I need them not "in case" I need them...Something like A staking tool set is indispensable as far as I understand if you plan on doing anything more than just tearing down and cleaning a watch. So it is a tool that "WILL" be needed if you plan on learning the trade.  

IMHO I think buying "Cheap Tools" is bad advice.  If you buy cheap tools you will only need to get better tools later on, plus cheap tools will more likely produce inferior work ...When you decide to upgrade chances are you will not recover the money you spent on "Cheap" tools. On the other hand if you decide this is not for you and look to sell your quality tools you will find a ready buyer.  

In general I am a big fan of the right tool for the job.

I suggest buying the best tools you can afford. Be patient and buy right.

Anthony

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adiorio110 WRT Addict

adiorio110

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Posted (edited)
38 minutes ago, Douglas1701 said:

 

So far i have made a balance holder, working on an oiler station now..going to make brass hand removal tool (x2) , watch cushion, and possibly several movement holders....here are some pics that might help you out. The oilers were made from various needle sizes...heated them up and used a ball peen hammer to make the cup ends....the balance tool was made from a 3/16" brass rod with a file on my lathe or you could use a drill. Still gotta seal the oil station holes and make caps for them. Then i gotta glue it all up.

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

Very nice I like..Making tools like this is where you can save money to buy better precision tools also a lot of pride in knowing you made it yourself. I need to make myself a screw driver holder and an oil station also. I did purchase plastic oil holders I can fit into a base similar to the one you made. 

Edited by adiorio110
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adiorio110 WRT Addict

adiorio110

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7 hours ago, ricardopalamino said:

Like yourself , I bought a staking tool but don't have formal training to know how to use most of the stakes and stumps .

I bought the book , "The Watchmakers Staking Tool " by George G . Lucchina and Archie B. Perkins from amazon . So far it has definitely  been worth the price of the book and am glad I started out with this book .

 This quote is from a member of The National association of watch and clock collectors and mentions a couple of other books .

 " The most valuable info I've found on how to use the staking tool is contained in "The Watch Repairer's Manual", and "Bench Practices for Watch Repairers", both by Henry Fried. One book has a chapter on the various types of stakes and the other has a chapter on the various types of stumps. I think "Bench Practices for Watch Repairers" is not as commonly found as "The Watch Repairer's Manual", but it's every bit as informative. "

 

Thanks for the lead. I found a free pdf copy of "The Watch Repairer's Manual" Trying to hunt down  "The Watchmakers Staking Tool "

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CLS

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12 hours ago, Douglas1701 said:

 

So far i have made a balance holder, working on an oiler station now..going to make brass hand removal tool (x2) , watch cushion, and possibly several movement holders....here are some pics that might help you out. The oilers were made from various needle sizes...heated them up and used a ball peen hammer to make the cup ends....the balance tool was made from a 3/16" brass rod with a file on my lathe or you could use a drill. Still gotta seal the oil station holes and make caps for them. Then i gotta glue it all up.

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

I love that! Thanks for the ideas!

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11 hours ago, adiorio110 said:

Don't misinterpret what I meant.  I said I'll have them "WHEN" I need them not "in case" I need them...Something like A staking tool set is indispensable as far as I understand if you plan on doing anything more than just tearing down and cleaning a watch. So it is a tool that "WILL" be needed if you plan on learning the trade.  

IMHO I think buying "Cheap Tools" is bad advice.  If you buy cheap tools you will only need to get better tools later on, plus cheap tools will more likely produce inferior work ...When you decide to upgrade chances are you will not recover the money you spent on "Cheap" tools. On the other hand if you decide this is not for you and look to sell your quality tools you will find a ready buyer.  

In general I am a big fan of the right tool for the job.

I suggest buying the best tools you can afford. Be patient and buy right.

Anthony

I didn't intend it that way, I misspoke. I literally do that though, I will go all out on a project spending a fortune and then realize I could have saved a lot of money by making it myself or improvising. And I definitely agree, you want the right tool for the job but I think a beginner can get by OK without high end tools to start with. I have like a $20 "watch repair kit" from amazon thats got a lot of useful things in it. That being said I have already went through and upgraded most of those tools so...lol

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