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Finally getting deeper into the hobby

TimeCollector

By TimeCollector
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TimeCollector Member

TimeCollector

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Hello everyone, 

I've been a member since 2015 and am finally posting something.  Initially I used the forum for advise and technical knowledge, but never contributing anything because I didn't know much.  Over the years I've found myself gravitating more and more into the hobby of watch collecting.  Buying, reviving then selling items that peaked my interest, then finding a good home for them after a while.  The reviving part was it all started.   

When I mentioned gravitate, that's to be taken literally.  Between the time I joined the forum and now, I've gone from hobbyist to watch and clock repair shop manager and now small business owner where I deal in repairs and antique restoration part-time.  I plan on taking the course that Mark Lovick has created and offers through this forum along with supplemental courses provided by the NAWCC.  I'm exceptionally grateful for these types of educational opportunities as I wish to further improve my skillset. 

It's been a great journey so far and will be for a lifetime to come.    

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TimeCollector Member

TimeCollector

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When consulting with a customer I ask that they give me a day or so with the clock for assessment.  Once that is complete, I can give them a list of my findings and recommendations.  The extent to which they would like the clock restored is up to them.  Coming up with an internal itemized price listing for special services took me a while to develop.  Once you have that sorted out you can give accurate estimates to see how the customer would like to proceed.  

For example, a customer comes in with an antique clock from a flea market and wants to know what it would cost to make it run again.  This is where I ask a series of questions to see how deep the person would like to go, a service of the movement and cleaning of the case or full restoration to include glass, woodwork, etc.  I like to give them options.  Most customers are price sensitive and don't want to pay hundreds for something they bought for next to nothing.  Heirlooms are a special case, I recommend soft or light restoration on these, i.e. keeping everything as original as possible with light cleaning and taking care to servicing the movement so it can run for many generations to come.  

I hope that answers your questions.   

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    • GuyMontag
      1972 Bulova President "E" Sea King 11ACACB movement

      By GuyMontag · Posted

      Yeah, I saw that in the tech sheet but I don't see how it can be adequately cleaned with the friction pinion still in place. I've accidentally pulled the arbor right out of the wheel once when I used a presto tool to try and remove it. Mark shows how he does it with the Platax tool. Those are a little too pricey for me so I got one of these from Aliexpress and I just push down on the arbor with the end of my brass tweezers. That usually gets it most of the way out and then I just grab the wheel with one hand the and the friction pinion with the other and gently rotate them until it pops off. Probably not the best way but it's seemed to work for me so far.    
    • Zedster
      Movement inserted from crytal side

      By Zedster · Posted

      Thanks, Jon Sounds like a plan. Obviously I'll have the face on so do you think gripping with the holder will create any problems, but I will check in the morning to see how feasible it is but I assume it only needs to be lightly held. As for holding the movement instead of the holder won't be possible in this scenario as one hand will be puling on the stem while the other pushes the spring down. That was my initial concern is how the hell can I do this with only one pair of hands. All the other times I've had to remove the stem hasn't been a problem, apart from the force required to release the stem from the setting lever, but now I need to fit the face and hands its sent me into panic mode. If it had the screw type release things would be a lot simpler but that's life 😀       
    • nevenbekriev
      Main spring

      By nevenbekriev · Posted

      Hi Jon, do You think that relation spring torque - amplitude is linear? I would rather guess that the amplitude should be proportional to the square of the torque. I had once idea to check it, but still haven't.
    • ManSkirtBrew
      1972 Bulova President "E" Sea King 11ACACB movement

      By ManSkirtBrew · Posted

      I did not. I thought about it, but I had cleaned it in my ultrasonic, and the tech sheet shows lubricating it in place already assembled, so I figured discretion was the better part of valor. Although since I have to depth the jewels anyway, maybe I pull the pinion off to rule it out 100% as part of the problem. Do you know if there's a safe way to do it? I don't want to use a puller because it would push down on the plane of the wheel, and that seems like a Bad Idea. I thought about using a roller table remover, but I don't think I have a hole stake pointy enough to push it down.
    • oldhippy
      Movement inserted from crytal side

      By oldhippy · Posted

      Before putting it back in the case I would fit the hands and use a pin vice on the stem to make sure the hands were in line. 
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