Revisiting an old hobby

[Neverenoughwatches]

10 minutes ago, AndyHull said:

I'm just curious to know what is in it.

I know what you are thinking "... obviously it has a watch mechanism in it ..." but what exactly?

I splurged the princely sum of £ 3.86 including postage, to find out. Place your bets ladies and gentlemen.

 

It has kind of a military look about it. The lug shape and the front of the case and big crown. I think not though the lugs usually form part of the case and crown could be an addition any time and no military markings anywhere. It looks heavy dutyish and the bezel is missing . Whats inside is anybody's guess.

[AndyHull]

7 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

It has kind of a military look about it.

It has slight a hint of a pilot type dial with the seconds rail-track, and what appears to be a centre seconds pivot sticking out from the mess where the hands should be, but could just as easily be a doctors watch, or just .. a watch. No broad arrow or serial number on the case back, so probably not a military issue watch. The depth and shape of the case may suggest a thicker pin pallet mechanism.. Who knows.
99p plus shipping, so cheaper than a Costa coffee and far more fun.

[oldhippy]

I can tell you what is in side a bloody nightmare.  Why would you want to buy it the dial is shot to pieces. A waste of money even if it only cost a few quid.  

[Neverenoughwatches]

5 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

I can tell you what is in side a bloody nightmare.  Why would you want to buy it the dial is shot to pieces. A waste of money even if it only cost a few quid.  

No offence OH but we are made differently to you at the moment. You've seen and done hundreds probably thousands of times over what we have. Maybe very little you have left to learn, absolutely everything we do is a learning experience. And just as important is the fun of it all, i imagine you dont get that buzz anymore.  I've been a joiner for nearly 40 years more if i include playing around building things since i was 5, i used to love turning shit into gold, but now .  People say to me look what I've built look what I've made, in my head I'm thinking  ' hmm yeah whatever,  seen it done it lets move on ' 

[AndyHull]

14 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

I can tell you what is in side a bloody nightmare.

I can almost guarantee you are correct, but I'm a perpetual optimist.

I would say the dial is around 30% shot to pieces, the rest.. is slightly less crap.

[RichardHarris123]

30%? Let's see the rest. 

[AndyHull]

The 70% "beautiful" is on the inside.

Speaking of which, can anybody figure out what the bottom line says on its backside.

Maybe its German for "Bloody Nightmare inside".

[oldhippy]

26 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

No offence OH but we are made differently to you at the moment. You've seen and done hundreds probably thousands of times over what we have. Maybe very little you have left to learn, absolutely everything we do is a learning experience. And just as important is the fun of it all, i imagine you dont get that buzz anymore.  I've been a joiner for nearly 40 years more if i include playing around building things since i was 5, i used to love turning shit into gold, but now .  People say to me look what I've built look what I've made, in my head I'm thinking  ' hmm yeah whatever,  seen it done it lets move on ' 

You are so right in many ways. I don't even wear a watch. I've got many clocks in my home I don't even wind them up any more. One thing you don't have right and that is I'm still learning from the members on here, there are so many new tools for doing different repairs and some of the things members do is mind blowing. So I'll eat humble pie and let you folks have fun while learning and full credit to you all. I will now shut up and go back to sleep, us old buggers need our sleep.

[AndyHull]

1 minute ago, oldhippy said:

I will now shut up and go back to sleep, us old buggers need our sleep.

Never mind the humble pie, we enjoy your contributions, feel free to tell it as it is any time.

[RichardHarris123]

16 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

You are so right in many ways. I don't even wear a watch. I've got many clocks in my home I don't even wind them up any more. One thing you don't have right and that is I'm still learning from the members on here, there are so many new tools for doing different repairs and some of the things members do is mind blowing. So I'll eat humble pie and let you folks have fun while learning and full credit to you all. I will now shut up and go back to sleep, us old buggers need our sleep.

There are many things that I have become proficient in and then lost interest because I can do it, on to the next.  You may of got tired of watches but your contribution is invaluable. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

47 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

You are so right in many ways. I don't even wear a watch. I've got many clocks in my home I don't even wind them up any more. One thing you don't have right and that is I'm still learning from the members on here, there are so many new tools for doing different repairs and some of the things members do is mind blowing. So I'll eat humble pie and let you folks have fun while learning and full credit to you all. I will now shut up and go back to sleep, us old buggers need our sleep.

You might still be learning OH but like the saying   you've forgotton more than we will ever know. Dont mind me it was just a comparison of attitude due to long term experience. We grow tired of everything eventually. 

[oldhippy]

Thanks guys. 

[watchweasol]

Hi OH. What the guys say is true. I have been working on clocks and watches as a hobby for fourty years plus, you as an actual job. That bit i envy and wold have loved it. Always respect your input, you having been there and done it five days a week for how many years ?,  long may you continue to advise, and like you I learn from a lot of these guys on the forum. 

[oldhippy]

For me it was about 30 years. 

[AndyHull]

 

[AndyHull]

A somewhat related video.

 

[AndyHull]

A quick departure from my usual watches in need of a lot of TLC.  TGV chats with the owner of Hotel L'Orologio in Florence, Italy, who (arguably) is the worlds biggest watch collector.

As someone who has worked in the Hospitality industry for quite a number of years, I've seen a lot of interesting hotels, sone pricey, some not so much, but I must admit the Hotel L'Orologio has a certain unique charm. 

[AndyHull]

On 7/20/2023 at 4:17 PM, AndyHull said:

I'm just curious to know what is in it.

I know what you are thinking "... obviously it has a watch mechanism in it ..." but what exactly?

I splurged the princely sum of £ 3.86 including postage, to find out. Place your bets ladies and gentlemen.

 

... and the winner is... anyone who guessed it is a 7 jewel EB 1268.
What? Nobody got it? In that case I get to keep the imaginary prize!

 

The runners up imaginary prize goes to @oldhippy who correctly guessed "I can tell you what is in side a bloody nightmare. " since, sadly the balance staff is shot. I think I may have another scrap EB 1268 somewhere, in which case, for no reason other than because I can, I may take a crack at getting it going. Don't hold your breath though as there are more important projects on the go.

For example I just tidied up this very scruffy great chunk of an East German tractor.

It is now chugging away nicely and sporting a new windscreen, as the old one was so yellowed and tatty that you could barely read the dial through it.

It has a tick that would keep you awake at night, but it does appear to be keeping reasonably good time, so I'll call that a win.

 

[RichardHarris123]

Where's my imaginary runner's up prize, I guessed pin pallet. 

[AndyHull]

Don't spend it all at once.

[AndyHull]

 

If you have a hankering for one of Harrisons clocks, but you are short of the odd million, but you do have a few grand to spare, Comitti of London may be the place to go. Fascinating to see that there are still fusee clocks being built in this day and age.

 

[AndyHull]

If any of you are fans of Hackaday, you might have spotted this minimalist low cost parts washer.

 

https://hackaday.io/project/192591-low-cost-watch-parts-washer

 

You can pick up the baskets on ebay. For example...
 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294934716372?hash=item44ab7a9fd4:g:VtoAAOSwd~RiXnzA&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8G6hzMAe5ntlKVBn3h8F3NleedF2F5vgCOHUSQlCwgNNeZChFyXcnNM%2BWIk7gJltEfsMKJSSytsAFFv9JpShgsD7319AwE9xXCQoOZNQUj3NHchW4Z0CI%2FKxWjiiaKE%2FW1ufljG3IGG1Tz7e8KPI6yAXjWvBXKLvYp4TpyD67v7o7HR%2FzI9Rl%2BBdlsqjbZurMTdiE54O2hCjG58gzE41DeY3wgVEYecBGSb5LQZzDZ%2BnYwYp9qseIUtElz%2BZuV2h%2BWwnE0P7Om8E%2B7Jh5YwRnvkj5Mci0YqYDHMf%2Blivx1Ryb4ojkjkkBF8CpJynQ5282Q%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR-7k-q3JYg

 

 

Edited August 31, 2023 by AndyHull

[HectorLooi]

If you need a bigger basket, check out the tea infusers available on AliExpress. 

[LittleWatchShop]

3 hours ago, AndyHull said:

low cost parts washer

For some reason, I never was able to get an ATTiny to program from my PC.  It has been a long time since I tried though.

This is a cute idea.  I am about to setup a second LWS in another city and have been grappling with using my extra L&R or something more compact.  This would fit the bill I think.  My plan is to primarily work on Accutrons at the second site...once I learn how

[AndyHull]

45 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

For some reason, I never was able to get an ATTiny to program from my PC.  It has been a long time since I tried though.

This is a cute idea.  I am about to setup a second LWS in another city and have been grappling with using my extra L&R or something more compact.  This would fit the bill I think.  My plan is to primarily work on Accutrons at the second site...once I learn how

 

45 minutes ago, LittleWatchShop said:

For some reason, I never was able to get an ATTiny to program from my PC.  It has been a long time since I tried though.

This is a cute idea.  I am about to setup a second LWS in another city and have been grappling with using my extra L&R or something more compact.  This would fit the bill I think.  My plan is to primarily work on Accutrons at the second site...once I learn how

If the code for the ATTiny is published, then you could probably adapt the code to use pretty much any Arduino style microcontroller.

Even if it isn't I suspect writing suitable code to drive a couple of GPIO lines in such a way as to send a motor scurrying backwards and forwards is not going to take a lot of effort. A while back I needed to agitate some chemical or other for an hour or so. I used a microcontroller (an STM32diono blue pill board for what its worth) to control a small RC servo, which I used to pull a piece of string back and forth, which rocked a plastic milk bottle. It did the trick. Arguably I could have better spent my time sitting with a cup of coffee and rocking the bottle back and forward by hand, but where's the fun in that?

2 hours ago, HectorLooi said:

If you need a bigger basket, check out the tea infusers available on AliExpress. 

They look pretty useful. ebay also has quite a number of choices, including these rather strange looking ones.


 

Edited August 31, 2023 by AndyHull