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PostPosted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 12:11 am 
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Hi all,

I am questioning myself recently that maybe as a newbe vintage collector, i need to be able to repair/service my own watches?
What do you think? Are there among you, some that doing this?

I know this is a personal matter of interest, but i am curious about your thoughts ;)



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PostPosted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 12:59 am 
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I had similar thoughts myself, however, for me I now know my limits. I can strip down and service a couple of movements but anything that has mechanical sub dials requires so much research and patience that I can't give the time too. The more you get into these little machines the more astonishing the engineering becomes. If you are serious then I would buy a few beaters from eBay, Seiko's are a good place to start and can still be found relatively cheap. Take your time, plenty of material/videos on line for 6139's and good luck.

Let us know how you get on

Regards Phil


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PostPosted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 1:00 am 
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Going back a few years ago there used to be college courses in clock repair. Today you are very limited as to where you can learn horology. The old clockmakers, if you are lucky enough to find one, seem to be very secretive and certainly don’t like to give up their precious time teaching someone. The best advice I can give is to read as many books as you can get your hands on. Try the library first, do a little research on google and find out what books are out there. YouTube is also a good source with a lot of people making short films and videos on certain aspects of horology. Dont take the info from these videos as law, research everything, some of them give very bad information!

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PostPosted: Fri Mar 10, 2017 1:34 am 
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Thank you for the info as it helps a lot.
Seiko as a start point is really good as i started while ago to strip down one 7s36, (pity enough i did not made pics) and changed the dial to a little nicer version and messed up with placing the hands, specially the second hand which does not stay in place any more, i guess i pushed it too hard.
The movement was new so i just wanted to take it apart and put it to gether again. I succeeded with that but the hairspring and regulating it was hell of a work. I sacrified 3 hairsprings and finally managed to get it work.
Final result is acceptable for me at least as a beginner. I call him a slow minute hand

Indeed on youtube are a lot of materials from Watchguy and others, and it all looks very easy till starting with the process ;)
Practice makes perfect right.
I have to say any time i start to do it, my heart pumps very fast
So i guess to do this with a vintage chrono breitling, i need a lot of hours of flight experience

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PostPosted: Thu May 04, 2017 4:45 am 
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One must make a considerable investment in tools To correctly service a watch. Also, parts can be difficult, if not impossible, to locate when needed. Often, a donor unit must be obtained with the hope that the need part will be in the movement. Not always the case, by the way.

it takes patience to learn the proper use of tweezers. I was trained 55 years ago and still launch a screw across the room from a pair of tweezers every once in a while.

I am of the opinion that watches present fewer problems than clocks, but clocks are so much bigger they are easier to work on once the problems have been identified. The watch, however can be a real challenge when the problem is not easily identified. It can get tedious to repeatedly assemble and disassemble a small ladies wristwatch movement when trying locate the source of the problem.

I service my own watches when necessary, but only when I get a break from servicing ones for customers.

Having said all this, are you really sure you want to do this? If so, look for some books about watch repair by Henry Fried. Also look for books on the use of the watchmakers lathe and the staking tool. You will need both tools if you are serious about watch repair.

When it comes to revealing secrets, I am more than willing to share advice on service issues.

Regards,

Onewatchnut

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PostPosted: Sat May 06, 2017 10:57 pm 
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onewatchnut wrote:
One must make a considerable investment in tools To correctly service a watch. Also, parts can be difficult, if not impossible, to locate when needed. Often, a donor unit must be obtained with the hope that the need part will be in the movement. Not always the case, by the way.

it takes patience to learn the proper use of tweezers. I was trained 55 years ago and still launch a screw across the room from a pair of tweezers every once in a while.

I am of the opinion that watches present fewer problems than clocks, but clocks are so much bigger they are easier to work on once the problems have been identified. The watch, however can be a real challenge when the problem is not easily identified. It can get tedious to repeatedly assemble and disassemble a small ladies wristwatch movement when trying locate the source of the problem.

I service my own watches when necessary, but only when I get a break from servicing ones for customers.

Having said all this, are you really sure you want to do this? If so, look for some books about watch repair by Henry Fried. Also look for books on the use of the watchmakers lathe and the staking tool. You will need both tools if you are serious about watch repair.

When it comes to revealing secrets, I am more than willing to share advice on service issues.

Regards,

Onewatchnut


Great info!

Yes i know i have already purchased some tools and noticed indeed it's not really cheap and yet not bought the very essential tools like the Lathe.

Well as i am not in a hurry ;) i thought i can slowly build up my tool department along
with repairing hours.

In between i bought the book and waiting to receive it and make my first serious dive into watch world.

So far my knowledge is mostly based on youtube as i could not decide which book would exactly be the one for a beginner with a little knowledge as me.
Thanks for the advice

So i think this is gonna be sth that i really like to enjoy from and get good at it :)

Special thnx for the offer of sharing secrets, i will definitely come to you when i am stuck somewhere and can't find a way out ;)





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PostPosted: Sun May 07, 2017 2:45 am 
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I am not going to be taking any of my tools with me when I move to the Caribbean later this year........


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PostPosted: Sun May 07, 2017 3:34 am 
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Roffensian wrote:
I am not going to be taking any of my tools with me when I move to the Caribbean later this year........


I don't think you gonna need them there anyway :)
Great plan living life on the caribs



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