I'm new to this hobby. I was brought into the hobby by a best friend who loves collecting (though not repairing) vintage watches. I'm rather diy inclined and love beautiful mechanical work so I guess I got hooked rather easily. I've signed up for the time zone school class, purchased the level one tools and deluxe options kit and purchased Donald De Carle's book on Practical Watch Repair and am trying to educate myself. My best friend is attracted to vintage wristwatches but I have to say that I'm more attracted to vintage american pocket watches. I have lots of learning and practicing ahead of me. Amongst other things what books would you recommend...or dvds...or...what works to practice on??

Welcome to IHC185 Joyce. I'm a pocket watch collector and not much into repair, so I don't know enough to answer your questions intelligently, but I would like to extend a warm welcome aboard!

I'm sure you'll get the information you need before long.

Hi Joyce,

Welcome to IHC185! As a fellow beginner watch repair person, I found it was very helpful to find a mentor in the area who can show you the proper way to take apart and repair a pocket watch. I have lots of books, but they only come in handy after I have my lesson with my local master watchmaker.

I have been buying up 7 jewel Elgin watches and movements to work on as I learn. They are relatively cheap and plentiful and if you screw up, no big deal. I find that each watch running or not presents a learning opportunity and have enjoyed getting several of these watches running again. Hairspring and balance problems lead the way so far, so try to find a watch without a broken balance staff to begin with.

The tools you will need to start include a good set of screwdrivers and tweezers of various sizes. A good eye loupe or visor and a brightly lit work area. Other items you will find handy include a hand puller, a mainspring winder, pith for cleaning pivots and pegwood for cleaning jewel holes. Finally, some cleaning solution to soak the parts in and good watch oil(s) for lubricating the watch after it is reassembled.

My one nugget of advice I'll share is to take closeup pictures of the watch throughout the disassembly to aid in figuring out how to put it back together.

Best of luck to you,

John III

Good luck to you! I respect anyone who embarks on the task of learning how to repair these little masterpieces. Personally, I don't have the patients or the steady hand necessary to do the fine work required, so I have to spend my hard earned money to have someone else do it for me.

Joyce, welcome to IHC185.
I echo John's sentiment about having a mentor. My mentor has been Roger Nolfe, without him I would be constantly frustrated. Whether it has been looking for a problem or a soultion to a problem he has been more than a great help.
You will also find much help here at IHC185. We have some of the best!

Thanks for the welcome, advice and words of encouragement.
I was thinking that the 7j Elgins looked good for practice too....and maybe the 1894 Walthams too. Good pics is an excellent thought. One thinks one will remember, however,....
Maybe with my journeys and studies, I'll meet someone in the area who can do a little mentoring. For now at least, I've got the time zone watch school course to get started with and their tool kits which seem to have some nice swiss tools in them.

Welcome Joyce! I think you'll find that you did the right thing by joining this group, it's like a big family.There's more help here than you can imagine.My hat is off to anyone wanting to take up watch repairing, there are never enough people doing it today!Another great book is Henry B. Fried's Watch Repair Manual.Good luck, Ted Brown.

It's a pleasure to be of help, Ed.

For you and the rest of IHC185, Liz and I have been in the Santiago, Chile area for a few days now and things in this part of Chile are pretty much back to normal. The airport terminals have some repair work needed, but nothing major. They have implemented a very efficient temporary customs procedure. We should be back home 3/21.

Roger

Roger,
Glad you and Elizabeth are safe.
Don't you dare show up here in NY with a tan

Joyce, Welcome to our Bunch! As you prevail in being a growing part of our group of "trained tinkerers" (troublemakers?), I am sure that we will all help (mis)guide you through the beginnings of "watchery". I only wish there was a better way help you look through our different discussions on this subject.

You might enjoy contacting one of us by phone if you want to add depth to the discussion.

I always wanted to be a trained tinkerer as opposed to my usual untrained variety. It looks like there are a lot of knowledgable and helpful folk here so I have hope.

I'll take a look around for the Fried book, thanks.

Welcome to IHC185 Joyce! Glad to have you with us. And glad to hear that you are taking a watch repair course. If you are like me, hands on work is much easier to learn than from a book or manual. I guess I am a 3D, not a 2D learner!

The suggestions made so far are all very good. Go to the class and learn all you can. Then after, keep practicing so that you feel comfortable disassembling a movement and putting it back together. And most definitely get a digital camera and take pictures as you take it apart to help you remember where all the parts go. In time, it will become almost second nature.

I am sure that there is a someone close to you that can act as a mentor as others have mentioned. That person can be so important to you as you come across a problem that you might have difficulty with.

And when you buys tools, buy the best that you can afford. The suggested tools are a good start and you will, no doubt, add more as you progress.

I was very fortunate to attend a 3 day class that gave me a basic understanding of movements and repair. Due to several personal and family issues, I haven't been able to work on my watches as much as I would like. But I hope to get back to it soon. And always remember, there are plenty of very knowledgeable and helpful people here on IHC185 that will help you as you learn to "tinker"!

Congratulations and best of luck to you. You have chosen an extremely rewarding and challenging hobby with which you can continue to learn and and enjoy for many years.
A couple of suggestions from my experience: At the beginning, work with 17-jewel movements. The fit and finish of them is much better than the 7-jewel movements, they go together much more smoothly, and don't cost that much more. Hamiltons are the best designed but Elgins and Walthams are just fine. Start with 16-size movements only; 12-size are a little small and full-plate 18-size are very tricky to assemble.
Invest the time to get a comfortable desk to work at--it should be quite high--and provide the right light at the right angle. Some people prefer fluorescent light, some halogen, and a few prefer incandescent. It makes a difference.
And read the message boards regularly!

Joe Jones

Welcome.

I've been trying to teach myself watchmaking for the past 6 months using the Chicago School of Watchmaking course.

With that, the Fried book, and lots of help from the folks on this forum, I've come very far. I've managed to fix quite a few watches.

I agree that finding a mentor would be extremely helpful, but for now, since it's not an option for me because of time restrictions, I muddle through happily on my own.

I highly recommend getting a copy of that course. (20 bucks on ebay) It's easy to follow and presented in a very logical manner. Right now I am studying the escapement, and the details and amount of information is overwhelming. This course even has you drafting it up to understand the angles and degrees of all the parts and how they interact.

I work on Elgins. Started on 16s but have worked on Bulova wristwatches now too. Everything is fair game once you understand how to do it.

Soon...the lathe..

I think that you are so right about buying tools. I don't know much about watchmaking yet but when I've skimped on a tool in other hobbies, I've ended up regretting it. I'd like to find a local 3 day class. Maybe something will come up.

That's interesting about the 17 jewel movements. I'll open up my searches and see how that goes. I've heard that full plates are not a good place to start. I'm just starting to find out how important setting up the work place is. I may have to invest in a workbench to go on top of my drafting table.

I'll check out the Chicago course. A different point of view is almost always a good thing.

I'm in the SF Bay area so if someone hears of a course or something cool in the area regarding watchmaking, I'd love to hear about it. Everybody has been very helpful so far. Thanks.