this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
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Asklemmy
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I love fixing watches. I used to do full disassembly and servicing on old soviet watches until I moved somewhere 100% carpeted.
Also several factors absolutely fucked my supply of cheap Russian watches. Between COVID and the war, all my sellers are MIA on both sides.
Once I settle down I'd love to get into full on servicing vintage watches as well.
Its really relaxing after a couple drinks. My #1 tip is don't cheap out on the basic tools like tweezers, screw drivers, and oils. A lot of things you can find cheap, ie pith wood, finger cots, a little squeeze blower, etc. The tools you use to manipulate the pieces are basically an extension of your hand and makes a worlds difference.
Thanks for the tips! Is it pretty easy to find movement specific service instructions or do you just learn to recognize parts and common build methods?
I watched a lot of youtube before I dove in. There's a LOT more content on watch repair now after covid so it should be easy. Pay specific attention to how the seasoned watchmakers use their tools. You should never have to force anything in a watch. Go as slow as possible and really savor each movement.
If you don't have a camera with good macro abilities, grab some of those cheap clip on macro lenses for your phone.
Take a pictures at every step until you don't need them anymore. I specifically was interested in 2-3 movements but you start to see the commonality between them if you're just working on a simple hour/minute/second/calendar watch without extra complications.
I really suggest buying one of those little plastic trays with a clear dome on top that have dividers. With that, I divide the parts and screws by the aspect of the movement. ie I'll use one compartment for the automatic winder components, a compartment for the stem and winding mechanism, one for the main drive, and another for the date complication. I repair a lot of misc things so I have a decent memory for where parts/screws go. If you dont, take pictures of the screw next to the hole you took it from so you can compare scale. Screws inside watches are usually at most 2-3 sizes, if not all the same but its good practice to ensure you put the right screw in the right hole.
Also check out the forum watchrepairtalk. Its an international group of old men who love to help out. It has a completely different atmosphere to watchuseek and is an endless fountain of knowledge.