The journey of a thousand miles...

Aroxx
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...starts with a single movement. Or something like that. I finally took some free time today and got through a bit more of Practical Watch Repairing by Donald de Carle. I wanted to get hands on so I grabbed a non-runner that looked easy to take apart and went to town. Just followed the basics steps from the book with no worries about causing damage. I didn't completely dismantle every piece, just removed most major components and then put back together. I was having fun so I grabbed the largest movement I have, a Waltham pocket watch, and did the same on that. Probably should have started there but the Waltham finishing is so nice I felt bad using it as the first victim even though it's already basically junked. Most of my junkers are tiny ladies watch movements so not great for learning.

I was hoping to get a little bit of practical context before reading too much. I think I achieved that goal so hopefully things make more sense as I move along. It was also good to get a bit of practice manipulating the tiny pieces. It really is confounding how they can manufacture components this small. Eventually I'll move on to my practice movement so I can put it back together and hopefully get it back to a running state. Then, I'll basically be a watchmaker and start making the big bucks. 😁

The non-runners...
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The first victim...

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Second victim...

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The one I don't want to destroy.

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JimInOz
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Get back to us when you've completed one of those tiny ladies calibers.
The ones about the size of the nail on your little finger.
😁
 
Aroxx
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JimInOz JimInOz
Get back to us when you've completed one of those tiny ladies calibers.
The ones about the size of the nail on your little finger.
😁
Unfortunately, all of my "junk" movements that actually run are those tiny ladies calibers. I'm going to stick to the large practice movement for quite awhile. Maybe I'll buy some running pocket watches eventually too.
 
STANDY
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Seikos are good to start with….😗
 
tapaptpat
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@noelekal I agree. Its a good watch to start with.
It will need a service before it can be used safely for mowing the lawn 🙄

PS Good work @Aroxx and good luck with those tiny ladies movements
 
C
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Way to go on starting your first movement. If I can just help making a recommendation. I started this way, and then found myself always going back and to read, then fix, then read, then try to fix again, then read. What I figured out was, I can only diagnose and service what I knew about watches and began to get frustrated. When issues with movements came up and I would try and figure it out, I didn't see the problems. No two watches are the same. So I decided to read as much as possible and it made a huge difference, did I say huge, I mean huge, things became so much easier. I read some key books and watchmaking became really fun. Hope this helps.
 
sheepdoll
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My mentor's really did not like de Carle. One of them was Henry B. Freid himself. Professional jealousy? Another said reading De Carle was like looking over someone else's shoulder. Except his head kept getting in the way.

Books only get one so far. Most deal with the stuff one does not see in the every day routine. One also has to learn how to sit. The proper bench height and chair height. A lot of this was designed for efficiently working in a more production style environment. Literally the daily grind.

If you start getting bored, you are probably doing it closer to the right way.

I have an idea to use some of the extra ladies sized watch plates I have as agrigiate in some concrete.

I have been favoring the basic A Schild 1194 type movements. Eventually I am going to tackle those 671 movements again.
 
Aroxx
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C Cdnwatchmaker
Way to go on starting your first movement. If I can just help making a recommendation. I started this way, and then found myself always going back and to read, then fix, then read, then try to fix again, then read. What I figured out was, I can only diagnose and service what I knew about watches and began to get frustrated. When issues with movements came up and I would try and figure it out, I didn't see the problems. No two watches are the same. So I decided to read as much as possible and it made a huge difference, did I say huge, I mean huge, things became so much easier. I read some key books and watchmaking became really fun. Hope this helps.
Thank you. Yes, I have a lot of reading and learning to do. I basically know nothing right now. Just wanted to get in there and break things. I’ve heard there are some good online courses as well that I will eventually look into. Any recommendations on the key books you mention?
 
Aroxx
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sheepdoll sheepdoll
My mentor's really did not like de Carle. One of them was Henry B. Freid himself. Professional jealousy? Another said reading De Carle was like looking over someone else's shoulder. Except his head kept getting in the way.

Books only get one so far. Most deal with the stuff one does not see in the every day routine. One also has to learn how to sit. The proper bench height and chair height. A lot of this was designed for efficiently working in a more production style environment. Literally the daily grind.

If you start getting bored, you are probably doing it closer to the right way.

I have an idea to use some of the extra ladies sized watch plates I have as agrigiate in some concrete.

I have been favoring the basic A Schild 1194 type movements. Eventually I am going to tackle those 671 movements again.
I know it won’t be all sunshine and rainbows 😀. Funny, the other book I bought is The Watch Repairer’s Manual by Henry B. Fried. Maybe I’ll read both in tandem as I go through each subject. The trick is finding the time to get to these hobbies. I was thinking the extra ladies movements I had could be made into cuff links.
 
C
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When I first read George Daniels book on watchmaking, It was way over my head. Now, no problem. Lots of great books, by Levin brothers, The Theory of Horology, Archie Perkins has some great books on restoration. Latest version of Bulova school of watchmaking. I spent hundreds on books. It was very hard for me to become a watchmaker in Canada. Only one school, and I had no way of getting there. Got help from good watchmakers also. At the beginning as a collector I wanted to learn just to understand what I was buying and it turned into a great thing for me years later. Hope this helps
 
STANDY
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Aroxx Aroxx
I already have enough junkers destined for the bin. 😁::stirthepot::

Good to see your getting outdoors on bin night still….
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C
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Oh sorry how can I forget yes Fried books also, the one on escapements was great, that book has a step by step approach on how to draw an escapement wheel and pallet fork, I remember doing that and wow, some things I understood much better after. George Daniels is the reason I started. Discovered him 15 years ago, and never looked back.
 
noless
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I have both the De Carle and the Fried books, I found them both useful in their own ways. I started with ladies movements as they were available a lot more affordably, and well theres something to be said about a trial by fire.

I am currently at a watchmaking school now, and its been en eye opener on just how much further I still have to go... but don't let that discourage you, its been an enjoyable journey the entire time (well discounting the occasional expletive when a yoke spring joins the swiss space program).
 
Aroxx
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redpcar redpcar
What's this?

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It’s kind of a cool watch but it’s missing the bezel and has a cheapo movement in it. It is actually running now that I try it but the crown action is messed up and can’t set the time. The case back was a bear to get off. I remember when I found it I really liked it. If the bezel wasn’t missing and it functioned properly I would totally wear it.

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STANDY
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Aroxx Aroxx
It’s kind of a cool watch but it’s missing the bezel and has a cheapo movement in it. It is actually running now that I try it but the crown action is messed up and can’t set the time. The case back was a bear to get off. I remember when I found it I really liked it. If the bezel wasn’t missing and it functioned properly I would totally wear it.

IMG_6793.jpeg IMG_6795.jpeg IMG_6796.jpeg

It is missing a W in the name 😁
 
HamDoctor
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Aroxx Aroxx
It’s kind of a cool watch but it’s missing the bezel and has a cheapo movement in it. It is actually running now that I try it but the crown action is messed up and can’t set the time. The case back was a bear to get off. I remember when I found it I really liked it. If the bezel wasn’t missing and it functioned properly I would totally wear it.

IMG_6793.jpeg IMG_6795.jpeg IMG_6796.jpeg
Should be a solid watch to work on. These "Meister-Anker" watches were one of the bread-and-butter exports from East Germany (the GDR), and IIRC they were manufactured in a VEB in Glashütte. Sold in great numbers in West Germany at discount coffee chains like Tchibo, and everywhere else ... I had one of those as a youth, but can't for the life of me remember how it looked.
 
Tony C.
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Good work! The first looks like a Felsa-based caliber. Mido used very similar ones at the time.
 
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