3 ms·

Do you need several-standard-deviation better than average fine motor control to mess with this stuff? I can't imagine successfully handling any of the pieces o

by paggle 7y ago

Do you need several-standard-deviation better than average fine motor control to mess with this stuff? I can't imagine successfully handling any of the pieces of the movement, so my "repair" skills would be limited to swapping out the whole thing or using some kind of robotic apparatus to gear down my movements.

aeturnum 7y ago
I had the same concern and that's part of why I got into pocket watches instead of wrist watches! That said, my experience is that people who repair watches are no more superhuman than you or I and that it's mostly experience. >my "repair" skills would be limited to swapping out the whole thing or using some kind of robotic apparatus to gear down my movements. Mine too! I never talked to anyone who did repair as a job, but my impression is that most repair is swapping out broken parts for working ones from other cannibalized movements. In theory you could fab new parts, of course, but that would be beyond my skills and experience. Think of it like how people build computers: they replace components and make sure it all works together.
- paggle 7y ago
  But back in the day people used to make all the parts by hand, right? And they still have to make parts when repairing old pocket watches, etc... how do they do it?
  - aeturnum 7y ago
    Naw - precise timekeeping evolved with the ability to reliably manufacture precision components. That's one of the ways in which it parallels cell phones! There's this whole technology race where material science and timekeeping mechanism development mutually urge each other on. I think for larger clocks (like the ones repaired by John in S-Town[1]), hand-created components were far more common. They were developed as objects that would be maintained and watched by a large community and less precision was manageable. [1] https://stownpodcast.org/ https://stownpodcast.org/
rrrx3 7y ago
No more than say, building a model airplane or model car. The movements for these watches especially are relatively cheap - you can find plenty of 7S26s on ebay for right around $20-25 - so the cost of replacing one that you might mess up is low. i recently rebuilt a similar movement with no prior experience and am actually wearing the watch right now. The best tool to have is a loupe, a good set of tweezers, and patience!

by paggle 7y ago

aeturnum 7y ago

I had the same concern and that's part of why I got into pocket watches instead of wrist watches! That said, my experience is that people who repair watches are no more superhuman than you or I and that it's mostly experience. >my "repair" skills would be limited to swapping out the whole thing or using some kind of robotic apparatus to gear down my movements. Mine too! I never talked to anyone who did repair as a job, but my impression is that most repair is swapping out broken parts for working ones from other cannibalized movements. In theory you could fab new parts, of course, but that would be beyond my skills and experience. Think of it like how people build computers: they replace components and make sure it all works together.

paggle 7y ago
But back in the day people used to make all the parts by hand, right? And they still have to make parts when repairing old pocket watches, etc... how do they do it?
- aeturnum 7y ago
  Naw - precise timekeeping evolved with the ability to reliably manufacture precision components. That's one of the ways in which it parallels cell phones! There's this whole technology race where material science and timekeeping mechanism development mutually urge each other on. I think for larger clocks (like the ones repaired by John in S-Town[1]), hand-created components were far more common. They were developed as objects that would be maintained and watched by a large community and less precision was manageable. [1] https://stownpodcast.org/ https://stownpodcast.org/

rrrx3 7y ago

No more than say, building a model airplane or model car. The movements for these watches especially are relatively cheap - you can find plenty of 7S26s on ebay for right around $20-25 - so the cost of replacing one that you might mess up is low. i recently rebuilt a similar movement with no prior experience and am actually wearing the watch right now. The best tool to have is a loupe, a good set of tweezers, and patience!