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This blog is what got me into the fabulous hobby of watch repairing. Well, this blog and Marshall's awesome repair videos over at Wristwatch Revival: https://ww
by fellerts 3y ago
This blog is what got me into the fabulous hobby of watch repairing. Well, this blog and Marshall's awesome repair videos over at Wristwatch Revival: https://www.youtube.com/@WristwatchRevival https://www.youtube.com/@WristwatchRevival
Watch repairing is a very rewarding hobby. It requires copious amounts of patience, but there's something fundamentally satisfying about disassembling something to its individual components, cleaning them and reassembling them meticulously. These things are designed to be taken apart, and it shows. I'm hard-pressed to think of other modern day objects that are meant to do this.
- sricciardi 3y ago> These things are designed to be taken apart, and it shows. I'm hard-pressed to think of other modern day objects that are meant to do this. A mechanical film camera (say, a Leica) is similar. They are also meant to be opened, cleaned up, lubed, etc...
- j4yav 3y agoEspresso machines, as well, and vintage stereo equipment. I have really come to appreciate the zen of user-serviceable physical stuff.
- ce4 3y agoI can relate - i took repairing espresso machines as a hobby since the pandemic. The parts are not complex at all and even 60+ years old E61-machines can be serviced easily (apart from not so cool stuff like asbestos as boiler insulation, leaded solder for boiler + fittings and mercury pressure switches). But even todays machines (depending on manufacturer and origin) are very serviceable. Especially italian made ones.
- j4yav 3y agoFor sure I have a La Pavoni and I can get parts lists, diagrams, and everything else I need to rebuild the whole thing if I needed to. https://www.lapavoni.com/en/technical-documentation https://www.lapavoni.com/en/technical-documentation
- ce4 3y agoGreat espresso machine! Very pretty and takes almost no space + heats up promptly. I had a pre millenium "professional" model until last year (not my daily driver though). I had a Dalla Corte mini as main machine but couldnt resist a great offer and upgraded to Ascaso Baby T recently :)
- mianos 3y agoWhat surprises me about the Italian coffee machines is you can buy many of the parts at a local hardware store. They look home made. The Chinese ones seem to be 100% custom parts, maybe to account for price at scale.
- solardev 3y agoDuring the pandemic, I tried to work on my Jura, a Swiss automatic espresso machine with an integrated hopper and grinder. Totally failed :( It's a great machine (got it refurbed and it's lasted nearly a decade already), but not at all easy to take apart. It's a lot of electronics though. I take it the manual ones are easier to service?
- eggy 3y agoLenovo vs. Apple notebooks. My ThinkPad T430u comes apart simply and you can remove subassemblies quite easily. I replaced the touchpad and battery on my daughters MacBook Pro and it was a nightmare.
- mikestew 3y agoA co-worker keeps a blog of his watch restorations. I have no interest in the hobby, but I do have an interest in viewing the work of someone that does. Of particular interest to me is that what he restores isn't high-end stuff, but common watches that might have one particular bit of history that makes them interesting. Radium dials, for example. https://www.westcoasttime.net https://www.westcoasttime.net
- graphe 3y agoGuns, small engines, and 3D printers are its larger modern cousins.
- bluescrn 3y ago3D printers have very little mechanical complexity. It's all in the software. If it wasn't for the computing power/software complexity required, hobbyist 3D printers could probably have been a thing in the 70s or 80s
- graphe 3y agoThey’re not complex, just easily taken apart and meant to be repaired by humans. The software isn’t particularly complex either, the reason for their surge recently was due to patents expiring for additive manufacturing. https://futurism.com/expiring-patents-set-to-improve-3d-world https://futurism.com/expiring-patents-set-to-improve-3d-worl...
- bluescrn 3y agoYeah, I suppose the software to control the printer is the relatively straightforward bit, the complex part is the software that slices the model and converts it into an efficient set of G-code commands for the printer. (That and the software used to create 3D models to begin with...)
- graphe 3y agoThat isn’t complex either. There was no reason besides patents that 3D printing could have been a reality decades ago. Simple math is all you need and gcode isn’t just 3D printing it’s also for CNC, something that was able to be done around that time.
- WillPostForFood 3y agoWhile 3d printers aren't necessarily complicated they are fun to watch. They are like an inside-out machine. Most machines are hidden in some sort of casing or under a hood. 3d printers are exposed, so you are able watch the gears spin, belts turn, and the print head extrude.
- CamperBob2 3y agoWatch repairing is a very rewarding hobby. It requires copious amounts of patience, but there's something fundamentally satisfying about disassembling something to its individual components, cleaning them and reassembling them meticulously. These things are designed to be taken apart, and it shows. I'm hard-pressed to think of other modern day objects that are meant to do this. '1337 watch-repairing skillz qualify you to work on nukes: https://apnews.com/article/nuclear-warheads-military-bomb-plutonium-6b86198def4516cebe496c9f5fbfbb75 https://apnews.com/article/nuclear-warheads-military-bomb-pl... There are thousands of tiny parts inside each warhead, so steady hands are key. That’s why technicians go through a skills assessment that includes disassembling and assembling a mechanical wristwatch.
- clocot 3y ago[dead]
- MeImCounting 3y agoPocket knives! Nice modern pocket knives should be disassembled and maintained regularly.
- maxerickson 3y agoI have a Kershaw Leek, which while it isn't particularly expensive, is easily on the "cost exceeds direct utility" side of things, is easy to take apart, and I can't imagine what I would regularly take it apart for.
- MeImCounting 3y agoWell if you carry it regularly, when you take it apart you will find there is lots of lint and other gunk on and around the detent ball, in and around the pivot and elsewhere. Upon cleaning and oiling it you will probably notice the action is a lot smoother. In rare cases if it gets really gunked up it can actually effect the locking mechanism of the knife presenting a potential safety hazard. Having your pocket knife close on you while breaking down a cardboard is no fun! Kershaw leek is really a great knife. Also keeping your pocket knife sharp is another example of it being directly maintainable and repairable. I often spend several hours a month sharpening my pocket knives though I probably have a few more than the average person.
- yabbs 3y agoI've had spring bars break twice with the Leek. Replacement parts were sent for free!
- jrockway 3y agoThat is a great channel. It's definitely made me consider getting into that hobby. Seems very relaxing.
- tomchuk 3y agoVery relaxing. Until impossibly small $15 Incabloc springs start flying around the room. I'm convinced these sublimate into a vapor the moment they fly out of view of your loupe.
- mianos 3y agoNot relaxing to me, like the YouTube videos. It is difficult and frustrating. It is very easy to wreck things like brass threads. Often lots of things are seized up on anything more than a few years old. Fun all the same.
- Double_a_92 3y agoIf screws seem seized up make sure that your screwdrivers tips are properly shaped.
- mianos 3y agoI do, I have a fine whetstone. I agree, properly sharp/shaped screwdrivers make a huge difference. I think I need a better roller sharpening guide, and lots more stuff. :)
- shostack 3y agoI wish there was a good beginner level entry point with a kit or something. But most of what I saw was "you need to build your own tools and then you can start" and that's too high a barrier for me. Is there by chance a simulator of this on Steam if a good beginner hobby kit doesn't exist?
- kQq9oHeAz6wLLS 3y agoBah, don't listen to 'em. Inexpensive set of jeweler's screwdrivers, and pair of precision tweezers, some sort of magnifying device, and a couple oils (use Liberty oil for the pivots, it's cheap but good enough to start). Cheap oiler tools off eBay or amazon. I have maybe $50 in tools. Buy some cheap movements off eBay, and dive in. Yeah, you'll lose parts and break things but you'll learn a bunch. I have a couple Westclox watches from the 60s that I bought for $10/each on eBay, and they both now run at +/- 2 seconds a day.
- Double_a_92 3y agoA set of small screwdrivers (at least one 0.8mm and one 1.2mm or so), pointy tweezers and a movement holder should be all you need to try the hobby out. The screwdrivers and tweezers should be of good quality though, at least get the ones that cost 3-4$ each from China. And you don't even need a mechanical watch. Cheap quartz watches also have tiny interesting parts in them that you can try to disassemble and reassemble.
- webnrrd2k 3y agoI think that older film cameras have a very satisfying-to-use quality to them. I find that an Olympus OM-2 with a good lens feels sooo nice to use. I know, not exactly the same as repairing fine watches, but I think it might be similar.
- systemvoltage 3y agoMarshall’s channel is amazing. He is so humble and always curious about learning. It got me into watchmaking as well, primarily because his attitude of “If I can do it, so can you!”.
- Double_a_92 3y ago> These things are designed to be taken apart This is so true. I used to repair phones and other gadgets before starting with watch repair... and I was kinda scared to take apart something filigree like a watch because it surely would never go back togheter properly. But no, everything goes back togheter fine without having to apply any kind of force. If it doesn't it's 99% my fault. E.g. even tiny screwholes are slightly tapered so the screws kinda fall in there automatically.
- saiya-jin 3y agoWatches are pretty amazing, a mechanical engineering marvel crammed into tiny compartment that can easily keep working for 100 years with minimal upkeep, very sturdy, looking great at almost any design era and helping with time. I never got the lure of 'smart' watches of these days, they all look like plastic toys for kids including most expensive ones, definitely when compared to good mechanical watches. Also in formal environment its one of few 'jewelry' items that are always allowed along with wedding ring, anything else may raise eyebrows and give negative points depending on location/company. I've seen people's OCD around me or similar issues getting worse with arrival of smart watches and nearly constant interruptions from notifications. Yet those folks don't turn them off even if I mention visible degradation on their part, I guess then they would end up with charging-needy expensive-yet-soon-obsolete gadget without much else (sport monitoring is cool for some folks, again I simply don't get the desire for constant measurements and comparisons - for me it takes away most of the fun that sports should be in first place, I focus on being challenged at my current level, not chasing some meaningless numbers). I guess if one is 'free' from such things the described effect is less bad, but why the heck would I ever wanted to be notified instantly on my hand when something happens? Peace of mind and clear focus are rare and precious things these days, and this destroys it for few seconds of dopamine kick.
- randomcarbloke 3y agowearing a wristwatch with full formal is still a bit of a faux pas.
- CamperBob2 3y agoRich: Rolex Wealthy: Patek Philippe True wealth: "I DGAF what time it is or what looks good with this jacket"
- fennecbutt 3y agoLmao no. If this was the case then cocktail watches wouldn't be a thing.