I am writing this online guide to hand down the 20+ years of experience, fixing watches, to others who would like to find out the art of watch fixing. It is totally free for anybody to utilize although it is targeted at the battery fitter, jeweller or amateur watch repairer who has a small quantity previous experience and wish to start healing watches. I am limiting my guide to Quartz views just as this is a topic that is not covered well somewhere else and yet they are most of watches you will be asked to fix. Fixing mechanical and automatic watches are covered in many locations and books (i discovered from this book 'Practical Watch Repairing' by Donald de Carle which is an old book however great) however to fix and fix these takes a lot more experience. This is why when fixing mechanical watches you can charge more cash for repairing among these than you can charge for fixing most of quartz watches.
Regardless of this, there is good cash to be made fixing quartz watches and it is simpler to learn too as there is less variation. The basic reason why repairing a quartz watch is simpler is they have not altered much in the last thirty years while mechanical watches have been around for centuries while the first Quartz Watch was produced in 1969.
To be a Good Watch Repairer you require experience so it is a lifetimes learning to end up being skilled mechanical watch maker (horologist), while you can quickly broaden your business into healing quartz watches with this online guide.
In this guide I presume you can open a watch back, adjust a bracelet and utilize fundamental tools properly. If not, then this guide might not be for you (if I get time in the future I will make a beginners assist too).
OBVIOUSLY you can't just start turning screws ... there are a variety of things you will need to do (and get) in preparation. You will have better results, and a much more satisfying experience if you take the time, effort, and expenditure to get the majority of the products noted below BEFORE starting. Remember that these are just the bare basics ... a major repair individual has hundreds of other specialized tools ... however we'll save that for another conversation. The bottom line is that preparation and having the best equipment is crucial to success of any repair task!.
Workspacerkspace with a clean, flat surface area. For a novice a kitchen table will do simply fine, however as you become more severe you may want to think about a watchbench made specially for fixing watches and a good fluorescent light which is easier on the eyes. A watchbench has actually small integrated in drawers for all of the tools and parts you make sure to accumulate gradually.
The design is high, with a surface that (when sitting) is close to the face so the repair work person does not have to depression over when working. Some technicians will put cork or linoleum on the surface area. These soft materials stop parts from bouncing away, and aren't hard enough to harm anything dropped on them. Some benches even have a slide out "parts catcher" that presses against the stomach when sitting. Mine is a wood frame with a loose piece of canvas tacked to the bottom. When a part is dropped and goes "over the edge", this fantastic contraption captures it!
Most newbies will (as mentioned above) start at a kitchen table. An excellent tip for operating at a table is to lay down a great piece of white fabric (like a plain white pillowcase or cheesecloth) to do your deal with. The main benefit for doing this is if you drop one of the parts, it will not bounce away and end up being lost. I suggest white due to the fact that tiny screws (and so on) are easy to find. This practice will also conserve your table from scratches, and protect your watch from the tables tough surface. To keep it from moving, you might desire to consider taping it down with masking tape also.
Screw-driver set
You WILL require a great set of watchmakers screwdrivers. This is a MUST. The sets discovered at the department store for dealing with eyeglasses and so on will cause more difficulty than they are worth. They are not accuracy made and you will quickly damage or remove the highly sleek screws found in a lot of watches. The keen eye Find more information of a major watch collector will select this up instantly; it diminishes the look of the watch hence reducing worth of your watch. Track down and buy a set of watchmakers screwdrivers. Even a newbies set will be far better than anything you can discover at the dollar-store.
The proper method to hold it (Right Listed Below) is to grip the screwdriver shaft between the thumb and middle finger, with the forefinger on the cupped end (which rotates). Press down on the top of the screwdriver and rotate it between your thumb and middle finger; turning the screw.