For watch enthusiasts to discuss everything related to watches and horology.
Opening up a family heirloom - you’re far braver than I!
Glad it’s worked out well; it looks good in the pictures.
It’s a shame that American-design watchmaking diminished significantly over the second half of the last century, but it’s seemingly making a slow revival now (at least among enthusiasts).
Edit: just reminded myself of the madness of the Devon Tread
I've worked on these pocket watches before opening this one, you can get old (broken) Elgins on ebay fairly inexpensive. They are really simple inside and the parts are very big compared to a wristwatch. It is recommended to start watchmaking on a pocketwatch before going to wristwatches.
All that to say, even with only a few months of experience at the time I fixed this one up I was very confident I could get it running without breaking it. Getting it to run well however, is another thing.
Here are progress pics: https://imgur.com/a/x9GSUTx
Thank you for sharing!
Come on baby, don't tease us, show us under the hood! If like to see the movement of you get a chance to post. Nice looking watch!
These are the pictures I have at the moment of the repair in progress: https://imgur.com/a/x9GSUTx
Beautiful! I'm working up to fully disassemble and clean my first watch. I've done small repairs and tinkering for years, but never a full break down. With watch cleaning as expensive as it is, I figure I need to figure it out myself (I have more than a couple I like to use daily)!
I would not go into the hobby of watchmaking with the expectation of making money or saving money, at the volumes you will likely repair compared to the cost of tools and parts it can become a very expensive hobby with thin or no margins. But if it's a hobby you are willing to invest in, it's a lot of fun. And not expensive if you just want to poke around and don't care about every detail.