Comments on: Distance Learning

By: J.Peter

J.Peter — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:13:33 +0000

Okay, I’ll bite. There will be a basic tool list post coming up within the week.

By: Tick Talk » AF Bezel Remover a Disappointment

Tick Talk » AF Bezel Remover a Disappointment — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:45:22 +0000

[...] recent post on distance education sprouted a lengthy conversation that eventually touched on the subject tools, with several of our [...]

By: J.Edwards

J.Edwards — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:13:22 +0000

Great point, Greg! Unfortunately, there isn't one single brand that I would call the number one tool brand - unless Rolex's brand-specific tooling and SAV supply could count. As J.Peter has already mentioned, Bergeon's quality is hit or miss. I like much of what VOH and Horotec have to offer, as well, but they can be hit or miss at times as well. For instance, I find my Horotec tweezers to be too soft and prefer duMont or Fontax. Bergeon has advertised a promising looking new set of tweezers out on the market, made from a specialized alloy, however I have yet to try them. Nolan, can I implore you to please consider using a caseback ball at the very least. It will keep you from marking any caseback and will offer you a little more torque. Not only that, but it will save your tweezer tips.

By: Ann

Ann — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:35:31 +0000

Thank you very much for the post! It is really informative.

By: Aimeri

Aimeri — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:27:17 +0000

Thanks Greg! I suppose I was not really thinking when I thought about buying cheap tools. I decided that I will invest on good quality tools and will not buy them bundled. My wife, who is a very sensible person, suggested that I could buy tools a little by little, but investing on good quality ones. Right now I am trying to decide on what loupe I should buy.

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:04:17 +0000

Aimeri, your friend is right about cheap tools. I’ve been wrenching all my adult life. First as an jet mechanic in the Air Force and as an auto mechanic. 30+ years. I found through experiance,that the cheaper the tool the more frustrating the project was. And if the tool broke for lack of quality, the profanity did not lack. Get the best tools from the get go, the last thing you want is to believe your not a good watchmaker when its the tools that suck. I like Snap-on tools over all, then Mac.
J.Edwards and J.P. if you could let us know what is the number one tool brand, that would be great.
Don’t worry about the cost of quality tools, because the most exspensive tool in the box is the one you don’t use.

By: aimeri

aimeri — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:34:21 +0000

Or maybe I was wrong and what I did find was the #10 plate which is 3x for the optivisor, which would take me back to the loupes, but again, which one? What is the best focal point for a watchmaker with good vision?

By: aimeri

aimeri — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:19:44 +0000

Nolan, thanks for the optivisor idea. My mentor has one and I’ve worked with it. I sort of liked the idea of being able to use both my eyes to see the movement, but the magnification on his optivisor was less than useful, at 2x I believe.
Now heres my question to you all: Loupe or Optivisor? I like the variety of magnification I can find out there, but I hate being limited to the focal points for the loupes going 7x and up. I have a 10x loupe that needs a focal point of 1”. Hardly enough to work with, really. I’ve found some optvisors that have 10x at a focal point of 4” which sounds quite good to me, but then again I’m afraid I will be spending money with something that will not be ideal. I believe that this debate is probably a matter of choice, but I would be interested to hear your experiences.

By: Nolan

Nolan — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:42:26 +0000

I started by going to a watch repair school that was run by a technical college right after I graduated from high school. There was a grand total of 4 of us who actually applied ourselves and went all the way through the program that was a year long. It really was a very basic course, which I found out what all I didn’t know when I went to work at a large jewelry store right out of school.
Most of the instruction was some lecture and practice, practice, practice. A mentor situation would really be ideal to get some direction and you go home and practice.
I would suggest buying a cheap pocket watch just because it has large pieces and you can see how the pieces work easier.
I would suggest a good loupe or binocular magnifying lenses I used a Optivisor
here is a link to a picture of what I mean http://www.esslinger.com/optivisor-1.aspx
it’s easier to use without trying to learn how to use one eye with a single loupe.

I wasn’t in a high end shop it was basic cleaning of regular watches , rarely ever even saw a Rolex, and battery replacement, watchband work and the like. I may be burned at the stake for this…but for opening snap back cases, I used a sturdy pocket knife. and for most screw back cases, I used a pair of small needle nose pliers. But I did have a case wrench to use if needed.

On the issue of buying tools. Get as good of a set as you can and they will last a long time. Cheap ones will be replaced many times.

By: aimeri

aimeri — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:32:20 +0000

You are absolutely right J.Edwards. I have this tendency to think: “Well, I’m just an apprentice so I don’t need the best tools around just to get started.” but a wise friend of mine once told me that no mater how good you are, if your tools are mediocre your work will be mediocre too. Of course he was talking about saxophones but I think the same principles applies here.

I do want to work with high-end watches, even if at the moment I don’t have the skills for it. I know that when I go to watchmaking school they will have me buying more tools and I will learn everything about them, but I need to be able to start now, therefore the need for decent tools. Thank you for opening my eyes to that reality.

Again, I appreciate a lot all the expertise that you guys bring to people like me and many others looking for encouragement and knowledge.