Hello. My name is Fred (my middle name). I've always wanted to learn how to do watch and clock repair. So over the holiday I signed up for the course. I should do pretty good at it. I also have experience fixing mechanical typewriters, including the Selectric. I am also a band instrument repairman, and violin and harp maker. I'm in the process of getting tools together, some of the tools I already have from other hobbies. I also bought about 5 books on clock/watch repair for the iPad. I can't see anyone being any good, or much less, being able to learn this type of repair without something additional to this course. Maybe I am wrong, but in my full time job, which is teaching electronics repair, anywhere from radios to satellite systems, nothing can beat good overall general principles. Principles must be learned before repair can be done. So between here, my books, and youtube, I will learn watch repair one way or another. I also dug out, so far, 9 old watches that have been sitting in my junk drawer. None of them work, and I can wait to get them going again. My friends also have a collection of old watches that they want to give to me to fix. I will fix them later for them!
One of the first things that I am going to put together is a macro video system. Instead of squinting through a loupe, I plan on setting up a digital camera fed to a 47 inch LED TV. I use an endoscope a lot to do instrument repair so I'm already use to not directly looking at the object. I am surprised that I haven't seen anyone using such a setup. With the camera mounted on a stand, but moveable, I'll be able to magnify the watch so it is huge on my big TV. In fact I may use a switcher with multiple cameras so I can easily switch views of the watch by flipping a switch. Even a web cam connected to a computer will work. If the magnification or focal length is not correct one can try different lenses until you find just the right one. Then mount the lens in a cardboard tube, and hot glue it to the web cam. Once I get all of this set up, I will post pics/video somewhere for everyone to see. I just can't see using only a single eyeball to do repair work, seems very annoying, and very impractical, especially with the technologies available nowdays. Tell me what you think about my idea!
-JFM