Making do

We’ve written articles before about doing some watchmaking work at home for the humble hobbyist. Strap and cell replacements, maybe a 7S26 DIY (hint hint for those with nothing to do). Well now it’s time for your humble apprentice to get a slice of the at-home watchmaker pie. It’s easy enough to just tell someone to set up at home and get started. Here are three tips and tricks (without repeating tool selection and so on from previous articles) I have recently discovered that will hopefully make your setup a little smoother. I obviously have it very good in the city and one thing that comes with living a life of luxury is that when you no longer do, it’s easy to see what you’ve taken for granted. First up. A desk/bench. You may remember from a couple of days ago my quest to acquire a desk (Thursday delivery can’t come soon enough). It is absolutely crucial to have one for the safety of your watch components and your trapezius muscles. My suggestions for a desk; Best case scenario, you’ll get a fully fitted Bergeon, Boley, or Crevoisier. Some can be fitted with a dust extraction hood, fully enclosed, vacuum pump for handling parts without tweezers, lockable drawers, electronic height adjustment, and the list goes on. You can even get an inert gas assembly chamber (obviously so once the watch is sealed, no oxygen is trapped inside which prevents corrosion). Don’t be surprised if you have to sell all the watches you were going to work on just to get it. Sane person’s scenario, IKEA’s Skarsta. https://www.ikea.com/au/en/p/skarsta-desk-sit-stand-white-s39324819/ There is a cult following for the Skarsta amongst sit/stand desk forums. Yes such forums exist and they are a plenty. It is one of the best value for money desks and the one that I purchased. Why sit/stand? Well you can use it as a desk normally or raise it up to height for watchmaking (I’d say around 90cm for a human of average height sitting with correct office posture). Unfortunately you may have a hard time getting one. Whilst IKEA is business as usual, I am pretty sure I bought the last one in the state. Soz not soz. Pro tip, I’ve seen people use wide duct tape by putting the tape around the sides and back of the desk half on the edge and half free above the desk. This will stop most parts flying off.

Secondly, I would suggest some proper storage. For parts and for tools. Whatever you get, make sure you can close it well enough so that little pet animals (that includes humans) can’t get their grubby prying fingers all over your birth year red sub dial and hands whilst you aren’t looking. You probably won’t need much so a small arts and crafts type chest of drawers to go under your desk is a good bet. For on top, usually your tools are spread out all over the desk. Personally, I hate that. Only my currently being used screwdrivers, lubricant, and rodico are around me as I work. If I need anything else, it gets used and then promptly put back exactly where it goes, away from me. When parts flick out of tweezers, they’ll be much easier to find. Again, little paintbrush storage type boxes are usually a light, cheap, and organised solution. Having to box up an entire workstation and put it in the second bedroom makes it difficult to find the motivation to unbox everything again tomorrow.

Third, distraction control. Really with these three things you’re good to go. But poor distraction control will negate even the best desk and storage. Lock yourself up, lock everyone else up, or live on your own. Those are your options. You don’t want nefarious, degenerate creatures (that includes humans), to start climbing on things, asking annoying questions, meowing. They will make your life difficult and you risk component damage. By them or indeed by you. However it is nice to have someone to bring you snacks and coffee every now and again. Please in the name of Saint Eligius (patron saint of watchmaking although most believe it should be Breguet and rightfully so), do not eat near your work. -Andrew

There are tools - and then there are tools

Not all watchmakers’ tools are made the same. A professional tradesman is primarily looking for quality and longevity, as well as serviceability of a tool. Meaning that if you were to invest in a screwdriver, you would not only expect it to last for decades, but you expect that a toolmaker would provide spare blades, invest in research and development of a better tool while continuing to expand the range. And there is another kind of tools known within the trade as 'boutique tools'.  Those watchmaking tools are simply designed to impress. A Patek or Lange or Cartier technician is not going to use a $10 spring bar tool on a $100,000 watch - but a tool designed to match the quality of the watch itself. So when it comes to high-end boutique tools,  the undisputed king of bling is tools made by Bergeon. Bergeon is a Swiss watchmakers’ toolmaker, established in 1791.  Over 228 years of undisrupted history and tradition, and for all those years a synonym for both quality and reputation. A kind of Patek of Swiss toolmaking. And like Patek, Bergeon sets its own standards and rules. Yesterday, we got our first delivery of Bergeon tools. Two large boxes filled with screwdrivers, movement holders, tweezers, pliers, two staking sets - and much more. Yes, we are now an official Bergeon AD! Amongst the tools we now carry in stock are 3 very specific "Boutique Tools" from their prestige "Smile" range: two spring bar double-ended removal tools and one pin pusher. The kind of tools to match your half a million dollar watch; tools designed to be photographed next to any perpetual calendar or tourbillon. Price? Well - who cares! If you wonder which spatula you should buy then my advice is - buy both. The difference between the two tools is in the small detail: one spatula is slightly wider than the other and also slightly curved. Both tools are primarily designed for the removal of spring bars on leather straps. The pin pusher has a 0.80mm diameter tip and is suitable for spring bars fitted on 'pin hole' cases.

Pin extractor - http://shop.clockmaker.com.au/home/104-bergeon-smile-line-pin-extractor-ref-7050-609-080.html Spring bar tools http://shop.clockmaker.com.au/home/102-bergeon-smile-line-spring-bar-tool-ref-7050-603.html http://shop.clockmaker.com.au/home/103-bergeon-smile-line-spring-bar-tool-ref-7050-602-s.html ***Bergeon Rodico - $9 My grandfather has been using it for over 70 years, my father for well over 60, and I am using it daily, and there’s not the slightest doubt that my son and my apprentices will use Bergeon Rodico for the rest of their lives.  Unchanged formula.  Unchanged properties.  Simply the best cleaning product designed for watchmakers on the market. Rodico is a special watchmaker's cleaning product.  It is used for cleaning, balance pivots, train wheel pivots, removing finger prints and stain from plates, bridges, dials, hands; removing excess oil from watch jewels and taking out broken pivots from the jewels. Equally useful for professionals and watch enthusiasts, and especially those who are taking the case back off their watches or doing minor repairs. A $9 bar of Rodico will last you for years.  Actually when I think of it, Rodico is so superior that there has never been an attempt by another maker to substitute it.  It’s impossible. Of course, Bergeon products come in their own Bergeon packaging boxes and, yes, there are watch enthusiasts who simply collect Bergeon as they would collect Rodico watches.  The box itself and all Bergeon packaging material is equally as important as the product itself. http://shop.clockmaker.com.au/home/101-bergeon-rodico-cleaning-product-ref-6033-30.html ***Polywatch Polywatch - our short tutorial on polishing plexi/hesalite glasses created a lot of interest, as expected.  However, for those of you who ordered only one a cloth or only the polish you need both to achieve my result.  The cloth itself will not remove scratches.   Order Microfibre Watch Cleaning Cloth - http://shop.clockmaker.com.au/home/67-watch-cleaning-cloth-18-x-18cm.html Order Polywatch - http://shop.clockmaker.com.au/home/99-polywatch-plastic-polish.html If you missed our tutorial on how to perfectly polish plexi glass in under 3 minutes visit our blog: https://nickhacko.blogspot.com/2019/02/diy-how-to-perfectly-polish-plexi-glass.html