Basic guide to watch repair startup by Brian Po

This article talks about basic requirement to start up your first watch repair and serving hobby. 

The first thing you need to start up a workplace for watch repair is a clean room or a spare room. You will then need to purchase a bench to work on it, a flat and square edged table is recommended.

The table top should be clean and flat so that any bits (watch parts) lying around can be detected easily.

Next, you need an adjustable chair so that you can work comfortably at different heights with a straight back.

A fluorescent table lamp is needed to lit up the working place, prefer a small table lamp that is not bulky to actually fill up most of your working bench space.

You should also ensure there are no other things placed on the floor that will hinder your search if ever you accidentally dropped some parts. A clean and neat floor is recommended so that the parts can be easily located and swept up.

Basic tools needed to start up include a brush to wipe away dirt, screwdrivers of different diameters and dust blower. You will also need oilers, magnification glasses, movement holders, tweezers and pliers.

After acquiring the basic tools, you might also want to have a cleaning machine that can be brought second hand. Cleaning machine is used for command cleaning, rinsing steps. A watchmaker’s lathe is also needed for cutting, polishing. Once you have all the required basic tools, you can be on your way to watch repairing.

To start on watch repair, it is recommended to read up more books on watch repair and serving. You can buy videos or books online or even attend a short course at any of the watch and clock serving school. Watch repair call for patience and time, because time is needed to slowly dismantle the parts and after the washing and cleaning steps you will have to put back everything in place.