Reply To: Crisp and sharp pics.

[willofiam]

Hey Ed, when your in the middle of all the action there are 2 things you can do, jump up and go out in a blaze of glory, or access the situation and reload, in other words either buy up more stuff and hope for the best or study and fix the ones you have, sell and build a strong knowledge base. I bet when you first started shooting the m-16 you were not as good as you are now, same concept here..practice, understand, practice more…I just thought of this. the acronym I used while teaching marksmanship was BRASS, breath, relax, aim squeeze, shoot (reminding me of the old days)

Go at it slow and methodical. Take notes, pictures, understand how it is functioning, do a complete disassemble and fix everything that needs fixin…..
I believe this forum and Bobs course’s want to promote proper repair techniques and as far as I am concerned I feel a great obligation to do the best job I can as I am just a short time steward of these clocks as they go thru my hands, especially when they are someones family heirloom, I am honored by the trust they have that I would do a proper job. I have been burned by some other guys quick fix for a clock and it hurts when I dont see the issue and buy it, I refuse to do that to someone else.
Reason I am saying this is, to get the howard miller or any other clock up and running and possibly resell it for someone to enjoy it for years to come you have to do a complete job….the best way is to learn how to completely take it apart, fix, and reassemble successfully.

First you have to get very familiar with and understand some of the simpler clocks, maybe your already there, I do not know. Take the easiest clock you have that is not running but complete, maybe a time only, maybe a time and strike American movement, do a complete overhaul (service) and work on it until you get it up and running perfectly….do not buy anything else or work on anything else until it is done.….sounds like a long process? yes, but in the end it will save you time, frustration and money.

With that knowledge base the next clock will build upon that knowledge and so on until your confident to repair all different types thoroughly and successfully. this is the solid foundation to grow a business upon. As you may know, word of mouth is either going to make or break a business, Just today a new customer said there is a guy 70 miles from here that everyone is saying “dont bring your clock to him” I didnt even ask why, all I knew was he was at my shop because of what someone else said to him about me….Remember that a clock that is properly repaired will increase the value!!!! But it will also increase YOUR value as a clock repairman. Then we can talk about the money.

What clock do you have that we can start on? what tools do you have for clock repair??? have you ever put in bushings? have you completely removed mainsprings? Are you having a good day??? I hope so, William