Greetings all from Down Under

[fleurenf]

Hi all, Fred here and I’m a complete stranger to this exciting hobby I’m about to undertake.
I’m reaching my next milestone (60 years old) near the end of this year and before I get the shakes, I thought I’d give Horology a go purely because I’m a watch freak and have quite a number of them at home. I live in Adelaide, Australia so no doubt time zones are quite distinct from all members here.

I came across this course doing Google search and to my inexperience it looked to be the best available because of the way the course is laid out and decided to invest in the Ultra version. Why not go all the way I thought

I look forward to some great advise and interaction.

[willofiam]

I have been waiting patiently for someone named Fred to join (I like that name) Welcome, have fun, dont be shy, William

[randy]

Welcome Fred !
Bob’s courses are great…but the real fun you’ll have outside of chasing parts smaller than fleas throughout your shop , will be putting up with us here on the forum !

OK…joking aside…of all the watch forums I’ve been a part of…this one is the best. No ego, no BS ( well a joke now and then )..and some really nice people who all want to help each other to learn.
Some of us have been into this for quite a while…some just starting .

There are no “stupid” questions here…well…most of ’em aren’t ..so fire away and we’ll all do our best to help you find your sanity !!!!

Welcome brother horologist…

R

[tmac1956]

Fred:

Welcome to the forum. You will find people with a wide range of expertise here – AND – they don’t have the attitude issues found in at least one of the bigger organizations. No questions too big and no questions too small. Without a doubt one or more of the folks here can provide you with solid advice on any topic. Well….advice on anything except how to convince your spouse that you need more funds for more tools.

Enjoy bud!

Tom

[fleurenf]

Thanks everyone for your kind responses.

Yes, I’m at the beginners phase and now looking at what the tool requirements are to get started so any advise in this department will be greatly appreciated. I’m sure the course has info on this as well and it will be interesting to see if I can purchase them in Aussie land.

A checklist for tools would be awesome to obtain

[randy]

Fred.
Here’s a link to a page where one person started to list what they use, and some rationale behind it.

http://forums.watchuseek.com/f6/getting-started-guide-watchmaking-tools-688276.html

You can start simple…but eventually you will accumulate a large amount of stuff.

Whenever you can..buy the better tool….but you don’t have to buy everything that Bergeon sells.
Many of their items are really good..but some don’t hold the quality associated with the price.
Go slow…read about other’s experiences as you make your purchases.

Best,

Randy

[namonllor1953]

Hello Fred,
Welcome aboard and I hope much success comes your way.
I’m relatively new here and can say that the folks here are second to none when it comes to helping. It’s a great learning atmosphere!
I don’t know what books if any you have but, in most of my books descriptions and how-to’s on many tools are given and it can save you a nice chunk of change.
At any rate enjoy yourself,

[stevefitzwater]

Welcome Mate!

lots of fun here, as well as lots of good knowledge!

Personally, I like to play the role of the sponge, and soak up all the tasty goodness that people have shared in the forum, my search button for the forum is about worn off. 😆

welcome to the addiction… Horology and tool collecting!

[bamadadof3]

@tmac1956 wrote:

Fred:

Welcome to the forum. You will find people with a wide range of expertise here – AND – they don’t have the attitude issues found in at least one of the bigger organizations. No questions too big and no questions too small. Without a doubt one or more of the folks here can provide you with solid advice on any topic. Well….advice on anything except how to convince your spouse that you need more funds for more tools.

Enjoy bud!

Tom

Tom to are not kidding about the other place. I have noticed it also and it seems to be getting worse. I have received some good advice and info there and I am a member but it seems like someone has to ruin a thread by talking down someones advice especially if they are just hobbyist like myself. Seems they think if you aren’t a fully certified watchmaker your opinion shouldn’t matter.

have a great day and glad I haven’t seen anything like that here!

Glenn In Alabama

[bernie weishapl]

Welcome Fred. Lots of good people and lots of knowledge here.

[fleurenf]

Thanks again for your kind responses.

I was checking out the website for watch spare parts and it keeps on coming up with Steampunk watch parts

Are they any good for watch repairs in general?

[cusimano]

Hi Fred,
I’m also pretty new to this, and by far these guys on this forum are really nice.
I search the internet a lot, I find the steampunk stuff a mixed bag of mostly junk.
But I have found some really nicely priced watch cases. Most of the movements and such are missing parts.
I think its a shame sometimes when I see something that maybe just needed cleaning or a mainspring and was instead was dismantled.
That being said, if more steampunkers embraced watchmaking I believe that they would be fixing lots of pocket watches.
The steampunkers are cleaver and build a lot of cool stuff.
So, I have mixed feeling.
Regardless, welcome,
Chris

[Bob Tascione]

Welcome Fred!
Glad to see you made it up here.

Bob

[arutha]

Hi Fred,
I think the other guys have pretty much said everything there is to say. This is a great forum and a very pleasant forum. We all asked what we thought were dumb questions when we started out but the truth is the question is only dumb if its never asked!
Paul

[blondfellow]

Gidday Fred, good to see another Aussie on board. I’m from down south Western Australia. I’m a reasonably new comer myself and have found this forum to be the best and the people on here are great, always there with helpful and experienced information.

[Author]

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