Newbie , tools

[sparkey0151]

Hi all, i am new to clock and watch repairing, i am doing it as a hobby at the moment, just wondering about tools and what should i purchase from the get go, i think my main problem is punches ie sizes and types needed, i am looking to purchase an old staking set to cover the punch side of things but am wondering if these are ok for clocks which is my main interest, thanks in advance for your reply’s and look forward to getting involved with the forum.

regards john

[Bob Tascione]

Hi John and welcome to the forum.
A watchmakers staking set for clock repair can come in handy and just about any set that has an assortment of punches would work for you. You might find a clockmakers punch set even more valuable to you when starting out. You can purchase these from just about any clock material supplier online.

As for a list of tools that’s a tough one as different people have different needs determined first by what type of clocks they plan to work on most and their budget. Lots and lots to choose from. You’ll find that the topic of tools has been covered many times up here on the forum so going through some of the past posts and or doing some forum searches will bring up tons of tool related info.
Also if you haven’t already joined my newsletter up on http://LearnTimeOnline.com or Tascione.com then by all means do as some of the newsletters cover tools needed to get started.

Of course you’ll also find many tool recommendations in the videos as you go through them along with demos (which you may have already discovered) so the videos should give you a good start as to what basic tools you’ll need to get started. Also which tools to buy when on a tight budget and more productive tools you can purchase if money is available from the beginning.

Have fun John and again Welcome!!
Bob

[bernie weishapl]

I agree with Bob that a watch staking set is pretty much to small for clocks. It may work in some instances but a clock staking/punch set would be best. I would not worry about those as if you are getting started in clock work as I don’t use mine very often. If clocks will be your main focus I would look for a mainspring winder (my Ollie Baker is 29 yrs old and still works great) and a bushing tool. You can get by without them but the first time a bushing goes in awry like not on center or crooked in the plate or a mainspring becomes coned removing and installing it by hand you will be saying bad words. 😆 😆 Ask me.

Another nice to have piece is a Ultra Sonic cleaner. I cleaned by hand for about 5 yrs before I bought one. The one I have has been a good one and is 26 yrs old. Go to Bobs site Learn Time On Line. It will give you some idea of what you will need.

If I knew 32 yrs ago what I know today other screwdrivers of various sizes, pliers of various shapes and sizes the above 3 items would have been my first purchase. After that it would be a lathe of which I have two. I use those almost daily but you can get by without one for a while.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your replies, I’m going to tread a bit carfull and get good quality tools as it’s a hobby at the moment so will take my time and learn as much as I can and keep on really enjoying my new hobby, just wondered could I get the course on my Android device? I have tried but seems I caint play the video animation parts, it works great on my windows PC but would be nice to have on my tablet

Kind regards john

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