I do agree about the usual advice given to start on a pocket watch, if you are getting into this hobby. The caveat should be to start on a modern and working movement. I started with a new ETA 6497 clone that I made into a pocket watch. I do love the beauty of these old pocket watches. I've had the privilege to work on two old Elgins (1915 Grade 344 and 1937 Grade 315) and a 1927 Hamilton 992 that were family heirlooms. Each had their issues and none of these would have been a good project to start into this hobby with.
I love these old Elgins. They're simple and easy to work on, and they look amazing. Also, the reason the pallet looks the way it does, yes it is a counter balance. Elgin had what they called a 'Poised' pallet fork, and it was in most of their higher end movements.
great video and a very sweet idea. I had a situation where i had a seller said a pocket watch was serviced and its running well however on closer inspection when i got it i noticed a few screws missing namely the case and one of the balance cap jewel screws. not to mention it was running poorly. . the dial on my watch was drop dead gorgeous in great condition and the hands are in great shape. i am gating mine serviced by my trusted watchmaker.
I really enjoyed this production. I showed my youngest son (35) and sent him the link today (Father's day) I think he would make a really good watchmaker. He seemed interested. Your Mom absolutely will love it, really thoughtful of you. I gave him my grandfathers pocket watch but it doesn't work these days (I never serviced it). He could probably fix it with a little bit of youtube direction.
I enjoy them as well, but they do pose their own set of challenges. I really need to find a good set of jewel rubbing tools if I am ever going to get to the point of replacing just the damaged jewels and not the full setting. It is nice working on larger parts sometimes though.
Wow absolutely beautiful. I think you did a excellent job. And at a time when I am in the hospital, it really helps to make the day so much better. Keep them coming Adam. Dan C
Beautiful pieces for sure. Great job on both. I loved how your stepfather’s movement had an almost pinstriped suit feel to its decoration and your mother’s was like a floral dress, so perfectly suited for each other, really awesome!
Adam, you are so inspiring to watch work! I'm in the process of cleaning and refurbishing an old Waltham pocket watch for my father-in-law for Christmas, and I can sense in your video the pride you take in your work, especially when it means so much to you and your family. My favorite part of the video was the polishing. Brought out the shine perfectly!
The devil is in the details as you've proven with this service. The jewels need to inspected very closely as you've done here. Excellent work! Your care and handling of the parts is noteworthy. The final shot with both watches was so satisfying!
The purpose of the "mustache" on the pallet fork was used in early timepieces such as this in order to balance or "poise" the escape lever. This helped with keeping the watch accurate while being held in different positions.
Fabulous job. I'm like your mum and am just beginning to recognise the various bits and bobs of these wonderful little machines that I've taken for granted until I started watching watch restoration channels such as yours and our lovely Joe (The Nekkid Watchmaker) over here in the UK. Who'd have thought this 59 year old lady who normally crochets would find herself starting a little collection of watches just for fun. Nothing expensive, just little vintage ones a few not so vintage..from Rotary to Ingasoll to Sekonda etc.. There are some gorgeous old cocktail watches I just get for a few quid because they're quirky and pretty, plus they work!!! Bob's your uncle..as we say here. I loved seeing this pocket watch though as it's much easier to see the basic workings and related jobs the bits and bobs do. I'm sure your mum loved her present, I know I would if it were for me.😁😍 maybe at some point I'll try my hand at being an old lady tinkerer if my eyesight can cope! But theres always ways around crappy vision if the needs must! Sorry for the waffling. I've subscribed and am looking forward to seeing your next video. Until then I'll catch up on your previous ones and do a bit of binge watching..it's so relaxing. All the best. Kate xx
What a wonderful and thoughtful comment. Thanks so much Kate! I really appreciate you taking the time write that out and for subscribing. We say 'Bob's your uncle' here too (at least in my little part of the central US)!
@@WeekendWatchRepair oh my goodness! Thanks for the reply. I never knew that Bob's your uncle is used over the pond. I've been watching a few (okay a lot) of your previous videos today, very nice voice to listen to while crocheting. I can't stand the regular TV over here it's just awful so I mainly watch a lot of TH-cam. I won another nice little vintage watch today (Seiko)? You've got me looking at pocket watches now so I may have to pick your brains if allowed about a good but not too expensive one 😁 have a great Sunday. Regards to your mum. Kate x
Infind that when not sure if its reverse thread screw, wind it just a bit, the screw will generally unscrew the opposite way the wheel turns. I have a few Elgin with gold cases as well. Beautiful work. Awesome camera work too. I struggle with that lol
I struggle with some camera work as well. Sometimes when I get totally focused on working on the watch I might forget to adjust a camera. I'm trying to remember that I'm constantly filming, lol. Thanks for the kind words. That's also a helpful hint about determining if a screw is reverse threaded or not. I'll keep that trick in mind and will try it out on a future watch. Thank you.
Nice work, your camera skills are right up there with some of the best horological tinkerers on the tube, keep up with this calibre content and you will definitely get to 100k subs, takes a little time but I really do think you’ve got the gift of entertaining. Happy holidays to you from us over the pond. 🙏😉👌
The canon pinion usually pops up when you remove the hands. I find this happens quite often. Nice job on this one. Nicely decorated Elgin. Watches I service and sell always come with time graph data. Hope your mom loved the watch!
I just received my first pocket watch as my Christmas gift. I've been on a TH-cam binge watching mission trying to learn as much as I can. I'm having a hard time trying to understand how the jewels can crack or chip on a mechanism so precise and delicate as a watch movement. Rookie question - What causes them to chip?
The jewels are very hard, but as a consequence they are also brittle. They can chip if a large enough shock is applied to the watch, like dropping it, banging it against something, etc.
I look at another watch repair channel, and he use denture cleaner on enameled dials. When he has a cracked dial, it cleans it out perfectly, and you cannot even see the crack in the dial.
this watch here was "serviced" taken apart possibility oiled with god knows what that makes everything worse and then they put back together with little care and sold as a serviced watch. i got a few watches like this in the past always sold a serviced by a "master watchmaker". "its funny what some people call a service " a quote from my watchmaker.
Yes, unfortunately that seems to be the case far too often. I've had quite a few of those come across my bench as well. This one ended up being properly repaired and serviced in the end and is now running excellent. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Hi, I'm still learning, but yesterday I won one of these watches (For repair or parts). I intend to follow along with your video and make it right again just as you did. Thank you very much for doing this watch and showing all the small details. Where did you get your replacement jewels and replacement crystal from? - Thomas
That's great to hear. I bought my jewels from a seller I found on eBay, but if you measure the jewel OD and pivot width, you can order them from one of a couple parts supply houses. I believe I got the crystal from Esslinger or Otto Frei.
@@WeekendWatchRepair Thanks so much for the quick reply. I’m a very mechanical-kind of guy so this should be interesting. But I do have to admit, that’s a LOT of parts! That’s why I’m so glad for your video. Don’t worry though, I plan to take lots of pictures and do some drawings as well.
Stellar video production! I only work on wristwatches and was wondering why you removed the hole jewels from the mainplate after removing the cap jewels? Is there a benefit to cleaning them while out of the mainplate vs. leaving them in situ?
Mainly because I did not want them to come out during the wash. With the cap jewels removed, they could potentially come out, and with each jewel being specific to each position it was a way to keep them all organized during the cleaning process.
I just got a Bulova pocket watch and the crystal fell right out when I took the watch out the package. I’m trying to figure out how to put it back. Looks like a drop in style. Are these things secured with glue or press fit? There is a lip that it sits on. When I drop it in. Need a little help. Any tips would help.
Some are tension fit, and others are attached with adhesive. It just depends. Is there a slight lip that the crystal would slide under? If it just rests on top, it would likely use adhesive. G-S Hypo Cement works well.
@@WeekendWatchRepair thank you I will try that. I will really take another good look at the way the bezel is designed. It maybe the wrong size crystal on there. I noticed the long hand is slightly bent in a bit. Not sure it it’s suppose to be like that. Doesn’t seem to rub on the dial. But I can see a few scratches at the tippy end. So brings me back to thinking it may need a higher dome crystal. It’s my first pocket watch too. I’ll double check when I get off work. But thanks for your help. Appreciate it.
Sir I am an amateur watchmaker from Singapore learning how to repair pocket watches too. I have one pocketwatch that i have hit a roadblock on and would like you to service as a video ! How can this wish of mine come true ?
I do appreciate you reaching out to me, but at this time unfortunately I am unable to accept commissions. There are a few things I need to get put in place before I can accept incoming watch shipments. Thank you though. It means a lot that you'd think of me for this project.
@@WeekendWatchRepair thank you very much sir for replying to me ! I really appreciate you trying to help me and I understand that at the moment it’s not possible for me ! Thank you so much and I would like to say I learnt a lot from my watchmaking journey watching your videos sir !!
Patek Phillip invented the keyless works and back when they did if you wanted a keyless pocket watch you had to buy a patek Phillip cuz they held the patent for it for so long. Even decoration serves a purpose such as perlage and Geneva striping is used to collect and hold dried oils, dust,debris and small metal shavings so that they don’t get lodged or fall down into the movement. I’m sorry but due to the decoration actually serving a good purpose if there isn’t perlage under the balance imo the movement isn’t technically finished and if you see it this way you can understand why ppl don’t like seiko movements cuz due to the lack of decoration on the movement their movements technically aren’t finished and not as good as most Swiss movements. I don’t do seiko movements and a lot of enthusiasts also don’t due seiko movements due to their movements not having decoration and being unfinished. It’s like, they work but if you don’t decorate the movement then the movement isn’t really complete and is really just half ass done imo. And no one wants a movement that’s just not complete or finished or just half done. So even the decoration on a movement serves a purpose. And if there isn’t any decoration on the movement that purpose isn’t being served. But just cuz that purpose isn’t being served doesn’t mean it isn’t a decent movement or not a good movement design and couldn’t be perfect and probably would be perfect if it were decorated. I hope that makes when regarding decoration.
BW Raymond is one of the nicest versions of an Elgin. Good taste.
Thanks. She is enjoying the pocket watch.
I do agree about the usual advice given to start on a pocket watch, if you are getting into this hobby. The caveat should be to start on a modern and working movement. I started with a new ETA 6497 clone that I made into a pocket watch. I do love the beauty of these old pocket watches. I've had the privilege to work on two old Elgins (1915 Grade 344 and 1937 Grade 315) and a 1927 Hamilton 992 that were family heirlooms. Each had their issues and none of these would have been a good project to start into this hobby with.
I love these old Elgins. They're simple and easy to work on, and they look amazing. Also, the reason the pallet looks the way it does, yes it is a counter balance. Elgin had what they called a 'Poised' pallet fork, and it was in most of their higher end movements.
Excellent info, I appreciate you so much.
"it was just serviced not that long ago" hahaha, great job thanks for sharing
There’s only one word to describe this video, absolutely completely bloody marvelous.
Thanks so much.
Is the one word Marvelous? 😂
Very cool project, you’re a good son
I try. It's the least I could do.
great video and a very sweet idea. I had a situation where i had a seller said a pocket watch was serviced and its running well however on closer inspection when i got it i noticed a few screws missing namely the case and one of the balance cap jewel screws. not to mention it was running poorly. . the dial on my watch was drop dead gorgeous in great condition and the hands are in great shape. i am gating mine serviced by my trusted watchmaker.
Thanks.
I really enjoyed this production. I showed my youngest son (35) and sent him the link today (Father's day) I think he would make a really good watchmaker. He seemed interested. Your Mom absolutely will love it, really thoughtful of you. I gave him my grandfathers pocket watch but it doesn't work these days (I never serviced it). He could probably fix it with a little bit of youtube direction.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Thank you.
THE PALLET FORK IS MADE IN THIS MANNER TO REDUCE THE POSSIBILITY OF OVERBANKING .
Thank you for that into. I appreciate it.
Pocketwatches are some of our favorite pieces!
I enjoy them as well, but they do pose their own set of challenges. I really need to find a good set of jewel rubbing tools if I am ever going to get to the point of replacing just the damaged jewels and not the full setting. It is nice working on larger parts sometimes though.
That's amazing to gift your mom a watch like this. I just found this channel and I also like repairing watches! Funny thing is my name is also Adam!!!
Awesome!
Wow absolutely beautiful. I think you did a excellent job. And at a time when I am in the hospital, it really helps to make the day so much better. Keep them coming Adam.
Dan C
Thank you Dan. I hope you get better soon.
Beautiful pieces for sure. Great job on both. I loved how your stepfather’s movement had an almost pinstriped suit feel to its decoration and your mother’s was like a floral dress, so perfectly suited for each other, really awesome!
I totally agree!
The photography is SUPER - what colors !
Thank you very much.
Looks fantastic!
Great work, and what a lovely gesture.
Thank you.
Adam, you are so inspiring to watch work! I'm in the process of cleaning and refurbishing an old Waltham pocket watch for my father-in-law for Christmas, and I can sense in your video the pride you take in your work, especially when it means so much to you and your family. My favorite part of the video was the polishing. Brought out the shine perfectly!
Thank you Matt. I'm really glad you enjoyed the video. Good to hear from you!
Beautiful !
Thank you.
The devil is in the details as you've proven with this service. The jewels need to inspected very closely as you've done here. Excellent work! Your care and handling of the parts is noteworthy. The final shot with both watches was so satisfying!
Thanks so much.
I have my Great Grand fathers pocket watch I need to restore. this video will be a big helpl
That's great to hear. Thank you.
The purpose of the "mustache" on the pallet fork was used in early timepieces such as this in order to balance or "poise" the escape lever. This helped with keeping the watch accurate while being held in different positions.
Thanks for this info. I appreciate it very much.
THE B.W. RAYMOND IS A RAILROAD WATCH , MADE IN 21J . 23J. AND 24 JEWEL GRADES IN THE MODEL YOU HAVE ...MADE BETWEEN 1900 - 1934 YOURS IS A MODEL 9.
I'm sure mom will loved
She certainly did.
Fabulous job. I'm like your mum and am just beginning to recognise the various bits and bobs of these wonderful little machines that I've taken for granted until I started watching watch restoration channels such as yours and our lovely Joe (The Nekkid Watchmaker) over here in the UK. Who'd have thought this 59 year old lady who normally crochets would find herself starting a little collection of watches just for fun. Nothing expensive, just little vintage ones a few not so vintage..from Rotary to Ingasoll to Sekonda etc.. There are some gorgeous old cocktail watches I just get for a few quid because they're quirky and pretty, plus they work!!! Bob's your uncle..as we say here. I loved seeing this pocket watch though as it's much easier to see the basic workings and related jobs the bits and bobs do. I'm sure your mum loved her present, I know I would if it were for me.😁😍 maybe at some point I'll try my hand at being an old lady tinkerer if my eyesight can cope! But theres always ways around crappy vision if the needs must! Sorry for the waffling. I've subscribed and am looking forward to seeing your next video. Until then I'll catch up on your previous ones and do a bit of binge watching..it's so relaxing. All the best. Kate xx
What a wonderful and thoughtful comment. Thanks so much Kate! I really appreciate you taking the time write that out and for subscribing. We say 'Bob's your uncle' here too (at least in my little part of the central US)!
@@WeekendWatchRepair oh my goodness! Thanks for the reply. I never knew that Bob's your uncle is used over the pond. I've been watching a few (okay a lot) of your previous videos today, very nice voice to listen to while crocheting. I can't stand the regular TV over here it's just awful so I mainly watch a lot of TH-cam. I won another nice little vintage watch today (Seiko)? You've got me looking at pocket watches now so I may have to pick your brains if allowed about a good but not too expensive one 😁 have a great Sunday. Regards to your mum. Kate x
You messed up the intake manifold….😂 did a great job on the watch though. Love that example of resonance. Keep up the great work.
Haha! Thanks.
Gorgeous watch and great restoration. Thanks for sharing this.
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you.
It would have been neat to refurbish one 😀 of these pocket watches ⌚️ for my mom 👩, but she died 😢 in 2016. Your friend, Jeff.
great vid and thanks for creating and posting
Thanks for watching.
My heart is so full! I LOVE it! You’re amazing, thank you so much Adam!
Glad you like it.
Infind that when not sure if its reverse thread screw, wind it just a bit, the screw will generally unscrew the opposite way the wheel turns.
I have a few Elgin with gold cases as well.
Beautiful work.
Awesome camera work too. I struggle with that lol
I struggle with some camera work as well. Sometimes when I get totally focused on working on the watch I might forget to adjust a camera. I'm trying to remember that I'm constantly filming, lol. Thanks for the kind words. That's also a helpful hint about determining if a screw is reverse threaded or not. I'll keep that trick in mind and will try it out on a future watch. Thank you.
Nice work, your camera skills are right up there with some of the best horological tinkerers on the tube, keep up with this calibre content and you will definitely get to 100k subs, takes a little time but I really do think you’ve got the gift of entertaining. Happy holidays to you from us over the pond. 🙏😉👌
Wow, thanks so much. Very kind of you to say. Happy holidays to you as well.
The canon pinion usually pops up when you remove the hands. I find this happens quite often. Nice job on this one. Nicely decorated Elgin. Watches I service and sell always come with time graph data. Hope your mom loved the watch!
Good tip! She definitely loved the watch.
This is really neat, good idea 👍
Thank you!
The positional variances on this really impressive! Well done!
Thanks, but it was mostly the watch, lol.
True! But like a golfer and his swing technique (versus the club), your cleaning and care made that happen! @@WeekendWatchRepair
I just received my first pocket watch as my Christmas gift. I've been on a TH-cam binge watching mission trying to learn as much as I can. I'm having a hard time trying to understand how the jewels can crack or chip on a mechanism so precise and delicate as a watch movement. Rookie question - What causes them to chip?
The jewels are very hard, but as a consequence they are also brittle. They can chip if a large enough shock is applied to the watch, like dropping it, banging it against something, etc.
I look at another watch repair channel, and he use denture cleaner on enameled dials. When he has a cracked dial, it cleans it out perfectly, and you cannot even see the crack in the dial.
That works really well. I didn't see a need to do it on this dial though, as it wasn't that dirty. It is a good technique to use though.
@WeekendWatchRepair agreed! BTW...really like your channel! Love your honesty!!! 😄
Thank you.
this watch here was "serviced" taken apart possibility oiled with god knows what that makes everything worse and then they put back together with little care and sold as a serviced watch. i got a few watches like this in the past always sold a serviced by a "master watchmaker". "its funny what some people call a service " a quote from my watchmaker.
Yes, unfortunately that seems to be the case far too often. I've had quite a few of those come across my bench as well. This one ended up being properly repaired and serviced in the end and is now running excellent. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Hi,
I'm still learning, but yesterday I won one of these watches (For repair or parts). I intend to follow along with your video and make it right again just as you did. Thank you very much for doing this watch and showing all the small details. Where did you get your replacement jewels and replacement crystal from? - Thomas
That's great to hear. I bought my jewels from a seller I found on eBay, but if you measure the jewel OD and pivot width, you can order them from one of a couple parts supply houses. I believe I got the crystal from Esslinger or Otto Frei.
@@WeekendWatchRepair Thanks so much for the quick reply. I’m a very mechanical-kind of guy so this should be interesting. But I do have to admit, that’s a LOT of parts! That’s why I’m so glad for your video. Don’t worry though, I plan to take lots of pictures and do some drawings as well.
Ha! I beat you by two years! My next video is a complete revision of my recently aquired 1921 FHF Robert ligne 10 5 '"! I can't wait to see yours!
I'm looking forward to watching it! Thanks Dayton!
Stellar video production! I only work on wristwatches and was wondering why you removed the hole jewels from the mainplate after removing the cap jewels? Is there a benefit to cleaning them while out of the mainplate vs. leaving them in situ?
Mainly because I did not want them to come out during the wash. With the cap jewels removed, they could potentially come out, and with each jewel being specific to each position it was a way to keep them all organized during the cleaning process.
I just got a Bulova pocket watch and the crystal fell right out when I took the watch out the package. I’m trying to figure out how to put it back. Looks like a drop in style. Are these things secured with glue or press fit? There is a lip that it sits on. When I drop it in. Need a little help. Any tips would help.
Some are tension fit, and others are attached with adhesive. It just depends. Is there a slight lip that the crystal would slide under? If it just rests on top, it would likely use adhesive. G-S Hypo Cement works well.
@@WeekendWatchRepair thank you I will try that. I will really take another good look at the way the bezel is designed. It maybe the wrong size crystal on there. I noticed the long hand is slightly bent in a bit. Not sure it it’s suppose to be like that. Doesn’t seem to rub on the dial. But I can see a few scratches at the tippy end. So brings me back to thinking it may need a higher dome crystal. It’s my first pocket watch too. I’ll double check when I get off work. But thanks for your help. Appreciate it.
Sir I am an amateur watchmaker from Singapore learning how to repair pocket watches too. I have one pocketwatch that i have hit a roadblock on and would like you to service as a video ! How can this wish of mine come true ?
I do appreciate you reaching out to me, but at this time unfortunately I am unable to accept commissions. There are a few things I need to get put in place before I can accept incoming watch shipments. Thank you though. It means a lot that you'd think of me for this project.
@@WeekendWatchRepair thank you very much sir for replying to me ! I really appreciate you trying to help me and I understand that at the moment it’s not possible for me ! Thank you so much and I would like to say I learnt a lot from my watchmaking journey watching your videos sir !!
Thank you very much.
Imo you don’t use enough lubricant on the main spring by far.
They were using natural jewels.
where on earth do you get your jewels from?
For this watch I found them on eBay.
Patek Phillip invented the keyless works and back when they did if you wanted a keyless pocket watch you had to buy a patek Phillip cuz they held the patent for it for so long. Even decoration serves a purpose such as perlage and Geneva striping is used to collect and hold dried oils, dust,debris and small metal shavings so that they don’t get lodged or fall down into the movement. I’m sorry but due to the decoration actually serving a good purpose if there isn’t perlage under the balance imo the movement isn’t technically finished and if you see it this way you can understand why ppl don’t like seiko movements cuz due to the lack of decoration on the movement their movements technically aren’t finished and not as good as most Swiss movements. I don’t do seiko movements and a lot of enthusiasts also don’t due seiko movements due to their movements not having decoration and being unfinished. It’s like, they work but if you don’t decorate the movement then the movement isn’t really complete and is really just half ass done imo. And no one wants a movement that’s just not complete or finished or just half done. So even the decoration on a movement serves a purpose. And if there isn’t any decoration on the movement that purpose isn’t being served. But just cuz that purpose isn’t being served doesn’t mean it isn’t a decent movement or not a good movement design and couldn’t be perfect and probably would be perfect if it were decorated. I hope that makes when regarding decoration.
When You ask a seller they will say all is good but more than half the time it is not true.
I'm not sure I'd he knows that he's working on a railroad-grade pocket watch. 😅
Yes, I knew.