Today on Hack A Day: Learn Watch Repair

[von Corax]

It was actually on yesterday, but Hack A Day has an article on how and where to learn to repair mechanical watches.

One particularly interesting resource mentioned is the document

TM 9-1575, the United States War Department Technical Manual on Ordnance Maintenance: Wrist Watches, Pocket Watches, Stop Watches, and Clocks, dated 6 April 1945.

[HAC]

One word of advice.. get good tools.. (and learn how to properly use and care for them..) and its not exactly as easy as that site makes it sound, once you get beyond a clean and oil.. I have watched (pun!) my watchmaker fabricate from scratch a staff for a vintage watch, using a small jewelers lathe.. asked him how hard that was to do, he said it took him about 10 years as an apprentice in London to get to that stage, and even now, it requires full attention and a lot of measuring..  

One bit of advice from experience.. Ultrasonic cleaners can damage really old delicate parts - when in doubt the old styel cleaning machine is a better choice. At any rate when using an ultrasonic - always use a suspended parts basket - never lay parts on the bottom of the cleaner...