Comments on: The Horologist’s Shop

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 14:57:43 +0000

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KSJeff said

Not on that level, but I play around with custom Seiko divers. And I’d have pretty limited use for it, but that little steamer on the sink would be great to have.

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Agreed… Also, all the fixtures he has for getting bevels to the right angle, etc… I love **** like that.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 21:33:00 +0000

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rlitman said

I wouldn’t be tacky enough to peen up a watch bracelet with it.

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I’d like to talk big and say I’d do it, but I probably wouldn’t either… That said, I love it when people treat their Rolexes like tools rather than some precious art piece. In my mind, they look so much more real when they have some age and signs of use. Then again, I’ve never bought a new one and have no idea how bad that first scratch might hurt.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 20:52:36 +0000

This thread inspired me to get a watch running today. This is a Bulova Mil-W-3818A from the late 1950’s or early 1960’s. My dad had it in a box that read "service before winding," so I serviced it, cleaned it up a bit, and got it wound. Running really well actually… Pretty little watch.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 17:55:32 +0000

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rlitman said

It sure is. You can see the machine at 4:52. Its an MS 3.5 laser welder. Look up Freeform Fabrication Dado laser welder. Pretty awesome technology using a microscope and mixing laser pulses for heat input (unlike an electric arc) with an inert gas (as needed), with the ability to add filler wire. I’ve used TIG with DC currents below 5A (and a 0.5mm tungsten) to weld 1/16" stainless rods, but getting the arc concentrated where you need it at those power levels is tricky, even if you have the magnification. And you can forget about it entirely with AC. Lasers don’t wander at low power levels, and can focus onto a much smaller spot than an arc, so you can do crazy stuff like this. And with a much more concentrated heat, you have a smaller HAZ and can weld onto difficult alloys like titanium.

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I so want to play with that machine… and I want to do it with very little supervision for some reason.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 17:09:29 +0000

More specialized tools in this one:

That welder is fascinating… I have no idea what’s going on there.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 16:28:38 +0000

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rlitman said

Wow, that was one real basket case to begin with. I’m with you, always erring on the side of conservation rather than restoration, but when all you have to work with is something abused beyond usability you have to weigh the historical value you would be destroying vs the value you are recovering by returning it to a usable state. My guess is the current owner has no idea who Uschi ever was.

Those sides do leave the factory polished like that, and polishing them is pretty much accepted as part of a cleaning nowadays (along with refreshing the brushed pattern). It’s a practice I really don’t comprehend, as I prefer the patina they both acquire (both blending towards a rubbed satin) through use. But some people really like the look of "desk divers".

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I’m weird about watches. My dad was a full blown collector and I inherited much of it. I kept most of the tool and military watches and sold the rest to put towards my kid’s college educations, but I kind of got into it all with the research required to market what I did sell.

What I learned is that I don’t care for restored watches. I prefer watches that show their history, but are mechanically maintained. I would much rather own a watch that is beat to hell and shows its history than a watch that looks as though it sat in a box it”s whole life.

And you know what I like even more? Frankenwatches. Watches that are pieced together from parts I appreciate – even if they are from different eras… even if some of the parts used are "fake" reproduction parts… For instance, I love early Rolex Explorers, but don’t have 50k sitting around to buy one. But I do have an old Rolex Air King case… and an ETA 2824 movement. Add a fake dial, a Tudor handset, and a OEM crown and… Bingo… I have a couple of hundred dollars in a watch that I absolutely love, but the watch world HATES. I love that stuff…

But this guy… he’s operating in an entirely different league when it comes to craftsmanship and knowledge. What I do is basically just hacking stuff together and hoping it works. What he does actually creates value, provenance, and longevity. Honestly, I don’t even know enough to fully understand how good he is, which probably says everything.

And the tools… my god. They’re incredible. I’d love nothing more than to spend a day in that shop, just playing with everything, poking around, and seeing if I could even begin to figure out how it all works.