June 2016 – Lost Time

Restoration Work (Part 2)

Heat bluing steel watch hands

Last week I collected the Pierce watch hands in my inventory and set about restoring them to their former glory. The hands are carbon steel and have oxidized over the years so the first part of the restoration project was to clean and polish each hand. I started by knocking out the luminous compound from the large hour and minute hands then polishing each hand to a mirror finish using a Dremel tool and jeweler’s polish. Continue reading “Restoration Work (Part 2)”

Restoration Work (Part 1)

Restoring damaged watch hands

Well the past two days I finally got a bit of time in with my hobby again.

On the desk right now I have four Pierce 134 chronographs in various states of repair. The first is actually the Navigator that I serviced earlier which is now in need of a new balance staff. The watch was repaired completely but then took a spill onto the center console of my wife’s Mini Cooper which resulted in a bent pivot. A replacement is on the way from Australia. Continue reading “Restoration Work (Part 1)”

Expanding Operations

Taking on my first apprentice

Well it’s not just me at the watchmaking desk anymore.

Last week while I was feeling a bit under the weather my youngest daughter Ginny, who will soon be five years young, took an interest of the tools at the desk and asked for some wheels to repair. Continue reading “Expanding Operations”

Under the Weather

Stepping back for a full recovery

Not too much to report this week as I’ve been under the weather and haven’t accomplished much at the watchmaking desk. As you can see from the image above, my apprentice has taken over during my absence. Continue reading “Under the Weather”