How "hands on" are you?

[man of kent]

I like to tinker; I would class myself as a noob tinkerer, but happy to have a crack at some of the more basic tasks. I can swap a mechanical movement, remove and replace hands (albeit not perfectly), change the odd dial here and there, pop bezels off, and generally tinker with bracelets and other peoples battery replacements etc. My tool kit is basic and small; and it all fits into a small toolbox. I don't have any training and am hampered by the limitations of my tools and working conditions. I would like to learn more, and upgrade some of my equipment and I got to thinking what you guys are comfortable doing inside a watch's guts?

[is that my watch]

bout the same if I have bought cheap will go at it ... but if it's expensive probably get the watch-smith to do it

[MarkO]

Honestly, nothing beyond changing a strap.

[I-B]

right now i am teaching myself how to mod a watch. I did a positive/negative mod on 2 cheap G-shock's and i ordered the 55 fathoms-kit to mod a Seiko 5. The kit is on it's way and i allready have a Seiko 5 sports diver to mod. It will be the first time i work on a mechanic watch, so i'm curious how it will go...

[Martin]

I have enough stuff to do the same as described in the OP. This is usually enough for some modding. One tool I'd advise is a handsetter like this one.


It beats the 'pen' type as you always push the on straight. I've bend quite some hands using the old method.

Oh, and a dial protector is also very useful. Trust me, I know

[Der Amf]

Honestly, nothing beyond changing a strap.

Even that feels excessively adventurous to me Once a watch gets the right strap for it, on it stays

PS can destroy a strap in the name of removing it

[scottjc]

I'm about the same as the OP.
I have a basic toolkit, albeit I'm trying to get good quality kit (Bergeon) as I go, and am happy swapping movements and have just completed my first dial swap.
Sent from my Nokia Lumia 1020 using Tapatalk

[I-B]

I have enough stuff to do the same as described in the OP. This is usually enough for some modding. One tool I'd advise is a handsetter like this one.


It beats the 'pen' type as you always push the on straight. I've bend quite some hands using the old method.

Oh, and a dial protector is also very useful. Trust me, I know

Thx for sharing Martin

[93EXCivic]

I have done a couple mods and I am about to attempt a major project that involves reshaping the case, making a custom movement ring for a different movement, changing the hand size and then reassembly. I like the hands on aspect. Honestly I'd get bored with this hobby if it was just collecting watches. Also in the middle of building a few watch boxes (one for my wife, one for a friend and two for me). Also by the end of this year I want to start learning how to service movements.

I will probably do some how-to blogs along the way.

[Henry Krinkle]

Oh, and a dial protector is also very useful. Trust me, I know

+1. That is a lesson that only needs to be learned once...