What's your favourite YouTube watch repair channel?

[Neverenoughwatches]

6 hours ago, mbwatch said:

Living the dream.

.......my dream is phone turned off, isolation in my watchroom, shut the door heating on , coffee perculator brewing in the corner, big tv on the wall in front of my bench, surrounded by books, tools and watches ........heaven in a nutshell ❤

[rjenkinsgb]

Marshall is still my favourite, for the simple reason he shows the full re-assembly sequence of whatever watch he's working on, which many others skip parts of. He also admits it when he realises he's made a mistake.

I don't agree with everything he does by any means, but it's entertaining and has some useful information.

Some of the others are good technically, but often spend too much time on things other than the movement itself for me to stay interested, or just skip too much of the re-assembly.

 

[rehajm]

9 hours ago, mbwatch said:

Living the dream.

I like to think I married well …

[mbwatch]

On 9/12/2024 at 8:11 AM, Knebo said:

and I wish he's show some assembly and oiling! Most of the time it's just disassembly. Some theory, which is usually very useful. And fault finding, which is very good and often under-represented in other channels.

I have wondered if Kalle prefers not to film service and assembly for liability purposes. After all, they're all client watches and mostly valuable ones. By filming the disassembly, there's video evidence of what was wrong with the watch. But by not showing the assembly, a client can't return with complaints about technique or perceived corner cutting (as we're all doing in this thread!) He's talked before about what a lot of "Rolex people" are like when they come into the shop, with a lot of demands and sometimes fake watches. I can imagine the hassle it would be if they watched a reassembly of their own timepiece and came back to complain that it didn't follow the exact steps they found in a service manual online somewhere.

I am satisfied enough when he posts the occasional video from the machine areas or something theory related. I think his shop has better things to do than setup a bunch of cameras when they're trying to get the real work done. The difference between a professional workshop's channel and the hobbyist channels.

Edited September 13, 2024 by mbwatch
the "rolex people" bit added.

[SwissSeiko]

14 hours ago, Knebo said:

Funnily, I just stumbled upon their channel just this week. To be honest, I found it horrible. It's not a restoration, but basically making a new dial. Hardly anything of the original dial is left at the end. And if you look closely, they are not great reproductions. The printing is consistently too thick. I saw a video of a Omega Constellation pie pan dial (which, in my opinion, was still quite nice as it was) and the "restoration" visibly softened the edges of the "pie pan" from sharp to rounded. It didn't look original at all at the end.

Well, that's my rant for today. 

I agree with you, they are not restorations, but reproductions. I don't have the eye for the kerning or any of that, so I'm clad you pointed out the inconsistencies! Another channel that the average viewer doesn't understand that its not well done? The square Bulova dial that they did that had 2 different finishes in an X pattern I thought was really cool.

[rehajm]

Kalle regularly mentions how he enjoys the interaction with subscribers on the live streams. (Are there any others that regularly live stream?) Personally I wouldn’t want to move through assembly with all the interruptions. Besides that, all the real work has been done before assembly…

He does have a library of instructional videos and more planned with his upcoming book (an observation, not a paid endorsement…)

15 hours ago, Knebo said:

To be honest, I found it horrible. It's not a restoration, but basically making a new dial. Hardly anything of the original dial is left at the end.

Not an opinion I disagree with but I’ll share this amongst y’all- I sent this one into their shop last month…

Hear me out-  I appreciate heavy patina as much as the next man but this dial has damage…and is visually distracting IMO. I suspect this happened early in it’s life as the rest of the watch is mint- no scratches, tight screw slots, clean and original case. Hat tip to WRT’s Stian who uses the word ‘coherence’- where the parts of the restoration make sense given the wear and age of the piece. Here I don’t think there’s coherence…

…This one’s been sitting for nearly two years hoping I’d find an original JLC replacement but no luck. Perrin had an inexpensive leCoultre which the watch has ATM but now the watch is a bit of a franken…

If all goes well the watch is going to a known owner who has much interest in vintage but little interest in patina…

Edited September 13, 2024 by rehajm

[nickelsilver]

Most of the YT watch channels are irritating to me. But I stumbled on Gentlemen's Watch Services yesterday- just watched one vid and he has the best oiling techinique I've seen. Really good clean work. And he's funny too, "Omega used small screws for this barrel bridge; I'm using a nought-8 screwdriver here- in Imperial that would be- a different number".

 

He has a great trick for pulling the odd cannon pinions on certain Omegas too. This is the vid I watched:

 

[rehajm]

46 minutes ago, nickelsilver said:

Most of the YT watch channels are irritating to me. But I stumbled on Gentlemen's Watch Services yesterday- just watched one vid and he has the best oiling techinique I've seen. Really good clean work. And he's funny too, "Omega used small screws for this barrel bridge; I'm using a nought-8 screwdriver here- in Imperial that would be- a different number".

 

He has a great trick for pulling the odd cannon pinions on certain Omegas too. This is the vid I watched:

 

Haha- three minutes in and already I have three quotables I am stealing and claiming as my own…

1 hour ago, nickelsilver said:

he has the best oiling techinique

…some serious custom shaping on those oilers yes?

[nickelsilver]

29 minutes ago, rehajm said:

Haha- three minutes in and already I have three quotables I am stealing and claiming as my own…

…some serious custom shaping on those oilers yes?

His oilers do look different from what I'm used to. But notice how carefully he picks up oil from the pots- he gets the right amount on the oiler, he knows exactly what he's doing and puts it exactly where it needs to go. On the dial side, right on the side of posts, just enough. On train jewels, just enough, right between the pivot and oil well.

 

He did make one mistake- he had the clutch wheel in backwards at one point (done it a million times myself), but didn't mention it; he just corrected it somewhere and it was right at the end.

 

On the banter- I was bracing myself for having to mute the video, but I ended up laughing out loud several times .

[rehajm]

It looks like a medium or large oiler narrowed into a screwdriver shape and he places like it’s a butter knife, even with the low viscous 9010. No drops for him. The sides of his pots look shallower than mine, too…I’m inspired to up my game a bit…

[mbwatch]

I will be bending an oiler into a hook for 9415 on the pallet jewels as he did. That looked very helpful.

[Neverenoughwatches]

27 minutes ago, mbwatch said:

I will be bending an oiler into a hook for 9415 on the pallet jewels as he did. That looked very helpful.

I use copper strand wire from 1mm flex cable finishes at 0.1 mm , bend it to whatever shape you like to fit around components 

[rehajm]

I don’t seem to have an issue with access or vision when oiling the escape jewel but I like how he manages to place less oil- that last time when its just a little dry…that would be handy

[Waggy]

On 9/12/2024 at 7:14 PM, SwissSeiko said:

I think it should be.... nicer movements

I have to disagree with the above, I have quite a few You-Tube channels I subscribe to, and get bored, and a little irritated, when I scan the new thumbnails and see Rolex, Rolex, Rolex....I much prefer to see the You-Tuber take on the challenge of a beaten up and/or everyday watch that I have not seen before, this is a true test of their skills (they should try out our 404/10:10 threads if they really want to prove their mettle). Putting together a high quality movement is easy, and anyone can look good doing an easy job, but putting together a lower quality and/or unusual movement requires more skill and problem solving and is therefore more interesting, educational and informative. Hence, I much prefer channels like Wristwatch Revival (and others) to fix $20 eBay specials and do not begrudge him making whatever he makes from his channel. Making mistakes is part of the hobby and the fixing of these mistakes is often highly useful and informative and the most interesting parts of the videos (or 'reels' as my teenager says I should now be calling them). For example, if all the channels showed high end movements you would never know what a wig-wag mechanism is or how to fix it. Like some others have mentioned I do get a little frustrated with Wristwatch Revival as he rarely does any work of the case or dial, but then our friend at Nekkid Watchmaker (another firm favorite) has this covered in spades.

On 9/13/2024 at 5:06 AM, rehajm said:

My wife enjoys Kalle

My wife likes watching him too, she finds it endearing that he gets so excited and animated over the polish on a screw, or his 'fish and chip' complaints about an oil swamped movement. I consider Chronoglide to be the gold standard - Kalle is informative and entertaining and he sneaks in some theory so I rarely finish a 'reel' without taking away a new piece of knowledge and some newly discovered 'must-have' tool. He does not do regular edited videos so a re-assembly is impractical in this live format, but many detailed and dedicated videos where each component and repair technique is demonstrated and thoroughly explained - has anyone not watched 'hammer time'?

Maybe there is a difference in how-to videos where you can follow step-by-step and get a perfect job, but these are dry and "just give you a fish". I much prefer a more 'warts and all' video with some oddball movement where I get to see all their mistakes and how they fix them and then I "learn to fish" - apologies for mixing my metaphors.

I also want to give a shout out to My Retro Watches, this is a great channel. Mike is not perfect by any stretch, but would be the first to tell you this - he is probably one of the most honest you-tubers out there and you get to see all his problems and how he fixes them.

I firmly believe that you learn from your mistakes, so if all you see are perfect videos of the same movements, then you aren't learning much.

[Neverenoughwatches]

23 minutes ago, Waggy said:

much prefer to see the You-Tuber take on the challenge of a beaten up and/or everyday watch that I have not seen before, this is a true test of their skills (they should try out our 404/10:10 threads if they really want to prove their mettle).

With you on this one Scott, i admit to scrolling past high end watch servicing videos. Differences of opinions are likely to be between tinkerers, the pros and much more experienced repairers. Repairing Rolex is way down the line for me at least, they dont fit in with my character i want to learn how to get the best from low end movements. Give me a sack of spanners,overalls and a Mk1 Ford Escort Mexico instead of a suit and diagnostic computer to analyse the engine performance of a Porsche Carerra any of the day of the week

21 hours ago, nickelsilver said:

Most of the YT watch channels are irritating to me. But I stumbled on Gentlemen's Watch Services yesterday- just watched one vid and he has the best oiling techinique I've seen. Really good clean work. And he's funny too, "Omega used small screws for this barrel bridge; I'm using a nought-8 screwdriver here- in Imperial that would be- a different number".

 

He has a great trick for pulling the odd cannon pinions on certain Omegas too. This is the vid I watched:

 

thanks for this recommend nickelsilver, omfg this guy sounds just like me , fricking looney 

[Malocchio]

I really like Kalle. He seems to be enjoying what he does. I love his enthusiasm and appreciation on small things. I've also watched a lot of Spencer Klein. I don't consider him that much a watchmaker but more like a Seiko databank. He seems to be pretty controversial in the scene but I like the material and how he interacts with viewers. He has this somewhat regular once a week mail call when he answers questions. 

[mbwatch]

5 hours ago, Waggy said:

I also want to give a shout out to My Retro Watches, this is a great channel. Mike is not perfect by any stretch, but would be the first to tell you this - he is probably one of the most honest you-tubers out there and you get to see all his problems and how he fixes them.

You also get to hear him when he becomes frustrated & has to put a watch aside for 6 months, and you even get to see him with a dead end watch once or twice. 

[rehajm]

On 9/13/2024 at 2:54 AM, Neverenoughwatches said:

Kalle provides a lot of information, not a lot of practical.

His live streams are instructional and if you prefer straight lessons search his channel. He has dozens of videos on practice and technique.

[SwissSeiko]

8 hours ago, Waggy said:

 For example, if all the channels showed high end movements you would never know what a wig-wag mechanism is or how to fix it.

 

Haha I have wig-wags in my Speedmaster!

[Waggy]

12 hours ago, SwissSeiko said:

Haha I have wig-wags in my Speedmaster!

Must be the exception that proves the rule 

[Knebo]

On 9/18/2024 at 8:27 AM, Waggy said:

if all the channels showed high end movements you would never know what a wig-wag mechanism is

 

On 9/18/2024 at 4:54 PM, SwissSeiko said:

Haha I have wig-wags in my Speedmaster!

 

On 9/19/2024 at 5:18 AM, Waggy said:

Must be the exception that proves the rule 

 

And Rolex 3135, 2135, 2035... 

So basically decades of Datejusts, Submariners etc. 

[SwissSeiko]

On 9/18/2024 at 1:27 AM, Waggy said:

I have to disagree with the above, I have quite a few You-Tube channels I subscribe to, and get bored, and a little irritated, when I scan the new thumbnails and see Rolex, Rolex, Rolex....I much prefer to see the You-Tuber take on the challenge of a beaten up and/or everyday watch that I have not seen before, this is a true test of their skills

You know what, I agree with you. That makes a lot of sense. I do wish we would see some of the bigger channels do more complicated repairs, like parts manufacturing. Someone like Clickspring servicing a watch that needs parts made would be quite entertaining to watch. 

[SwissSeiko]

I see Marshall put out a new video. Servicing his 4 digit sub. He broke the pivot on the escape wheel. We've all been there. I would have like to see him try to repivot it instead of buying a new one.

[mbwatch]

18 minutes ago, SwissSeiko said:

I would have like to see him try to repivot it

Some months ago he mentioned getting a lathe, but I don't think it has made an appearance yet.

[Knebo]

2 hours ago, SwissSeiko said:

I would have like to see him try to repivot it instead of buying a new one.

That would have been cool, but a big ask. 

 

While we're at critiquing individual videos... has any seen Kalle's recent update on the 'cow Rolex' where he lubricates the mainspring barrel ? Any thoughts? See at 7:22 onwards and especially at 7:43