Complete Beginner Watchmaking Tool Buying Guide

Choosing watchmaking tools is hard! Especially as a beginner There are many options and in this video Marshall walks you through every tool needed to do a basic service on a watch movement!

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These are Amazon affiliate links to some of the equipment used for these videos and purchasing anything through them helps support the channel.

WATCHMAKING TOOLS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON:

CAMERAS AND AUDIO:

COMPUTER STUFF:

[Arthurzeiro]

"You'll need to breathe air as you work on your movements, I'd recommend you only get the Bergeon air as it's about 40 bucks per cubic feet, generic free air from the ambient around you should do in a pinch but It may not last as long.. Get the Bergeon one though"

[bigbarnwell]

Here's the breakdown:

Screwdrivers: 120
Tweezer 2 size: 35
Magnification 4x and 10x: 60
Movement holder: 27
Cushion: 35
Tray: 5
Work mat: 35
Hand removers: 57
Hand fitting tool: 22
Pegwood: 5
Ultrasonic cleaner: 35
Cleaning baskets: 70
Rodico: 5
Rubber ball: 8
Case back tool: 180
Case knife: 30
Finger cods: 10
Air blower: 5
Springbar tool: 20
Oils: 100
Oil cup: 5
Oil appliers: 5

= 874 bucks.

Throw in a Timegraph and you'll be set for 1k, including some pretty nice tools!

[Serious_Basslines]

Please, please, please (said like James Brown)...continue on this theme, of walking beginners into the horology life, this article was so information packed, the people I have shared this with, are getting the bug!

Well done 👍

[conorobrien]

I don't think I'll ever get into watch making as I have enough expensive fiddly hobbies and I'm not that into wearing watches. But damn is this stuff fascinating, and I could listen to Marshal all day.

[thedolt]

How in the heck did this get recommended to me? I can't stop watching these damn watch repair videos… This is great! It's like going down an endless rabbit hole.

[karhukivi]

My grandfather serviced watches and clocks about 100 years ago and I still have the loupe and some of the screwdrivers he used. I remember playing with some other devices whose use was a mystery, but thanks to this video I now know what they were - case knife, oilers, brass cleaning basket etc. Thank you for such an informative and interesting video!

[johnandre]

Here's the breakdown for the cheapest prices mentioned in the video:

Screwdrivers: 5
Tweezers: 3
Magnification: 3
Movement holder: 8
Cushion: 9
Tray: 5
Work mat: 5
Hand removers: 15
Hand fitting tool: 7
Pegwood: 5
Ultrasonic cleaner: 35
Cleaning baskets: 12
Rodico: 5
Rubber ball: 9
Case back tool: 12
Case knife: 30 (Maybe can find cheaper one?)
Finger cots: 5
Air blower: 5
Springbar tool: 4
Oils: 100
Oil cup: 4
Oil appliers: 4

Total = 290 👍

[tttm]

I can't even describe how much I like this channel. Everything is so perfectly relevant to the topic, so on point, so brilliantly presented, and so informative yet entertaining that I feel it's just a great privilege to watch.
Thank you!

[peha]

Instead of buying expensive watchpart baskets, search for mesh tea infusers. At least to start with.
BTW a great thank you, for NOT playing music in your videoes. The sound of your work and your narrating are just perfect.

[Factagram]

i have been so shy to get into watch repair or simply opening and closing a watch because i was too afraid to ask certain questions. im from the military and people around arent exactly the kind that can understand the delicate art of watch movements. this video was so incredibly helpful. iv decided i want to try my hand at it. marshal helped in deciding that. thank you

[Clinterus]

As an MTG and LR fan who's recently been getting into watches, opening this video and hearing Marshall's voice was a pleasant surprise!

[nomad]

As a new subscriber, I have to say that the information you give to a beginner is superb. I got the feeling of you genuinely wanting to help new hobbyist watchmakers and found your advice impeccable. Thank you.

[chrisbland]

I'm actually pleasantly surprised at the cost actually. Every hobby can get expensive the more you dive into it. As an amateur chef I wouldn't expect much change from $1500 for a good set of knives, bowls, pans and a stand mixer. Although it's not my thing I always find great enjoyment in watching skilled hands doing excellent work. These videos are fascinating, and presented in such an informative and welcoming style they are a genuine pleasure to watch. The highest compliment I can give is that Marshal makes it look so easy - and that is truly the mark of an excellent practitioner. You have my admiration, sir. 🙂

[jatoxo]

I took apart an old Swiss 1963 Pocket Watch using a sewing needle, a small sharp kitchen knife as screw driver, a small magnifying lense and some eyebrow tweezers after watching a couple of your videos. It has a broken main spring and you could see that the wheeltrain was wonky too. I managed to take it apart fully and reassemble it too, but I couldn't get the plate with 4 jewels on it to line up with the wheels (I didn't know if it maybe had broken axles?). I probably tortured myself for a good 6 hours, I wish I had the proper tools to do a full inspection and repair

[wadehampton]

Marshall, thank you for sharing this with us, I saved the video to my favorites so that I can easily access it. I'm ready to take the plunge and get my hands on it. Thanks to you, I can mentally take a basic ETA movement apart and put it back together again. I'm going to take Mark Lovick's watch repair course and see what happens. I've been fascinated with mechanical watches since 1966, when I received a wind-up Timex watch for my sixth birthday. It's high time that I learned to service my small collection of watches, and go through a box of non-running vintage watches that belonged to my grandparents and father.

I decided a long time ago, that life is too short to cheap out on the cost of the things that bring you the most joy. A thousand dollars is not too much to pay for the gear it takes to begin a hobby. Once you have a Timegrapher, Watch Cleaning Machine, Ultrasonic Cleaner, Mainspring Winders, Staking Set and Crystal Presses, you will be spending about three thousand dollars (and up). Before making such an investment, you need to be absolutely certain that you are going to follow through with what you started. I'm an "in for a penny, in for a pound" type of guy, so I would very rapidly wrack up a big total $$. At this point in my life (I'm sixty-one years old), I have the time and resources to make it happen, I'll be taking Marks repair course asap, and I'll keep you posted on my progress.

[r.mercado]

Finally! Someone who actually showed and explained the tools of the trade! Thank you! Semper Fi

[torokun]

I just a got a generic cheap set as a birthday gift so I can start out tinkering around. But this vid is so informative. I will make sure to get the ones you mentioned when leveling up.

[wadehampton]

Thanks for taking the time to show us the basic tools you need to begin working with your own mechanical watches, Marshall. I've been fascinated with mechanical movements all my life (I'm sixty-one years old). I recently discovered that Timex is producing two Twenty-one jewel Japanese movement mechanical watches again. They have The Waterbury Collection, and The Marlin Collection. Both can be bought for around a hundred dollars (with the four years extended warranty). I bought one of each, and both of them have a date display. This is a pretty big deal for me, because my very first watch was a Timex mechanical movement boys watch, that I got for my sixth birthday in 1966. I now have a couple of nastalgic watches to wear, that remind me of my very first watch, every time I check the time!

I've got a small collection of mechanical movement wrist and pocket watches, and they all are in need of some good service (except for the two new Timex watches). I began to take one of the pocket watches apart, but got in way over my head very quickly. After watching half a dozen (or more) of your key videos, I believe that with the proper tools, I could finish servicing that old Maryland Railroad Pocket Watch. It's got a lovely 10k gold case, and all the other features that Railroad Watches have. I'm an Electrical Engineer by trade, so I'm accustomed to working with my hands and small tools. I have a technicians mindset, so I know just how to keep things organized and laid out, and to document everything! Your help, through these videos, is invaluable to people like me, who are on the cusp of entering the world of hobbyists watch repair.

I'm a firm believer that you should buy the best quality tools that you can afford, asap. You can start with a basic compliment of mid price tools (avoid the cheapest ones), and if the hobby appeal to you, you can begin to replace the mid price tools with the best possible ones. I've been around long enough to know that "you get what you pay for", and tools are no exception. Cheaper screwdrivers can have weak tips, that will twist out of level if you lean on them too heavily, and cheaper tools in general wear out much more quickly than the good ones do.

FWIW : I'm a lifelong musician (multi-instrumentalist), but I started out with playing a single acoustic guitar fifty - five years ago. I now have sixty or seventy thousand dollars worth of musical instruments and studio recording gear. It all grew from that single acoustic guitar, and turned into a lifetime passion. In the beginning, I made due with knockoffs and the stuff that was more affordable for a young man. But somewhere along the way, as my professional life grew, so did my ability to save money to buy the best gear available. One by one, my studio grew up, and into a respectful entity. I have some of the best Gibson, Fender, Gretsch and a few other top drawer electric guitars ever made, and two top drawer Gibson acoustic guitars. I have a Gibson Mastertone Banjo (1920's Era), a 1962 Gibson F-5 Mandolin, a 2020 solid mahogany ($1k) Kala Ukulele, a 1971 Peter Pires Handmaid Violin, and a 1983 Yamaha CP-70b Electric Grand Piano in the studio, along with a full complement of recording equipment. My point is that all hobbies begin small, but if you have found your passion, you can take it as far as you can, or want to. Microphones can be a huge money pit, as you attempt to gain higher fidelity recordings of acoustic instruments. I've got over $10k into microphones, it didn't happen overnight, but it apparently happened. I don't regret a single purchase that I've made towards my passion, it's been my life's blood for over fifty years!

[chevytech]

I have been watching your videos for a bit now. I wanted to try my hand at watch repair and have compiled a list from previous videos. This video was perfect because in my searching I was always debating on cheaping out or not. THANK YOU for making it an easier decision. As a fellow vehicle mechanic tools are the most important part. Best part is they don't come in a truck every Wednesday lol.

[artimusgarcia-cuellar]

Thank you for your video. It was your channel that helped me get the watch repair bug and I am pulling the trigger on buying the basics today! I just got back from visiting family in Switzerland and I bought a Swiss hand watch from 1914 which I hope to service some day. I also have a cousin who is a cop in Zurich who gave me a box full of fake luxury watches that I can trash as I learn. Thank you so much for your videos, they are my favorite of the watch repair folk.