Handbook of Watch and Clock Repairs

by Henry Gordon Harris

Describes the basic principles of timekeeping and demonstrates the methods of repairing different watch and clock movements

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction

181 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[William Schram]

Clocks and watches have mechanical parts, and in that sense, they tend to break down. I happen to have several watches that I can’t really rely on since they stop without warning and lose time. As such, when I saw this in my local library, I snatched it up pretty quickly. The version I have is the fourth printing of the Revised Edition which means it is from 1975. Given all of these facts, I didn’t think it covered digital watches, and I was correct. Don’t take that to mean that this is going to be an easy subject though.

HG Harris does a marvelous job explaining the parts and methods to fix a watch or clock. While the book discusses it as a hobbyist rather than as a professional horologist, I am still somewhat daunted by the instructions. Also, with the toolset required, there is a pretty high wall set for access to the wonderful world of clock and watch repair. On the other hand, I am somewhat experienced with opening computer cases and fiddling with components in there, so I suppose it is all relative.

Anyway, the book begins by talking about the different tools required to repair timepieces. There are little diagrams and pictures that show the things he is talking about and demonstrates the process used. This is the sort of book that you refer to when doing stuff, so reading it from cover-to-cover doesn’t really do it justice. However, while I do have some watches in need of repair, I don’t think I am ready to take the plunge and actually repair my watches myself.

I did enjoy the book, but it wasn’t perfect.

[Paul]

This book is supposed to be aimed at novices who are interested in repairing and servicing watches and clocks. I fit this criteria and unfortunately reading this book I have absolutely no chance in achieving either of these. As a minimum you would have thought it would at least have started with a very clear explanation on how a clock works. Nope. There is a serious shortage of diagrams, just mostly text explaining what to do which uses terminology I could not easily follow, and I could not picture in my mind exactly what the author is trying to do. Don't get me wrong, the author clearly has a huge amount of experience and there is no doubt many valuable tips in his instructions - but this is not the book for a beginner.