How to start / optimize your own Watchmaker Workshop. 

I cannot express strongly enough how much I appreciate you taking the time to share all your knowledge. I don't believe I'll ever be as advanced as your workshop as I am more of a hobbyist but your content is very helpful with me establishing efficient and effective best practices. Thank you!

The ideal way of lighting the place.

"Watchmaker fuel" is how I'm going to describe my coffee from now on. Thanks for such a helpful and entertaining video.

Thanks, Kalle. I love my microscope. I do not like finger cots because they pinch rings on my fingers. I prefer to use nitrile gloves with the pinky and ring finger cut off of the gloves.

I'm setting up a hobbyist workshop right now and this info is invaluable. Thank you!

I have been working on watches for a few years and started with fixing my large collection. Since I love watches I began studying Horology and now it really is a passion! In your videos I have learned a large amount of information that is really helpful and want to say Thank you! BTW, I no longer where cots on my right hand😁

I have a small extra bedroom I don't use. Normally I do my hobbies in my hobbyroom. But it can get dusty in there sometimes because of some of my hobbies. Not something I want near watchmaking tools and watches. So I'm gonna turn the extra bedroom into my watchmaking studio. And maybe one day it will be more than a hobby. Make it my actual job but work from a small studio from home... to start with. I'm unfit for work... PTSD.... But for 10 years I'm looking for a job that I can handle instead of sitting at home... and I think watchmaking is my call. But I have to teach myself everything because going to watchmaking school is not an option because of PTSD... traveling by public transit is a problem. But that's why I'm here.... Your channel is gonna be vital to me if I want to become a watchmaker. Can't learn it all from books.

Great tips best show keep up the good work

Thankyou for passing on your knowledge, you have started from the very basic beginnings of watch repair, most other Ytube videos assume prior knowledge. I am 67 years old so dont have the time left to delve into expensive and complicated watches, so I will be buying up the more down to earth cheaper ones. You are now goto Watchman. Once again thank you

Was that a pallet fork I saw in your beard? Just kidding great videos I'm just setting up my desk bought great bergeon screw drivers but other small items. I'm a retired mechanical engineer and love this challenge. I think my problem will be remembering how the order in reassembly order. Maybe filming the disassembly. Very clear and great advice thanks

Good stuff. I really would like to visit a professional shop sometime.

Thank you Kalle for making this and your other videos. Very good information for those of us just becoming interested in watchmaking. I know making and editing videos takes time on top of your normal work day. Thank your family for supporting what you do. All the best, Norm in Arizona

Professeur Kalle Slaap, good morning, I'm from Hong Kong.. Your guidance and comments are always to be my first preference.. Thank you, it's magnificent to have you... I admire you..

One of the best set of videos I have watched for beginners! Thank you!

im 56 years old now and work as an outboard technician. i was always fascinated by watches. i made a decision last week: i start to learn how to become a good watchmaker. as the moment i'm learning all basics out from a book just to know what is going on in a watch and what parts are doing what. learning before i will start my first training day on one of my watches. im very thankful that you are sharing these expert tipps and tricks as they are of high value for me as beginner. i want do it right from beginning on and your channel is by far the best i found. i wrote down every single tip of your video right while i was watching it. again thank you for these expert tips. i will keep following your channel, i might learn a lot from it. 👍

Haha. Thanks. I do the breathing thing. All your videos sime to include some lifesaving piece of info for me. 😂

This was such an excellent video! Thank you for the reminder on all the “good practice” tips! You guys are very knowledgeable and thank you for sharing it!

Brilliant

Thank you for the great info, I will experiment and incorporate it into my work.

My dad would often take me along to the watchmakers when I was a kid... I remember their desks had a little channel on the edge that would catch any parts that roll down.

Excellent tips

RE: Keeping both eyes open. It works best if you put the loupe on your dominant eye! How do you know what eye is dominant? focus on an object far away. extend your finger out to arms length and cover the object. Draw your finger back to your face keeping it covered. You will naturally move your finger to one eye or the other.....THAT eye is your dominant eye. It is what you primarily use daily and if you loupe with it your brain will be much happier.

Thank you for all the tips Kalle! The crossover between various disciplines always fascinates me. I’m a professional tuba player, so breath control is such a natural crossover into my watchmaking hobby. I will definitely be keeping both eyes open when I use a loupe from now on!

Thank You so much Kalle....Your channel is invaluable to me..I've learned more from you than I could ever ask for....I am a machinist by trade and I used to make micro components and I decided to take up this hobby. I'm hooked...lol

Absolutely superb presentation and the tip top tips are not only informative, but critical in it’s common sense value that really can’t be countered (and obviously gained over years of experience). Very good indeed, even the coffee sipping 😉

Incredible value in these videos- as a complete beginner exploring a new hobby these are very thoroughly explained, easy to follow, and offer fantastic insight into good practices in watchmaking. Thank you Kalle!

Thank you for sharing , a lot of great information, some tips and advice on the microscope you use would be great

Great video. Thanks!

Greetings from Puerto Rico!!! a small island in the Caribbean...Thank you for sharing your knowledge, today I have learned many new things...I will be following you

Get the fog out of here. Great clip! Thanks

Thank you so much, really inspiring set of ideas.

Great video, thank you

Lots of great tips thank you.

best info about watchmaking I ever saw ! thx man

Very helpful. With a little humour. Great. Love this thank you so much

These tips are so useful even about keeping both eyes open when using a loupe!

Thank you so much for your generosity in teaching.

Superb !!! Love your videos , So glad i found you Thanks..

Well, I really need to move to the Neatherlands so you can care for my watches 🙂. These little mundane tips were so helpful, and I found them so interesting as just a vintage collector with no real plans to work on my own watches.

Very helpful tips for me Kalle, thank you!

Excellent video many thanks 👍🏻 Gavin

Great advice, thank you

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. There are very few watchmaker or clockmakers in southern USA

Thank you so much for ur suggestions!

Love this, thanks!

Super valid video and tips/comments, thank you, I am currently setting mine at home, it is all of great help. Cheers!

Nice to see someone else using microscopes.. I put it off for a while but have found it's my favourite and most used tool - has made a massive difference to what I can do.. posture is only one of the benefits.

Thank you so much for this and your other videos, I am only getting into this as a hobby, and really enjoy the video's, all these tips do help and todays video was excellent. Cheers from Ireland.

Absolutely the most wonderful channel on RU-vid!

Love this, thankyou very much, this is really helpful for my hobby.

Since I clicked one of your videos, I became hooked on your channels. Useful tips and very informative. Thanks.

Love this as a brand new hobbies. Lots for me to learn and the work shop should come first.

beautiful, thank you so much for the just functional pointers that make all the difference!

Thank you for lots of useful information, Mr. Kalle! 🙏 Looking forward to watching your next videos.

Carry on with the series, I just found it and will do a lot more visiting to the site!

Oh my god my set up is filthy, thank you!

Thank sir its inspiring and a big help to me as watch maker please continue to vlog. Salute! Pete from cebu Philippines.

Great video. I am setting up a workspace now and with your help I know how to design it properly. I never would have thought about the dust problem with shelves, thanks for the tip. Hopefully I will be able to incorporate in a microscope but until I can afford it I will have to use my loupes.

Great tips, thanks a lot for sharing!

Looking forward to this, I've just finished renovating my new space - about to start moving in and organising it, so the timing is perfect.

Great content, very nice to get an insight on this awesome profession!

Good Video

Best watchmaking tips on RU-vid...

Great advice and I do approve the idea of the microscope as we were using it working in electronics...

One thing I did on the floor, it is a tight laminar 'woodgrain' print floor surface so sometimes hard to see a screw. At a builders supply you can find white plastic sheet on rolls. Around 153 cms wide and cut to size for length. Lay it down smooth, place the desk on top and anything falling is on the white plastic. For people with carpet, I saw a trick recently where you glue hobby magnets to a ruler and sweep the carpet till the part is on the magnet.

EXCELLENT VIDEO MARK

The posture and breathing tips are the most important for a long career.

Your video's are of really high quality and fun to watch. I hope your channel will grow and that you'll keep producing more content!

Really looking for the premiere, Kale! Thanks for all your videos. I've got a couple of requests: -what is your microscope magnification? -can you do a video about balance poising, both static and dynamic with hairspring mounted? - bonus: how did you get in shape in such a short time? I saw older pictures and your job is amazing, congratulations!

Love this guys, great job, I learned alot today😁must get back to my miracle marvels.........oh, your workshop is tidy and spacious, lovely

Yell at everyone everyday.

Thank you Kalle. Your stream have been so helpful for me. Since I live in Asia I can't follow your stream on Twitch live, but watch it every morning after. Its a great advice about breading proper. I notice spes. when I working with jewels or hairspring I always start trembling. In a earlier stream you told about drinking a glass of juice. This helping a lot but now try to remember my breath as well. I really appreciate your stream. And again, I take my hat of for the work you do :)

Finally moving out of my basement into a permanent space. Great video. So healthful. Thanks so much for your efforts. Amazing! Continued Success

Many thanks. As an old beginner, I risk running out of time if I want to do everything by trial and error.

Just discovered your channel Kalle. Love the way you explain the world of watchmaking. I'll certainly will visit your shop one time;)

Also a portable car hoover is a must have tool))

both eyes open I need to try, and the breathing. Thanks for the tips.

Dankjewel Kalle. This is a perfectly timed video for me as I near completion of my new garden workshop after being stuck with very little space in my Sons old, very small, bedroom. You are spot on with the microscope tip. Having used one now for the past 18 months I can agree completely that they are indeed a life saver for watch repair having variable zoom and the most important part is the stero vision which brings back the depth perception which you dont have with a loupe. Thank you for going to the trouble of creating this video and to your channel in general. Always great content. Keep up the awesome work.

Thank you this video in very interesting !!

Kalle you are a monster of watchmaking! I really want know watchmaking with you in the next year there! In this year I started, but crash 7 watches… lost parts, wrong lubrication and much more mistakes! I lost a chronograph hand of my tag like your explanation in 15:10 !!! Never found again!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭

Thanks.

Great advice on using eye loops.ive always closed the opposite eyes when looking though a loop and after awhile I would notice a headache coming on but never associated it with closing one eye.after watching this video I tried keeping both eyes open and it does help tremendously.gonna take me awhile to get used to keeping them both open but it does make a huge difference.thanks again for info and advice.

شكرا لك على هذه النصائح المهمة

👍🤗interested

Thanks

To prevent neck pains or back muscle, I am doing circular motions of the head toning up next spines daily which resulted in very good benefits. These days, same issue is with all computer users.they must try what I am doing at 80. It will be beneficial and not harmful. Circular motions should be both ways.

Apart from this being a most informative video, am I the only native English speaker( Scottish Gaelic also) who is so amazed by the ability of Nederlanders to speak such perfect idiomatic English ?

Merci pour cette vidéo très intéressante ;)

I sometimes if working on a hairsprings stop and have a walk outside

Great video thanks Perhaps talk about the basic tools that are essential in the workshop and maybe the recommended brands

Kalle - your instruction is a life-line for us beginners putting our toes in the water of the black art of watchmaking. Thank you! May I ask what microscopes you use, and as I suspect they are top of the range, can you suggest a similar one for people on a tight budget? I have 3 microscopes and none of them are suitable to me for anything other than verifying the Ø of watch hand holes.

The first thing I noticed the amount of natural light you have in this lab. For those of us still in the dungeon do you have thoughts on light and the temperature of the light

Thank you! My wife gets mad when I set up in the bathtub though.

I wonder if you could do a video on watches that have lasted long because of good design or service at proper intervals(or both). Should bring out the significance of service and good design, thanks 😊.

Thanks. Would you recommend magnifying glasses? I mean ones that are like spectacles. Magnifies for both eyes

Very useful video. Thanks! 3 questions: 1- What should be the height of the table? Because, as you said, when working with loops, we need to have our head close to the table. 2- Should I use separate mats for disassembling and assembling? I ask this because I am thinking that maybe placing the dirty parts on the mat when doing the disassembly might make it dirty. 3- Could you please share a link for the microscopes that you use?

Hi Kalle: Great channel! I've learned a LOT from each episode! I'm wondering, do you use any kind of lower objective lenses (0.5X or 0.3X) on your microscopes to extend their working distances? I would think that without one there would not be enough room to fit a screwdriver between the microscope and the movement. Also, what eyepiece magnifications do you use?

I prefer the Bergeon Air Loupes.. a big hole in the bottom prevents fogging up, and it also allows you to look around without taking it off.. I also have another brand , but i just sawed a hole in it.. I use Fingercots on both hands.. since i'm ambidextrous..

Very informative just what I needed as I’m just starting. When the budget permits I would like t invest in a microscope but until then I will continue to work with a cheap loupe and a pain in the neck afterwards 😁. Is there a microscope that is reasonably priced you recommend?

Such an informative video. Some of the basic requirements are generally not followed in our enthusiasm to start watch repairing. Sir, I have difficulty in finding out which screwdriver to use. I keep trying till one fits exactly on the groove of the screw. Can you suggest a better method please. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks for this awesome video.