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Message: <blockquote data-quote="thor447" data-source="post: 3893356" data-attributes="member: 24867">Patience is key.  It's something I have to remind myself to practice when doing this work.  When I start to see it coming together, and there is light at the end of the tunnel, I have to tell myself to slow down and work methodically.  In my initial days, when I'd see it coming together, or perhaps when I was frustrated over something not working correctly (taking my lumps), I'd get in a rush and inevitably screw something up or send a tiny part flying out of my tweezers.  Slow and steady definitely wins the race when it comes to watchmaking.It isn't really all that complicated to do the work.  The amount of tiny parts seems daunting at first, and I believe it is what most people who would like to learn how to start working on watches are intimidated by.  What helped me was to break the watch down into separate assemblies.  Once you have a general understanding how that mechanism works, it's easy to identify the needed parts and assemble them correctly.  I break it down into the following:Rear side:-  Base timekeeping - wheel train, pallet fork, and barrel (with their bridges)-  Balance - in it's own category-  Automatic winding works (if the watch is so equipped)Front side:-  Keyless works - crown, and parts needed to put the watch into winding, time setting, or calendar setting modes-  Motion works - parts that connect rear side to font side, and connect to keyless works & calendar works - this is what actually runs the hands-  Calendar works - day or date complications-  Other Complications - power reserve indicators, moon phase, etc.-  Chronograph - still taking courses on these, but this will have a few categories of it's ownNone of these assemblies are that complicated on their own.  Usually only a handful of parts and screws.  Once you understand how each of them work, it makes it much easier to tear down, sort parts after cleaning, and reassemble the watch.I had a good understanding when I first started, and watched enough videos to where I knew what part they were working on and what it did as I watched.  The best thing that I did was sign up for some courses.  My instructor broke it down into sub-assemblies like I described above.  While I thought I had a good understanding when I started those courses, I learned quite a bit from them.  What I really learned from those lessons is a lot of crucial detail items that most people don't show in the videos, troubleshooting techniques, etc.</blockquote>

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