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Mechanical Watch

ciechanow.ski

351–360 of 425 posts

Re: Mechanical Watch

#351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A mechanical watch needs regular service which is usually just cleaning, lubricating, replacing seals and springs. Eventually it will need replacement parts and that is probably the end of life for the watch. There are a some brands that will service every watch they've ever made, fabricating new parts as needed. Few of us can afford one of those.

I have seiko automatic which kept great time when I first bought it, but not long after, it slipped off my wrist and fell on the tile floor. Since then it has been losing time but no so much as to be a huge problem. Would service easily fix this or is it just something to live with?

It may or may not be easy to fix properly, but if it's an inexpensive Seiko it may not be worth doing that, just replacing the movement when it wears out completely.

That said, simply adjusting the tick rate to regulate timekeeping is very easy and if you've got steady hands and a sharp eye then you can do it yourself with a wooden toothpick, assuming you've got a tool to remove the watch back. Any shop (offering repair facilities) could do it as well in a matter of minutes.

Re: Mechanical Watch

#352

I was curious how he did those visualizations so I looked at the source code. Turns out he codes everything by hand in WebGL [1]. Absolutely impressive stuff. Source code is non-minified so you can have a look and understand everything as well. [1]: https://ciechanow.ski/js/watch.js

Are you sure about the by hand part? There's a lot of repetition, it feels like at least some of it must be generated.

I asked him. I was wrong.

https://twitter.com/BCiechanowski/status/1522067904522428417

Re: Mechanical Watch

#354

Just imagine the utopia that would emerge if all education were conducted through web-essays like this. Bravo!

I believe that for every Bartosz Ciechanowski (huge kudos and thanks to him!) there are 100 similarly abled people, who can't create essays like this, because they need to do something else to keep the lights on. A collective loss.

Sounds like something basic income could help alleviate.

Re: Mechanical Watch

#358
post #159
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The solar Casio I bought as a teenager stopped holding a usable charge after a few winters. Maybe it was just bad luck. I'll see if the new Citizen Eco-Drive in my collection lives up to the 40 years claim I saw elsewhere. :)

My experience with a very high-end solar Casio was akin to yours, with the battery needing replacing after about five years. Perhaps gambiting is correct about the common nature of the battery, but multiple watch repair shops (both in a department store, and the "old man in a tiny room in an office building" type) refused to deal with it. I always had to mail it to an authorized Casio repair outlet. I do not know whe…

[deleted]

Re: Mechanical Watch

#359

There's something magical about mechanical watches. Maybe it's just knowing that you have this perpetually winding machine on your hand (in the case of "automatic" mechanical watches). Also knowing that the thing will last forever, take care of it and it will probably outlive you. Can't say that about an Apple Watch. If you want a good mechanical watch that won't break the bank I suggest picking up a Seiko SKX (thoug…

I keep considering a mechanical watch, but I think I'd find the accuracy a bit tedious - having to continually adjust it every week so that I didn't arrive late to appointments. I like a watch that gets out of the way - it just works. I've got a Citizen watch a little like this: https://www.citizenwatch.co.uk/stiletto-ar1130-81a.html It's a quartz watch, powered by solar power through the face. It has 'just worked' f…

you can expect a quality automatic movement (imo seiko is lowest end of quality) to be off on the order of single digit minutes per month

Re: Mechanical Watch

#360

This article is everything I want the Internet to be: high quality contents and high interactivity so that the matter is more "palpable". This is peak Internet, huge congrats to the author(s).

I think it also points to compensation for creators, so that they can dedicate their time to creating their works, mattering. I think him being on Patreon, and knowing he can count on income as long as he keeps creating this kind of content, contributes to the quality of what is produced.

I believe when someone no longer needs to concern themselves with financial consequences for taking time out of their day to create content for the public, and knows that there is reciprocity in the relationship between themselves and the rest of the world for whom they produce content, they can dedicate themselves more completely to their craft.

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