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The British Horological Institute Taster Day 12th January 2022
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19-01-2022 6:52pm#1
Hi All,
Finally getting a chance to post this, one of my greatest watch journeys to date!
Day:1
This carefully timed trip all began on Tuesday 11th January at 5:04am
Unfortunately I wasn't able to get 3 days off together so I it was work till 2pm. Arrived at work at 6:47am
After a busy morning at work, lucky I was allowed to finish early at 1pm. Dashed home to have a shower and get my stuff together, it was off to the airport!
Giving the contuining pandemic, the airport remains empty
Some nice pictures showing Dublin Airport from times gone by
My flight to London will be aboard this Airbus A330
My first visit to London, I looked at travelling to East Midlands with Ryanair, but the only flight didn't suit time wise and getting a train from London looked like the best option.
Time to get on board!
Giving my love of aviation, it was quite a treat to have a A330 on such a short flight! I think there was only about 20 or so people onboard! After about an hour in the air, we landed in Heathrow
Now it was a dash to catch the Underground!
First time using the Underground, absolutely fantastic! Travelling on the Piccadilly line to Kings Cross Station.
Less than an hour on the tube, arrived at Kings Cross Station
Catching the 9pm Newcastle LNER Azuma to Newark Northgate to Newark-On- Trent
Departing 9pm sharp, we set off into the night. An hour and forty minutes later, we arrived at Newgate Station
Went outside to catch a taxi. Got chatting with the Taxi driver, Alex, who was familiar with the institute. After a short drive, we finally arrived at Upton and the B&B where I will be spending the next two nights.
After a long day travelling, it was time for bed.
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Day:2
Too excited to sleep, it was finally time for breakfast!
Where I was staying was like something straight from the movie "The Holiday"
I was staying at The Oaklodge in Upton [Link] Jacky and her husband were very friendly, have had others staying with them attending the course. Staying here was worth the trip itself! After admiring the beautiful sunrise, it was time to check out Upton
After a short walk, I got my first glimpse of the BHI
After enjoying the beautiful sunrise, I left the cool crisp morning and headed in to the Clock House Cafe for a warm complementary coffee. I met my fellow classmates for the day, aged in their 60s from across the UK. In total, there would be six of us in the class. After chatting watches, our teacher for the day greeted us.
James Welbourne would be our teacher for the day, with a great sense of humor, it was time to enter the classroom.
My workbench for the day! Complete with all the tools I would need!
We started off by introducing ourselves, how we got into watches and what we hoped to achieve from the day.
My goal was to find out if I had any abilities at all! James talked us through the different parts of the movement, using models to show their functions. After watching countless hours of repair videos, I was excited to try it for real!
The first thing we had to do was to draw what we could see, something watchmakers had to do before camera's
This was something I really struggled with as I can't draw and as mentioned used to videos for reference. For the first part of the day, we would be focusing on the keyless works to get used to using the tweezers and screwdrivers. Also gave me a chance to try out the clip on eyeloop I picked up at the fair in Birmingham last year.
After sticking with pictures, I began disassembly
The odd swear word could be heard as springs/ parts pinged off into space! Most of the morning was spent on our hands and knees looking for lost parts! Lucky I managed not to lose any and got everything reassembled correctly
At 1pm, we stopped for lunch. Egg sandwich and a slice of cake were included in the price of the course
After lunch, we took a look at the Museum of Timekeeping
James gave us a guided your of the exhibits. With the tour over, we headed back to the classroom. Now it was time for the fun part, removing the balance!
After James demonstrated the technique, by using the channel cut into the plate, it looked easy, but required a very steady hand!
Thankfully I didn't damage the hairspring as many have done. After carefully placing it back in, I was relieved to see the movement still worked!
The best moment in watchmaking, to see the movement come to life!
As a quick celebration, decided to try to recreate the picture in the BHI coat seen in this great post [Link]
At least the coat is in focus! :0
With time to spare, I had a go with the timegrapher, brought along the Timex given to me thanks to @NIMAN
Definitely in need of a service!
James also showed us some quartz movements along with the tuning fork used on the Omega F300 "Hummers" Incredible technology but now I know why they are difficult to service!
After an exciting day, sadly it was time to end. My goal was to see if I had the dexitary required for watchmaking and lucky I wasn't disappointed! The day gave me a taster and I left wanting more! It has now giving me the confidence to go ahead and get some tools to practice which is something James stressed the importance of, Practice, Practice Practice!!!
With a fun day behind me, it was time for a hot chocolate and bed
Post edited by IrishPlayer on10 -
Day:3 Starting off with another fantastic sunrise
After another lovely breakfast and a shower, it was time for my journey home. Thanks again to Jacky and her husband for their hospitality. Lucky I had gotten the number from the taxi driver Alex for the ride back to the station
A beautiful train trip across the English countryside we arrived back to London's King's Cross Station
As mentioned, never been to London before, my first port of call was to the Hard Rock Cafe as I collect the pins and the very first location was in Old Park
A quick Google reveled there was also a location at Piccadilly Circus which was my next stop
After reaching the Piccadilly Circus location, got chatting with the girl there who informed me there was a third location! After picking up another pin, it was another trek to the final location. The Hard Rock Hotel was the latest addition
The latest additions to the collection, including my first hotel pin!
After all that walking, it was time for some food
With my stomach happy, it was time to head to the airport
The flight home, aboard an A321neo was just as empty as the flight out
Thanks to a tail wind, we arrived 20 minutes early.
Conclusion:
A week on, it still hasn't sunk in! An incredible opportunity! Such a shame there isn't still a college here offering the same courses as I'm sure many on here would attend. I was always afraid of investing in tools before being shown how to use them, it was great to have someone there to show the correct methods. Far exceeded my expectations!
Hopefully, all going well, I will be returning to the BHI in February ,7-11th for a more extensive week long course, service and repair of manual wind watches which I'm extremely excited for!
Thank you,
Keith.
Post edited by IrishPlayer on13 -
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