Clermont, Florida · by appointment
Antique American Timepiece Service
Bespoke Horology Tools
Bench Management Software
Full service and essential repairs for 1-2 train Antique American Clocks and Antique American pocket watches at a reasonable rate.
If you’re here for Trays or the Bench Buddy software – use the links in the menu to jump to that info!
Repair
What comes to the bench
American clocks
Spring-driven shelf and mantel movements, time-only or time-and-strike. Full service, re-bushing and mainspring replacement.
Seth Thomas, Ansonia, Ingraham, Waterbury, Gilbert, New Haven.
American pocket watches
Cleaning & lubrication, mainspring replacements, hairspring replacements, balance staff work, jewel repairs, crystal repair/replacements and regulation.
Waltham, Elgin, Illinois, Hamilton, Hampden.
What I don’t take
Quartz movements and battery changes. Smartwatches. Most wristwatches. Cuckoo and Black Forest clocks.
If it runs on a battery or was made after about 1950, it probably isn’t for my bench. Typically a battery replacement is faster and cheaper at your local jeweler.
Feel free to inquire, I commit to be transparent with my abilities for your piece. If I can’t do the work, I can often refer you to someone who can help.
Software · free
Bench Buddy
The desktop app I built to run my own bench. It’s free for yours.
Every repair becomes a project: one numbered record of the job, from the day it comes in to the finished write-up. Take a photo from your webcam, microscope or phone, then mark it up with arrows, circles and numbered callouts. Add video or a timelapse, or just talk through what you’re doing and your narration is later converted to text note for you.
When the job is done, publish it for you or your customer as a PDF, a Word document or a publish it to a WordPress website with one push.
Run the jobs: customers, intake, estimates from about 45 built-in templates, and a board that shows everything on the bench and where each job stands.
Save & Re-use Your Research: The movements database can be used to catalog movements in your collection or general research, photos and files about any type of movement. Next time a clock or watch with that same movement comes to the bench, attach the movement research to the project and all your prior notes about parts sources, beat rates, and common problems are at your fingertip again.
Beat Adjustment: With a low cost microphone for your computer, activate a sophisticated and capable beat and rate measurement tool.
Know what’s on the shelf: parts and movements inventoried with ease with printed labels and phone capture features, so you can find any screw, bag or movement fast.
Keep the books: a ledger that imports your eBay purchases and shows the cost of each job.
Your data stays on your own computer and network, and nothing leaves unless you choose to share it. No cloud, no subscription and no charge. If it earns a place next to your staking set, tweezers and screwdrivers, please consider supporting its development.
Free to download and use.
Windows, macOS and Linux. No account, no subscription, and your records stay on your own machine.
Now and then it will ask if you’d like to support development. Say no and it keeps working exactly the same.
BESPOKE TOOLS · PERFECT YOUR BENCH
Bespoke Tools
Every watchmaker has their preferences on workspace and tools. I have created several tools for my bench which I think are great and am offering them for your bench. Often there are plenty of similar tools out there – in fact I call my part trays “YAWT” because while I think they are the best in class – like a yacht – I also know they are Yet Another Watch Tray. Despite similarities, in each case I have added a little something that I think makes my tools just a little better. My trays are versatile, easy to use, with a nice fit and finish. My pegwood sharpener is the lowest cost option, easiest to use, takes no special blades or tools to maintain, and does the two things it should: dresses your pegwood to perfection and keeps the shavings contained. Check out my tools, I think you will be completely satisfied if you try them. I am often revising my tools, evolving them to “Perfect Your Bench” – which is why the “R” revision number is typically printed on them.
I
Grandfather
Creighton, Ne
II
Father
Limestone, ME
III
Mine
Clermont, Fl
About
Why Bench Three
Many timepieces that come to my bench are 100 to 120 years old and still running. Hardly anything made today lasts like that. We don’t rely on them every day anymore, but they’re worth caring for and repairing, and that’s why I work mostly on antique American pieces.
Bench I: My grandfather was a master watchmaker. In 1947 he opened Wunderlich Jewelry in Creighton, Nebraska, in an era powered by mechanical clocks and pocket watches. The small-town jeweler was also the man at the bench with a loupe who kept them running. This was his livelihood.
Bench II: My father fixed clocks for more than 40 years. I grew up in his shop, where I learned the basics of clock and watch repair and came to respect these American workhorses that are still going strong. This was his passion.
Bench III: My father’s bench and tools are now mine. I’m carrying on the work – making me Bench Three. I’m excited and privileged to carry on the tradition. As an independent part time practitioner, I am open to taking work and projects that full time professional shops don’t have an appetite for.
Contact
Request a repair
Email mike@benchthree.com
Where Clermont, Florida
What To Know FirstI will treat your timepiece with care, and I only take on work I’m confident I can complete. I am a member of NAWCC and abide by its Member Code of Ethical Conduct. I’m experienced in servicing these pieces but hold no formal certifications or endorsements.
Tell meBe as detailed as possible. Pictures ARE worth 1000 words!
Include anything you know: the maker, what’s wrong, when it last ran reliably and when it was last serviced. Your location, budget, and timeline. For pocket watches, the serial number if you can find it. Photos of the movement, plus close-ups of any trouble spots. A phone number if you’re open to a call or text.
I’ll replyI’ll reply ASAP with questions, an estimate, or my thoughts. Either way, I’ll tell you plainly whether I can take the work, and why.
ShippingPocket watches and trays ship anywhere. Clocks are better brought in person, but we can discuss shipping options.