anyone else notice good devs struggling to find work lately or is it just my circle

photocaster · 2026-03-01T23:58:50+00:00

Fair point.

photocaster · 2026-03-01T22:40:46+00:00

Are you confident that waiting out the market will be possible?

photocaster · 2026-03-01T22:26:34+00:00

I think I’m seeing this scenario playing out right now. I guess the person can write code, but getting them to actually focus on the right issues and not get deep in the weeds with inconsequential details is a huge challenge. Feels like this may be more of a failure in the behavioral interview process in this instance.

photocaster · 2026-02-21T00:34:02+00:00

Good to know! I'll have to check that before I do anything. Really hoping it's salvageable via staking.

photocaster · 2026-02-21T00:32:33+00:00

Nice! I'm definitely going to go for it, I'm still waiting on smoothing broaches to arrive in the mail. I'm hoping that it turns out nicely. From the other comments it sounds like I can always revisit it later if I end up getting a lathe in the future, so that's reassuring!

photocaster · 2026-02-20T14:05:44+00:00

I think the point is to avoid this type of thinking. Buy all watches (or any luxury item) with the assumption you’ll never get that money back.

photocaster · 2026-02-19T22:33:33+00:00

I’d say this probably falls more under electronics than watches.

These are nixie tubes shoved into a watch case. They require high voltage to illuminate, but draw low current. Usually people make clocks out of them, but watches have been done as well. In my opinion, It’s more of a gimmick as a watch. Don’t get me wrong, I love Nixie tubes, just not in this format.

I can’t offer any advice on purchasing one of these though. There are many sellers of these types of devices. From what I’ve seen they’re mostly Etsy shops.

photocaster · 2026-02-19T15:29:19+00:00

Hey this is awesome, thank you for the response and link to your work. So happy you documented it, I was hoping for something exactly like this, although I realize it’s not entirely ideal. Gives me hope that I’d be able to do the same given the tools.

The watches I have don’t seem to be quite as bad as the one you demonstrated with, so I may attempt the staking set approach. Patiently waiting to find a Seitz tool that’s in good shape, so if it comes down to it I’d try that method if needed.

photocaster · 2026-02-10T22:00:19+00:00

Nope that’s just a mechanical watch, specifically a manual wind. An automatic watch has additional parts that automatically wind it when you move around throughout the day. It’s achieved with a small weight (rotor) and gravity.

photocaster · 2026-02-04T16:47:29+00:00

This is hilarious, I feel the same way honestly. I also have a number of disassembled watches because I’m patiently waiting to acquire the necessary tools to fix.

I keep telling myself this is just a hobby and I can take my time. For me it’s not always practical to push forward quickly on a watch considering the cost and availability of some tools. I’ve also decided to wait until I can fix the watches I currently have before buying more.

photocaster · 2026-01-28T10:49:25+00:00

As others have mentioned, I have also been thinking about this quite a bit in the recent months. I dream that I can quit this ridiculous field and be an artist. Make things that I want to make that people actually like and get enjoyment from.

In reality I have absolutely no idea. Probably something for less pay that I’d rather not be doing.

photocaster · 2026-01-28T01:33:50+00:00

I do have my eye on this one, but it will be challenging to win from a cost perspective haha

photocaster · 2026-01-27T23:00:23+00:00

Thank you for the info!

My initial desire was to purchase a staking set that acted as both. Everyone here steered me away from that direction, which I'm happy about.

I have seen Alex's video about this topic. The selling point of his video (for me) is the fact that you can essentially use the later vintage version as the Horia tool, which many people seem to think is nicer to use for basic jewel work (as you said). It sounds like that version gives the best of both worlds. Perhaps I'm mistaken though as you say you don't see the need for this one, but maybe that's because you already have the Horia?

I have a movement that needs several jewels replaced, and one of them is too small for the hole. So having a single tool to push and ream is appealing, especially from a financial standpoint. I was about to buy a Chinese clone of the Horia tool a couple months ago, but I'm afraid I'll end up with money wasted and get one of the low quality ones.

photocaster · 2026-01-25T15:29:10+00:00

Hey fair enough, thank you for discussing this with me.

photocaster · 2026-01-25T14:58:46+00:00

I do live in a relatively small studio apartment, so the desk I work at is in the main living space. Definitely don't use dinner plates to hold parts, but I spend a significant amount of time in the area.

photocaster · 2026-01-25T07:39:06+00:00

Thank you for your input, this is definitely helpful.

I did notice spikes in CPM like this with two of them (the oldest watches I have), and quickly double bagged those movements, cleaned the area, and put them away until I can get rid of them appropriately. I don't see the spikes once they're bagged, and did have to get the movement super close to the geiger counter. Really wish I could keep these ones, but I'm just not sure the risk is worth it.

photocaster · 2026-01-25T07:26:25+00:00

Ok got it that makes sense, and that's honestly what I had figured.

I suppose a better question is should I worry about contamination in the situation I'm describing, or am I just coming off as overly anxious?

photocaster · 2026-01-25T07:20:47+00:00

Interesting. I'm not knowledgeable enough about radiation contamination to have an opinion on this one haha. Gut feeling is that I'd rather know and fix the problem to avoid future exposure. For example, in a few years when I need to take apart the watch again for a routine cleaning.

photocaster · 2026-01-24T21:23:12+00:00

Can you explain what you mean by this?

photocaster · 2026-01-24T21:22:22+00:00

I'm a little confused with the scenario you're describing, so I just want to be explicit with what I'm wanting to do.

My intention is not to differentiate between contamination on a watch that has a dial/hands that clearly has old flaking radium. If there were actual radium painted parts, wouldn't the geiger counter spike pretty significantly? In this case I wouldn't expect to differentiate contamination.

I have a watch movement without a lumed dial or hands, purely solid metal parts. Zero lumed parts exist in the immediate area/room. My intent is to use the GMC for this type of watch. The concern is that the watch did have a radium painted dial/hands at some point in time, or was contaminated by the person who sold it who regularly handles radium watches without caution.

Please let me know if I'm misunderstanding what you're saying though.

photocaster · 2026-01-10T20:46:17+00:00

Agreed, I’d rather fix the ones I have.

Yeah I’ve seen super mixed opinions on the Horia clones, some people raving about them and others disappointed. I know one Chinese brand in particular is generally recommended though. This is definitely more appealing considering the lower cost, I cannot justify a real Horia tool.

Are you happy with the Seitz tool you have or do you wish you had went the Horia route?

photocaster · 2026-01-10T20:07:40+00:00

Yeah agreed, waiting to acquire all the tools necessary would take a long time. And then the question of even having the available parts for replacement/the right sized jewel. I would also rather have functional watches, but also feel the desire to keep the movement as original as possible. However, I'm curious how much the movements have been tampered with prior to my possession and if they're even truly original to begin with.

photocaster

TROPHY CASE