Tom Adelstein

Watchmaker Staking Tool Sets Punches and Stumps Reference Vintage watch collectors see Kendrick and Davis (K&D) tools as the height of value. because the company revolutionized the repair and service industry with innovations. For example, they invented the Inverto staking frame, canon pinion removers and balance tools. Today, watchmakers like me can use tools K&D

I lost track of the number of times I needed help with repairs on old Hamilton wristwatches. For ten years, I searched for service manuals and had no luck. I expected a handbook and now I know that the company never printed one. Instead, Hamilton issued service bulletins, known as Technical Bulletin. In 2011, I moved to Paris,

I can count the number of times I needed a punch to stake a balance staff and didn’t have the exact size I needed in my K&D set. I had dozens of  punches made by other manufacturers. I had to eye-ball them until I saw one that came close. I could have saved hours of

  Why is this book so scarce?  Collectors have bought them up, people have not returned them to libraries, they deteriorated in watchmaker shops or people threw them away. If you don’t recall, K&D printed this book as a catalog. They added the “how to” as a bonus to bring in orders for their products.

Do you ever venture over to the section known as watch tools on eBay? If you have, you’ll notice it’s a busy market. You can find it by navigating from All categories to Jewelry and Watches, then select work your way through all the sponsored headings and hopefully, you will find a listing of vintage

The Model 18B staking frame is the sturdiest frame made by K&D. It’s the successor to the Model 17.  The Company manufactured these for  watchmakers wanting a large die plate and a strong anvil. This frame shipped without jeweling tools, however, K&D made a jeweling attachment if a watchmaker wanted that functionality. Before K&D added