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1 Level
815 Review
60 Karma

Review on πŸ•°οΈ Artisanal Elegance: Abong Handcrafted Mechanical Wooden Pendulum by Brian Wolf

Revainrating 3 out of 5

Works with careful assembly. Great conversation partner!

At first my build of this kit stalled because I needed broken gear. I called the company and left a voicemail (they never answered) and emailed asking for a warranty replacement. I received an email reply that they would ship the part but it didn't arrive after two weeks. I will update my review if I ever hear from them. The assembly of this kit requires a lot of skill. I rely heavily on my Dremel tool to make sure everything fits together: for example, if a pin/dowel needs to be put in a hole, the hole is almost always too small and needs to be reamed out with a small Dremel grinder. I also use a cutting wheel attachment to cut off the dowel pins and a barrel grinder attachment to grind down the bits. Doing all of this by hand with hand tools would be a nightmare. If you are good with your Dremel and have the right accessories, this kit will be a lot of fun to put together. Edit 3/31/19: I finally received a warranty replacement for the defective part almost a month after contacting the company. I finally have all the parts. I'm taking my time putting it together because of the fit issues mentioned above, so it wasn't too painful. However, be aware that it will take a long time for your kit to arrive with damaged parts like mine before it is intact. Before you begin, it is best to inspect all parts carefully. It worked the first time and ran for about 20 hours before it had to be rewound. A few assembly tips: - Follow the instructions carefully! Don't skimp on grinding where it says, including removing "laser debris" from all gear teeth. For your sanity, use a dremel tool as mentioned above. Don't skimp on graphite grease. Consider purchasing a tube of fine graphite powder here at Revain to use in addition to the included stylus. Sand the axles ultra-smooth by lightly inserting them into a portable drill chuck, wrapping them in 220-grit sandpaper, and starting the drill bit while holding the sandpaper in place. Then grease generously with graphite. Make sure the gears are really free to turn on the axles. This is the most important "setup" you need to do. Friction is the enemy! A good method I found was to wrap one of the small dowel pins in 110 grit sandpaper, mount it in a portable drill and feed the wrapped pin all the way through the pinion axle hole. Start moving the drill in and out. It's much easier and faster than doing it by hand! I found a 5 lb lead shot dive bag here at Revain for about $25. I cut it open and poured the shot into the loading tube. Wash your hands after sealing! (lead is toxic)

Pros
  • EXPERT LEVEL ASSEMBLY - Clear, well-illustrated instructions will help you assemble and set up your watch.
Cons
  • Repair