About

Update 9th May 2026 – I am back in the workshop – almost fulltime – after a string of lengthy layoffs due to a mental illness that has plagued me for years. I made so many bad decisions during those years. I failed people. I made mistakes. I’m glad to say that I am fully on the road to recovery. It will take time, and I will remain in some sort of treatment for the rest of my life. I’m now off the medication; which is a huge thing for me to say. I am far more functional and I live far more holistically. I understand schema, the self-defeating patterns of life. Last year, I completed a 20-week STEPPS (Systems Training for Emotional Predictibility and Problem Solving) treatment program. STEPPS gave me the tools with which to manage most situations. Later this year, I will start a 14-week processing therapy program. EMDR has also been mentioned as potential treatment in the future.

All pieces awaiting repair in the workshop will be completed, or the pieces returned, within four months. Waiting time for new repairs is 4 – 8 months. Please do not arrive at my workshop without arrangement, as you will not get an answer. I could be out or busy in my noisy workshop. I prefer emails to phone calls because they do not interrupt my working day. Also, email is especially useful if you have photographs to show me. The workshop is part of Two:8 Studios, the entrance to which is next to the Auctioneers pub on Church Street. You can’t miss the orange door. Please bear in mind that the workshop is on the second floor, with no lift. The location of the workshop is not ideal – lifting a lathe up four flights of stairs is not fun – but it does enable me to keep operating because the overheads are so low. Plus the other people and businesses that form Two:8 Studios are fantastic. Parking is definitely a free-for-all. Traffic wardens are notoriously ruthless on Church Street. They will give between ten and thirty minutes’ grace to cars parking in loading bays, depending on which traffic warden is prowling. There is parking further down Church Street on the other side of Queensgate, but it can be very busy.

Repair Works is a not-for-profit, socially enterprising repair and arts project bringing together like-minded individuals and saving stuff otherwise destined for the tip.

Many people have clocks, watches and other mechanical and electro-mechanical items sitting at home – in drawers, sheds or attics – that are priceless to them but who cannot afford to have them repaired. Either that, or under normal circumstances, the repair would cost more than the piece is worth (in monetary terms). But to these particular people, these items mean the world.

Everything can be repaired. It takes more time with some pieces, others less time. Repair Works does not charge for repair or restoration work. If you feel that a good service has been provided, then please feel free to give a donation once the work has been completed for whatever sum that you can afford. Any sum would be most welcome. Donations received go back into supporting the workshop and studio. 

A little bit about myself…

My name is Paddy Raftery. My background is marine/mechanical engineering with a solid grounding in electrical engineering, control and instrumentation.

I am a former Chief Engineer in the Merchant Navy, I was at sea for 25 years. I officially left the sea in 2014 after a two year stint as a Marine Technical Superintendent in Aberdeen.

Ranging from welding/turning to high voltage equipment fault finding, marine engineers are adept at many disciplines. I left the marine industry in 2014 but retain the courtesy, integrity, knowledge and experience of a senior engineering officer.

Between 2014 and 2022, I had several different roles including Engineering Manager at biomass power stations and biogas production plants, as a Boiler Inspector for Zurich Insurance, as staff Mechanical Engineer at an energy-from-waste power station, and as Property & Facilities Manager at Inverness Creative Academy. I started Clockmaker in November 2022 after securing funding to set up the workshop on Church Street, Inverness. The name of the social enterprise was changed to Repair Works in 2025 becaue it is not only clocks and watches that I engage with.

Machining, metalwork, and mechanical engineering are my bread and butter. I have had a fascination with clocks and modelling since I was a little boy, and would make and repair models and clocks in the evenings during my time at sea. Gears, shafts, bearings, fault-finding, it’s all the same; albeit in micro scale and the attention to detail required is far greater, and also more demanding.

I am studying for a formal qualification in horology through the British Horological Institute, and very keen to be a part of an open access makers’ space in Inverness. It would be great to have access to a larger workshop fed from a 3ph supply, with an external covered space suitable for hotwork i.e. welding, grinding, and general blacksmith’s work.

Inverness needs a place where people can create something, get something made, fabricated, or can learn something new. It would be my dream to start running classes across different activities and learning styles, aiding skills development and reducing barriers to participation. I have an idea that classes would range from peer-to-peer opportunities for learning, to women-only and queer friendly sessions/classes. I am bi-sexual myself, and I have had my fair share of dealing with discrimination and stigma due to my mental illness, my hidden disability, and my sexuality. I’m done with people wanting to ‘fix’ me. I’m not a piece that needs fixing, nor am I a symptom. Empathy not sympathy. Compassion not pity. Self acceptance not shame. Contrition not attrition. Nuance not trite shallowness. Kindness not mindless cruelty. These are the conditions under which a person can flourish.

I also write, draw and paint. I am studying for a BA in Art History and Creative Writing through the Open University. Once I have the BA in 2030, I will move onto an MA Fine Art course, hopefully through UAL. By 2034, the plan is to be :-

1. Running my own art practice, with a BA in Art History and Creative Writing and an MA in Fine Art behind me.

2. Operating a fully equipped clock and watchmakers’ workshop.

3. Fully qualified as a professional horologist, with employable knowledge and skills for employment as a clock or watch conservator or restorer.

4. A Fellow of the British Horological Institute (FBHI).

I am originally from Liverpool but moved to Inverness in 2006, moving further north to the Dornoch area in 2024 where I live in a woodland cabin close to the sea. I can hear the sea from my cabin. I find unconditional positive regard and congruence here. I walk on the beach between Embo and Dornoch as often as I can.

I am an experienced mechanical engineer with a passion for horology and repair, offering to assist collectors. I do it for the love of the repair. Provided you are not in a rush, I offer a comparable service to the one you will find in any high street.

I have the experience and the right tools but no retail store, no commercial workshops, and no insurance. It must be understood that anything you choose to leave with me for repair is left at your own risk. I accept no liability for loss or damage however caused, so please check that your own insurance provides proper protection.

I repair all types and sizes of clocks and watches, from the smallest ladies dress watch through to large public clocks. I will also attempt anything from house or garden (toys, models, tools et cetera) that require repair or restoration.

I was exposed to (and enlightened, captivated and inspired by) the local Inverness creative and cultural scene through volunteering at Clachworks, and from working at Inverness Creative Academy. If there is something I could do for you, or if this strikes a chord and would like to know more, call me on 07494 197036 or drop me a line at hub@repairworks.uk.

Repair Works is not on any form of social media. Nor will it ever be.

Repair Works does not use messaging apps. Nor will it ever do.