How do I wind a monopusher model safely?

You wind it much like a standard manual watch. Turn the crown clockwise while it rests in the neutral position. Stop turning the moment you feel firm resistance. Overwinding can damage the mainspring, especially on older movements where the metal has aged.

My grandfather left me this old pocket watch with a stopwatch function, and I was wondering if it is safe to run the big seconds hand all the time like a normal watch?

Leaving the sweep hand running constantly puts unnecessary strain on the mechanism. The gearing in these was designed for timing short intervals rather than continuous operation. Keeping it engaged drains the mainspring power reserve much faster. You will also accelerate wear on the clutch and the delicate teeth of the driving wheels. It is always better to leave the chronograph stopped and reset to zero when you are just reading the time of day.

What does a snail scale on the dial measure?

A snail-shaped spiral in the centre of the dial is usually a tachymeter. It allows the scale to track speeds over a longer duration by spiralling inward as elapsed time increases past one minute. Makers used this layout to fit a wider range of calculations onto a small watch face without cluttering the outer track.

I just bought a vintage chronograph from the forties and noticed that the bottom pusher feels very stiff when I press it, so is this something I can fix myself with a little bit of oil?

Adding oil from the outside will likely make the problem worse. The stiffness usually comes from old lubricants drying into a sticky residue or from a bent pusher stem rubbing inside its tube. Chronograph mechanisms rely on precise friction and complex lever interactions. Blindly applying oil can migrate onto the hairspring or the dial, causing serious mechanical faults. A watchmaker needs to dismantle the case. They will then clean the pushers in solvent before applying the correct specialised grease.

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Antique Chronographs

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Antique chronographs are precision timepieces, ranging from heavy pocket watches to early wristwatches, featuring standard hour and minute hands alongside independent sweep seconds and subdials to measure brief intervals for sports or military tasks.