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There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”

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Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”

#61

Post by jstanley »

I know this is kind of tangent to the point, but:

> the mechanical oscillator that makes the watch advance (it drives the pallet fork and escapement wheel, which produces the ticking sound)

The balance wheel doesn't drive the escape wheel, it's the other way around! The mainspring powers the train, which eventually drives the escape wheel, and the escape wheel provides energy to the balance wheel via the pallet fork.

(If you think about it, it's obvious that it couldn't be the other way around, else the watch would stop very quickly as the balance wheel runs out of energy).

The pallet fork is driven by both the escape wheel and the balance wheel, at different points in the cycle.

Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”

#62

Post by otteromkram »

throw0101a wrote: post #27
matthewtse wrote: post #3

Interestingly, hacking seconds have become so ubiquitous, that some watches will advertise the "lack" of hacking seconds. I.e. in the Rolex GMT, when you adjust the hour hand independently of the seconds hand, the seconds hand continues moving (non-hacking), which allows you to change the time zone when traveling without messing up the seconds hand that you previously already setup.

> Interestingly, hacking seconds have become so ubiquitous, that some watches will advertise the "lack" of hacking seconds. > I.e. in the Rolex GMT, when you adjust the hour hand independently of the seconds hand, the seconds hand continues moving (non-hacking) Rolexes have a hacking mechanism, but it's usually only activated when you pull the crown out to the furthest/third stop, which is where you set minutes. The…

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Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”

#63

Post by randomcarbloke »

ohdannyboy wrote: post #56
kqr wrote: post #53

Clock people have great words for things. Their word for features is "complications".

The subject of timekeeping is called horology. For collectors/ enthusiasts I've been trying to popularize the term hormonger, but it hasn't caught on yet.

Well as a hormonger I'm going to start using it.

Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”

#64

Post by randomcarbloke »

CydeWeys wrote: post #13
matthewtse wrote: post #3

Interestingly, hacking seconds have become so ubiquitous, that some watches will advertise the "lack" of hacking seconds. I.e. in the Rolex GMT, when you adjust the hour hand independently of the seconds hand, the seconds hand continues moving (non-hacking), which allows you to change the time zone when traveling without messing up the seconds hand that you previously already setup.

Nota bene, a GMT does hack in the second crown position, so you can set it accurately to the second. And independent jumping hours is super useful while traveling across time zones. It's a complication, in the same way that hacking itself is a complication. Both are harder to implement than a time-only watch without hacking.

Travel time is such a beautiful complication but so rare, I know of PF and Patek...maybe Ball aswell, I can't remember.

Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”

#67

Post by throw0101a »

otteromkram wrote: post #62
throw0101a wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Interestingly, hacking seconds have become so ubiquitous, that some watches will advertise the "lack" of hacking seconds. > I.e. in the Rolex GMT, when you adjust the hour hand independently of the seconds hand, the seconds hand continues moving (non-hacking) Rolexes have a hacking mechanism, but it's usually only activated when you pull the crown out to the furthest/third stop, which is where you set minutes. The…

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> Why did you feel the need to quote almost all of a parent comment before submitting your own?

So I know more of the context when I get replies, since the original is not showing up in my 'inbox' (HN top-right > [username] > comments) when I see your message.

Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”

#68

Post by BoxOfRain »

dclowd9901 wrote: post #19
callumprentice wrote: post #15

Somewhat related, I came across a YouTube channel ( https://www.youtube.com/@WristwatchRevival ) that I never would have guessed I'd enjoy but now I am hooked. The host disassembles a high-end mechanical watch each episode, cleans each tiny piece and then puts it all back together again. I have never had any interest in mechanical watches whatsoever - I use an Apple Watch - but this is so relaxing and he is so good a…

It sounds like you just like the process. There are several good car restoration channels for this too.

Project Binky from Bad Obsession Motorsport is like this, for years they've been fitting a Toyota Celica engine into a classic Mini to create a four wheel drive beast of a car and they show all the fabrication involved. I know pretty much nothing about metalwork but it's one of the most satisfying things I've ever watched. I also learned about how cars work on a fairly low level through that series.

Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”

#69

Post by throw0101a »

Raidion wrote: post #17
ferongr wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's terrible. Hacking prevention would make sense if they were ±2 seconds a month.

1 minute a month (upper bound) is hardly a deal breaker. If you were adjusting the watch regularly without hacking (as a pilot) you'd have an error rate that's probably close to 10x higher. 10+ minutes a month WOULD make a difference.

> 1 minute a month (upper bound) is hardly a deal breaker.

For a relative measure: if you're off by one minute when using a sextant, then you could be off by (IIRC) about 15 nautical miles.

So one should at least know the average drift of the time piece if it's being used for navigation, and it should be sync'd up with UTC/GMT regularly.

For regular day-to-day stuff, one minute is probably less dire.

Re: There's a mechanical watch feature called a “hack”

#70

Post by cesaref »

For anyone interested in the history of chronometers, I can recommend visiting the exhibition at Greenwich Observatory, as they have the collection of original Harrison's clocks, which lead to the development of the chronometer in it's modern form. The earlier H1/H2 clocks are awesome.

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/harrisons-clocks-longit...

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