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Making a watch from scratch

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Re: Making a watch from scratch

#31

Post by pavel_lishin »

HPsquared wrote: post #23
pavel_lishin wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of my very vague goals is to build a clock, from scratch, without looking anything up. It wouldn't have to look like a wall clock; just something that keeps 24-hour time within reasonable tolerances. (It's been impossible to avoid knowledge of all clockmaking stuff, but I still avoid watching videos on how clocks are made. This is probably going to be something I do once the child is in college!)

Extra challenge: no other clocks to use as a time reference.

I guess I'd have to set up a hollow tube in the backyard, pointing at some position of the sun, to set my clock by. Or a sundial.

Come to think of it, I guess the easiest possible "mission accomplished" I could declare is by jamming a stick into the ground on a sunny weekend.

Re: Making a watch from scratch

#32

Post by _carbyau_ »

dismalaf wrote: post #25
devin wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even the main spring? For some of the components it seems like a significant sacrifice in quality to make it yourself. I appreciate people can make their own, but I also think the obsession some folks have with in house movements is misplaced.

> For some of the components it seems like a significant sacrifice in quality to make it yourself. I appreciate people can make their own, but I also think the obsession some folks have with in house movements is misplaced. At a certain level, watches aren't about quality. Only exclusivity.

> At a certain level, watches aren't about quality. Only exclusivity.

Annnnd at this level I'm out.

I mean, cool engineering solving a particular problem, near impossible tolerances, astounding art/materials all appeal on some level - but "exclusivity" on it's own doesn't mean anything.

Re: Making a watch from scratch

#33

Post by bigstrat2003 »

dismalaf wrote: post #25
devin wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even the main spring? For some of the components it seems like a significant sacrifice in quality to make it yourself. I appreciate people can make their own, but I also think the obsession some folks have with in house movements is misplaced.

> For some of the components it seems like a significant sacrifice in quality to make it yourself. I appreciate people can make their own, but I also think the obsession some folks have with in house movements is misplaced. At a certain level, watches aren't about quality. Only exclusivity.

I would argue that pretty much any mechanical watch isn't about quality as a timepiece these days. Quartz watches work really well for keeping the time, honestly better than any mechanical watch ever will. But that's ok - I still love my mechanical watches out of sheer appreciation for the craftsmanship and engineering that goes into such things. They have their own appeal.

Re: Making a watch from scratch

#34

Post by aziaziazi »

devin wrote: post #12
dismalaf wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost everyone that's not already a large company is buying components. The only truly independent watchmaker I've ever heard of machining absolutely every component is Masahiro Kikuno.

Even the main spring? For some of the components it seems like a significant sacrifice in quality to make it yourself. I appreciate people can make their own, but I also think the obsession some folks have with in house movements is misplaced.

> M0.6 thread. All the screws were hand made

That man doesn’t cheat.

Re: Making a watch from scratch

#35

Post by grishka »

Tmpod wrote: post #26
gxs wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This has got to be one of the best explanations of anything I've ever seen in any subject. Thank you for sharing - hope you have a great day.

You're in for a treat then! Bartosz has a bunch of other insanely well done explainers on his website, with easily inspectable JavaScript too. Some of my favourites are the watch, the engine and the GPS ones, though they're all fantastic.

> easily inspectable JavaScript

More amazingly, he writes it all by hand (I asked).

Re: Making a watch from scratch

#37

Post by rishikeshs »

technothrasher wrote: post #10

I can fully appreciate the amount of skill involved here. I'm currently on a journey to make a clock from scratch using traditional clockmaker's methods. I started from pretty much zero knowledge of even basic machining, let alone specific clock and watch work. I'm a couple years in now (working in my spare time between work and family obligations), and I can repair most types of issues with clocks and many watches.…

Im interested in something similar. Any good resources you would recommend? Or any communities you found?

Re: Making a watch from scratch

#38

Post by dismalaf »

_carbyau_ wrote: post #32
dismalaf wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For some of the components it seems like a significant sacrifice in quality to make it yourself. I appreciate people can make their own, but I also think the obsession some folks have with in house movements is misplaced. At a certain level, watches aren't about quality. Only exclusivity.

> At a certain level, watches aren't about quality. Only exclusivity. Annnnd at this level I'm out. I mean, cool engineering solving a particular problem, near impossible tolerances, astounding art/materials all appeal on some level - but "exclusivity" on it's own doesn't mean anything.

> "exclusivity" on it's own doesn't mean anything.

For most people, no. But for some people, who can buy anything, whose friends can buy anything, it means a lot to have something others can't buy.

I'm with you though. I'm happy wearing a Seiko or other well-built but not expensive watch.

Re: Making a watch from scratch

#39

Post by pests »

mkarrmann wrote: post #27
jasonjmcghee wrote: post #5

In case you haven't seen it before, my absolutely favorite watch resource: https://ciechanow.ski/mechanical-watch/

> In case you haven't seen it before... > Shares amazing link there was a 0% chance I'd ever see in my life if not for this comment

Some things just get brought up a lot. Like when ever something about the antikythera mechanism someone will link to Clickspring.

Re: Making a watch from scratch

#40

Post by lb1lf »

devin wrote: post #12
dismalaf wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Almost everyone that's not already a large company is buying components. The only truly independent watchmaker I've ever heard of machining absolutely every component is Masahiro Kikuno.

Even the main spring? For some of the components it seems like a significant sacrifice in quality to make it yourself. I appreciate people can make their own, but I also think the obsession some folks have with in house movements is misplaced.

As for obsession with in-house movements, I like to observe to the obsessed that the most in-house brand of them all are...

...Seiko.

They even make their own lubricants.

(Wearing a nifty Seiko as I type this, but also own a handful of other Japanese, Swiss and German watches.)

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