In case you haven't seen it before, my absolutely favorite watch resource: https://ciechanow.ski/mechanical-watch/
This blog started my love for mechanical watches. Love how intricate and cohesive the entire mechanism is.
Making a watch from scratch
41–50 of 92 posts
Re: Making a watch from scratch
#42In the 90s a friend of mine made a watch that just showed the year. The year precisely, that is to say, considering leap seconds.
This is much harder than it sounds because the protocol used (DCF) transmits the leap year info spread out over a time span before the year change. So suddenly your stupid receiver + display needs memory and compute.
Re: Making a watch from scratch
#43In 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
You're one of today's lucky 10,000: https://xkcd.com/1053/
Re: Making a watch from scratch
#44This person's build is amazing! Mostly photos, but still super cool to see how "from scratch" it is - if you're expecting "bought a few components from Swiss companies" then, yeah, it's not that! I submitted this a week ago and sadly it sank without trace (poor choice of posting time I suspect), so I'm trying again. I have no affiliation with the builder.
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.
I found a good channel called Chronova Engineering who made a few videos about machining the mechanisms by hand. They use a couple of off the shelf parts like tiny ball bearings for the demonstrator (instead of jewels), but almost everything else is hand-turned.
Re: Making a watch from scratch
#45This person's build is amazing! Mostly photos, but still super cool to see how "from scratch" it is - if you're expecting "bought a few components from Swiss companies" then, yeah, it's not that! I submitted this a week ago and sadly it sank without trace (poor choice of posting time I suspect), so I'm trying again. I have no affiliation with the builder.
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.
Roger Smith (based in the Isle of Man) makes them from scratch. A bit pricey to say the least: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-65903947
Re: Making a watch from scratch
#46He's going to feel real foolish when he finds out his phone had the time on it all along.
You don't seem fancy
I'll admit I was aware that the motivation for this project was not likely to be timekeeping.
I guess there's something about fancy watches which makes me want to poke fun at them. I'm not sure I'd have made fun of a clock. I certainly wouldn't make similar comments about Ben Eaters 8 bit breadboard computers for example - even though the same thing applies there to a possibly even greater extent. It's an anti-elitism thing I suppose.
Anyway, the watch is actually very impressive and cool.
Re: Making a watch from scratch
#47Truly deserving of the title "watchmaker".
Re: Making a watch from scratch
#48Photo log: https://imgur.com/a/making-mechanical-watch-VmYL7qF This part blew my mind: "All the screws were hand made." This really is a watch made from scratch.
In the world of industrial machinery it's not too surprising to have to make special fasteners from scratch, especially as replacement parts may no longer be available from the original manufacturer. Taps and dies are common tools, and single-point-threading on a lathe can also be used.
Re: Making a watch from scratch
#49It's also possible to make synthetic ruby yourself.
Re: Making a watch from scratch
#50Photo log: https://imgur.com/a/making-mechanical-watch-VmYL7qF This part blew my mind: "All the screws were hand made." This really is a watch made from scratch.
In the world of industrial machinery it's not too surprising to have to make special fasteners from scratch, especially as replacement parts may no longer be available from the original manufacturer. Taps and dies are common tools, and single-point-threading on a lathe can also be used.
On the other hand, the world of industrial machinery seldom needs M0.6 threads.
Just trying to support it properly so it didn't bend away from your single-point thread cutter would be a challenge. And imagine how easy it would be to drop the part, and how hard it would be to dig it out of the coolant and swarf!