Jump to content

Recommendation For Watchmaker Lathe


bobm12

Recommended Posts

I have a Star lathe & over the years I have gradually built a nice collection of collets & tools. All are used but work just fine.
The hardest part when making parts using a watchmakers lathe is not the make of lathe but the skills required to use one. My brother in law purchased a Chinese lathe a few years ago & he produces excellent work from it. 
 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Clockboy,

That is well said.  The important thing is that the lathe is set up and properly adjusted to do the job. Earlier today I watched a video on this forum showing a Dremel tool wired down to a bench and a piece of angle iron used as a T-Rest. He then proceeded to make a watch stem out of a nail. After more than 30 years in manufacturing as a tool and die maker, CNC programmer,   machine designer  and automation circuit engineer, I have to say that this video rocked my world. I could not have dreamed what I saw in that video; hats off to that guy.

david

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

JDM,

Turns are an early form of lathe that utilizes  two dead centers instead of  a rotating headstock. The piece to be turned is secured to a driving dog that is engaged to a pulley with a pin. As the pulley is turned the pin pushes against the driving dog and rotates the part. A Jacot tool is really a specialized form of turnes. The pulley can be driven by a bow, handwheel or motor. The advantage of turning this way is that rotating the part around dead centers is extremely accurate. The disadvantage is that the work has to be rotated very slowly. Using this method the part can be removed from the lathe, measured and repositioned with almost no loss of accuracy.

There is a Steffen Pahlow video on Youtube called TURNING BETWEEN CENTERS ON A LATHE that shows a part being turned on a set of turns. 

david

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fafal,

I have only seen pictures of a Cowells Lathe. They are beautiful looking machines but seem to be very expensive and are not radially available in the USA. 

Here is a picture of a Derbyshire Instrument Lathe from Tony Lathes:

img69.gif

 

Image result for cowells lathe

The bottom picture is a Cowells Lathe.

david

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cowells model you posted above is ME which is made for metal engineering, they have another model for watchmakers - CW 90 (I think) There is a website where are offered used ones, but mostly ME type:

http://www.myford-lathes.com/other_lathes.htm

Its from UK so it may be a problem for those on other side of big pond. But prices are more acceptable... Those are great lathes, I hope maybe I will get one of them :)

Edited by Rafal
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rafal,

Those are nice looking machines. From the pictures the ME and CW models seem to be similar except for the chucking components. One of the pictures shows an IME Lathe. IMEs are among the finest watchmaker lathes ever produced. The good news is most people don't know about them and they can be purchased for a reasonable price.

front view ime watchmakers  lathe for sale

david

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 11 months later...
  • 2 years later...

Lathe experts, would you mind giving me some help? Do you think this is a good buy?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bergeon-8-mm-lathe-with-original-accesories-motor-table-and-other-Parts/324012283798?hash=item4b70a31796:g:FiQAAOSw29Zd9Ie3#viTabs_0

Buying a used lathe seems to be an absolute minefield. There are so many makes and so much available second hand!

I want to be able to make my own parts like pivots and balance staffs. I already have a great Jacot Tool for finishing. But now I'd really like a great watchmaker's lathe that I know I can find accessories for. I do like Burgeon products but I'm a sucker for expensive brands. I guess that's how I became interested in watches in the first place. :unsure:

Although this listing doesn't have much info, it also doesn't have too many disclaimers! It's advertised as perfect working condition! So I should be able to lean on my eBay buyer protection if it turns out to be a lemon.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, margolisd said:

Lathe experts, would you mind giving me some help? Do you think this is a good buy?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bergeon-8-mm-lathe-with-original-accesories-motor-table-and-other-Parts/324012283798?hash=item4b70a31796:g:FiQAAOSw29Zd9Ie3#viTabs_0

Buying a used lathe seems to be an absolute minefield. There are so many makes and so much available second hand!

I want to be able to make my own parts like pivots and balance staffs. I already have a great Jacot Tool for finishing. But now I'd really like a great watchmaker's lathe that I know I can find accessories for. I do like Burgeon products but I'm a sucker for expensive brands. I guess that's how I became interested in watches in the first place. :unsure:

Although this listing doesn't have much info, it also doesn't have too many disclaimers! It's advertised as perfect working condition! So I should be able to lean on my eBay buyer protection if it turns out to be a lemon.

 

 

    a trained machinist  serves a 4 year aprentistship.     if you want to specialize on watch lathes,  look for a book "using a watch makers lathe."   or  repair a used lathe.  vin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

39 minutes ago, Tmuir said:

Yes seems too expensive to me and does not come with many collets.

Collets are expensive you want to get as big a set as possible when you buy the lathe else you could end up spending as much again on collets

     yes,  proper set of collets are essential.   what about the difference of MM or SAE  measurement and thread pitches ?    vin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You need to check out German ebay, prices are far easier on the pocket,

This seems about right for  a almost complete boxed lathe

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ALTES-UHRMACHER-WERKZEUGE-LORCH-DREHBANK-DREHSTUHL-8-MM/383425549061?hash=item5945f19305:g:IXIAAOSwsCdeSqdv 

Factor in shipping and customs, also ask question about condition, I have used this seller before with no problems

UHRMACHER DREHBANK  (watchmakers Lathe )is a good search phrase to use on German ebay.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, clockboy said:

Looks a bit pricey. Also a personal presence this, for me no tip over rest. When cutting a balance etc the tip over makes life so much easier. If your based in the UK then this company are always worth looking at for tools/lathes etc. https://pennyfarthingtools.co.uk

Thanks for this. I am in the UK and didn’t know about these guys. Great tip. There is some interesting stuff listed. How about this? It looks pretty comprehensive.

https://pennyfarthingtools.co.uk/pultra-1750-10mm-bench-lathe/2020/02/07/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, nickelsilver said:

The Bergeon is definitely too expensive. The Lorch above looks great, but it's a reversed lathe; the Germans sometimes liked working with the headstock on the right. The lathe itself can be oriented as you like, but the cross slide can't be reversed.

How much of an issue do you think this is? Is it a deal breaker? I don’t want to train myself on something that is totally non-standard.  But that set does look great.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • I've remained silent on this thread, and at the risk of upsetting everyone, the thing that worries me the most the the apparent absence of Mark. The moderators do a great job and the members also pitch in, and the site seems to run itself, but it is a concern for the future of this forum when the owner is absent for all intents and purposes. Like many of the comments above I would hate to log in one day and things be closed down as I rely on this site for ideas and knowledge and also cheer me up. maybe the Moderators could reach out to him, assuming he does not read this thread, and express our concerns and let us know the plans going forward?
    • That was the exact reason for me starting this thread watchie. Still we haven't worked out how the regulars are going to hook up if it goes tits up. I honestly think something should be arranged to stay in contact, we all help each other so much. 
    • Yeah ive watched that a few times before,  i couldnt find my old school dividers to scribe it up 😅 Yep thats the guy i bought a roll from . Thanks Nicklesilver that answers that perfectly and more or less what i thought an experiment over time would prove . The jumper arm is quite thick along its length, i left it that way intentionally, i thought the original was probably very thin, i didnt see that it was already missing. Setting isn't particularly stiff as such just positive, i still need to take it out and polish where it mates with the stem release. 
    • Yes, "Sold out" is difficult to understand. There doesn't seem to be a lot going on. It's been nine months since any new video was published on the Watch Repair Channel. The Level 4 course on watchfix.com has been in progress for what feels like forever (several years!?). Maybe Mark's enterprises aren't doing well or perhaps already so profitable there's nothing much to motivate him for more material. Or, perhaps these days he's more into crochet. The real reason is probably something entirely different but it would be nice/interesting to know. I don't mean to sound gloomy or pessimistic, but I wouldn't be surprised to be met by an HTTP 404. Every day feels like a gift. Speaking of watchfix.com I've been postponing the "Level 5: Servicing Chronograph Watches" course for a very, very long time. Anyway, I just enrolled on it so it's going to be very interesting to see the videos. I must say, IMO there's nothing really that can compete with Mark's courses when it comes to presentation and video quality. It's simply world-class and makes me associate with some really expensive BBC productions.
    • Steel has some funny properties, or at least counterintuitive. The modulus of elasticity is effectively (not exactly, but close enough) the same for steel that is annealed and hardened. What changes is the point of plastic deformation* . If the movement of your spring doesn't pass that, it should work fine. It looks a little thick, I would thin it a bit maybe from the main body out about halfway, maybe 10-20% thinner (not in thickness, along its form). But if it works it works!   *So- if you have two bars of the same steel, one annealed, one at 600 Vickers (general hardness watch arbors might be), clamp them to a table so the same length is hanging out, and put a weight on the ends, they will bend the same amount. But if you continue to add weight, then remove it, at a point the annealed bar won't return to its original straightness. That's the point of plastic deformation. But up to that point, as springs, they are the same. However- their wear characteristics will be very very different. And getting the hardened bar past its point of plastic deformation takes a lot more effort.
×
×
  • Create New...