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Is cracking a cannon pinion an achievement?

LittleWatchShop
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LittleWatchShop Distinguished Member

LittleWatchShop

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Yeah...I am probably the first one to do this.  Not my first cannon pinion adjustment either, but it was a disaster.  I have the tools to get it right but failed.  Happily, I had a backup from a donor.  Cannon pinions are a pain in the @ss.  I found one on ebay so I have another backup.  Watchmaking is about learning from your mistakes!!

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Jack75 Watch Enthusiast

Jack75

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When workng on vintage watches look out for the 'hollow center wheel pinion' type of cannon pinion where the fit is obtained by interference between the center pin and the cannon pinion. These cannon  pinions are hard steel and break up if an attempt is made to squeeze them. The correct adjustment is to flatten the centre pin. If you are fortunate enough to have a copy of Fried it is all explained in Book III Chapter V.

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nickelsilver Distinguished Member

nickelsilver

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1 minute ago, LittleWatchShop said:

YOU MADE IT??  There are not enough years left in my life to get to that level of skill...shoulda started earlier.

It helps when you make gearing regularly and have a massive stock of cutters and a profile projector and all the other gear ready to go! I was in boogie mode, maybe 2 hours start to finish.

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spectre6000 Distinguished Member

spectre6000

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12 hours ago, nickelsilver said:

It helps when you make gearing regularly and have a massive stock of cutters and a profile projector and all the other gear ready to go! I was in boogie mode, maybe 2 hours start to finish.

I would love to see a pictorial tour of your shop setup... I'm pretty sure you're the most legit, actual watchmaker on this whole site. I want to know what gulf lies between my roll top desk hastily shoved into a corner of the dining room and your atelier.

Edited by spectre6000
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LittleWatchShop Distinguished Member

LittleWatchShop

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1 hour ago, Jack75 said:

Shouldn't you attribute to Mark Lovick the same compliment?   I would.

Of course...but there is a difference. @nickelsilver appears to fabricate lots of parts.  This is of particular interest to me.  Somebody on this forum chided me about a year ago...just when I was getting on board.  Something like: "You want to be a watchmaker or a part swapper?"  That was inspiring.

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Klassiker Distinguished Member

Klassiker

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At least 4! You need someone else to do the filming (and the editing!). Once you are in the flow, you don't want to be thinking about photography. Concentrate on what you do best. What Mark Lovick produces is so impressive because the standard of watchmaking and filming are both so high.

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Jack75 Watch Enthusiast

Jack75

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2 hours ago, LittleWatchShop said:

Of course...but there is a difference. @nickelsilver appears to fabricate lots of parts.  This is of particular interest to me.  Somebody on this forum chided me about a year ago...just when I was getting on board.  Something like: "You want to be a watchmaker or a part swapper?"  That was inspiring.

No offence and no disparagement to nickelsilver, who probably uses the fine old watchmaker's tools? But since low-cost CNC machines have become so universal we can all make these parts. I can with my $450 machine and with a fourth axis I could even make my own screws. Christain Danneman (WatchGuy) has shown the way. And he even supplies the gcode for some parts. You also could do it with the gcode experience from 3d printing.    https://watchguy.co.uk/cgi-bin/cnc

But there is some purity and satisfaction in the use of the "old fashioned" tools.

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Jack75 Watch Enthusiast

Jack75

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A good start is to read https://watchguy.co.uk/a-new-era/ and https://watchguy.co.uk/cnc-update/

Then search online for one of the hundreds of machines: 3 or 4 axes, kit or assembled, working material. I started with a 3-axes Chinese kit (eBay) intended for work on plastics, aluminium and brass. Then swapped the motor for a pre-owned 15,000 rpm 36V servo motor (also eBay - rip out the control gear and just use as drive for the milling tool). Then some home-made setting up accessories. Total expenditure was $450. For that I have 0.1mm precision and can cut small parts in steel, brass or CuBe. Another cost is the fairly large number of Kyocera end mills. Grblcontrol and Carbide Create software for an easy life, plus gcode from Christian.

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