Pegwood alternative

[Neverenoughwatches]

On 4/26/2023 at 11:55 PM, mikepilk said:

I wondered about the spindle tree - according to Wiki "European spindle wood is very hard, and can be cut to a sharp point; it was used in the past for making spindles for wool-spinning and for butchers' skewers" as it's so fine grained. Have you ever worked with it @Neverenoughwatches ?

There's plenty in the woods near me - I might look for a dead branch.

Hi Mike . No actually never heard of it till now. The description of its timber does sound similar to holly , creamy white hard and dense. If theres plenty of it and its not in a protected spot might be worth snagging a few pieces. The timber in its green state may well be a bit sap sticky and take a while to dry out if the branches are thickish. I sometimes used to pop turning blanks into an old microwave for a minute at a time. Too much too fast and timber will split, holly always seemed quite stable. Dipping the ends in wax slowed down moisure loss to a more gradual pace to prevent splitting. Air circulation was always important.  I use a food dehydrator to dry watch parts, you've just inspired another use for it Mike

20 hours ago, spectre6000 said:

Holly has gotten really expensive. It's very white, and usually ends up in veneer. It might work, but probably not cheaper than the commercially available pegwood.

I dont think there was any intention of buying holly Spectre, any neighbour's trees may be losing a branch or two lol

Recently bought some rubistick heads from cousins for cleaning dials. They are great for applying just enough pressure for holding down bridges etc. Useful for holding springs in place, i seem to be using Rodico less and less just lately. They are quite soft but firm enough to keep things in place, also have an element of grip about them so they dont slip like a pegwood can when placed on an angle. I would say a cross between foam and a rubber. This is a 5mm one, they also do 3mm which might be a better size.