What does this one do?

[Galilea]

It seems very handy and basic, but I don't know what it is or does. The scale at the bottom goes to 72, the long side scale to 36. Thank you.

[everyonesdesign]

I think this is a pivoted gauge (Douzieme gauge). From George Daniel's "Watchmaking":

[tomh207]

It’s a measuring guage, I got one with a lathe I bought the lathe catalog that also came with it calls it a Douzieme guage.

from the catalog:-

“the douzieme guage is another essential tool. It is marked by French lines, one of which equals about 2mm. Each line is divided into 12 parts or douziemes so that when the jaws are opened one line, the pointer on the proportional scale registers No 12. With careful readings it is an accurate guage, and the form lends itself to the quick measuring of the lengths of staffs, cylinders, pinions from shoulder to shoulder, height of barrels, thickness of barrel bottoms, etc.”

 

mine seems to be a metric one comparing stuff measured with a digital calliper. Here is a link to the modern one that you can buy as a comparison.

https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/degree-gauge
 

hope this helps

 

Tom

 

[Galilea]

3 hours ago, tomh207 said:

It’s a measuring guage, I got one with a lathe I bought the lathe catalog that also came with it calls it a Douzieme guage.

from the catalog:-

“the douzieme guage is another essential tool. It is marked by French lines, one of which equals about 2mm. Each line is divided into 12 parts or douziemes so that when the jaws are opened one line, the pointer on the proportional scale registers No 12. With careful readings it is an accurate guage, and the form lends itself to the quick measuring of the lengths of staffs, cylinders, pinions from shoulder to shoulder, height of barrels, thickness of barrel bottoms, etc.”

 

mine seems to be a metric one comparing stuff measured with a digital calliper. Here is a link to the modern one that you can buy as a comparison.

https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/degree-gauge
 

hope this helps

 

Tom

 

Indeed it does help, Tom, because now I know what it is. Thank you, and @everyonesdesign as well. Now to get up to learning about how to use it, in Mark's classes. I am still on Part 1, but am very enthusiastic.

[tomh207]

36 minutes ago, Galilea said:

Indeed it does help, Tom, because now I know what it is. Thank you, and @everyonesdesign as well. Now to get up to learning about how to use it, in Mark's classes. I am still on Part 1, but am very enthusiastic.

I don’t think Mark’s courses will help with this particular tool though. I do hope that one day he considers doing courses for lathe work, jewelling and jacot. His courses, videography and clarity are excellent in my opinion. You’ll learn a lot and then you’ll know what else you want to learn.

 

Tom

[oldhippy]

Extremely good for pivot or staff work when using your lathe. I always had mine close by.

[Galilea]

What lathe? Not sure I will go all the way. I wonder if there are watch repair enthusiasts who stop at replacing a balance staff, MAYBE a jewel if it's cracked, winding stems, crowns and crystals? Expert cleaning and buffing, like that.

Still, maybe I could someday aspire to lathing. Time will tell, or is that joke as old as time itself? 

Also, I wonder at what point one can get the hand off of one's forehead, avatar-wise?

Edited July 30, 2023 by Galilea

[tomh207]

This is a many splendoured vocation, we can be:-

just change batteries 

also change or size straps and bracelets 

polish cases and bracelets 

replace movements 

service movements 

strive to use the techniques that we learn along they way of our interactions here and elsewhere to attempt to restore a watch to the best version of itself we can.

 

you can specialise in any or all of the above, (I am not a professional nor am I proficient in much of this except for some skills in the first four. I conjecture that most of us here fit in the first 5 listed above. I do however from my time on here believe there are quite a few of the members in category 6.

 

we should strive to help everyone here to achieve what they want/need to do no matter the level they decide to work at.

 

Tom

[Neverenoughwatches]

32 minutes ago, tomh207 said:

This is a many splendoured vocation, we can be:-

just change batteries 

also change or size straps and bracelets 

polish cases and bracelets 

replace movements 

service movements 

strive to use the techniques that we learn along they way of our interactions here and elsewhere to attempt to restore a watch to the best version of itself we can.

 

you can specialise in any or all of the above, (I am not a professional nor am I proficient in much of this except for some skills in the first four. I conjecture that most of us here fit in the first 5 listed above. I do however from my time on here believe there are quite a few of the members in category 6.

 

we should strive to help everyone here to achieve what they want/need to do no matter the level they decide to work at.

 

Tom

Well said Tom, young sir.

1 hour ago, Galilea said:

What lathe? Not sure I will go all the way. I wonder if there are watch repair enthusiasts who stop at replacing a balance staff, MAYBE a jewel if it's cracked, winding stems, crowns and crystals? Expert cleaning and buffing, like that.

Still, maybe I could someday aspire to lathing. Time will tell, or is that joke as old as time itself? 

Also, I wonder at what point one can get the hand off of one's forehead, avatar-wise?

When you reach the level of changing staffs and jewels you are doing ok, many youtubers are not even there and are making money from that system. Stating the obvious no matter where you are with it, you are only one step away from the next step. Before you know it a few months of practise can have you making leaps and bounds. Then you realise how much you underestimate what you are truly capable of. This applies to many things in life when you put your mind to it, this you know J x

[Galilea]

1 hour ago, tomh207 said:

This is a many splendoured vocation, we can be:-

just change batteries 

also change or size straps and bracelets 

polish cases and bracelets 

replace movements 

service movements 

strive to use the techniques that we learn along they way of our interactions here and elsewhere to attempt to restore a watch to the best version of itself we can.

 

you can specialise in any or all of the above, (I am not a professional nor am I proficient in much of this except for some skills in the first four. I conjecture that most of us here fit in the first 5 listed above. I do however from my time on here believe there are quite a few of the members in category 6.

 

we should strive to help everyone here to achieve what they want/need to do no matter the level they decide to work at.

 

Tom

Thank you Tom. I think I am headed for 2 - 5, as I have a quartz allergy. Although, some of those old Timex electrics and I have a wonderful Wittnauer electric , I could see changing those batteries.

It's true, it is a trade we can all use in our own way. I don't plan on fixing any but my own, and that will be a challenge. It is wonderful to think of all of my watches being clean and repaired.

50 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Well said Tom, young sir.

When you reach the level of changing staffs and jewels you are doing ok, many youtubers are not even there and are making money from that system. Stating the obvious no matter where you are with it, you are only one step away from the next step. Before you know it a few months of practise can have you making leaps and bounds. Then you realise how much you underestimate what you are truly capable of. This applies to many things in life when you put your mind to it, this you know J x

(Scans quoted post ferociously, looking for an opportunity to goof off with the esteemed @Neverenoughwatches finds none ) Thank you, very motivational. Leaps and bounds sounds wonderful.

Edited July 30, 2023 by Galilea

[tomh207]

@Neverenoughwatches your the youngster mate!

@Galilea we all find our level we enjoy hopefully, and that it can be fulfilling for us, I think for NEW and myself we are a pair of nutters who just push our own boundaries for knowledge, experience and hopefully over time skills.

 

Tom

[Galilea]

4 minutes ago, tomh207 said:

@Neverenoughwatches your the youngster mate!

@Galilea we all find our level we enjoy

A serious question, might be an entire topic, but when one finds that level, what to do with all the leftover items - watches, parts, tools - collecting along the way while finding that level?

 

[tomh207]

Just now, Galilea said:

 

If tools and parts you can just horde them like me and NEW (Rich) joking aside anything you are never going to get into or use I would make them available to the hobbyist community at reasonable cost as best I could. I have some stuff I have stripped, cleaned and lubricated as well as more to do that are surplus to my needs and this is my intention. If I get a bit of cash to go towards stuff I do want and likely to use then that would be great.

 

Tom

@Galilea don’t necessarily write off quartz, it is a marvel of engineering mixed with electronics. Sure there are the 50 cent movements in $5 watches but there are also really nice movements out there with jewels in them that are also serviceable, never mind the high accuracy quartz (HAQ) movements. Alongside that citizen have the most accurate watch currently, a couple of seconds out per year, a triumph of horological achievement.

 

Tom

[Neverenoughwatches]

39 minutes ago, Galilea said:

Thank you Tom. I think I am headed for 2 - 5, as I have a quartz allergy. Although, some of those old Timex electrics and I have a wonderful Wittnauer electric , I could see changing those batteries.

It's true, it is a trade we can all use in our own way. I don't plan on fixing any but my own, and that will be a challenge. It is wonderful to think of all of my watches being clean and repaired.

(Scans quoted post ferociously, looking for an opportunity to goof off with the esteemed @Neverenoughwatches finds none ) Thank you, very motivational. Leaps and bounds sounds wonderful.

haha sorry i gave you nothing to draw from . I'm not all goof, i have a serious side as well, in fact a complicated character of many facets. 

[tomh207]

11 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

haha sorry i gave you nothing to draw from . I'm not all goof, i have a serious side as well, in fact a complicated character of many facets. 

Understatement!

 

Tom

[Neverenoughwatches]

45 minutes ago, tomh207 said:

Understatement!

 

Tom

Cheers Tom the recognition makes it all worthwhile.

[Galilea]

8 hours ago, tomh207 said:

 

@Galilea don’t necessarily write off quartz, it is a marvel of engineering mixed with electronics. Sure there are the 50 cent movements in $5 watches but there are also really nice movements out there with jewels in them that are also serviceable, never mind the high accuracy quartz (HAQ) movements. 

That is surely true, Tom, about the marvel of quartz, but those movements are just plain unattractive to me. Function threw Form right under the bus, and I know those companies making quartz watches could afford designers capable of more.

Quartz watches don't tick (or tock), you cannot wind them, and you cannot part them out the same way. 

Also (and I hate to even mention this one) what if things ever got bad?  A good electromagnetic pulse would not destroy a quartz watch, it might damage it (sources needed on that} . They could only last for as long as their batteries, and other components might  generally not be locally source able.

I am a collector, and my watch heart wants what it wants. Maybe if I had to outfit an army I'd feel differently.

 

Edited July 31, 2023 by Galilea