Part swapper to part maker

[Neverenoughwatches]

I feel like I've achieved the next level up . First watch with homemade part installed ( setting lever ). FHF 73, not bad to work on, simple and sturdy, and part working perfectly.  An Avia and in time for this year's Olympics.  It has a teenage dial ( bit spotty )

[RichardHarris123]

Bravo. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

1 hour ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Bravo. 

Thanks Rich, its really not that difficult to make them, simple ones anyway. Cousins didn't have the part though i could find it on ebay at 6.50. I figure i earned about £1.50/ hr . It paid for the diamond files i bought.

[RichardHarris123]

41 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

£1.50/ h

Only £2 more than you are worth.  Hehe. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

17 hours ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Only £2 more than you are worth.  Hehe. 

Next one up an AS 554, looks like a bit more to this one. First job is to check thickness, most springs are somewhere between .3 and .4, this one measures .35, that matches in with the .4 spring steel i ordered. So for marking up a permanent marker comes in handy to colour up the steel to be marked later with a scriber once its dry. Bestfit provide the extra bit of info for the jumper spring that is missing.

[Neverenoughwatches]

1 hour ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Next one up an AS 554, looks like a bit more to this one. First job is to check thickness, most springs are somewhere between .3 and .4, this one measures .35, that matches in with the .4 spring steel i ordered. So for marking up a permanent marker comes in handy to colour up the steel to be marked later with a scriber once its dry. Bestfit provide the extra bit of info for the jumper spring that is missing.

Next is to drill the screwhole this then provides an anchor point so the bridge doesnt slip around while scribing the shape. A cork lid, a pin and a piece of gaffer tape ( ) keeps it all in place. The hole is measured from the broken part using a hand measuring gauge. Mark the hole, punch it and drill it off to size. The awkward bit is working out where the jumper should be and the detent positions.  I remember watching a youtuber a while back do this with dividers, so i dug out my old school compasses and improvised a little. This bridge only has one hole and to find the detent positions you need two points of reference, so i just worked the second point from one of the corners, hopefully its near enough. Then scribe in the jumper using the two detent positions ( wind and time set ) that were marked and a big picture of the complete spring to look at that helps to give you a feel of where the jumper should be. 

34 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Next is to drill the screwhole this then provides an anchor point so the bridge doesnt slip around while scribing the shape. A cork lid, a pin and a piece of gaffer tape ( ) keeps it all in place. The hole is measured from the broken part using a hand measuring gauge. Mark the hole, punch it and drill it off to size. The awkward bit is working out where the jumper should be and the detent positions.  I remember watching a youtuber a while back do this with dividers, so i dug out my old school compasses and improvised a little. This bridge only has one hole and to find the detent positions you need two points of reference, so i just worked the second point from one of the corners, hopefully its near enough. Then scribe in the jumper using the two detent positions ( wind and time set ) that were marked and a big picture of the complete spring to look at that helps to give you a feel of where the jumper should be. 

 

[RichardHarris123]

21 hours ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

 

 

1 hour ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Next is to drill the screwhole this then provides an anchor point so the bridge doesnt slip around while scribing the shape. A cork lid, a pin and a piece of gaffer tape ( ) keeps it all in place. The hole is measured from the broken part using a hand measuring gauge. Mark the hole, punch it and drill it off to size. The awkward bit is working out where the jumper should be and the detent positions.  I remember watching a youtuber a while back do this with dividers, so i dug out my old school compasses and improvised a little. This bridge only has one hole and to find the detent positions you need two points of reference, so i just worked the second point from one of the corners, hopefully its near enough. Then scribe in the jumper using the two detent positions ( wind and time set ) that were marked and a big picture of the complete spring to look at that helps to give you a feel of where the jumper should be. 

 

Could you print the image either enlarged or reduced to the same size as the actual part and then glue it to the steel. 

Edited May 3, 2024 by RichardHarris123
Typo again.

[Neverenoughwatches]

15 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

 

Could you print the image either enlarged or reduce the the same size as the actual part and then glue it to the steel. 

I did try that last time Rich , i traced the image from the Bestfit book which is the actual size. But its more difficut to cut the shape from paper than it is to grind the steel to shape. This way is pretty easy and the final shaping is done when fitting the part. There are a couple of things i will do differently next time, clamping the 2 pieces together with a drill press will help to hold while scribing the shape in. This was a bit tricky having only one hole, if using the pins and cork the drill size needs to match the pin diameter so there is no movement at all from the template. This movement hasn't finished frying me yet, damaged thread in the plate crown wheel hole and two rubbed in cracked jewels, thats gonna be much more fun.

[RichardHarris123]

3 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

I did try that last time Rich , i traced the image from the Bestfit book which is the actual size. But its more difficut to cut the shape from paper than it is to grind the steel to shape. This way is pretty easy and the final shaping is done when fitting the part. There are a couple of things i will do differently next time, clamping the 2 pieces together with a drill press will help to hold while scribing the shape in. This was a bit tricky having only one hole, if using the pins and cork the drill size needs to match the pin diameter so there is no movement at all from the template. This movement hasn't finished frying me yet, damaged thread in the plate crown wheel hole and two rubbed in cracked jewels, thats gonna be much more fun.

Why cut the paper, cut a square around the image and grind to it. 

[Neverenoughwatches]

5 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

I did try that last time Rich , i traced the image from the Bestfit book which is the actual size. But its more difficut to cut the shape from paper than it is to grind the steel to shape. This way is pretty easy and the final shaping is done when fitting the part. There are a couple of things i will do differently next time, clamping the 2 pieces together with a drill press will help to hold while scribing the shape in. This was a bit tricky having only one hole, if using the pins and cork the drill size needs to match the pin diameter so there is no movement at all from the template. This movement hasn't finished frying me yet, damaged thread in the plate crown wheel hole and two rubbed in cracked jewels, thats gonna be much more fun.

Oh and this almost perfect third wheel pivot and slightly set mainspring 

54 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

Why cut the paper, cut a square around the image and grind to it. 

Ah ok yes i see what you mean, good idea. I'll try that if i fluff this one up. The image isn't great quality but i like the idea though.

[Neverenoughwatches]

The part is roughed out with a speed run diamond disk. Finish both the ends first that way the spring doesn't get any stress and then go ahead and bring the jumper down to size last. Slowly cutting my time down. This one will be 3 hours when its finished, two hours is very doable with some practice from start to finish inc. a little polishing up on the main contact points.

[Neverenoughwatches]

Just now, Neverenoughwatches said:

Better than the last one , removing the guesswork by taking spring positions made that possible

[rehajm]

Fine work. I see what you were going for….

…sorry- early in the states. How dies the pull on the crown feel? This is not in my skill set yet- I always wonder if the new material will be too stiff…

[Jon]

Is the steel you're using tool steel? If it is, have you thought about hardening and tempering it to blue so it would be springy?

Nice job! I've got my second year students making a setting lever from scratch in a couple of weeks time. All they'll have is a compass/dividers to map out the screw holes and the indentation where the setting lever peg clicks for winding to hand-setting. Very similar to how you have done it

[Neverenoughwatches]

4 hours ago, rehajm said:

Fine work. I see what you were going for….

…sorry- early in the states. How dies the pull on the crown feel? This is not in my skill set yet- I always wonder if the new material will be too stiff…

Feels about right, just choose the right steel , and you can play around with the shape and the arm thickness to suit how stiff it needs to be.

1 hour ago, Jon said:

Is the steel you're using tool steel? If it is, have you thought about hardening and tempering it to blue so it would be springy?

Nice job! I've got my second year students making a setting lever from scratch in a couple of weeks time. All they'll have is a compass/dividers to map out the screw holes and the indentation where the setting lever peg clicks for winding to hand-setting. Very similar to how you have done it

Thanks John, Its spring steel John Cs100, i haven't  h&t  it yet but i will be doing.  Marking out is quite straightforward,  the black helps to see it. What i did realise is to leave plenty of meat at the end of the arm, you can take material off but you cant put it back on again. I would like to have a go at from scratch without the minute bridge for a template

[Jon]

I would use some binding wire around the part before heating it. It protects the steel from being burned. I know that sounds strange, as you're going to heat it with a blowtorch, but if a part is thin and delicate the steel can literally burn away before your eyes, which isn't funny if you've put hours into the job. I bought some tools steel from Cousins a few years ago which turned out not to be tool steel, because it couldn't be hardened or tempered. I wasn't impressed, as I had spent two hours making the part for it to be useless.

[Neverenoughwatches]

Tah-dah. A mini blow torch to harden it, then quench it and just a lighter held under a brass mainspring barrel that the part sits in to temper, Its important to wipe off any grease from fingerprints with ipa, you might be able to see i missed a bit at the top of the arm. Its a very satisfying process. I now just need to deal with the more difficult repairs, anybody any good at replacing rubbed in jewels ?

[Jon]

On 5/4/2024 at 8:44 PM, Neverenoughwatches said:

anybody any good at replacing rubbed in jewels ?

I tend to replace them with friction fitted jewels, unless the client wants to keep the originality of the movement, but then they pay more for that luxury.

[Neverenoughwatches]

34 minutes ago, Jon said:

I tend to replace them with friction fitted jewels, unless the client wants to keep the originality of the movement, but then they pay more for that luxury.

Thanks jon, that would be my only option but i have bigger problems now with this one