Designed and 3D Printed a Screwdriver Holder

[jrdn92]

I didn't really feel like forking over $70 for a Bergeon one, so I designed and 3D printed my own. Just needs a 608 bearing in the base!

Link to model file in case anyone wants to print their own.

[spectre6000]

I like that it can hold other tools. I was actually thinking about something like this this morning, earlier in my cup of coffee. Something low profile/horizontal... I just finished that same cup of coffee, so I'm not very far into it.

I wonder what the cross section is between watchmakers and 3d printer-ers? Seems to come up fairly often on here, and the only other member I've met in person is far more into it (and better at it) than I am. I have to reflash the firmware on my machine this weekend... Has a Y-axis issue where it seems to occasionally (~20% of the time) invert the axis during the initial calibration routine, and grind the crap out of the toothed belt...

[jrdn92]

I'd say they both appeal to a specific type of person, and if it wasn't for the generational gap between your average watchmaker and 3D printing enthusiasts I would expect many more to have them.

[LittleWatchShop]

I use an ancient and slow Lulzbot Mini with an upgraded extruder.  I print horological related stuff all the time.  Printing something now!  I am not particularly fond of that style of screwdriver holder. I like mine lying flat.  But, nevertheless, yours looks quite fine!

...and am well north of retirement age...btw

[spectre6000]

You also made a career of ingesting novel ideas, so taking up new tech in retirement is hardly a surprise. You're hardly the norm. 

[jrdn92]

On 2/8/2025 at 12:45 PM, LittleWatchShop said:

I use an ancient and slow Lulzbot Mini with an upgraded extruder.  I print horological related stuff all the time.  Printing something now!  I am not particularly fond of that style of screwdriver holder. I like mine lying flat.  But, nevertheless, yours looks quite fine!

...and am well north of retirement age...btw

I meant more to say that if, in an alternate universe, 3D printing had come around a few decades earlier I'd expect every workshop would likely have one - they're simply too useful for how (relatively) inexpensive they are.

[LittleWatchShop]

5 hours ago, jrdn92 said:

I meant more to say that if, in an alternate universe, 3D printing had come around a few decades earlier I'd expect every workshop would likely have one - they're simply too useful for how (relatively) inexpensive they are.

Thankfully 3D printing grew out of the Maker community. Otherwise, filament would be chipped and very expensive. No doubt, the HPs of the world didn't see it coming.

[JohnR725]

On 2/8/2025 at 12:31 PM, jrdn92 said:

I'd say they both appeal to a specific type of person, and if it wasn't for the generational gap between your average watchmaker and 3D printing enthusiasts I would expect many more to have them.

I find the quote amusing? Then there is a minor problem? The minor problem would occur if you went back in time far enough in other words when 3-D printers came into existence. Okay minor clarification when 3-D printers came into existence for the rest of us not the commercial ones not the ones that were out of our price range. So in the early days of 3-D printers for the rest of us somewhere I heard about basically a terminology to describe the users. There is the tinkerer this is the person who has fun building a printer modifying changing modifying the firmware etc. Then there is the builder the person who likes to use the printer to build and make things. Then the builder is basically the person we have today because DIY 3-D printing is rapidly coming to an end as 3-D printers become more common every day  items.

So now that we have our terminology. What if we had somebody that like to watch repair they would be in the gears mechanical stuff building stuff. Maybe they had a little electronics and programming knowledge then there wouldn't be a generation gap because they would see a 3-D printer is really nifty.

So for instance many years ago somebody told me that on Kickstarter I might find something interesting in the way of a timer for cameras which I did not like at all. But when I was there I saw something interesting I saw a really interesting video about something called a  printrbot. It's a shame I don't see the video on their website anymore as it's a really interesting video. So interesting that I made one and heavily upgraded it. It currently is still sitting on the kitchen table it works just fine although it has been upgraded by quite a bit over the years. Plus I've added other 3-D printers to play with.

 

1 hour ago, LittleWatchShop said:

HPs of the world didn't see it coming.

Amusingly a lot of people didn't see it coming.  One of the amusing questions for 3-D printing is the original patent holders. So you have the patent for stereolithography and extruding. I did find extruding patent quite amusing and I'm not even sure if it used filament initially? In any case there were patents and then there was a community the discussion group and we still have a website. So this entire community website people makers came into existence and apparently the patents was never enforced which is good for all of us. Somewhere I'd heard there was a discussion group with the endless battle of why that was.

https://www.reprap.org/wiki/RepRap

 

 

[tomh207]

From a personal perspective I am retired like many here, to be fair though I started off in electronics and moved into IT where I spent most of my working life.  I think that a lot of us are intrigued by how things work which is what tends to bring us into watchmaking. That curiosity often leads us down a path of figuring out how to use and learn about some pretty arcane tools and subsequently how to achieve a repair by improvisation and making tools and parts. I have been lucky enough to be recently gifted a 3d printer and have ideas of where I can make tools, machines and work holding jigs to achieve some of my watchmaker ambitions. I am also working towards getting a small CNC desktop machine if my pension can manage. Something that I find really exciting is electrical discharge machining (EDM) is entering the diy enthusiast phase much as 3d printing did several years ago.  It would be absolutely fascinating as an amateur watchmaker to combine traditional lathe work, CNC, 3d printing and EDM in a home workshop, the possibilities are staggering in my opinion.

 

Tom
 

 

[AndyGSi]

2 hours ago, tomh207 said:

Something that I find really exciting is electrical discharge machining (EDM) is entering the diy enthusiast phase

Do you mean a laser welder?

[tomh207]

47 minutes ago, AndyGSi said:

Do you mean a laser welder?

No Andy, there is a diy movement for EDM cutting and boring.  I can imagine where someone has the, I think best fit book where the keyless works parts are life size being able to digitise those and cut from the appropriate thickness spring steel. Another place it would potentially be useful is shaping HSS cutters for the lathe at small scales. I am not sure the cutter wire will be small enough to make watch wheels and pinions for a while but clocks it should be there now.

 

i also should have added a fibre laser in the 50 watt range to my dream list for various things but definitely making dials and also cliches for pad printing.

a man’s gotta dream, especially where tools/toys are concerned.

 

Tom

[JohnR725]

7 hours ago, tomh207 said:

there is a diy movement for EDM cutting and boring.

Yes I believe there is quite a movement of all sorts of nifty DIY EDM. Then of course we throw in all the nifty other stuff we have? Typically we would think of things like why are EDM and somewhere I've seen where someone had a C NCE wire version that they had made. On the other hand you may be able to do something really clever like almost making a EDM milling machine. In other words you could have the cutter slowly moving downwards so it's nice and fresh but not have to have a spool of wire. Which might make things easier to make perhaps.

Then of course the really nice thing with EDM is the metal can be at the proper hardness. Which works out really nicely when you're making really delicate Springs as you wouldn't have to harden afterwards.

7 hours ago, tomh207 said:

i also should have added a fibre laser in the 50 watt range to my dream list for various things but definitely making dials and also cliches for pad printing

You may be able to get away with something with less power perhaps. I recently saw or someone send me an advertisement for a I reasonably sure it wasn't 50 W and it was cutting into metal. So conceivably you'd have to make lots and lots of passes. I don't think for the dial printing that the cuts have to be very deep. Plus if you were going to settle for something other than steel it probably use other materials that might cut easier perhaps. On the other hand think of all the fun you could do with 50 W as you can do a heck of a lot of metal cutting. Oh and there's other fun things you can do with your fiber laser like suppose you need a square hole in a mainspring? Yes a case I need a square hole in something and where I work we do have a 50 W fiber laser. Along with a CO2 laser and a diamond tip engraving machine which also has a rotary cutter that they typically almost never use.

[fclass308]

jrdn32, do you have any interest in making one of those to sell? I really like your design.

Warren

[jrdn92]

45 minutes ago, fclass308 said:

jrdn32, do you have any interest in making one of those to sell? I really like your design.

Warren

I'd be happy to - how does $10 plus shipping sound? I can print them in black, green, or gold at the moment. Just send me a private message and we can get it figured out.

[JohnR725]

20 hours ago, tomh207 said:

I am also working towards getting a small CNC desktop machine if my pension can manage

Thinking of small CNC milling machine for instance. Here's something that's interesting 3-D printed components and a conversion of a small inexpensive milling machine.

 

[tomh207]

@fclass308 @jrdn92 guy’s for future reference please don’t discuss prices for goods and services you are willing to sell. This is against forum rules. Please only conduct any transactions via direct/personal message.

 

thanks

 

Tom

[jrdn92]

8 hours ago, tomh207 said:

@fclass308 @jrdn92 guy’s for future reference please don’t discuss prices for goods and services you are willing to sell. This is against forum rules. Please only conduct any transactions via direct/personal message.

 

thanks

 

Tom

Understood - sorry about that.

Edited February 11 by jrdn92

[jrdn92]

I would love for small scale metal fabrication to reach the level of ease of 3D printing. I just had to pay $20 to get a setting lever shipped from the Netherlands on Ebay, I could remodel that part in Fusion 360 in an hour but have no way to actually make the thing. 

Edited February 11 by jrdn92

[LittleWatchShop]

40 minutes ago, jrdn92 said:

I would love for small scale metal fabrication to reach the level of ease of 3D printing. I just had to pay $20 to get a setting lever shipped from the Netherlands on Ebay, I could remodel that part in Fusion 360 in an hour but have no way to actually make the thing. 

Your words to God's ears!

[SwissSeiko]

19 hours ago, jrdn92 said:

I would love for small scale metal fabrication to reach the level of ease of 3D printing. I just had to pay $20 to get a setting lever shipped from the Netherlands on Ebay, I could remodel that part in Fusion 360 in an hour but have no way to actually make the thing. 

print out the drawing to size, glue it to some spring steel, and get busy with a jewelers saw and escapement files! Surer it'll take some time, but its faster than waiting for something in the mail.