Jump to content

First Dial From Scratch!


Recommended Posts

Most of the dials I use are either made specific to a certain movement, or are modified to fit other movements. But this time I needed a dial that would fit a specific size case(12s case) and would also fit the movement (10s) that I wanted to install in that case.

 

I thought it might be better to try and make one from scratch....

 

I milled it out of 18 gauge Brass Sheet. I wanted the look of a triple sunken dial and milled it on my lathe to mimic that look. Since it is a pretty thick dial, I had turn a seat at outer edge of the dial to allow the movement to sit at the right depth so that the stem would line up with the tube on the case.

 

post-90-0-20054700-1400078234_thumb.jpg

 

I'm very happy with how it turned out(pun intended) as it was my first ever attempt at doing this!

 

I'll update with a picture of the finished dial when I get it back from the refinishers...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Will you solder on dial feet - or do you have another fixing method in mind? If feet, what will your method be for making them?

 

Looks good so far!

 

I soldered the dial feet using my Dial Feet solder machine, basically a welder. You'll notice the file marks from removing excess solder so that the dial seats flush with the movement.

 

post-90-0-41174300-1400081465_thumb.jpg

 

post-90-0-80094100-1400081463_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

Nice looking job Don, I really appreciate quality engineering!

Have you worked out a style for the graphics?

 

I'm thinking a nice matt silver with either style of numbers in the following pictures...

 

This one I had done with a Howard movement...I posted it here in a previous post.

post-90-0-64303700-1400081357_thumb.jpg

 

I like the font in this dial. It looks a little more elegant!

post-90-0-66201900-1400081372_thumb.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Finally got my custom made dial back from the "Dial Refinishers"...

They do pretty good work, but I'm kind of a perfectionist so I really notice the little flaws in their printing process...couple of wayward specs of dust caught in the finish coat and the 3 has a glob of paint in it.

All in All, it looks pretty nice, I do believe!

 

post-90-0-59411400-1403636560_thumb.jpg

post-90-0-50056800-1403636556_thumb.jpg

post-90-0-69190200-1403636552_thumb.jpg

 

Not the dial, but a good shot of the Hamilton 921 movement...

post-90-0-70934000-1403636549_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Geo! I do have to say that I'm pretty proud of this watch! Everything on this piece just kind of came together perfectly! And, I was very satisfied with this strap too! It compliments the dial color very well and it looks a heck of a lot more expensive than the $15 I paid for it...

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • I think we've talked about this before, using a new mainspring to initially overcome the effects of more movement friction than there should be. The aim is to reduce all going friction not to push through the friction with more torque, that in the long run will create more wear.
    • Sensible precautions @rjenkinsgb. I remember as a lad, my mate's dad ran a garage. I can clearly remember watching him change break pads. He used an airline to blow the dust out, (when pads used asbestos), and  we used to practically bathe in "carbon tet". But then he did smoke about 40 cigs a day. Makes me shudder to think about it.
    • OK, a little bit more from today's lecture about the main springs. Generally, the spring in the barrel is limited and can't  unwind fully. With the blue line is shown the reserve/torque relation when spring unwinding is limited by the barrel. The green line represents the same when the spring is free to unwind fully And the red line shows the minimum torque that is needed for the movement to keep running. The yelow graph shows how the torque changes (from the blue) when the spring gets weaker (set) after 100 years of work. The purple line represents thinner and longer spring in the same barrel. As You can see, using thinner and longer spring will increase the power reserve. The 'set' spring will have the same reserve as a new one with the same sizes, only the amplitude will be just a little smaller.  Of course, this is true only when the movement othervice is in good health ( the red line is lo enough)
    • As long as you don't grind the stuff up and blow it around, you should be fine. Use a dust mask if in doubt.   The things I'm very careful of are: Radium lume - even the stuff that is visually completely dead and inert is still highly radioactive; it's the fluorescent part that decays, not the radium. A single speck inhaled or ingested can cause cancer, so store parts in zip bags and wear a dust mask & wipe your work area down after handling anything that uses it. A proper geiger counter is a good investment if you plan on working with vintage watches, so you can check for it & take appropriate precautions.   "One dip" & equivalents - the original type & the generic PERC dry cleaning fluid (Tetrachloroethylene / perchloroethylene) which is what the original one dip was mostly made of. That's toxic, a known carcinogen. Use in very good ventilation only & keep it sealed whenever possible.   The newer B-Dip is presumably a safer replacement.  
    • Only 137% !  sounds like you're not putting enough effort in 😆.  I would think of it like cogs on pushbike.  Fastest speed to the spindle would be largest pulley wheel on the drive and smallest pulley wheel on the driven. If the motor was into a sliding bed you would have 3x4 ? Speeds.
×
×
  • Create New...