Pantographing

 The new students are now wading into deeper waters and learning how to operate new machinery. This week Michael showed them how to use the pantograph and how to mend damaged cables. Bernd was quick grasp its concepts and start decorating his tools.

Bernd operating the pantograph 

The finished product 

 Bernd’s balance bridge holder

Drilla Louis

Grey completed his first Geneva stripes finishing, on his pallet fork holder. In the same week he also achieved a near perfect score on his hour wheel exam!

Looking sharp 

Behold….. a very fine hour wheel

And let’s not forget, Thanks Giving! The students brought in home cooked meals traditionally made from where they are from. Spanish, Hong Kong, Indian, American, Swiss too. With the most complimented dish being Grey’s chicken pot pie.

Snow!

 

Week 47

Winter has officially arrived in Le Locle, heralded by a large amount of snow. But whether arriving by car, bus, or trudging in on foot, the students continue their work... as well as some fun.

Ivan menaces Louis with the mother of all snowballs

Art emerges from hiding behind a pole while Craig chases Ivan down

We also had a new bench tester braving the weather: Kyle from the Philippines.

Kyle working on the black polish exercise

STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS

Workshop A

Students:
    Art, Bernd, Cesar, Joan, Louis Lu, Mun, Nine

    This week Bernd and Cesar passed their first exam testing their skills at filing. Louis Lu continued his practice, seeking perfection.

Louis Lu's filing exercise

Joan drilled the first holes for his press-fit plate.

Art made his first balance staff, but succumbed to the curse of all watchmakers and lost it soon after grading. RIP tiny parts.

Update: He found it!

Workshop B

Students:
    Craig, Dunham, Ivan, Louis, Sheikh, Varun 

 

    This week Henrik gathered the workshop together for a demonstration of how to create Geneva Stripe patterns for surface finish. Following the demonstration, Louis and Varun tried their hands at recreating the pattern, Varun in brass and Louis in brass and german silver.

 

Ivan tries his hand at creating some stripes.

Louis's attempts in brass (above) and german silver (below)

 

Craig also made his first balance staff this week, turned to the dimensions for the 6498 movement.

 

Minuscule details, all machined to tolerance by hand

 

Thank you for reading!

Hope to see you again next week!

Learning the ropes

Bench test! Sully from New York, came to spend 5 days in Le Locle to join us for his bench test.

Sully working on his black polishing 

This is the second week for the new students, exciting and yet daunting with the prospects of the meticulous work in the months to come. After having learnt the very basics with filling and sawing, they have now moved on to learning how to operate the basic machinery such as the drill and lathe. They have now started to go through the processes of tapping and threading, skills which will be used when producing their own watchmaking tools.

Taking a look under the microscope at where to use the parting graver

Aligning the parting graver with the threaded screw (it’s not aligned!)

Prototyping

Second year student, Louis, working on some movement rings for this calibers. 

pt.1

 

pt.2

pt.3

New Students Arrive

Week 45

Last week the students enjoyed a long weekend, as well as Halloween! The holiday isn't quite as popular here as it is in America, but that didn't stop Craig from getting into the spirit and spooking several of the other students.

The doctor has been expecting you...

This week, the school welcomes four new students for the 2-year Fullskill course under Michael's tutelage: Louis Lu from Taiwan, Joan from Spain, Cesar from Brazil, and Bernd from Germany. We will be following their studies with great anticipation!

In their new watchmaker's coats. From the left: Louis Lu, Joan, Cesar, and Bernd

STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS

Workshops A&B

Students:
    Art, Bernd, Cesar, Joan, Louis Lu, Mun, Nine
    Craig, Dunham, Ivan, Louis, Sheikh, Varun 

 

    This week Nine did quite well on her pivot gauge practice exam. The official exam awaits.

Craig learned how to use the pantograph to engrave patterns at a reduced scale. As an initial product, he used it to engrave a display plate for the set of pivot gauges he'd made.

 

Louis completed the great wheel (truly great in size) for his school watch. This involved milling out the blanks on the jig borer, hand-bevelling the edges, and cutting the teeth on the lathe.

Thank you for reading!

Hope to see you again next week!

Graduation!

 

Week 43

This week saw the graduation of Yi-Wei "David" Wu, Miguel Uy, and Daniel Johnsson. It has been a pleasure having you as students, and we wish the best in all your future endeavors. Congratulations on this achievement!

Henrik giving the commencement speech.

Michael getting emotional during his speech. This was the graduation of his first class of students.

Michael, David, and Miguel also chose to get commemorative watches for the occasion, and engraved the rotors themselves. 

 

This week we also had another bench tester: Guilherme from Florida.

STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS

Workshop AB

Students:
    Art, Daniel, David, Miguel, Mun, Nine
    Craig, Dunham, Ivan, Louis, Sheikh, Varun

    This week Art completed his pivot gauges, balance holder, and nose vice.

 

 

Craig passed the pivot gauge exam, and went on to experiment with new surface finishes. He devised a method, using several custom tools, to produce patterns inspired by chainmail and fish scales.

 

 

Louis breathed some new life into a vintage Glycine Airman. The case was cleaned and de-rusted, then he overhauled the movement, loomed the hands and re-enameled the bezel.

 

 

Thank you for reading!

Hope to see you again next week!

Like Watchmakers in a Tool Store

Week 42

It's been a good season lately for deal hunters and those who enjoy browsing large collections of machinery. Last week the school had a visit from our friend Sabri and his large selection of hand tools for sale.

The students peruse Sabri's wares

This week, students were invited to tour Greub, a local business specializing in the restoration, modification, and sale of watch tools, from desk stands to industrial-sized presses. The massive warehouse and workshop was truly a sight to behold.

 

STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS

Workshop AB

Students:
    Art, Daniel, David, Miguel, Mun, Nine
    Craig, Dunham, Ivan, Louis, Sheikh, Varun

    This week Art passed his pivot gauge exam, and Craig completed the required number of pivot gauges and passed his practice exam. Craig will take his exam next week.

 

    Daniel cut and finished the center wheel pinion for his school watch.

 

    This week Louis investigated the method for applying a ground finish to ratchet gears, with excellent results.

 

 

Thank you for reading!

Hope to see you again next week!