Hard at Work

   Week 34

Louis Lu and Craig working on the lathe

STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS

Workshop A

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

     This week Bernd modified a Käfer J12 pocket thickness gauge for the use with a watchmaker’s lathe. He replaced its flat contact points with two hardened and blued steel blades. He also finished his second to the last mandatory tool, the brass anvil. One more to go!

The Brass Anvil, an exercise in precision-milling different shapes

 

Joan worked on one of his mandatory tools: the v-slotted poising plate.

Workshop B

Students:
    Christiaan, Craig, Gary, Philippe, Sense    

 

Christiaan, Gary, and Philippe continued their machining education, learning how to use the milling attachment on the lathe. Gary quickly put this skill to use by machining some new screws for one of the other workshop machines.

 

Milling the slot in the screw

Philippe passed his first exam with two expertly-filed brass blocks.

Perfect fit, made by hand

  

Craig and Sense joined Art and Nine in learning how to properly assemble and disassemble a balance wheel. They practiced removing a broken balance staff, tightening a roller table, and riveting the balance staff to the balance wheel.

Art making sure the staking tool is centered

Extracting the roller table and safety roller from the balance staff

 

Sense riveting a balance wheel together with the staking set

Craig also reached a significant milestone in the construction of his watch: machining out and assembling all of the bridges and plates. All made from scratch and of his own design. Well done!

Plates fit together and awaiting finish

Thank you for reading!

Watchmaker memes, courtesy of Art

Hope to see you again next week