First fondue evening, and milling

This week we keep learning new machine - Milling. Milling is a little bit more complicated compared with drilling. So we have to do it one by one under Henrik's supervision. From machine set up (calibration) to milling a square piece from scrach. We still have to practice our own afterwards before we work with our own master piece.


Yi Ting is squaring from scrach.


CJ is calibrating the flatness of his work piece.



It's all about pricision.


Felix is measuring the straigthness.


Sif is milling the reference surface of the square piece. Use both hands to control the feed speed to increase the stability of milling qualities.


Eddie is making a test piece for testing out the center distance in the gear train of his school watch.


The weather is cold and still snowing, so we decided to have a Fondue night to warm up a bit. As you can see, Yi Ting was really happy and exciting to have Fondue. Say "Cheese", yeah it is all about cheese.



By the way, we students from Taiwan found a really cheap health insurance here in Switzerland from SwissCare. It cost them only 85CFH per month. What a great deal for us. Now we can have more budget to invest in our watchmaking tools in flea market.

Start learning machines

This week, we the first year students learned the basics of drilling on the drill press as well as milling. It's always helpful that planning everything before start working could do the better job and it's safer. After Henrik showed us how to drill and make threads, all of us follow his procedure to make our own threads on the brass plate. Of course, we are also continuning to finish our tool bases. 

Eddie has been depthing his wheels for his school watch.

Shuai has been working on his tourbillon cage on the jig boring machine streamlining the design

There is also an unmentionable secret school project that generations of students have been working to achieve. we learned the basics and will endevour to push it foward in future as our micro mechanics and machining skills improve. 

Class 2019 kick off

Welcome, class 2019, the new adventure for the next two years. This week we are still settling down in our new life in Le Locle. Everthing is new and we are starting from the beginning.

Eddie, class 2017 who is working on his school watch trying to cut spokes for the wheel. It looks great, and it took time and good watchmaking skills to make the parts as good as eddies.

We start our first week from reading drawings and cutting brass plate according to the drawings. Then we file it for making our own watchmaking tools. Filing is the most basic and important skill for watchmaking so its worth spending time on it.  

Felix from England is planing his cutting plan for his brass plate. 

Yi Ting (left) from Taiwan cuts her 8mm brass plate witch takes very long time to do, and Sif (right) from Iceland files cutted square plate. 

Both Stan (left) and CJ (right) are from Taiwan are practicing the filing skills.

Tomorrow will be Easter and before the weekends we always have to clean the school before we leave. Everyting must be tidy and clean, every tiny details are very important for the people who want to become a watchmaker.  So we learn it in every area such as the cleaning the school.

Eddie and Stan are discussing a very important dishwasher complications.