Friday, July 24, 2020

SUMMER BREAK!

WEEK 68


The summer break arrived! This was our last week before we take our well deserved summer break. The Technicians continued to practice as much as possible on cases, dial and hands, and how to do the proper clean casing-up. Michael finished his final winding stem exam and started to design a winding stem for an antique pocket watch where it was missing. Alex continued with making some more pivot gauges after finishing his brass anvil and Markus continued studying the winding and setting mechanism and its lubrication. Today we also had our big summer clean and the school now looks like new again! See you in 3 weeks and enjoy the summer!

STEP 1: CASES! (TECHNICIAN) 
Vintage cases to practice case polishing on.


Pierre polishing a steel case.


James polishing an acrylic crystal.


Pierre water resistance testing a watch he just finished casing up.



Friday, July 17, 2020

SUMMER OUTING!

WEEK 67


Pierre Aubert, James Punshon, Jayne Zhuo
Origin : Sydney, Australia. Toulouse, France. Singapore.
Age : 38
Watchmaking class: Technician Course
Current mood: Hi Jayne here. Thought this week will end with a happy note of me servicing my first ever alarm watch with AS1475 movement. So excited with the idea of wearing it with alarm set for my last bus home. Sigh, just at the very last step of completion, I accidentally dropped the movement while setting the time and broke the pallet fork pivot. Guess now would be another good learning point. Yay that's why we are here for the course - to learn to fix things! Other than that, had a great time cleaning up the melted gasket of this vintage 1950s watch. It's all nice and shiny now, almost ready to be worn.


Name: Markus McDonald.
Origin: Stockholm, Sweden. 
Course: 2 years full skill course.
Current mode: 
This week was very interesting as I continued to build upon the fundamental with Both an Incabloc shock absorber exercise that focused on dexterity whilst disassembling the shock absorbers a crucial part of the watches anatomy that allows for accountancy and performance. 
An introduction to oiling, which is one of the most crucial skills in the technician section of this course and watchmaking as being able to evaluate which areas are in need of lubrication and applying the right amount of oil or grease is crucial in getting the time piece to run smoothly. In conclusion this week was both interesting and educational.


Michael
Origin : Malaysia
Age : 28
Watchmaking class : 2 years Fullskill Program
Current Mood: We went to Interlaken and hike half way up to the Rothorn peak at 2349.7m . It was a great school trip! Been doing trial exams on winding stem for this week. Looking forward to the real exam next week before summer holidays. 


Alex
Origin : Kaohsiung, Taiwan 
Age : 27
Watchmaking : 2Y Fullskill Program
Current mood: The semester is close to its end. Still have no plan for the upcoming vacation due to the outbreak. Anyhow, calling it a day for i am out of words. Until next week.



STEP 1: PRIVATE REPAIRS! (JAYNE, JAMES)
OLD ALARM WATCH WITH CALIBER AS 1475.

RUBBER SEAL MOLTEN AROUND THE EDGE OF THE CASE (BLACK APPEARING RING), THAT WILL BE NASTY TO REMOVE!

 CLEAN!

 DISASSEMBLED WATCH.

ASSEMBLING IT BACK AND LUBRICATION AFTER CLEANING.

 JAMES DISASSEMBLED CHRONOGRAPH FOR REPAIR.

JAMES SEARCHING FOR A MAINSPRING FOR HIS CHRONOGRAPH.


STEP 2: TECHNIQUES! (TECHNICIAN)
PRACTICING THE REMOVAL OF VERY TIGHT CHRONOGRAPH SECONDS HANDS, WITH SPECIAL TOOL!

A TINY PIN IS PUSHING THROUGH THE HOLE IN THE CENTER OF THE HAND ON THE CHRONOGRAPH RUNNER PIVOT WHILE THE HAND IS SUPPORTED UNDER, THEREFORE DAMAGE TO THE HAND CAN BE AVOIDED, THE PIN IS THEN SCREWED FURTHER DOWN ON THE PIVOT AND EFFECTIVELY PUSHING THE MOVEMENT AWAY FROM THE HAND. 

PIERRE PRACTICING HAND SETTING.


STEP 3: SUMMER OUTING! (ALL)
 HAPPY BIRTHDAY PIERRE!

THE BOAT WE WENT WITH TO BRIENZ, DEPARTING FROM INTERLAKEN.

CLASSIC WAY TO GO UP THE SUMMIT!


 VIEW FROM THE BOAT!



 THE STRAWBERRIES ON THE WAY UP WERE DELICIOUS!

THE VIEW! 

THE SUMMIT!

HENRIK's WORDS:

This week was very fun as we went on our summer outing, this year we went to Interlaken to go with boat to Brienz to hike to Planalp to take a steam train to take us to the Rothorn summit. Pierre had his birthday at the same time!
Otherwise work continues as usual, the technicians are working on private repairs very interesting ones! and also learning more how to deal with dial, hands and cases. Markus is moving on with the lubrication of the winding and setting mechanism and other similar work. Alex finished his brass anvil and Michael is now ready for next weeks final winding stem exam. Next week is also the last one before we go on our much deserved summer holiday! Have a great weekend everyone! 

Friday, July 10, 2020

SAV!

WEEK 66


Pierre Aubert, James Punshon, Jayne Zhuo
Origin : Sydney, Australia. Toulouse, France. Singapore.
Age : 38
Watchmaking class: Technician Course
Current mood: Pierre here! Very very busy but interesting week as we started the repair course! Private repairs are also part of the equation :)! We all learned a lot, but I have to admit that I am very much looking forward to the summer break..! I need to reset! Have a great weekend and see you next week guys!


Name: Markus McDonald.
Origin: Stockholm, Sweden. 
Course: 2 years full skill course.
Current mode: 
This week went well as I both reinforced the fundamentals and explored various calibers such as the ETA 6498, 7001 and 2824. 
This was very interesting as each caliber whilst sharing function and certain elements varied in design and size making each caliber an interesting puzzle and a different challenge.
The 2824 was the most challenging out of the calibers as the movement was a automatic/date, with the structure being completely different from the 6498. However I was able to finish and develop an understanding of it along with each caliber making the experience rewarding.



Michael
Origin : Malaysia
Age : 28
Watchmaking class : 2 years Fullskill Program
Current Mood: It has been a very tough week for me. Try to speed up to finish a winding stem in 8 hours time frame. Did a trial exam as well. Learnt to refresh thread die using diamond files under a microscope. Practice makes perfect. Looking forward to our Interlaken school trip next Monday!



Alex
Origin : Kaohsiung, Taiwan 
Age : 27
Watchmaking : 2Y Fullskill Program
Current mood: The week was long, been struggling with the brass anvil. Lady luck simply wouldn't smile on me with this one, whatever could have gone wrong went wrong. It was the worst week of my time here..... Anyhow, finished almost all the machining today except for the jig boring. I just want this to end...



STEP 1: BRASS ANVIL MACHINING! (ALEX)
BORING OUT THE DRILLED HOLE TO FINAL SIZE!

MILLING THE LARGE SINK!

MILLING SLOTS!


STEP 2: MR. SIMONIN! (JAYNE, JAMES, MICHAEL & ALEX)





STEP 3: CLIENT REPAIRS! (PIERRE)


MISSING SCREW AND DESTROYED BRIDGE FROM SCREW HITTING OSCILLATING WEIGHT.


BROKEN SCREW FOUND IN WATCH WRECKING HAVOC INSIDE THE MOVEMENT! IF AFTER DROPPING YOUR WATCH YOU HEAR A WEIRD NOISE FROM THE INSIDE WHEN MOVING IT ABOUT, BRING TO PROFESSIONAL WATCHMAKER.


 DIRTY AND WORN TEETH OF A WHEEL.


 PLENTY OF DIRT AND BRASS FILINGS! THIS IS THE REASON WHY MECHANICAL WATCHES NEED PROFESSIONAL CARE, AND SERVICE AT REGULAR INTERVALS, CLIENT HAD NO CLUE OF THE STATE OF HIS WATCH! 


 IF CLIENT CONTINUES TO WEAR THIS WATCH WITHOUT REPAIRING AND OVERHAULING IT, THIS DEVICE CALLED A SHOCK ABSORBER WILL DRY OUT AND THE LESS THAN 0.10  MM BALANCE STAFF PIVOTS RUNNING AT A FREQUENCY OF 28800 VPH WITHIN THE ABSORBER WILL CERTAINLY WEAR THEM OUT, WHICH WILL NEED A NEW BALANCE COMPLETE OR BALANCE STAFF IF AVAILABLE. LIKE A CAR NEEDS SERVICE AT REGULAR INTERVALS WATCHES NEED THAT TOO, THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT A CAR ONLY RUNS A FEW HOURS A DAY AND A WATCH RUNS ALL THE TIME! DONT FORGET TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOUR PRECIOUS THINGS IN LIFE! 


SPORTS USE!

STEP 4: CALIBERS! (JAMES)
JAMES LOOKING TO IDENTIFY THIS CHRONOGRAPH CALIBER, TO BE ABLE TO SOURCE SPARE PARTS. BESTFIT CATALOGUE WAS USED TO FIND IT. 

LANDERON 54!

STEP 5: NEW TECHNIQUES! (TECHNICIAN)
 JAMES TRYING OUT TO EXTRACT A CROWN TUBE FROM THE CASE.

PIERRE PRACTICING THE REMOVAL OF HANDS.


STEP 6: DIE RESTORATION! (MICHAEL)
AFTER MAKING A LOT OF THREADS FOR WINDING STEMS THE TOOL WILL GET WORN AND NEEDS RE-SHARPENING!


HENRIK's WORDS:

The technicians finished the chronograph course and are now working on servicing and repairing complete watches, they started the SAV (after sales service, service après vente) course this week and we covered a number of techniques around the dial, hands and the case. They all also brought private repairs from clients, family and friends to have repaired as well. We also had a visit to Mr. Simonin and his book and tool store nearby us, I got some nice stuff as well! Michael had his first winding stem practice exam and Alex is working on his brass anvil and got introduced how to use the boring tool in the jig boring machine. Next week will be interesting for sure as we also go on our summer outing 😊 See you next week and have a great weekend! 



STEP 7: ARTICLE! (HENRIK)
GOT A RESTORATION ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE HOROLOGICAL JOURNAL BY BHI, THANK YOU!


Friday, July 3, 2020

OSCILLATING PINIONS AND MODULES!

WEEK 65


Pierre Aubert, James Punshon, Jayne Zhuo
Origin : Sydney, Australia. Toulouse, France. Singapore.
Age : 38
Watchmaking class: Technician Course
Current mood: Hi everyone, James here! Extremely interesting week this week, finishing off classic chronos and delving into modern chrono modules and 7750s. Very fascinating!
We will visit Mr Simonin and his famous watch related book collection tomorrow. Excited to pick up a copy of the chronograph bible, The Chronograph: It's Mechanism and Repair by B. Humbert.
Have a great weekend everybody!


Name: Markus McDonald.
Origin: Stockholm, Sweden. 
Course: 2 years full skill course.
Current mode: 
This week I started with the technician course specially going over the fundaments, such as modifying screwdrivers and tweezers. Along with an In-depth introduction to the gear train and technician oriented skills. 
This was very refreshing but also quiet intense as the difference between micro mechanics and technician is subtle but significant.


Michael
Origin : Malaysia
Age : 28
Watchmaking class : 2 years Fullskill Program
Current Mood: Tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
And all my weekdays have been practicing,
The way to be a watchmaker. Out, out winding stems!
May I make the best winding stems before summer ends!


Alex
Origin : Kaohsiung, Taiwan 
Age : 27
Watchmaking : 2Y Fullskill Program
Current mood: The week is good. Passed the pivot gauge exam with flying color, had McDonald's for the lunch, going to Mr. Simonin tomorrow and have kebab for lunch. Plus the big break is coming soon, couldn't get any better!!!  


STEP 1: MODERN CHRONOGRAPH! (TECHNICIAN)
High-end version of the ETA 7753 chronograph caliber.

Installing the base movement onto the chronograph module placed under it, having a mirror under helps to see when the base movement starts to drive the module by observing the second hand and when it starts to move reflected under the mirror.

STEP 2: HERRLI! (ALL)
The students also went to Herrli tool and watch part store in Bienne/Biel to source watchmaking tools.









HENRIK's WORDS:

Fully packed week! Markus starting the technician course learning the screwdriver and tweezers sharpening as well as warming up with assembly/disassembly of various movement modern and vintage. Jayne, James and Pierre completed most parts of the chronograph course ending with the modular version from Dubois Dépraz a company specializing in making modules located in Vallée de Joux, also the oscillating pinion chronograph caliber ETA 7753 was covered in full this week. Alex finished his final pivot gauge exam, and Michael continued practicing making winding stems in steel, although a bit intensive week still very pleasant. Have a great weekend everyone!