GAÏA!

 WEEK 181

Team B

Origin: Japan/Switzerland & Canada

Name: Tetsu & Dean

Watchmaking class: Fullskill 

Current mood:

This week, Tetsu and Dean continued with hand-turning their winding stems.  Heat treatment has proven to be very important as the quenching process tends to bend the stems, which then need to be straightened.  This is a delicate process because although the stems are tempered, they still have a relatively small window in which they can be flexed back to their original shape.  Tetsu and Dean feel they will be ready soon to take the winding stem exam, involving hand-turning, heat treatment, and finishing which must be performed within a designated window of time.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Team C

Origin: Switzerland, Norway & USA

Name: Renato, David, Francesco, Åsmund & Robert

Watchmaking class: Fullskill 

Current mood:

Hello everyone, 

This week i finished the hour wheel exam and i think it went very well, waiting impatient for the results 😁 I finished up the smallest pivot gauge so far, which is 0.09. Very tiny and puts your fine motor skills to the test, especially for the burnishing. But it went well, according to Henrik! Later on I started preparing for the balance staff and as of now I’m turning it down to the right dimensions. Pictures coming next Friday 

Head down to see the picture of the hour wheel I made earlier, there you can see a comparison to the factory wheel.

Francesco is working on school project and got a big breakthrough which will be presented later on when he is finished. 

Robert has been continuing with pivot gauges and they are getting better and better, he tells me it’s a slow process but he is hanging in there. He just finished the trials exam for the hour wheel and seems like he is ready for the real exam. 

Renato got a great microscope this week, it has a 112.5x magnification and we all gathered up to try it out. Best quality from the late 90’s. Other than that, he has been disassembled several of his chronos, check his Instagram for pictures. He also did a nice bushing for the barrel bridge on the Universal Geneve chrono, check pictures to see the result's.

David is working on adjusting pallet fork jewel’s.

See you next week. 

STEP 1: GAÏA! (HENRIK, JEAN-LUC & ROBERT)

It was really packed with people!

It was only me and Robert that went as the other students were busy, it was a really great evening!

STEP 2: HOUR WHEEL MAKING! (ÅSMUND)

Asmund made a nice hour wheel for his school watch, big difference in finish comparing it to the commercial hour wheel (right)! 

STEP 3: SWISS LEVER ESCAPEMENT! (RENATO & DAVID)

David and Renato learn how to adjust pallet staffs, guard pins and how to boil out old shellac before replacing damaged pallet jewels!

STEP 4: RE-BUSHING! (RENATO)

Drilled out in the Hauser Jig boring machine to prepare for the fitting of a new bushing!

Made new brass bushing!

Installed new bushing!

HENRIK's WORDS:

It got really cold this week, most mornings below freezing! The week was the polar opposite of the previous week, calm for the first time in a very long time! The 28th GAÏA award ceremony was on Thursday but it was only me, Jean-Luc and Robert that were free to go there, it was completely packed with people! We had a great evening!! Francesco had a big breakthrough experience on a part he was making for his school watch, he will show something once he completes more of it! Renato and David worked on the Swiss lever escapement, and Renato also re-bushed the barrel pivot hole (bearing) in the bridge as it was very worn and made the entire barrel tilting sideways! Otherwise it was nothing special going on this week. It was a calm and nice week! Have a great weekend everyone!