Tour de Romandie!

 Week 17

This week we had a nice surprise when the Tour de Romandie passed through the town in the afternoon!

Traffic in and out of Le Locle was backed up all the way to La Chaux de Fonds!

STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS

Workshop B
Students: 

    Åsmund, Dean, Francesco, Robert, Tetsu, Xin

    This week Åsmund, Francesco and Robert took a trial exam for the hairspring. Afterwards Francesco and Asmund took the real exam.

    Åsmund also assembled a 6498 hairspring and changed the greiner collet for an older style collet.

    Tetsu and Dean also took two practice exams but for the escapement. Their goal was to increase the quality of their work while reducing the amount of time required to perform all the checks and adjustments.

    Additionally, Henrik provided the final lesson in their gear train lesson regarding the barrel. Freedom of movement between the barrel and bridges is important, as is ensuring it does not encroach on other movement parts while in operation.

    For repair points projects, Tetsu completed making and installing a barrel bridge bushing for his vintage IWC.  .  

New bushing in worn barrel bridge

 

Bridge after "magic rhodium", the bushing stayed its natural color.

    Tetsu used “magic rhodium,” a brass whitening liquid to repair the partially worn barrel bridge while keeping the bushing its normal colour.

 

    Dean white rhodium plated the main plate and bridges of his WWII-era Oyster Raleigh.

 

Oyster Raleigh disassembled for repair

Oyster Raleigh mainplate pre-plating

 

Oyster Raleigh barrel bridge pre-plating

Oyster Raleigh parts after cleaning Rhodium plating.

    Dean also repaired a damaged pallet jewel from a Longines 53M wristwatch movement.
  

Chipped pallet jewel

 

Pallet jewel glued to a brassplate to do repairs

 

Repaired pallet jewel installed

 

    Dean also registered an Omega pocket watch for a future repair project.

 

    This week Xin passed his hairspring exam and is now on the final part of the technician course! He has also been completing practice movements and is trying to deepen his understanding of how to achieve better timing by making different adjustments to make it more accurate.

    Henrik also introduced to all of them new lessons such as cannon pinions and how to set the tension for proper operation, escapement lubrication, and the use of Episurf Neo which is a chemical used to prevent the spreading of oil to unwanted areas.

Tools to adjust the cannon pinion. From top to bottom: smoothing broaches, removing tool, cannon pinion, crimping tool to tighten the cannon pinion and a 6498 movement.

 

GUEST STARRING

Workshop A
Students:

    Amer 

 

    While making one of his tools, Amer made this amazing fibonacci spiral!

 

COMING UP NEXT...

 There will be a long weekend because of Labor day on monday, so we'll be having a shortened week.

 

 

 

 Thank you for reading and hope to see you again next week! 

New Week, New Format!

Week 16

We're revamping our blog with key highlights each week from one of our two workshops!

The weather this week was crazy! it went from warm, to cold to suddenly snowing one day!

HIGHLIGHTS

Workshop A

Students:

    Amer, Dunham, Daniel, David, Miguel

 Daniel, David and Miguel practiced making winding stems and heat treatment for the upcoming trial exam.

Miguel also did some polishing on his steel angular rule.

Amer finished his poising plate, balance bridge holder and learned to sharpen screw drivers.

Dunny finished his balance bridge holder and started practicing for his first filing exam.

GUEST STARRING

Workshop B

Student:

    Xin

Here are some watches that Xin registered as repair projects!

COMING UP NEXT...

There will be a watch market in Zurich this sunday. Looking forward to seeing what interesting things we'll discover!

NEW ARRIVALS!

 WEEK 210

Team A

Origin: Sweden, The Philippines & Taiwan

Name: Daniel, Miguel, & David

Watchmaking class: Fullskill

Current mood:

This week we learned heat treatment and how to make a steel winding stem from turning it down from a solid bar to hardening and tempering.

-Miguel

Team B

Origin: Japan/Switzerland & Canada

Name: Tetsu & Dean

Watchmaking class: Fullskill 

Current mood:

Tetsu and Dean advanced their escapement knowledge by understanding the relationship between the pallet fork and the roller.  Henrik introduced Tetsu and Dean to the function and safety controls of the Swiss lever escapement, which comprise the lateral clearance between the roller jewel & notch, control of horn clearance, and control of guard pin clearance.  The role of the banking pins was also covered.  Henrik followed up by providing a lesson on the angle of draw, an important feature of the Swiss lever escapement in the context of security to ensure the pallet fork remains locked notwithstanding the presence of shocks associated to the wearing of wristwatches.  This knowledge of the angle of draw was the segue to the adjustment of the total lock, which is the sum total of the “drop” and “run to the banking.”  To adjust the total lock, Henrik showed Tetsu and Dean how to use the escapement metre to depth the pallet stones.

With what they’ve learned from this lesson, Tetsu and Dean went to work on their seven movements, ensuring the escapements were checked and adjusted as required.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Tetsu & Dean

Team C

Origin: Italy, Norway & USA

Name: Francesco, Åsmund & Robert

Watchmaking class: Fullskill 

Current mood:

Balance Hairsprings.

This week we continued working on the small hairsprings that are involved in the back-and-forth rotational movement of the circular balance wheel in a watch.

"Flattening" of the hairspring, so it isn't tilted. Then making sure the coils have the same space between them, which means the weight of the hairspring is as evenly distributed around the balance staff as possible, and so no coils will touch each other as the spring expands and contracts during it's winding and unwinding.

Then the studding of the hairspring, and setting the regulating curve in it. It is a great feeling to have adjusted the regulating curve so the spring has room to vibrate between the regulating pins of the regulator as it is moved along the arc of the regulating curve. Finished with the first spring studding, now on to the next spring!

Team D

Origin: Finland

Name: Xinying

Watchmaking class: Technician

Current mood:

I am starting to finish seven practice movement and managed to do two in this week. It is nice to see the progress and handing finished movements back to teacher.

-Xin

Team E

Origin: Serbia

Name: Amer

Watchmaking class: Upgraded Technician

Current mood:

This week was very fun and interesting, i learned lots of new stuff and gained knowledge about new things.

I learned how to use a drill and how to make a hole and make a thread. I also started learning how to work on a lathe.

I made a few tools that i will need in the future and i am quite happy how they turned out.

Team F

Origin: USA

Name: Dunham

Watchmaking class: Upgraded Technician

Current mood: 

This week I learned how to make simple brass watchmaking tools by filing them within various tolerances. Additionally I learned how to use the drilling machine as well as the lathe. Using these tools I now have the necessary skills required to make a balance bridge holder which I plan to finish next week.

STEP 1: NEW ARRIVALS! (DUNHAM & AMER)

Amer busy filing!

Dunham busy preparing the lathe for turning!

STEP 2: TOOL MAKING! (DUNHAM)

Dunham almost completed his first tool!

STEP 3: PROTECTION RING! (DANIEL, DAVID & MIGUEL)

After quenching the rings were tempered!

In preparation of making complete winding stems Daniel, David and Miguel make protection rings for when they will file the square!

STEP 4: WINDING STEM BASKET FOR QUENCHING! (DANIEL, DAVID & MIGUEL)

Basket to protect the winding stems during quenching!

STEP 5: WINDING STEMS! (DANIEL, DAVID & MIGUEL)

Winding stems and protection rings after heat treatment.

STEP 6: WATCHES! (ÅSMUND)

Asmund submitted some nice vintage watches that he will soon overhaul!

HENRIK's WORDS:

 

 

We got some heavy snow fall during one of the Easter days and it has been rather cold this week as well! We also got two new students! Amer from Serbia and Dunny from Texas, USA! Xin Continued servicing and repairing complete movements! Francesco, Robert and Asmund finished vibrating hairsprings and learn how to pin them up to the stud, forming the regulating curves and making double bends! Dean and Tetsu continued on the escapements checking notch, guard pin and horn clearance as well as adjusting the pallets to make them functional with minimal total locks while still being safe!  Due to Easter the week was one day short and became rather busy! Have a nice weekend everyone!

HAPPY EASTER!!

HAPPY EASTER!!

WATCH FAIRS!

 WEEK 208

Team A

Origin: Sweden, The Philippines & Taiwan

Name: Daniel, Miguel, & David

Watchmaking class: Fullskill

Current mood:

This week we started with Geneva watch days. We visited AHCI and various locations around the city to see whats new.

We got to speak with several independent watchmakers and ask them about their individual philosophy and style.

We got to examine a multitude of unique and amazing watches each with a different design language and functions.

At school, David finished his press fit plate exercise, Daniel restored some old tools that he bought and I finished decorating my brass truing guide with geneva striping.

- Miguel

Team B

Origin: Japan/Switzerland & Canada

Name: Tetsu & Dean

Watchmaking class: Fullskill 

Current mood:

This week, (27 ~ 31 March) Dean and Tetsu continued their tasks of the escapement section; balance end shake, pallet fork restoration, pallet fork end shake and guard pin division for the mandatory 7 movements.

Apart from those regular works, Dean worked on his watch repair projects, and Tetsu made a bush for a 7001 balance bridge screw, which was at the end of its life.

On Tuesday, some students visited AHCI in Genève, enjoyed the time, and imagined showing their creations next to the big names in the near future.


Wish you all a nice weekend!

Dean & Tetsu

Team C

Origin: Switzerland, Italy, Norway & USA

Name: Renato, David L., Francesco, Åsmund & Robert

Watchmaking class: Fullskill 

Current mood:

This week was a mixture of classroom and a trip to Geneva for some of us.

Classroom: We had a lecture on theory of hairsprings and what to do, and not do. 

Geneva: This was a trip of multiple objectives.

Main Objective: Visit the displays at the AHCI show. (Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants, independent watch and clock-makers).

After that we visited various watch brands and other watchmakers with their displays set up in hotel suites.

Other Objectives: 

• A few CV's were exchanged with some exhibitors.

• A vintage wristwatch with an ultra-thin mechanical movement (1.64mm in thickness) had been paid for before the trip, and took delivery in Geneva.

• A perusal of the books that Antiquorum has shelved that are for sale.

• An unconnected, but just as enjoyable visit, was made to the Quai des Bergues location of the Ladurée shop for a few macarons...

-Robert 

Team D

Origin: Finland

Name: Xinying

Watchmaking class: Technician

Current mood: n/a

STEP 1: WATCH FAIRS! (ALMOST EVERYONE)

Most of us went to Geneva to check out some watches!

STEP 2: VIBRATING! (ÅSMUND, FRANCESCO & ROBERT)

Francesco Asmund and Robert learn how to find the correct frequency of the oscillator using a vibrating or counting tool!

STEP 3: THREADED BUSHING! (TETSU)

The balance bridge screw hole on one of Tetsu's movements was stripped so he made a threaded bushing acting also as a locating post for added stability! 

STEP 4: WATCHES! (SABRI)

Nice Patek!

Sabri came by to show some interesting watches, the one above is a telephonometer to time phone calls!

STEP 5: TOOLS! (MIGUEL, DAVID & DANIEL)

Miguel David and Daniel trying out fnishing their tools!

HENRIK's WORDS:

 

 

Snow came back! We had a sprinkle of snow and a drop in temperature in the beginning of the week, which was nice and refreshing! Renato and David completed their Fullskill course! New students to replace them are coming already next week! Most students went to check out Geneva this Tuesday as the Watches & Wonders including other events such as the Masters of Horology (AHCI) was on! Xin had his balance/hairspring and timing exam this week as well! Francesco, Robert and Asmund started vibrating hairsprings after pinning them up on their brass split collets! Dean and Tetsu continued on the escapement, they first restored all the messed-up pallet forks, as all the pallet jewels had problems such as being up-side down, inside out, misplaced, tilted up or down pushed too far in or out including chipped pallets as well as replacing or adjusting broken staffs and guard pins! After they used the restored pallet forks to establish endshakes and divisions of the escapements! We also had Sif visiting who graduated many years ago, it was really nice to see her again after so many years!! Sabri also came by to show some watches and movements he recently got!  Very nice and busy week! Have a nice weekend everyone!