Friday 3 December 2010

Finishing, Part2

If anyone asks 'why anglage?' I would have them compare the images towards the end of this post with the one in the header. I think anglage (or bevelled edges), apart from removing burrs, adds a lot to the overall look of the movement. It gives the forms some definition and makes everything look more 'robust'. Also, I quite like the contrast between the straight grained top and the polished bevel. So here's how I do it. I first break the edges with my Swiss escapement files. These are quite expensive but well worth the outlay. These can do in one hour what my other local files can do in a couple of days.

And here you can see the edge has been broken.

Next I sand the filed edge down with wet & dry papers, 3M micro finishing films and lapping films. These are stuck on a brass strip or a toothpick with double sided tape. This helps to get into difficult corners.
.....very time consuming business but worth it.

And below, you can see the fruits of my labours.....
Hope you enjoyed this.

Aditya