Sunday, 16 February 2014

Making a hand

At some point in it's long life this watch lost all of  it's hands. Some research indicated that I had a minute hand in the correct style in my parts box. The hour hand had to be made.


I started with sheet brass. The hole for the cannon/hour wheel is always the starting point of any hand. Below, you can see the basic design has been scribed with the hole as reference.

Rough milling- 


 Basic shaping-


 All shaping done, polishing not done yet-

Brass is much softer than tempered steel. This makes filing and sanding much easier. But therein lies the problem. It is also much easier to remove too much material and bend the hand. I have a renewed respect for those who make hands out of gold!



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7 comments:

  1. orionstars25 July 2014 at 09:02

    I love reading and rereading your blog. You inspired me to tackle an old 6mm Lorch and make it live again. Thank you! Can I ask how and with what tool/machine you are "rough milling" the hand?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aditya25 July 2014 at 22:25

      Thanks for all the kind words! I stuck the brass blank on a thick brass plate, the plate can be held in a vice. Then I used a simple table drill with an end mill bit. I dont think this will work for steel hands though. Steel will have to be filed. Hope this helps.

      Kind regards
      Aditya

      Delete
  2. mh2 January 2015 at 08:33

    Very informative, do you think you can elaborate a little more on the basic shaping technique and tools used!? Ta!

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    Replies
    1. Aditya4 January 2015 at 19:07

      Hello mh,

      Almost all the shaping is done with escapement files. Mine are by Grobet-Vallorbe (cut-6). I have a half round, a triangular and a rat tail. These are sufficient for my work although I have ground safe edges on the half round. The hand must be held in the vice carefully. I line the vice with paper to prevent marking the hand. Hope this helps.

      Kind regards

      Aditya

      Delete
    2. Aditya4 January 2015 at 19:13

      Also, finishing can be done with 3M films stuck on brass strips. The brass strips can be shaped to suitable shapes and profiles.

      Kind regards

      Aditya

      Delete
  3. Nagaprashanth16 June 2015 at 09:20

    Very interesting as I have seen people crazy about watches but not one who is passionate about watch making. Do you have a store or small setup!

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    Replies
    1. Aditya17 June 2015 at 11:07

      Thank you for the kind words. I have a small set up where I service and restore mechanical timepieces. I also make skeleton wristwatches to order.
      Kind regards

      Aditya

      Delete

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