One for the tinkerers, fettlers and machinists out there...

[User702]

How a [very expensive] watch is made.



Personally, making something that small would drive me mad.

[Tony-c]

My area of patience is more of a larger scale. Will spend days with steel tube. Tube bender and tig welder. But that tiny thing would drive me insane. Launch it across workshop within about 2 minutes

[ovenpaa]

I was OK ish with larger stuff and did go as far as working on a pocket watch (turn of the last century American movement) smaller than that would drive me to distraction...

[1066]

Very nice - I sat down with a cup of coffee and a biscuit and enjoyed a 10 minute break.

What I find even more amazing are the early watches/clocks. Really complicated, fine work. If you wanted a hole drilled you had to make the drill first, same with a file. Working with lamp light and very little in the way of magnifying lenses.

Watch made in 1670's
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/images/ ... 23937.aspx

Clocks are another of my interests. I just started restoring a post office master regulator, not old but nicely made. I also have a marine chronometer and a clock from a Mig 15.

I have a longcase clock from the 1690's and it keeps time within 4-5 secons a week

[Jenks]

Very interesting. And as if on cue I spotted this story in the Mail this morning:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... llion.html

A comment from the foot of the article. For a millisecond I thought that the contributor was a regular poster on the forum. well it is early in the morning and my pound shop reading glasses do need replacing

Phoggy, Colchester, United Kingdom, 27 minutes ago

Was it found in a garage in Peckham?

Jenks

[Meaty]

I have a bit of a thing for old watches too. This is my work watch....



Its a bit rubbed but it keeps great time and when the phone isnt ringing in the office its nice to hear it ticking.

It never ceases to amaze me how intricate these things are considering their age. Below is a bit of chain from a fusee watch movement that is approx 200 years old! I have it on my desk as a constant reminder of how good we used to be. The links are approx 0.2mm thick and the chain is still supple.

[1066]

Here's my marine chronometer - It's Russian and dates from the 1960's. I've had it for 15-20 years, it's in excellent working order and condition, just wants a day with a tin of brasso. The large "pocket" watch is a deck watch, contemporary with the chronometer. The large stop watch is again Russian 1960's, excellent movement with 20 jewels, as used in the space programme.

[Les]

Do they sell them at Argos?

I love seeing precision machinery like this. The craftsmanship that goes into the assembly is amazing, but I am in total awe of the person who actually comes up with the design for something of this complexity. clapclap

[ovenpaa]

1066 - I do like the marine chronometer, reminds me of a story of some friends of friends had an earlier English one and eventually trundled it down to the local clock man to have it serviced. He had a hissy fit on the spot and told them in no uncertain terms just how important it was and certainly should not be handed over to the first shop they walked into. He put them in contact with someone who understood such things and I seem to remember the work was undertaken as a documented commission.

Meaty, I have an old silver watch similar to yours next to me right now, it was my great grandfathers and sadly has a broken chain drive, at long last I have found someone who is prepared to take a look and will pop it over them when it gets a bit colder.

[1066]

Fusee watch chains are a work of art, exactly like a bike chain, all hand made, some of the fine ones you can't really see they are a chain unless you use a glass.. Almost all were made in Christchurch, Dorset.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of ... n_industry

http://www.royhodges.co.uk/Rose%20Andre ... 0Maker.pdf.

Anyone interested in clocks and time keeping/navigation I would strongly recommend reading "Longitude" Dava Sobel.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004XOZ8AG?btkr=1

It's the story of carpenter John Harrison and his quest to make super accurate clocks for navigation at sea. His first amazing clocks, accurate to a couple of seconds a month were made with wooden gear wheels.