English Verge / Fusee Pocketwatches (service and repair)

I have recently added a 3D printer to the lab for the primary purpose of running prototype components before going through the effort of doing all the work required to program, setup, and cut hard parts with the mill. The first part I’ve used it for is a replacement dial plate for the A. Goldsmith piece.

The process starts with importing a properly scaled image of the movement and using measurements from the original dial plate to get the design lined up properly.
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The second step was to do the same approach but with the underside of the dial. The blue tape marks the centerline from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock on the reverse side of the dial. This helps make sure that noon aligns to the center of the hinge which doesn't work on the current one.
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In the left is the original which doesn’t have a lot of material left to work with. On the right is the new part after cleaning and curing. Forgive the bit of waviness in it as I have not “dialed in” my printer yet and I need to learn how to better support and setup the build runs.
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Here you can see how it fits to the movement. Pretty good overall although there is a scaling factor of about 1.5% that I need to add to the next print (the parts shrink during curing). There is a little cleanuo needed near the bottom left end of the bridge in the movement but otherwise, not bad for a first go.
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And lastly, with the dial in place.
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It appears the dial is setting proud but that’s is largely due to the imperfections of the 3D part that I noted above. One hole in the plate for a dial foot needed a bit of attention but the next print will prove if that was a build issue or a genuine problem. I am working through setup parameters and whatnot for the printer and will run a new part as soon as I am able. Then it will be off the CNC world for the actual replacement component solving one more issue with this timepiece.

 

Almost there with version 2. Need to give a little more clearance for the dial feet and it should be ready to mill.

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The second stingray hide arrived to the lab today. You can see how much difference it makes just in the color to not have it sanded down exposing the white of the “pearls”.

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Oh boy. It’s been a while since I had an update here. Between life and work (mostly life) we’ve had a few curveballs lately that kept me out of the lab.

The newest entry I have is work on shaping new hands for the Snatt. I bought some laser cut steel blanks on eBay and have been filing and polishing. The minute is cleaned up well and fits snug on the canon pin.

Once they are both done, I will electroplate them black (they would have been blackened chemically originally but this is more straight forward with my current capabilities) and mount them.

I’ve been mounting to the edge of some scrap brass with shellac. This holds them firmly without potentially bending or crushing as might happen with a vise.
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I am happy but there is a bit more work to do on the surface finish before blackening them.
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The hour hand for the Snatt is fairly close now as well. I can’t believe how much better (my opinion) they make the piece look already!

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I’ve made good progress on repairing the broken minute hand of the Spitalfields piece as well! A little bit more cleanup to do at the solder joint then it will be ready for plating.

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I am working today on the new dial plate for the A. Goldsmith timepiece. The first step was to make new feet. I will cross-drill them for the retaining pins after the plate can be matched to the rest of the movement so I get the depthing correct.

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That is the old plate with the new feet.
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My goal is to be able to make my own watches, virtually from scratch. When possible and appropriate I try to make components. The odds of finding a period correct hand or contrate wheel are pretty good. Finding a dial plate that works for this dial and movement combo are much lower so why not get some exercise?

Great videos links, thanks for sharing!

 

I finally got Millicent up and running again. I’ve been doing some fine tuning of the setup programs and I’m pretty close.

That means it was time to cut to new dial plate.

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And he the new feet into place for testing the fit as well.
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There is still some finish work to do. I have to add chamfers around the exterior, get the feet cross drilled for pinning, and then I’ll hard solder them into place and remove the excess length.

 

1. Thank you. It really has turned out well so far.

2. Yes, Millicent is my CNC mill and Tina is my watchmakers lathe. I have not thought to refer to this project piece as anything other than the makers name. I probably should fix that!

3. I have been looking into Cerakote as a possible sealant for brass parts. Clear, thin, and durable. Otherwise, a lacquer or clear coat might be good for this part when it is done. Of course, there is also the option to electroplate it gold to match the rest of the movement.

4. Agree. When it is all fitted, I’ll start thinking.

5. I don’t disagree. I also don’t have access to the type of machines needed to do that correctly. What I might consider is making a new staff with flags for a different piece that has to have the work done to run.

 

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to get this right and in the end it still didn’t come out perfectly…however, in my opinion the imperfections of the plating on the minute hand make it look much for authentic next to the original hour hand!

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One more step to go with this beautiful piece for @ArtS , adjust the timing and verify accuracy by wearing it for a few days!

 

The Zenith is a beauty. I’ve been spending a good bit of time lately studying up it. The way they have integrated a secondary spring to keep the movement from slowing/stopping while being wound is quite impressive.

There are a few other modern fusee driven movements that I’ve come across at well but none seem as well executed, in my opinion.

 

I’ve not given up, just been very busy with the holidays coming up. I have started shaping the Shagreen to fit the Snatt’s outer case though.

(1) Get the outline of the case.
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(2) Transfer this contour to paper.
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(3) I scanned this sketch and loaded it into my CAD software. Using that profile, I created a tool model and then printed a copy on my 3D printer.
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(4) Misting the leather with some water, stretching over the tool and wrapping it in some cling-wrap, it is slowly starting to take shape.
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The next tool will have an outer shell to help finalize the forming. It and the new inner tool will have contours to aid in trimming the leather to be a very good fit to the case.

 

I determined that I needed an offset bed for the vertical milling attachment on my lathe to be able to drill holes through the dial plate feet for the Goldsmith piece though. Model is done. Test print confirmed the size and shape and found an “oops” that had to be corrected. A new bed from 316L Stainless Steel is in order and should be here the first week of Jan.

 

New tools printed for the next attempt at forming the leather cover.

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Made a second set of tools to try to finish the shaping of the shagreen.

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The big problem though is cutting the edges cleanly. Those keratin modules are very tough. I will keep going with this hide but looking at the pattern of the rivet holes in the case, I’m not sure I can keep that pattern using shagreen. I may end up going to cow hide instead.