This person's build is amazing! Mostly photos, but still super cool to see how "from scratch" it is - if you're expecting "bought a few components from Swiss companies" then, yeah, it's not that!
I submitted this a week ago and sadly it sank without trace (poor choice of posting time I suspect), so I'm trying again. I have no affiliation with the builder.
I didn't have anyone specific in mind - but it seemed like a reasonable default assumption. In fact I think I landed on the post originally by thinking "I wonder how hard it would be to assemble a watch from parts?" and some cursory searching around that.
I enjoy a channel called "wristwatch revival" that covers servicing and repair of watches of various types - that guy often sends off for parts so it was a natural thing to wonder I think.
I've seen a documentary (youtube video) about this guy, he spends six months to a year building a single watch from his apartment workshop. Sure, each one will sell for several grand if not millions now that he's more well known, but still, that's some serious dedication to a craft.
Even the main spring? For some of the components it seems like a significant sacrifice in quality to make it yourself. I appreciate people can make their own, but I also think the obsession some folks have with in house movements is misplaced.
I found a good channel called Chronova Engineering who made a few videos about machining the mechanisms by hand. They use a couple of off the shelf parts like tiny ball bearings for the demonstrator (instead of jewels), but almost everything else is hand-turned.
I can fully appreciate the amount of skill involved here. I'm currently on a journey to make a clock from scratch using traditional clockmaker's methods. I started from pretty much zero knowledge of even basic machining, let alone specific clock and watch work. I'm a couple years in now (working in my spare time between work and family obligations), and I can repair most types of issues with clocks and many watches. But I'm not quite tooled up and practiced in making the gears yet. That's the most major stumbling block currently to my ability to make a traditional clock completely from scratch.
One of my very vague goals is to build a clock, from scratch, without looking anything up.
It wouldn't have to look like a wall clock; just something that keeps 24-hour time within reasonable tolerances.
(It's been impossible to avoid knowledge of all clockmaking stuff, but I still avoid watching videos on how clocks are made. This is probably going to be something I do once the child is in college!)
I did this! I got to the point of building a ticking prototype, and I considered it "cheating" to copy any clock designs. I did use an established escapement design, though. Apparently involute gear tooth profiles aren't appropriate for clocks, but I don't know how to draw the "correct" type. I spent months designing it in solidworks, creating the 3D models and plans. I then cut out the gears from baltic birch plywood with a cheap scroll saw, then sanded all the teeth, which took forever. If I do it again, I'll just have the parts laser cut. About a year later, I bought a kit [0] which was very enjoyable to build, and I saw how my bearing design was wrong.
[0]https://wooden-gear-clocks.com/ascentclock
Latitude has a "natural" definition (sphere spins around, how big around are you spinning near the poles vs. the equator?).
Longitude has no "natural" definition!? How far away are you from Mount Everest? ...only works when you have a natural sight line to the peak of the mountain... If "high noon" at London is exactly (ummm...) NOW! ...and you go 1000 miles west, how much TIME has passed between your "noon" and London's "noon"? You need a good watch... and how can you determine "high noon" on the pitching deck of a ship at sea? ...maybe not with your typical pendulum clock!
It was such a mind-blowing experience to learn that maps (and thus CLOCKS!) were first a military and trade technology! If you have a good clock, you can get a good X-coord in addition to the "free" Y-coord. If you can get good X,Y then you can make a good map. If you have a good map, you can optimize your trade / military routes, etc, etc, etc.
Highly worth going a bit out of the way for a visit, was actually one of the highlights of the trip for me.
That seems like a fun challenge for sure. I’m so far down the other road that can’t opt for that, as I’ve been studying other people’s clocks quite extensively. It’s definitely obvious that these days, using modern tools like CNC machines and laser cutters makes clock making much more easy. So you have to find ways to make it more difficult, such as your attempt to do it blind, or my attempt to do it with 19th century methods.
If you liked this you might enjoy this series of video interviews with George Daniels, inventor of the coaxial escapement; he also made watches by hand:
In the world of industrial machinery it's not too surprising to have to make special fasteners from scratch, especially as replacement parts may no longer be available from the original manufacturer. Taps and dies are common tools, and single-point-threading on a lathe can also be used.
On the other hand, the world of industrial machinery seldom needs M0.6 threads.
Just trying to support it properly so it didn't bend away from your single-point thread cutter would be a challenge. And imagine how easy it would be to drop the part, and how hard it would be to dig it out of the coolant and swarf!
I wear mechanical watches, and find them not to be "outdated technology" as a lot of people assume. My automatic skeleton watch requires no winding, batteries, or charging, which makes it a more practical way to tell time than an electronic watch in my opinion.
I suppose one could argue that a solar powered quartz watch is even more practical for the same reasons... but the automatic is nearly the same in practice, and is a lot more fun, and looks cooler.
Readit News
I submitted this a week ago and sadly it sank without trace (poor choice of posting time I suspect), so I'm trying again. I have no affiliation with the builder.
Me and maybe a dozen others vastly prefer this. I almost never want video.
I know what you're referring to and it is exactly what I thought of immediately.
Thanks for pointing out that this is not that!
I enjoy a channel called "wristwatch revival" that covers servicing and repair of watches of various types - that guy often sends off for parts so it was a natural thing to wonder I think.
The only truly independent watchmaker I've ever heard of machining absolutely every component is Masahiro Kikuno.
https://youtu.be/P7SlhdJp5qE?si=wSsz26SdgOKQqGBW
These are the things I expected him to have to source and I was correct, even Daniels bought springs.
It wouldn't have to look like a wall clock; just something that keeps 24-hour time within reasonable tolerances.
(It's been impossible to avoid knowledge of all clockmaking stuff, but I still avoid watching videos on how clocks are made. This is probably going to be something I do once the child is in college!)
Edit:for a point of inspiration, check out this guys creations in wood: https://youtu.be/HlJdfKYg6As
And his website: https://web.archive.org/web/20061117180507/http://flashpages...
Latitude has a "natural" definition (sphere spins around, how big around are you spinning near the poles vs. the equator?).
Longitude has no "natural" definition!? How far away are you from Mount Everest? ...only works when you have a natural sight line to the peak of the mountain... If "high noon" at London is exactly (ummm...) NOW! ...and you go 1000 miles west, how much TIME has passed between your "noon" and London's "noon"? You need a good watch... and how can you determine "high noon" on the pitching deck of a ship at sea? ...maybe not with your typical pendulum clock!
It was such a mind-blowing experience to learn that maps (and thus CLOCKS!) were first a military and trade technology! If you have a good clock, you can get a good X-coord in addition to the "free" Y-coord. If you can get good X,Y then you can make a good map. If you have a good map, you can optimize your trade / military routes, etc, etc, etc.
Highly worth going a bit out of the way for a visit, was actually one of the highlights of the trip for me.
One day when I have stored up enough patience and a table to work on that won't be disturbed for a while I might put it together.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-Working-Paper-Clock/dp/0060...
(I also enjoyed the overwhelmingly positive reception from the readers in that reddit sub - though that's less relevant of course)
https://www.webofstories.com/play/george.daniels/1
https://imgur.com/a/making-mechanical-watch-VmYL7qF
This part blew my mind:
"All the screws were hand made."
This really is a watch made from scratch.
Just trying to support it properly so it didn't bend away from your single-point thread cutter would be a challenge. And imagine how easy it would be to drop the part, and how hard it would be to dig it out of the coolant and swarf!
The last video in the series summaries everything in 12 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU7iKNmQBIs
Deleted Comment
I wear mechanical watches, and find them not to be "outdated technology" as a lot of people assume. My automatic skeleton watch requires no winding, batteries, or charging, which makes it a more practical way to tell time than an electronic watch in my opinion.
I suppose one could argue that a solar powered quartz watch is even more practical for the same reasons... but the automatic is nearly the same in practice, and is a lot more fun, and looks cooler.