Hi Everyone,
Many thanks to you all for posting the encouraging and wonderful messages. I am very grateful to you all for your comments.
I have posted a few extra pics here and a bit more info according to your enquiries. The pics are a bit clunky and some are of lesser quality than you are used to. Sorry for that.
The watch back is made from Delrin (POM) or Poly Oxy Methylene, which is a food grade plastic. It’s highly machinable, stable and tough. It’s also chemical resistant, light and can be made to a verity of shapes to substitute for such things as movement holders, seals and bearing surfaces under the rotating bezel, etc. The exhibition windows could have been a bit larger, but I chickened out. In this case I have used Delrin for the snap back. It has an O ring seal in there and double locks into the movement cage (without moving or distorting the movement). I also heat expanded the back to insert the glass into its own groove within the case back, and then glued into place as a final install. I use Delrin as I am yet to find a successful way of making a stainless steel back with my equipment. I have purchased some thread cutting gear for my lathe, and this may eventually see me move to stainless with screw in backs instead of snap backs. By the way, the stainless I am using is 316. Its not as workable as 303 or 304 (18/8) but is guaranteed to be anti magnetic. The nickel content is so much higher that magnetism is just about ruled out. For this reason, all my cutting is what machinest call non free machining and highly interrupted. Which it definitely is.
I purchased each of the components separately. That process was very easy and with the aid of the internet, parts can be delivered very quickly indeed. Not cheap doing it this way, but if like me, you do not have access to good reliable and cost effective suppliers, then you have to settle for what is out there. And, as you probably know, there is an awful lot of stuff out there to choose from. About AU$250.00 worth of parts, including crown, strap and movement. All parts went together as they should and I had no issues with such things as, hands from one supplier or the sterile face from another not fitting the movement. That’s sometimes happens, but not in this case. Rule #1, the better quality you buy, the easier the items go together. Not sure if there is an axiom in there.
Once the items are selected, it’s only then that I sit down and measure accurately all the hard points I need to attend to in the design and assembly. Movement diameter, stem off set, movement depth, etc are all critical. I then model the watch I want to design in cad. 3D is good, but as this takes up a lot of time and is only for my purposes, I tend to stick with 2D. So, the ability to think in 3D and model solid geometry in your head is essential. There maybe software around that may help with a watch design but none that I know of. Cad gives you excellent dimensional co-ordination, so it becomes a direct take off for machining purposes.
Designing my own case is just about the ultimate freedom for my limited knowledge and ability in watches. I would like, one day, to design my own dials but that’s probably out of the question at the moment. You can buy cases to suit all manner of watch movements, but for me the challenge is to make a watch specifically to suit a function and that usually affects the case design. Someone suggested I seek out a person with a 3D printer, and perhaps dials might be less of an issue for me in the future. Not sure that will help, but I keep my eyes opened as well as my mind. Sterile dials are OK for the moment. Selecting hands for a dial design is a tough business, especially if you do not have a stock of them to try out before committing. So I find that particularly challenging. Not sure I got it quite right with this one, but it’s not without character.
I took a plunge with equipment and settled for Sherline lathe and milling equipment. Superb in a word. And rather more capable than might first be thought. I worked with Ron Sher (who lives here in Melbourne) and he ordered the items I need from the factory in Vista (Cal). Very well made and I could not be happier with my choice. Chewing through 50mm stainless steel billets, I honestly thought the standard lathe would not cope with such forces. Ron assured me it would ‘eat it’, and he was spot on. Had some great help from Walters machine tool suppliers (Germany and Milwaukie) from their Oz representatives. Once again, superb.
In conclusion, I am amazed at the level of interest from machinists and suppliers alike and the level of good will they show towards a crazy idea (making my own watches). Amazing, everyone seems keen for individuals like me to get the job done and with relatively few compromises, and they are prepared to humour me in the process!
Thanks for looking in, I appreciate it.
Jim
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