# My watch workshop



## ProfessorGuy

I am taking 20 years out to build a pocketwatch.  The first 6 years of the project involved building a workshop.  I designed it, sunk every nail and screw, did the wiring (even dug the trench from the house to the shop for the underground feeder), and painted it... all with my own two hands.  I'll admit, my dad helped one morning every week.  This is what 6 years of my life looks like:
,



Then I put my watchmaker's bench in the clean room (8' x 9') which is for assembly, inspection, timing and cleaning:




I wanted everything painted white so I can find those little tiny watch parts that are sure to bounce around the rooms.  The large windows (they go from 4 feet to 9 feet above the floor) are south-facing, a shop no-no in most parts of the country.  Here, there are only 60 days of sun per year and our thick forest mitigates even those few so I wanted lots of natural light.  The combination of sun and white walls can be blinding, so any part of the wall where sun can touch has been dulled with a matte dark blue paint.  Notice even the window casements are dulled at the bottom and sides, the tops are still white since sun can't get there.

 On the other side of that central pocket door is the 'dirty' room (12' x 9').  Manufacturing on the lathe and mill, and metal treatment (hardening, tempering, etc) is done on the main bench.  Grinding and polishing is done on the white bench opposite.  The big bench is a single white pine board more than 2 feet wide and more than 11 feet long.  I bolted it through slots so it could move with the weather.  A forgiving and pretty work surface.




Then I installed my tabletop lathe and mill (metric Sherlines), which are mounted onto white-painted plywood bases.  Notice the base cutouts so I can get my big mitts on the lower handwheels.  You can just see a bit of my little 2 gallon shop vac, which is my entire dust-collection/air-handling system, hanging on the wall under the lathe:




So far, I've built a necklace for my wife (to thank her for allowing household resources to go to the workshop) and my first brass mainplate and bridge.  Next up, my first steel screw!


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## Boswell

What a great shop. And what a great back-story for your watch.


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## Surprman

That is one neat workspace.  I would live there


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## ortho

Very nice shop.  I like the layout with lots of natural light.)
---Joe


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## nightowl499

ortho said:


> Very nice shop.  I like the layout with lots of natural light.)
> ---Joe



Great shop , now would love a picture or two of the things you do in it!
Gary


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## bpratl

Very nice design, inside and out, you did a great job in setting your shop up. Bob


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## CoopVA

Well done!  


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## Aardvark

Very nice.  How is your space working out now?


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## BGHansen

Very nice!  Heating with electricity or seasonal use?  Gonna be tough to keep focused on the work at the bench with the view you have out the windows!

Bruce


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## Smithdoor

Nice shop and great size

Dave


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## ProfessorGuy

Aardvark said:


> Very nice.  How is your space working out now?


The space has proven effective.  So far, I've been able to perform all the actions I've needed to.

Here are some updated photos showing how the tools and storage has settled.  First, the main bench, with lathe, mill, and vice:







On the other side of the manufacturing room is tooling and materials storage, and the grinding and polishing station.  I use an old silverware chest for my files, buffing sticks and various stones and polishes.  Also, a desk for calculation and sketching:




The clean room has my watchdesk under the windows:




The other side has my horology library, a cleaning station, and various current projects strewn about:




It's working!


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## rrjohnso2000

Thanks for the tour!


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## ProfessorGuy

Some additional details you workshop geeks might enjoy:

I did the electric wiring myself--I even dug the 150' trench for the feed as well.  The blue electric panel you can see in the last picture above is a subpanel of our house's main panel (hence the trench from the house).  It has two 20A circuits, one for the front wall (includes the main bench), one for the back wall (polishing, timing, cleaning, etc).  There's a separate 15A circuit for the overhead lights.  If you trip a breaker with a tool at the bench, the lights do NOT go out.  This is important!

There's heavy 8 gauge wire already in the walls from the shop panel (which has room for a 220V breaker) to 2 outlets in the manufacturing room: 1 on the main bench and one in the corner where any large equipment would go.  There's no circuit breaker or outlets installed yet because I have no 220V equipment so why spend the money, but it's a simple trip to the hardware store to get some big outlets up and running.

I have a simple portable electric heater set to 50* which keeps it above freezing all winter.  There's no plumbing, just portable water jugs and a dishpan, so I can let it freeze, but I use it often enough to justify keeping it at working temps (above 40).

The flooring is the most recent addition.  It is very thick, heavy vinyl and the entire shop (both rooms) is a single piece.  I had it professionally installed (about $4/sq.ft., $2 each for material & labor) because keeping it seamless was tricky.  This was the only step of the workshop construction I didn't do with my own hands.


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## thomas s

Great job on your shop. thomas s


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## kvt

Nice shop.   It looks like woods out side the windows.


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## TommyD

Nice and neat shop.


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## chips&more

Very nice space and I commend your enthusiasm!! To clean and oil a wrist or pocket watch does not need a room full of hand tools and machines. It can be done with a good screwdriver(s), tweezers, eye loupe, staking set and a few more misc stuff items. To truly “make” a pocket watch and I mean every part of it, requires some very elaborate and dedicated tooling/machinery. I do a lot of micro machining and have made many many watch parts. It’s not for everyone. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of the proper equipment if one intends on making a watch from scratch. And the knowledge and finesse to carry out the dream …Good Luck, Dave.


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## Ulma Doctor

great shop!
i can't fathom the intricacy it would take to construct a watch from scratch.
what an challenging undertaking it would be, nonetheless. 
i can't wait to see the progression!
all the best


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## itsme_Bernie

All kidding aside, you are really inspiring me to get my shop into operation with room for guests


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## ProfessorGuy

chips&more said:


> To truly “make” a pocket watch and I mean every part of it, requires some very elaborate and dedicated tooling/machinery.... I cannot emphasize enough the importance of the proper equipment if one intends on making a watch from scratch.


I must disagree here.  I think what you are saying is to make a watch _to modern standards_ requires elaborate machinery.

Back in the 1700's, farmers would hole up in the workshop for the winter and crank out watches with only the crudest of tools--and certainly no mill.  Of course, their watches were simple (usually verges) and had such poor timekeeping you were lucky to stay within 30 minutes per day.  The materials used were not always ideal or long-lasting.  And because of manufacturing irregularities, the watches were finicky and would stop at any provocation.  All this would be completely unacceptable in a modern watch.

But it's fine with me!


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## chips&more

ProfessorGuy said:


> I must disagree here.  I think what you are saying is to make a watch _to modern standards_ requires elaborate machinery.
> 
> Back in the 1700's, farmers would hole up in the workshop for the winter and crank out watches with only the crudest of tools--and certainly no mill.  Of course, their watches were simple (usually verges) and had such poor timekeeping you were lucky to stay within 30 minutes per day.  The materials used were not always ideal or long-lasting.  And because of manufacturing irregularities, the watches were finicky and would stop at any provocation.  All this would be completely unacceptable in a modern watch.
> 
> But it's fine with me!


The farmers back then when in the winter and could not grow food outside did indeed construct time pieces. But were clocks like Wags and was from a kit of parts made elsewhere. Even the Watchmakers back then did not make every part. The art of making watches back then was divided up into trades of experience. Each had a mastered talent/art. There were a few true Watchmakers back then that made the whole watch but not many. The horological time pieces made by our ancestors are truly works of art. I will never get tired of looking at the craftsmanship that was done back then. Sadly, it’s a lost art.


And I do have a few pocket watches from the 1700’s. It blows my mind that this kind of craftsmanship came from that period of time. All they had was candle light and a rock axe (kinda kidding)…True Masters!


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## FOMOGO

A beautiful space you have there. Makes me realize I could make do with a lot less space and equipment if I had just chose hobbies that involved smaller objects as the point of focus. Of course you understand you will have to add on considerable square footage when you start working on the clock tower pieces.  Mike


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## Ulma Doctor

Don't ever underestimate the power of will and skill!


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## Chip Hacket

You have done a great job.  Having built it all yourself I'm sure makes it all the more comfortable.  Blue paint where the sun shines.  Clever!

--Chip


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## itsme_Bernie

ProfessorGuy said:


> I must disagree here.  I think what you are saying is to make a watch _to modern standards_ requires elaborate machinery.
> 
> Back in the 1700's, farmers would hole up in the workshop for the winter and crank out watches with only the crudest of tools--and certainly no mill.  Of course, their watches were simple (usually verges) and had such poor timekeeping you were lucky to stay within 30 minutes per day.  The materials used were not always ideal or long-lasting.  And because of manufacturing irregularities, the watches were finicky and would stop at any provocation.  All this would be completely unacceptable in a modern watch.
> 
> But it's fine with me!



Very very very very intriguing Professor Guy!   Hmmmmm

Bernie


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## ProfessorGuy

chips&more said:


> Even the Watchmakers back then did not make every part. The art of making watches back then was divided up into trades of experience. Each had a mastered talent/art.


Yes.  I recognize that there were a series of traditional watchmaking trades which provided the specialty parts:

Hairspring
Jewels
Mainspring
Dial
Hands
Watchglass
and Case

Yes, you got me.  I'll admit I did not really intend to build the parts on this list for a host of technical and practical reasons.  The parts of a watch missing on the list above, what is traditionally called an "ebauche," that is what I am interested in.

But now that you've lauded the old masters, maybe I should reconsider.  Perhaps I can grind my own jewels after all.  And I thought a store-bought flat hairspring, but maybe a homemade blued-steel helix is called for.  Hmmmm....


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## Ulma Doctor

I like your thinking!


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## TakeDeadAim

Looks like a very nice well thought out space.  I would love to see some photos of your work.  I love older watches, something about the mechanical aspects to keep time and the skill to build and repair them.


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## uncle harry

ProfessorGuy said:


> Yes.  I recognize that there were a series of traditional watchmaking trades which provided the specialty parts:
> 
> Hairspring
> Jewels
> Mainspring
> Dial
> Hands
> Watchglass
> and Case
> 
> Yes, you got me.  I'll admit I did not really intend to build the parts on this list for a host of technical and practical reasons.  The parts of a watch missing on the list above, what is traditionally called an "ebauche," that is what I am interested in.
> 
> But now that you've lauded the old masters, maybe I should reconsider.  Perhaps I can grind my own jewels after all.  And I thought a store-bought flat hairspring, but maybe a homemade blued-steel helix is called for.  Hmmmm....



I used to call them "make or buy decisions"....gets the job finished in the best possible way (for me).


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## Tony Wells

Lest the impression that there are no more watchmakers, especially in the US, I wish to present some of the most beautiful timepieces I have ever seen.

http://www.rgmwatches.com/watches

http://www.watchcarefully.com/articles/customrgm.html

http://www.rgmwatches.com/guilloche/

And for some real classic beauties  to drool over:

http://www.darlor-watch.com/pocket_watches_1.html


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## Tony Wells

*A fun little bit of pocket watch history...

If you were in the market for a watch in 1880, would you know where to get one? You would go to a store, right? 
Well, of course you could do that, but if you wanted one that was cheaper and a bit better quality than most of the store watches, you went to the train station! 
Sound a bit funny? Well, for about 500 towns across the northern United States, that's where the best watches were found. 
Why were the best watches found at the train station? 
The railroad company wasn't selling the watches, not at all, but the telegraph operator was.

Most of the time the telegraph operator was located in the railroad station because the telegraph lines followed the railroad tracks from town to town. It was usually the shortest distance and the right-of-ways had already been secured for the rail line. Most of the station agents were also skilled telegraph operators since that was the primary way that they communicated within the railway system. They would know when trains left the previous station, and when they were due at their next station. 
It was the telegraph operator who had the watches. As a matter of fact, they sold more of them than almost all the stores combined for a period of about 9 years. 
This was all initiated by a telegraph operator  known as "Richard". He was on duty in the North Redwood, Minnesota train station one day when a huge crate of pocket watches arrived from the East. 
No one ever came to claim them. So Richard sent a telegram to the manufacturer and asked them what they wanted to do with the watches. The manufacturer didn't want to pay the freight back, so they wired Richard to see if he could sell them. So Richard did. He sent a wire to every railway agent in the system asking them if they wanted a cheap, but good, pocket watch. He sold the entire case in less than two days and at a handsome profit. 
That started it all. 
He ordered more watches from the watch company and encouraged the telegraph operators to set up a display case in the station offering high quality watches for a cheap price to all the travelers. 
It worked! It didn't take long for the word to spread and, before long, people, other than travelers, came to the train station to buy watches. Richard became so busy that he had to hire a professional watch maker named "Alva" to help him with the orders. 
And the rest is history as they say. The business took off and soon expanded to many other lines of dry goods. Richard and Alva left the train station and moved their company to Chicago -- and it's still there. 
YES, IT'S A LITTLE KNOWN FACT that for a while in the 1880's, the biggest watch retailer in the country was at the train station. 
It all started with a telegraph operator: Richard Sears and his partner Alva Roebuck! 
Bet You Didn't Know That!!! 
Now that's History!!!!!*


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## wrat

I sure do miss old Paul Harvey....

Wrat


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## Chip Hacket

wrat said:


> I sure do miss old Paul Harvey....
> 
> Wrat



Good Day.


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## Rockytime

Wonderful shop.  I have repaired clocks (not watches, a different discipline) for over 40 years and still do in my little (250 sq. ft.) basement shop. I now pretty much limit myself to no more than two or three clocks a week. I may just have to post photos of my clock and machine shop. Thanks for showing your shop and creating a watch.


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