Looking to set up shop...

Desolus

Desolus

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I'm a hobby watch assembler currently... and

I'm wanting to tackle watchmaking as a hobby (expensive hobby i know) and I am looking for some advice on what kind of machines I should be budgeting for. My requirements are pretty straight forward I need a mill and some way to turn work either on that mill or on a dedicated machine(I think I could get away with turning the work in a rotary table around an end-mill instead of CNC of the 3 axis on the mill); I'm also strongly wanting a way to rotate the work in the mill perpendicular to the axis of the spindle on a, index-able tilt, index-able rotary table, to access more than one side of the work. That rotary can be manual as it is only for quick precision indexing of the work. Unfortunately i have not been able to find such a table, so perhaps someone's googlefu is more powerful than mine?

I've thought about the possibility of purchasing a 3 axis mill and then making a rotary table on it, for it. It does not seem incredibly difficult, if incredibly time consuming. but hey it's a hobby.

I don't necessarily need 5 axis(and would probably not be able to afford anything resembling a full CNC 5 axis machine), but i need access to all 5 sides of the work and not having to re-clamp the work for machining on each side would save an incredible amount of time making cases.

As for what I need out of the machine I don't really know how to better explain it than to explain the kind of parts I would be making. I'd be making predominantly:
Gears, with a module of 0.2 - 1 mm (tiny).
Plates, for those gears to set inside of with press fit pockets for jewel bearings.
Cases, requiring significantly more power, and less accuracy from the machine and also being the only part that would really benefit from that rotary table.
Screws of many different kinds and many different sizes including screws with a hole down it's axis.
Pushers and crowns, having pockets at the base of a long shaft.

Any help on locating equipment sufficient to my needs will be rewarded with a digital chocolate chip cookie. :grin big:
Thanks in advance.

The written word isn't my strongest suit, I did my best to make my disorganized and disjointed thoughts understandable but if clarification is needed somewhere please let me know.
 
Welcome to H-M, Desolus! I myself am not a clock or watchmaker, but we have some members here that are and they should be able to answer some (if not all) of your questions.
 
Thanks Terry, I do look forward to that. I am patiently awaiting such guidance while working on the drawing of the movement I want to make. It's a fairly slow process working out how to best fit a train of gears in such a confined space, the case was much easier to design as all i needed do was come up with something aesthetically pleasing.
 
Here is an example of a watch case made on a Sherline mill: http://www.sherline.com/pages/workshop.htm

To use a rotary table at an angle with a small Sherline mill, the rotary table is mounted on a tilting angle table and this allows all sorts of difficult angles to be machined.

I don't know if there is currently a better product on the market for a watchmaker/clockmaker but the Sherline line of tools seems to be very popular. They are good machines for the scale of work you anticipate and they have a line of accessories that is second to none. WR Smith, a horologist of high repute but recently deceased, used Sherline tools for his work.

I own Sherline machines and they are capable of high precision while being comparatively affordable. Check them out. If I was going to make watch cases and crowns of my own I would definitely look at Sherline.
 
Huh, I looked at sherlines because they came up in the google search but at first glance they didn't look even remotely capable of that... Thanks for the tip about the rotary on the tilting table as well. They are really cheap comparatively too.
 
Sherline machines are far more capable than you might imagine. In my case, I was the limiting factor in what could be done, not the machines. Anyway, they are what I think would best suit your needs - check them out.
 
I repair clocks ...no watch work. However I would strongly recommend the Sherline series of machines. I don't own them, but if I was starting today I would seriously consider them.

You can google Jerry Kieffer and see all the fantastic work he does with Sherline equipment, including complex horology repairs and replacements.

David
 
If watchmaking is your only use for the machines, I would definitely look at smaller rather than larger. As Mike has suggested, 3 or 4" tilting rotary table or horizontal/ vertical rotary table and a tilting table will give you the versatility required to make your parts. You will most likely need a lather as well as a mill as much if the machining is best done that way.

For work holding and tool holding, consider ER collets. ER11 or ER16 collets can hold pieces as small as .020" in diameter and have good concentricity. Collet chucks are available in a variety of shank sizes or custom adapters can be made to suit your particular needs. They work well with the rotary table and lathe for work holding and and with the mill for holding all those tiny tools.

Making parts for watches is definitely a challenge for any machinist. That said, there were some exquisite watch movements made as early as the 16th century without the benefit of modern precision machines. We will be looking forward to seeing your work.
 
Well after seeing a replacement escape wheel made on a sherline lathe I have to say that I'm impressed. The few other machines that I've priced out capable of that are far more expensive. Although those machines are really commercial in nature.
 
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