GBW News & Articles
All the lastest news,
stories and articles
June 2013 Update
I haven’t made a post since April, and so as my exams have just finished I’ll give a quick update. Since April; I’ve finished my studies at the British School of Watchmaking and I’ve got a new job in the watch industry. I’ve also ordered a new lathe, watch timing machine and ultrasonic cleaner as […]
How to Make a Balance Staff
A balance staff is the shaft on which the balance wheel is mounted. The rotating axis around which the balance wheel oscillates is formed by a line running through the pivots at the end of the staff. These pivots fit into jeweled bearings and are lubricated by minute oil reservoirs. The process of making a […]
Designing my First Watch
Previous: Refining My Watch Designs In September 2012, I moved to the British School of Watchmaking in Manchester. We were soon told that we would be required to create our own watch, based on an Eta 6498 movement. This is fairly big movement, that is more suited to a pocket watch, but big watches are […]
How to Assemble a Balance Wheel
The balance wheel is comprised of a number of parts. Below is a guide to how to make the majority of the assembly, excluding the collet and balance spring.
Things I made at the British School of Watchmaking
I joined the British School of Watchmaking (BSoW) in September 2012. Everything shown below is what we made during the first 8 weeks. After this we spent time concentrating solely on making a winding stem, and then later a balance staff. Wooden Oak Filing Blocks Homemade Laquer Plastic Barrel Closer Steel Cube Try Square Scriber […]
How to Rivet a Wheel to a Pinion
In almost all cases wheels and pinions are pre-riveted. Sometimes, if the wheel or pinion is damaged you will want to replace them. In newer models you can just order a complete wheel and pinion set, but this option is not always available if the calibre of watch is old or you are working on […]
Things I made at the School of Jewellery – Horology Class
I started my studies in watchmaking in the horology class at the School of Jewellery at Birmingham City University (BCU) in Birmingham. I was there from 2011-2012. See also: Things I made at the British School of Watchmaking
BHI Technician Grade Exam – Practical Piece – Part 2
(This is the 2nd part of the post on the Practical Piece exam. You can view the 1st part here) The Collet: Part one – Pre Planning The collet was tiny, just 8.5mm long and 4mm wide. This meant that there wouldn’t be a great amount of material to work with and so, hopefully, it […]
How to File a Square on a Cylinder
Being able to file a square is a core skill of a watchmaker, demonstrating the ability to file a flat and at perpendicular angles. For a small piece such as this we will use a cut 6 file. When you are cutting the cylinder to diameter, try and go to the maximum minimum tolerance on […]
Refining my Watch Designs
Previous: Initial Watch Designs As a student at Birmingham School of Jewellery, we all visited the horology department at the British Museum in November 2011 and also stopped at the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers’ Museum. I saw a watch which I immediately like the look of. It looked incredibly clean and simple. I took […]