Tid-Bit 16 - Gear-Holding Techniques
Published in the October 2012 NAWCC Bulletin, starting on page 525.
I get the opportunity to work on a variety of time-keeping devices, from vintage pocket watches to tower clocks, though most of my work is on the Vienna Regulators that I love. And, given my awareness of the importance of stoning and burnishing pivots, I have to be able to effectively spin a rather wide range of gears in my various lathes.
This article, the third in a series covering the techniques I use in restoring pivots, focuses on the way I hold the gears and arbors while working their pivots. The first article – “Got Stones” - covered the preparation of the hard Arkansas slips I use to smooth pivots. The second - “Burnisher 101 – How to Make Your Own” – explained how to make the kind of burnisher I find most effective for smaller clock (like Vienna Regulators) pivot work. This article covers how to hold the gear being restored, with subsequent articles discussing the use of Arkansas slips and burnishers.
The techniques discussed in this article are drawn, to a large extent, from the lessons I received at the bench of my mentor – Ray Ashcraft – a retired railroad watch inspector. When I first started learning from Ray I was enamored with a lovely little six millimeter (6mm) European-style watchmakers lathe. The thing I loved most about that lathe, other than its perfect size for doing watch work, was the selection of accessories for the tailstock. The lathe was designed with a runner that allowed you to align saddles and lanterns for working pivots – See the first four pictures for several examples of these special accessories. Being a tool freak I was very proud of my little lathe with its special saddles and pivot-supporting accessories.
Read MoreI get the opportunity to work on a variety of time-keeping devices, from vintage pocket watches to tower clocks, though most of my work is on the Vienna Regulators that I love. And, given my awareness of the importance of stoning and burnishing pivots, I have to be able to effectively spin a rather wide range of gears in my various lathes.
This article, the third in a series covering the techniques I use in restoring pivots, focuses on the way I hold the gears and arbors while working their pivots. The first article – “Got Stones” - covered the preparation of the hard Arkansas slips I use to smooth pivots. The second - “Burnisher 101 – How to Make Your Own” – explained how to make the kind of burnisher I find most effective for smaller clock (like Vienna Regulators) pivot work. This article covers how to hold the gear being restored, with subsequent articles discussing the use of Arkansas slips and burnishers.
The techniques discussed in this article are drawn, to a large extent, from the lessons I received at the bench of my mentor – Ray Ashcraft – a retired railroad watch inspector. When I first started learning from Ray I was enamored with a lovely little six millimeter (6mm) European-style watchmakers lathe. The thing I loved most about that lathe, other than its perfect size for doing watch work, was the selection of accessories for the tailstock. The lathe was designed with a runner that allowed you to align saddles and lanterns for working pivots – See the first four pictures for several examples of these special accessories. Being a tool freak I was very proud of my little lathe with its special saddles and pivot-supporting accessories.
Figure 13 – Gathering pallet arbor in a 3-jaw chuck
Figure 14 shows a fairly typical strike train gear – with a minimal arbor to one side of the gear, and a pinion on the other.
