The Detent Model
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Unlike two years ago when Joe was working intensely on building a prototype for the Tourbillon Model, we are at the moment tackling the current project sans prototype. Because we gained experience with the Tourbillon Model, that experience carries over to the Detent Model; both models also share several components throughout the mechanism.
The design philosophy of both models is classic, clean, and minimalist, as is the manufacturing process. We are in a profession that has a history of many centuries, and its culture should resist the influx of digital elements. Let’s face it, we watchmakers are in demand because of the passion for high end mechanical watches. And we should be the last ones who contaminate our beautiful “nature preserve” with CNC, 3D printing and the like technologies that are applied by some in the hope to substitute the masterful skills of a competent watchmaker. Our profession is built on a high level of skills and knowledge, and we better make sure that it stays that way.
I will get off my soap box now and continue talking about the project.
These are some of the players: The first year students, who started at the Lititz Watch Technicum three months ago, in September 2015.
The Detent Model Team
The Detent Model Team
And this is the equipment used to create these beautiful pieces – it is as traditional as the watchmaking profession itself:
Schaublins
Two Schaublin lathes, with milling attachment and dividing head.
Watchmaker’s lathe with cross slide
Filing a square on the watchmaker’s lathe
Watchmaker’s lathes. Very similar to the Schaublins, just much smaller.
Small drill press
Drill presses. Most drilling can be done with a lathe, but a drill press is an efficient alternative.
Burnisher
This fantastic little machine helps you create flawless pivots in a very reliable and time efficient way.
The individual components of our detent model
6. Escape Wheel Arbor
This is a relatively long piece with a small diameter, which can be a challenge when it comes to maintaining concentricity during machining and heat treatment. We developed and optimized our process on several workpieces:
Pinion for escape wheel arbor cut, before heat treatment. Tip of ballpoint pen as reference.
Escape Wheel Arbor, after heat treatment
Arbor in Hardening Tube. Using a hardening tube reduces scaling and distortion.
Closup of Hardening Tube.
Checking the runout error after heat treatment using a dial indicator.
Closeup: tip of dial indicator on pinion
5. Hairspring Collet
Hairspring Collet (not yet cross drilled)
4. Impulse Roller
Impulse Roller – test fitting the stone
Impulse Roller
3. Unlocking Roller
Unlocking Roller, just finished. Test fitting the unlocking stone (not deburred yet).
Here the unlocking roller is posing next to a ball point pen (standard edition) for size reference.
2. The Balance Bridge, made by Cory Schell and Jacob Curtis.
This collage shows the bridge in various stages of completion
1. Transmission Wheel Arbor – stages in chronological order (click on image for high resolution).
Initial centering of the pinion cutter to the arbor blank
Centering the pinion cutter to the arbor blank using the male center in the tailstock as additional reference point.
Cutting the pinion leaves
Complete
Cutter and completed pinion
Arbor with points
Arbor with points
Hardening
Removing the scale
Tempering
Tempering
Measuring the runout error caused by the heat treatment
Arbor with pivots machined
Arbor with pivots machined
Burnishing the pivots to size
Verifying fit to hole jewel
Finished arbor with hub installed and wheel blank.
