There were two version of the dial, we settled for one without sub seconds. Here I share the work on the first version. We start with a solid aluminum billet, here being center drilled.
A center drill allows the lathe cutter to open the interior space, this being the inner diameter of the open dial.
The cutter for the 'railroad' track style dial is shaped by hand, since each groove has to be .3mm wide.
Bottom side of the cutter.
Grooves being cut in the dial.
The dial with it's grooves, ready to be crossed in the jig borer.
The dial is centered on the jig borer, and then indexed.
Each of the 60 minute marks is individually milled.
A laps in attention resulted in the dial being ruined (the 3rd cut is off).
A new dial is started, and the whole procedure repeated. More than 3 hours of work wasted.
The 60 individual lines cut.
Here are more details of the milling.
The hour markers are milled with a slightly thicker cutter so that they are more evident once inked with air-dry enamel.
The off center scallop is done by drilling a hole where the second's hand is. This is used to center the piece.
Then a Wohlphauter boring head is used to mill out the scallop.
A champfer is done.
Depthing the groove.
The dial is taken onto the lathe, and a milling cutter used to slightly open the interior diameter.
This is very delicately parted off. Aluminum needs to be cut very slowly (or with lots of coolant) if not it will deform very easily.
The dial is parted off.
The dial is then placed in the six-jaw chuck, and the back machined flat and to thickness.
The dial is the successively inked to secure that after drying it remains full and level.
Successive turns of inking, after each time, it is removed and re-inked.
Near finishing inking of dial with air dry enamel.
Turning the sub seconds chapter.
Checking the dial in the movement and watch to
The outer bevel of the sub dial is turned.
The sub dial 10 second marks are drilled in the jig borer.
Details of the drilling.
The interior of the sub dial is marked with black so that it is easier to see the drilling.
Placing the larger dial to see if scallop diameter to receive sub second is correct.
Parting off the sub dial.
Further parting image.
The sub dial is reversed, and then the back side is turned.
The sub dial is checked in the movement. This dial was eventually abandoned, and the whole process repeated with a new dial, lacking the sub-seconds scallop.
Now we move to the making of the hands. Slices of spring steel are cut for each hand.
These are then milled to a thinner thickness, and flat.
Both parts for the minute and hour hands.
The jig borer was used to slightly mill the steel for the hands.
The rough outer shape of the hands is cut on the pantograph to set out the proper ratio.
The two hands as cut in the pantograph.
The center hole for each hand is drilled with the jig borer (here centering on hand arbor).
Next the hands are cut out with the jeweler's saw.
Further cutting.
Then the long process of hand shaping each hand is done with hand files, sandpaper, and ruby filing stones.
Initial stages.
Further work.
The back of the hand is left to be able to hold onto the hand and work with it.
Drawing with a hand cutter the outer diameter of the hour hand hub.
Initial steps
Additional view.
The initial shapes of the hour and minute hands, with the back still left on for ease of handling-finishing.
Testing the lengths on the watch with the dial.
Turning the tube that will hold the hand onto the minute-hour arbors
Further cutting the outside diameter of the hand tube.
The tube to hold the hour hand.
The interior of the hole is reamed to size (i.e., to a tenth of a millimeter so that it can be a press fit).
Further work on the minute hand.
The outside of the minute hand arbor is placed on the jig borer (held with the lathe spindle) and the outer diameter milled.
Further work on the cap of the minute hand.
Outer top cap of the minute hand.
Turning of the top cap.
Components of the minute hand that are then soldered in place. The minute wheel is there on the lower right hand.
Setting up the minute hand for soldering.
After soldering the minute hand.
Cleaning up the hour hand.
Cleaning the underside of the minute hand after soldering.
High polish of the minute hand (done with wood charged with various grades of diamond paste).
This is how the seconds hand was made. This version here was the first, out of 3 successive versions. Only the first is documented. It starts from a strip of spring steel.
It is turned round successively.
Then shaped with a hand graver on the watchmaker's lathe.
The central portion will then be placed in the hub.
Turning the hub of the second's hand.
A tangential hole is drilled to receive the second's hand.
Pushing the center hand harber on teh second's hand.
The arbor and second's hand after hardening and tempering.
Now the making of the buckle is shared. It starts with a cutoff from the same billet the main parts of the case are machined.
The sides are milled flat.
Then holes for the bar of the buckle is drilled.
The buckle bar is turned.
And the hole where it will be soldered onto tested.
The bar is cut off.
The sides of the frame are cut with a slitting saw.
Then the two sides of the buckle frame are glued onto a piece of metal, and ground to a uniform thickness.
The underside of the buckle frame is rough milled. Both sides pressed together so that they will have the identical shape.
The frame is silver soldered together.
Then, the shaping and contouring of the buckle frame is done by hand.
The top curvature of the frame is done on a sanding disk (lapping apparatus) so that they are even.
Upper contour of the buckle frame.
The underside of the buckle frame is hand filed so that the strap sits at a comfortable depth in the buckle frame.
The interior of the buckle is filed clean, as the center of the frame was round and needed substantial filing work to bring to size.
The prong of the buckle is then machined, from another, similar, cut off of brass.
The springbar hole is drilled.
The shape of the prong has to be aesthetically pleasing, but also still useful to easily pass through the leather strap.
Milling the rest for the buckle prong. The rest of the buckle was finished and polished similarly to the case, with a series of files, sandpaper, and finally diamond paste, and buffing wheels.
