Hand Making a Verge Watch Hairspring Pt.1

I do these videos for free, un-monetised. KZbin now put ads on any video to give themselves revenue, whether the content creator wants it or not. We don’t get anything. Sorry for the interruption.
I make a wooden jig and use it to reduce a piece of music wire to match the dimensions of a hairspring from a late 1700’s Verge Pocket Watch. I used the finest music wire (sometimes known as Piano wire) made by K&S Metals. I buy it from model aeroplane stores and it is quite cheap.
A link to Richard Watkins PDF books www.watkinsr.id...

[@JayaRumahMurai]

Ok, sir..I'm now watching from the begining of making hair spring.. I'm a new at watches, and so interested of them .🙏🙏

[@tadeubotelho4410]

Simply incredible. Thank you very much for sharing this information in your 3 videos on the subject. I wish you much success.

[@theselectiveluddite]

Pleasure. Glad you found it useful. All the best :)

[@koelsch_s_p]

I'm 23 and I'm working on verges and this is the video I was always looking for. Now I can repair verge fusees with broken or missing hair spring. Thank you Sir!

[@theselectiveluddite]

Glad to be able to help Sebastien. Make sure to watch Parts 2 and 3 for the rest of the info. as well as this video ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpmQXqGAj7WJepY ) on how to make tweezers for the curling. Also, Repivot22 did a nice improvement of my method of making the tight inner coils: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5POYoewfZuqi9k Cheers, and all the best. Duncan

[@koelsch_s_p]

@@theselectiveluddite Hey Duncan, thank you very much for these tips. Yes I will try it first on a piece of paper and I will create these tweezers too. Cheers and all the best too Sébastien

[@grottonisred6541]

That was brilliant....clear, concise and extremely constructive. It's a good job the old guys put methods like this into print....well done

[@theselectiveluddite]

Glad you enjoyed it Grotton, and, yes, those old guys have left extremely valuable information behind. I love reading it. Cheers

[@jean-yvesbeguec9944]

With this video we know, at last, all of a watch. Thanks, many thanks too.

[@theselectiveluddite]

Thanks Jean-Yves. I am still learning :) Make sure to watch Parts 2 and 3 for the rest of the info. as well as this video ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpmQXqGAj7WJepY ) on how to make tweezers for the curling. Also, Repivot22 did a nice improvement of my method of making the tight inner coils: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5POYoewfZuqi9k Cheers, and all the best. Duncan

[@MrTilsner]

Thank you for such interesting,good content and delivery. Next level stuff, please keep it coming.

[@theselectiveluddite]

Thank you :) I have a number of things I want to cover, but unfortunately life has been very tiring and I haven't had the energy for filming/editing for a while. I will get back to it when I can. Cheers

[@jkrjhn8]

Incredible!

[@theselectiveluddite]

Thank you :) Don't forget the other two parts, as well as the Makin' a Tool episode where I make tweezers to curl the hairspring. Also, Repivot 22 did a video where he adapted my methods and has a very good way of making the tight inner coils. I recommend it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5POYoewfZuqi9ksi=cdXH1RXLFS4fW2pv Cheers

[@cbonlebluesfred]

Incredible job. Congratulations

[@juaquimgustavo4712]

You cant simple make and spring and put in your watch it will not work.

[@theselectiveluddite]

@@juaquimgustavo4712 Yes you can, and it does work. Hand curling wire was how hairsprings were made 200 - 300 years ago. I have watchmaking books from the 1950's that show how to hand make hairsprings for modern watches, using a little drum (which they show how to make) that 4 hairsprings are wound into at once. There's no secret magic to it, just time and care. All the Best.

[@jeffarmstrong1308]

Very interesting and well delivered. I'm looking forward to part two. @Clickspring had better look to his laurels when it comes to finely crafted films.

[@theselectiveluddite]

Thanks Jeff. I think I've got a long way to go before catching up with Clickspring :)

[@philedwards2213]

Great presentation, clear and concise. You have a new subscriber.

[@theselectiveluddite]

Thanks Phil, glad you liked it :) Hopefully new episodes coming soon: I was preparing to do a "Makin' a Tool" episode (a Pallet Warming Table) when I realised it would be useful to do a "Makin' a Tool" episode for a tool I used on the Pallet Warmer, but that would require "Makin' a Tool" to make that, and some geometry drafting would be good to talk about.......... stay tuned :D

[@philedwards2213]

@@theselectiveluddite I look forward to future episodes. I take if from the lack of accent your in Australia?

[@theselectiveluddite]

Too right Mate, spot on! :D In a little country town in VIctoria.

[@johndilsaver8409]

That's really excellent work and presentation. Thank you for showing us.

[@theselectiveluddite]

Thanks John. I'll try and get Part 2 finished as soon as I can. Got lots happening here :)

[@Vinlaell]

Something I noticed is that once you are polishing there's no way to polish the sides but if you did a polishing whenever it was square then the sides would be covered

[@theselectiveluddite]

I cover that process in the video from 14:40 - 16:35 Cheers.

[@Dixler683]

Incredible.

[@marcelopassos8384]

obrigado!

[@chrisjohnson4165]

Just perfect!

[@theselectiveluddite]

Thank you :)

[@Nemozoli]

Nice and informative! One more subscriber!

[@theselectiveluddite]

:) Thanks Nemozoli. Hopefully Pt.2 will be within a couple of weeks.

[@bobbyintheshop]

this is awesome!

[@theselectiveluddite]

Glad you liked it Bobby; now on to watch Parts 2 and 3! :D

[@JayaRumahMurai]

amazing... im from indonesia

[@theselectiveluddite]

Thank you :)

[@JayaRumahMurai]

So this is the tool, that we can use for making hair spring, sir??

[@theselectiveluddite]

@@JayaRumahMurai Yes it is. Be sure to watch the other two parts, as well as the video on making special tweezers for doing the curling (kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpmQXqGAj7WJepY). This was more or less how it was done in the 1700's. All the Best.

[@theselectiveluddite]

Also, check out Clickspring's video on making hairsprings, with many more turns, where he uses more modern methods, but still ones that can be done in the home workshop ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5-Zqoqooc6anqs ). Cheers

[@sma1968]

This is amazing! Do you know of any copper wire that can be used in this manner?

[@theselectiveluddite]

Good question Stefan, I have no idea :) But that is no reason not to try, It would need to be hammer hardened to give it springyness, then brought to dimension, then curled; but too hammer hardened and it becomes brittle. It wouldn't be magnetic, a vote in it's favour, but how it would respond to changes in temperature is a big question. I'm guessing it's been tried at some stage in the past, and rejected due to poor performance, but you would learn things if you gave it a try. Make sure to watch Parts 2 and 3 for the rest of the info. as well as this video ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpmQXqGAj7WJepY ) on how to make tweezers for the curling. Also, Repivot22 did a nice improvement of my method of making the tight inner coils: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5POYoewfZuqi9k All the Best.

[@antilogism]

This looked great for me until I took another look at the spring in my watch. It's ~0.12 mm wide and ~0.02 mm thick so about 1/4 of the cross-section! Still very cool!

[@theselectiveluddite]

Verge watches have the advantage of everything being more robust :) But, might still be worth tackling; would need more fine work with the Wet 'n' Dry paper stuck to paddle pop sticks to get it to dimension. All the best.

[@tomelifeisjustonebig]

This is unreal.

[@theselectiveluddite]

:) Thanks. Don't forget the others in the series so you can see what it becomes. Cheers

[@avianfish8732]

Nice, i have been wanting to try that for a while. Why not just buy the right sized wire though?

[@theselectiveluddite]

Thanks Avian, I live in a rural town in Australia, which means getting specialised items can be expensive and take a while to arrive. It's easier, and a *lot* cheaper, for me to get to a model aeroplane shop (store) and buy the finest music wire they have and do the reduction myself. Also it means that if I'm ever in need of a hairspring for a watch, I can start work on it immediately, without having to wait a couple of weeks for the materials to arrive etc. And I enjoy making things from basic stock :) Cheers.

[@sto2779]

Interesting, what kind of wire are you using? Where could it be bought? Thanks.

[@theselectiveluddite]

I used the finest music wire (sometimes known as Piano wire) made by K&S Metals. I buy it from model aeroplane stores and it is quite cheap. Cheers

[@samyfayek5192]

What's the mateial of hairspring please and how can i find it ?

[@theselectiveluddite]

G'day Samy, It's Music wire that I buy from model aeroplane shops (stores). It's the finest they sell, 0.015", and comes as a bundle of 5 strands, each 1 yard long. Only costs a few dollars. Cheers