Mechanical watches rely on a near-primitive souce of power-the tension in a spring. This video shows how the tension from the spring is passed through the gear train to the escapement to run your watch and power the time accurately.
I don't know why, but I'm still dumbfounded that all that happens in a mechanical wristwatch is powered by nothing more than the tension in a spring. Kindest regards, Bill
It's my pleasure R-8! It's the whole phenomenon of that little spring power a timepiece is what keeps me interested in mechanical watches. Kindest regards, Bill
Very informative, thanks. Main springs and hairsprings are one of the mechanical watch parts that have taken the most advantage of new technology. I have serviced many pocket watches... second to broken balance staffs(not because of mechanical failure) is broken or weak main springs, followed by corroded or mishandled ( by not so competent "watchmakers") hairsprings. Age, of course plays a big role as well.
Hi Bill, I don't come across many of them (entire watch) but have owned and sold about 4. 3 with the farmer's ranch dial and one with Catena horseshoe dial. These ones had the 6497 movements as they are open face watches. The 6497 has a very distinctive ticking when compared to that of most American made pocket watches, Time accuracy is great. If I recall right, they were first introduced in the early 50's. Regards,Gilbert
Hey SithLord! So I was looking at your video on why no one likes the R33, and I could not figure out what watch you were wearing. The bezel looked like a Rolex, but so many copies of the bezel on so many watches I wasn't sure. When will you do a video on a Morgan +4 ... or a Morgan 3-Wheeler, I want to see your watch! Take care and be safe! Bill😷
I had on my tee from Upper Playground with a mythical Viking wolf, and my wife jacked up the air conditioner, so I put on a cardigan and off I went. (I do much better getting dressed in the dark...) Cheers, Bill
Am wondering if the unwinding of the mainspring can power or wind a 2nd smaller mainspring? If accuracy is lost as the mainspring releases its tension, the 2nd mainspring could add back the lost mainspring tension...Or am I proposing the elusive perpetual motion machine?
Hi FC, yes. In fact that's the principle behind a remontoir d'egalite, ( www.hodinkee.com/watch101/ ), The mainspring winds the remontoir, and it unwinds in a steady state to provide constant force. Kindest regards, Bill
Hi Pablo, the main book I use is George Daniels "Watchmaking" and the rest I find in a combination of articles, pieces of articles and online searches. Do have some others you can recommend? Thanks, Bill
Great video as usual Bill. I have a question for you, what is the difference between an automatic watch movement and a kinetic energy movement? Are they same or is there a difference? Look forward to your response have a great day.
Matthew Moon Hi Matthew if you're referring specifically to a Seiko Kinetic then the difference is that a standard auto mechanical watch winds up a spring, whereas a Kinetic uses a similar rotor technology as an auto watch but to charge up a battery instead. M.
i have a 3d printed clock ( my design ). currently it is weight driven and is in my garage and it works, Im so happy with it. I am looking forward to making another that uses a main spring. Currently my clock runs very well at 22 lbs of weight driving everything, seems like a lot but my center wheel is about a foot across and the fact that this is only my 2nd working clock and the friction between the gears anyway back to it.. im assuming i would need a grandfather clock main spring but im not even sure if there is a spring out there that would deliver the 22 lbs of torch i would need to turn clock gears.. i have pics of everything if you would like to discuss the issue.
Whoaa! Well, WhiteDwarf, that sounds fantastic! Since this channel is about watches instead of clocks, what would be very cool is that if you made a clock that was really a big watch that could be used to show the main parts of a watch-from the winder to the escape mechanism. Maybe in a future project you could make something like that? Thanks for sharing, Bill
how does the mainspring release its energy when it's being wound? similar to a music box, it does not make any sound when you are winding it up. It only does when you release the spring. can shed some light on this?
Hi Andrew, you are soooo right! I was recently reading about how H. Moser et Cie made their own hairspring using a combination of niobium and titanium. media.h-moser.com/en/articles/precision-engineering-and-h-moser-amp-cie-present-their-paramagnetic-hairspring/ Cheers, Bill
My metal design teacher made us work in titanium. It destroys every tool it touches. Prepare yourself to go through drill bits and saw blades. But one of its interesting features is that its oxide layer changes color permanently when exposed to electric current. And the color is affected by the voltage. You could make blued hands with titanium using that method. I don't know anything about niobium.
