Casting Watch Parts

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MartinPens

MartinPens

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Joined
Apr 3, 2010
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Medford, Oregon, USA
I haven't been on in a long time, but have had some time tonight to look through this forum, do a couple searches and check the library. I'm looking for some good resources for casting watch part pens. I have come into some great watch parts and I'm feeling inspired.

I just hope I can get this down without wasting too many good parts. I'll experiment with some of the less desirable parts. I've enjoyed taking these watches apart. I may need to bump up my glasses prescription (yes, I'm also using a magnification lamp) :hypnotized:

Thanks!
 
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Hi Martin, glad you are back! I can't tell you any secrets, I just bent the gears and glued the over carbon fiber and cast in Silmar. One thing you might want to do is mic the max parts diameter in a couple of key spots - for example the max diameter over the face and hands so you know how far you can turn without hitting metal. I didn't do this and was constantly afraid that one more thousandth and Mickey's hand would wave bye-bye! Also keep the gears thin and back a little from the ends of the tubes where it gets real thin. Good luck.
 
What both the guys above said. The only part that at had a learning curve for myself was bending the faces without doing any damage to the face. If you don't have any practice faces, I'd be have to mail you a few to test on. I bought a huge lot from Ukraine that had lots of practice faces in the mix. PM me if you want some. They are so light I can get them to you with one stamp.

Chad has a good series on the process. Below is one of the videos.
Pen Making Series: How to make a Steampunk Watch …: Pen Making Series: How to make a Steampunk Watch Parts Pen, #3 The Molds - YouTube

Good luck!
 
Recapture your parts

Martin, remember that if you do mess some of the castings up, you can drop the bad blank into a jar of acetone and recover most, if not, all of your watch parts. Then you can give it another shot! Just my .02¢:wink:
 
Thank you for the input everyone! The videos were really great and I have some resources coming to help get the ball rolling. Does anyone know a good source for the carbon fiber sleeves? I think I would like to try some smaller pens like the one piece Aero or Sierra. I also really like the larger pens like the statesman or the Majestic. What are your favorites for watch part pens? It would be good for me to settle on something so I can get the molds ordered. I usually jump into things too big in the beginning and buy stuff that I don't need to buy and end up wishing I had held back. So I think I will hang loose for some advice before I dive into the deep waters. At least my checking account will appreciate the gesture. I really enjoy my new job and being employed, but I have so little time to be in the shop now that it's really difficult - and I'm trying to get my Cigar Illusion pens rolling again.
 
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Think about the Sierra Vista, wider barrel and components, but still a 27/64" tube. It makes it easier for the parts to clear the outer diameter of the casting...not sure that came out right, but you get my meaning...I hope!
 
MartinPens said:
Thank you for the input everyone! The videos were really great and I have some resources coming to help get the ball rolling. Does anyone know a good source for the carbon fiber sleeves? I think I would like to try some smaller pens like the one piece Aero or Sierra. I also really like the larger pens like the statesman or the Majestic. What are your favorites for watch part pens? It would be good for me to settle on something so I can get the molds ordered. I usually jump into things too big in the beginning and buy stuff that I don't need to buy and end up wishing I had held back. So I think I will hang loose for some advice before I dive into the deep waters. At least my checking account will appreciate the gesture. I really enjoy my new job and being employed, but I have so little time to be in the shop now that it's really difficult - and I'm trying to get my Cigar Illusion pens rolling again.
Click to expand...

Solar Composites is where I get my carbon fiber sleeves. Hope that helps!
 
The you tube videos are very helpful,however I am unsure how they bend the watch face without damaging it.Trial and error will likely exhaust my supply ... Any suggestionswill be appreciated.
 
from my understanding, the parts are bent using a jig of sorts. Two part, with one being the outside diameter of the tube and the second half fitting into that to shape, or mold it to the proper curve. The parts are put into the mold, and the mating part pressed with a clamp or vice to form the parts to round. I read they use wood a lot so that the parts are not damaged. Just what I have read, but not tried yet.
 
It's called a dapping block and punch set. HF has a low end one for about $40, you can find it by the other punches.

It is a block with different sized concave half rounds and punches with convex half rounds to match.

Really high quality ones come from jewelry supply places and can be $2-300.

You can either hammer the pouches, or use a small arbor press. The press works better.
 
Thank you for the replies, I found a dapping tool on Amazon. The videos recommended in this post show a dapping block used to bend a gear & watch face. It shows the gear being heated with a torch prior to bending but not the face … I would think the face would need to be heated, but a torch seems a bit extreme.
 
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