Who sells genuine watch parts for pen making?

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Larryreitz

Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2015
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714
Location
Salem, CT USA
So I have started to dive into the rabbit hole of watch part pens, but have run up against several obstacles. The most significant of which is where to buy watch parts that will bend. I have purchased a small arbor press and have a better dappling block on the way. My first one was just to small. The parts I bought on Amazon just broke when I tried to bend them and looked kike they were made from powered metallurgy. I hope someone on the forum can direct me to a source of watch gears etc that will bend without breaking even if they have to be heated with a blow torch. I have some arriving from a vendor in Holland (didn't know the source when I clicked the Pay button
. They should get here shortly and hope they will be usable.

Most of my other issues have been worked out, I hope, but, unless I can get decent parts I'll have to go en another direction. I would really appreciate any feedback. Thanks in advance,
Larry
 
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Larryreitz said:
So I have started to dive into the rabbit hole of watch part pens, but have run up against several obstacles. The most significant of which is where to buy watch parts that will bend. I have purchased a small arbor press and have a better dappling block on the way. My first one was just to small. The parts I bought on Amazon just broke when I tried to bend them and looked kike they were made from powered metallurgy. I hope someone on the forum can direct me to a source of watch gears etc that will bend without breaking even if they have to be heated with a blow torch. I have some arriving from a vendor in Holland (didn't know the source when I clicked the Pay button
. They should get here shortly and hope they will be usable.

Most of my other issues have been worked out, I hope, but, unless I can get decent parts I'll have to go en another direction. I would really appreciate any feedback. Thanks in advance,
Larry
Click to expand...
As John mentioned you can find many vendors on ebay and also etsy that sell in various forms. But usually sell by the gram so be aware of that. You can also buy completed watches and strip them down. Now this takes tools and also extra time. I am not one who likes to use anything other than gears. To me it does nothing for the pen blank and then you have to be careful of thickness. When bending those frame pieces they could be a pain because they do not bend easily. Unless you are making a complete steampunk type blank with all kinds of parts and gears then that is a different blank. If you are trying to do as I do and make themed watch part blanks then you have to be more particular. I buy many watches off ebay and mainly just for the dials. years ago I found a vendor on ebay that sold all size gears and I bought her out basically. I have bought watch dials in bulk from various vendors on ebay also. Many times when you find vendors selling watch dials they are beat up and most are just too plain. As I mentioned not all watch dials are meant to be bent no matter how careful. You will want to stay away from paper dials as well as plastic coated dials. Some dials the markers fall off so if you can find ones that are lasered on is best. Some metals are too tough to bend or will crimp right in half. Believe me you throw away lots and that is why you buy in bulk. But in the end the finished pen can command larger $$ numbers than average pens. Good luck. Turners warehouse sells kits for watch part blanks. Chad was one of the original makers of these and lots of videos out on them.
 
JohnU said:
You'll find several on eBay or Etsy like this one…
www.etsy.com

Steampunk Pocket Watch Parts Assortment Sample Lot Watch Gears, Wheels, Faces, Crowns, Steampunk Supplies for Jewelry Making, Altered Art - Etsy

This Watch Movements item by AllGearedUp has 1552 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Plano, TX. Listed on Aug 8, 2024
www.etsy.com www.etsy.com

Some are better or cleaner than others but most will bend ok. You may need to disassemble a small number of them also.
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Thanks,John. I have some from the above recommendation on order.
 
jttheclockman said:
As John mentioned you can find many vendors on ebay and also etsy that sell in various forms. But usually sell by the gram so be aware of that. You can also buy completed watches and strip them down. Now this takes tools and also extra time. I am not one who likes to use anything other than gears. To me it does nothing for the pen blank and then you have to be careful of thickness. When bending those frame pieces they could be a pain because they do not bend easily. Unless you are making a complete steampunk type blank with all kinds of parts and gears then that is a different blank. If you are trying to do as I do and make themed watch part blanks then you have to be more particular. I buy many watches off ebay and mainly just for the dials. years ago I found a vendor on ebay that sold all size gears and I bought her out basically. I have bought watch dials in bulk from various vendors on ebay also. Many times when you find vendors selling watch dials they are beat up and most are just too plain. As I mentioned not all watch dials are meant to be bent no matter how careful. You will want to stay away from paper dials as well as plastic coated dials. Some dials the markers fall off so if you can find ones that are lasered on is best. Some metals are too tough to bend or will crimp right in half. Believe me you throw away lots and that is why you buy in bulk. But in the end the finished pen can command larger $$ numbers than average pens. Good luck. Turners warehouse sells kits for watch part blanks. Chad was one of the original makers of these and lots of
Click to expand...
Thanks a million, John. Sage advice!!!!
 
The problem I've found with Michaels and Hobby Lobby are the gears are made for decorating and are larger and very thick and they often break when bending.
There are several eBay and Etsy sellers who have real watch parts, probably pocket watches but who can tell when you wrap and cast them. Lol
 
JohnU said:
Watch part pens? They have been around a lot longer than Chad. Barry Gross was making them in the early 2000's. Chad came along in 2016ish. He just showed them off more.
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yea but he was one that brought them to video and was willing to share unlike Barry Gross. Watch part pen design was before Barry too. I will never give him credit for being the first to make them as he claims and told this forum to stop making them because he had a patent on them. I am not a fan of Barry at all. He gets none of my business. Anyway my point was Chad sells kits on his site.
 
Yeah, I don't thing we will ever know who the first guy was. I just know Chad came around years later. Look how many times something has been done on IAP only to see it promoted more later by someone else who takes credit for the idea. I know there are a lot of people on YouTube who have only been around a short time but because they are overly active online people think they've been around for ever when most are less than 8- 10 years.
 
JohnU said:
Yeah, I don't thing we will ever know who the first guy was. I just know Chad came around years later. Look how many times something has been done on IAP only to see it promoted more later by someone else who takes credit for the idea. I know there are a lot of people on YouTube who have only been around a short time but because they are overly active online people think they've been around for ever when most are less than 8- 10 years.
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OK so Chad was not an original. I misspoke. My main point was that he sells watch parts. Chad was a member here. I do not remember his sign-on name. I do know he was making watch part pens at least in 2013. he has very good videos out there that explains how to make them and what to look for. Some of the best I have seen. I do know Barry Gross was NOT the first for sure and it was proven when he brought it up and the big discussion was had here.
 
JohnU said:
Yeah, I don't thing we will ever know who the first guy was. I just know Chad came around years later. Look how many times something has been done on IAP only to see it promoted more later by someone else who takes credit for the idea. I know there are a lot of people on YouTube who have only been around a short time but because they are overly active online people think they've been around for ever when most are less than 8- 10 years.
Click to expand...

I think that one of the well-known but unspoken sides of the craft world - especially those who make a go at selling their work - is the blatant copying made by others who then as John says try and claim ownership of the original idea and design. This trend tends to make excellent creators (like Barry Gross) go silent and seem uncooperative as they try and protect their income stream. I am eternally grateful to people like Mark Dreyer, John U, Chad, Bob Blanford and many others who freely share their knowledge with others to promote the craft. I personally try to honor this effort by creating my own work using their ideas but not their designs - sometimes easier to do than not, but my goal is always to be as original as I can be. I know there isn't much to a pen in many ways, but it still offers lots of options to 'make it your own' versus create a duplicate of someone else's ideas.
 
Larryreitz said:
So I have started to dive into the rabbit hole of watch part pens, but have run up against several obstacles. The most significant of which is where to buy watch parts that will bend. I have purchased a small arbor press and have a better dappling block on the way. My first one was just to small. The parts I bought on Amazon just broke when I tried to bend them and looked kike they were made from powered metallurgy. I hope someone on the forum can direct me to a source of watch gears etc that will bend without breaking even if they have to be heated with a blow torch. I have some arriving from a vendor in Holland (didn't know the source when I clicked the Pay button
. They should get here shortly and hope they will be usable.

Most of my other issues have been worked out, I hope, but, unless I can get decent parts I'll have to go en another direction. I would really appreciate any feedback. Thanks in advance,
Larry
Click to expand...
Bunch of bulk bags of watch parts on Aliexpress

 
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