“Attempt” At Wristwatch Is A Solid Success

Sometimes silence is the best compliment to a DIY project, and that doesn’t just apply to homemade lockjaw toffee. When a watch is so well-made that it looks like one from a jewelry store, it is easy to keep quiet. [ColinMerkel] took many pictures of his fourth wristwatch attempt but “attempt” is his word because we call this a success. This time around he didn’t forget the crown for adjusting the time so all the pieces were in place.

His second “attempt” at wristwatch making was featured here and it had a classical elegance. Here, the proverbial game has been stepped up. Instead of using stock steel, the body is constructed of 303 stainless steel. The watch dial will definitely draw compliments if its DIY nature is revealed, which is equally mathematical and charming. Pictures of this process were enough to convey the build without words which is always a bonus if you only want a quick look or English isn’t your first choice for language.

Not only is [Colin] an upstanding horologist, he has a reputation with aftermarket door security and a looping guitar pedal.

19 thoughts on ““Attempt” At Wristwatch Is A Solid Success

      1. The Copyright to (at least) the venerable Analog Intruments Co. Smith Chart version was bought by the IEEE MTT-S in 2015. The IEEE said, “MTT-S would make the Smith chart available to students, practitioners, and indeed people all over the world involved in microwave technology.” Yeah-right! I can’t easily find information on how far the IEEE/MTT-S copyright goes (no surprise), but knowing the IEEE in terms of locking-up content for money, good luck.

        The original Analog Instruments Co. Smith Chart paper has both “Normalized Impedance and Admittance Coordinates” plus the “Radially Scaled Parameters” linear Nomogram below the normalized polar chart. A common version of the original chart says in the Title-Block at the top, “ANALOG INSTRUMENTS COMPANY, NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J. 07974”. At the bottom right it says, “COPYRIGHT 1970 ANALOG INSTRUMENTS COMPANYM, NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J.”. In this version the Impedance plot is in red (as is most of the text on the page). The Admittance Plot is in green.

        To be frank, most people today with high-resolution printers will want EITHER a Normalized Impedance OR a Normalized Admittance Smith Chart plot for practical use, not both overlaid like the original Analog Instruments version. If you do an Image and/or .pdf Search in the Web search engine of your choice, you will probably find a high-resolution Smitch Chart image that meets your needs in terms of a paper chart – free for (at least) personal use.

        Links:

        * IEEE MTT-S Buys Rights to Smith Chart:

        http://www.rfcafe.com/miscellany/homepage-archive/2015/smith-chart-ieee-mtt-s-rights.htm

        * The Smith Chart Comes Home (The IEEE .pdf link below is NOT behind the IEEE PayWall):

        http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=7298509

        * IEEE Microwave Theory & Techniques Society (IEEE/MTT-S):

        https://www.mtt.org/

      1. I started with about 6 inches of 2.5 inch diameter 303 stainless from McMaster.

        As for the numbers, I typically use superglue. But I can imagine wax would have some advantages: you probably don’t have to heat up too much to remove it. Interesting product!

  1. This is a nice example of casemaking, and dial making. But please, I mean this very kindly- its not “watchmaking”. I have told many people this, but you can buy the guts, called the movement, the actual watch, for not much money. Some decent swiss moments are only about 150$. (Look up something called an eta 6497). Anyone with enough skill to machine normal parts can make a case and dial from scratch.

    I am not trying to take away from the achievement at all, but this is not actually making the watch. There are people who do that, they are watchmakers. People who repair them though are also called that, and 99.9% of them cannot make the watch either.

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