Horology

It’s a new word for me, Time:

Something that flies by as the years trundle on, but Hey! For me it’s the age of discovery, the good intentions of keeping this Blog going as I mentioned at the beginning of the year, have been replaced by so much unearthing of fascinating things in the workshop that over the years have passed me by.

The dying art of watch and clock making, because I suppose the mere reason for the exceptional skill that is obviously required, takes a lot of patience and that magic chargeable service, time.

As many of you know, one of my hobbies since retiring has been woodturning; many hours spent digesting and studying Ornamental turning lathes of bygone days, not only the skill in operating them but also the ingenuity which the likes of Holtzapffel and Fenn were producing back in the early eighteen hundreds; what brilliant minds they must have had.

The stunning beauty and intricacy of the turned pieces those early machines were capable of, sometimes beggar’s belief in this modern world of today, but time didn’t cost what it does today. I made a bolt for a friends Joseph Fenn machine which was date stamped 1848, the thread was totally unique and it took a pleasurable four hours to make, but I had the time, just imagine the cost if I charged an hourly rate at today’s prices, prohibitive for just one bolt.

Anyway I am rambling on as Michael would say, the reason for blowing the dust off the computer key board is I have been fortunate enough to acquire a very tiny watchmakers lathe which I intend to hopefully bring back to its original pristine state, box and all, at present looking the many years of service it has obviously had, hence the title ‘Horology’

So watch this space, I will be reporting my progress as each part takes shape and the obvious problems that I envisage I will come up against.   

 

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