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Clockmaker's Workshop


Teresa layman

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Here is a project I have been working on over the last couple of months...

 

We have an horologist friend who takes very good care of our antique watches and clocks for us. For a couple of years I have wanted to make him a thank you gift of a miniature clockmaker's workshop. One day, as I was browsing on the internet, I came across a picture of a beautiful, small clockmaker's workshop that was posted on miniaturetreasures.BlogSpot.com/2013_80_01_archive.html. I just thought this was so beautiful and such a wonderful rendition of the very thing I wanted to make that I decided to follow in Tony's footsteps. (Thank you Tony for sharing your work and inspiration!)

 

This is my version... Barbara Vajnar made the wonderful furnishings, some of the tools and the crates (so she gets most of the credit), the cat is by Annie Willis , Scott Hughes made the light, Ray Storey made the little bell jar that covers a tiny watch movement, and I made the rest. I put in a few more finished clocks. No, they don't work.

 

I had asked our horologist friend if he had any really small ladies watches that were no longer useful and he gave me a small box of them to use for parts. The fun part of this project was that most of the clockmaker's tools and some of the clocks are made from those old watch parts. The wheel on the lathe does turn. The grinder is made of two different dremel attachments. And yes, I know a watchmaker's lathe should be much smaller, but mine is made out of watch parts and, for our friend, I thought that was better than one so small no one would know what it was.

 

Teresa

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Lovely, I'm sure you friend will cherish this and the love that you have obviously put into it.

 

Could you put a up the photo that inspired you because I and others enjoy seeing where and what inspires a miniature room.

 

yours in miniatures

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Thanks so much for the kind words, I really loved making this. Here is the picture from miniaturetreasures.BlogSpot.com.uk that inspired my build.... 

 

The one I made turned out a little bigger, which is fine with me because, I was still running out of space to put all the stuff in that I wanted to include!

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I am thinking of bringing this one to the Chicago show so anyone who wants to see it in real life can have a chance to do that before it goes to our friend.

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Hi Teresa, the clock shop is wonderful.  I really like that the lathe does turn, and that you made the grinder from two dremel parts, but where are the miniature watches?   I can't find them, so (hehe) I had to ask!

 

Yes, I am looking forward to Chicago, it will be fun to see it in person.

 

Perhaps this is post #3500?

 

Tamra

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Hi Tamra, Thanks, the watches were tiny, but full size, ladies watches that didn't work and weren't worth fixing, so I took them apart to make other stuff. The silver carriage clock on the shelf with the green face is made from one of the watch cases, and several of the dials, hands and pendulums on the other clocks are from those as well. The tiny parts that came from inside some of those watches are on the work tray on the bench. The tiny screwdriver on the tray is made from the pin that holds the strap on the watch. I ground down the end to make it like a flat tip screwdriver. The oil can and little round brass jar on the drawers in the corner are also made of watch parts... and look at the stand of the magnifying glass too. The tray under the bell jar is a mainspring case. The white bowl on top of the drawers is full of "spare parts."

 

I still have a few things in mind to make, pocket watches and an exploding alarm clock :) perhaps and maybe a small vice. We'll see. I was going to put some filings on the bench around the lathe, but no good watch maker would ever leave a mess like that, it would be too easy to lose the tiny parts they work with!

 

 

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  • 3 months later...

Thanks Linda!

 

I gave the watchmaker's shop to our friend and it was a big hit! He really, really loves it...What I didn't expect was for him to put on the jewelers loupe and have a CLOSER look! OK, A REALLY CLOSE LOOK. It passed muster. Whew! He said he wanted to take it to the clock shows he does and put it on his table so he can, "have the neatest thing there."

 

*smile*

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