Here is the first part I've ever made for a watch. It is a setting jumper lever.
This disengages the gears to let you either set the hour and minute hands, or wind up the spring.
Using a washer as a "finger" to hold the part while filing it. Next project is making a finger vise out of metal for stuff like this. The wavy part that looks like a snake has two cam lobes that correspond to winding or time setting by interacting with a tiny pin.
I cut a triangle out of the washer to gain access for drilling holes. Just like my jeweler's pin bench vise.
Placed into a test watch movement. It works. It's not totally polished, but it works. By machining intricate modern parts I'll gain familiarity and knowledge, which will make it easier to design and build my larger, older style custom watch...which won't be a regular watch at all but a single meteorological complication. But that is way in the future. I've got more machines to build and buy and tools to make, and a rotary gear cutting dividing head to build.
Eventually this entire test movement will be orangey brass handmade parts. 360 brass and 260 (stronger brass) where I can. I also have some Startett O-1 (oil hardening) steel plates for things that might wear or break immediately...but I want to use as much brass as possible, for no other reason than it'll be an brassy orange visual guide to my progress.
It'll look great orange!
