Watchmaker's tools: what each one is for
Five basic bench tools, what each one touches, how to choose it and how to care for it. In the school's Tool room you can try each one, then steady your hand in the screwdriver lab.
Loupe (magnifier)
See small details: scratches, marks, a pin out of its hole.
- What it touchesNothing. It never touches the watch.
- Choosing oneStart with a modest magnification; stronger loupes show less at once and need a steadier hold. Hold it close to your eye and bring the work up to it, with your hands or elbows resting on the bench to keep steady.
- Looking after itKeep the lens clean and stored in its case.
- In the schoolThere is no loupe game: Lesson 1 zooms the drawing to each part for you. A screen is not real optics.
Watchmaker's screwdrivers
Turn small slotted screws without marking them or the parts around them.
- What it touchesThe screw slot only.
- Choosing oneChoose the blade that fills the slot: too wide rests on the plate and scars it; too narrow twists in the slot and marks the head. Inspect the tip first.
- Looking after itKeep tips dressed (square and clean); a worn tip slips. Never use a screwdriver to lever parts in this course.
- In the schoolWidth classes, not millimetres. Firmness is a choice you make: the screen cannot measure force, torque or feel. Practice does not qualify you to work on a real watch.
Tweezers
Hold and place small parts without fingers.
- What it touchesSmall parts only.
- Choosing oneFine, clean tips for small parts; brass or antimagnetic types are common at the bench.
- Looking after itKeep the tips aligned and clean; bent tips flick parts away.
- In the schoolIn the lab, tweezers lift a freed screw to the tray. Grip control is not simulated yet.
Movement holder
Holds a movement still so both hands are free and the plate is not handled.
- What it touchesThe movement edge.
- Choosing oneSized to the movement; jaws grip the edge, never the parts.
- Looking after itKeep jaws clean so they do not mark the edge.
- In the schoolShown here as the fixture that holds the training plate. Real movements are not opened in this unit.
Parts tray
Keep every removed part in its own labelled cell so it goes back where it came from.
- What it touchesRemoved parts.
- Choosing oneCovered trays with separate cells.
- Looking after itOne part per cell; keep the cover on.
- In the schoolThe lab checks which cell you used; it does not simulate dust.
Sources
- US War Department, TM 9-1575, Ordnance Maintenance: Wrist Watches, Pocket Watches, Stop Watches, and Clocks, 6 April 1945. Pages cited as printed page (PDF page = printed + 5 in chapter 1).
- F. J. Britten, The Watch & Clock Makers' Handbook, Dictionary and Guide, 9th edition, London: E. & F. N. Spon, 1896. Printed page (PDF = printed + 7).