Mechanical Watch (2022)

The author seems too humble to put a giant Patreon link in a popup (it's at the very bottom), but in case anyone wants to know how to support: https://www.patreon.com/ciechanowski/membership?vanity=ciech...

As a teacher I understand how difficult it is to explain complex topics in a simple step by step way.

The site has some really impressive technical aspects, but the educational angle is the most rare and special! The simplicity of the language and explanations disguise how difficult this is to do.

This is the original use of the internet- giving away free knowledge to people, perfectly suited for the medium of a website.

This (re-)triggered a huge (dormant?) mechanical watch special interest for me when it was first posted.

Neurospiceys tread carefully.

<3

I find there is something indescribably fascinating with mechanical timepieces. I'm more of a clock guy than a watch guy, though I've had plenty of watches apart, and the two disciplines merge in many places. I've learned so many new mechanical skills in my now six year journey to be able to repair these things, and to learn to repair them is to learn to make them, as you need to know how to fabricate every single piece in order to be able to repair any movement, thus why clock and watch repairers are called clockmakers and watchmakers.

I have LOVED the beauty of mechanical watches my entire life. About 15 years ago, I started a little savings account to purchase an Omega Speedmaster. I have long since past the amount needed to purchase that beautiful timepiece, but I now have a wife, child, and house. The money is still there, but I cannot seem to pull the trigger. My wife says she is entirely Ok with me doing this as we are comfortable money-wise, but the "dad" in me keeps saying "You might need that money for a rainy day."

2022 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31261533

I recently bought the book 'Watch Repair for Beginners' for reference (a project I slightly unwisely agreed to do).

It has some great diagrams, but obviously nothing on these interactive animations (er, naturally, since it is a book).

However the author (Harold C. Kelley) has descriptions for the diagrams similar to a maths proof - like "Warning lever W is raised in position to engage the pin P ... The unlocking lever U lifts the drop lever D ..." - not easy to follow, but maybe if you have the mechanism in front of you!

I love that there's not only the internals of a standard three-hand, but the automatic mechanism as well. If you're going pure mechanical, an automatic is the best way. As long as you actually move during the day the watch generally stays wound up (though a twist when you put it on is a good measure). There's a ton of great watches out there powered only by walking around, and it's fascinating to look at what they can do with that.

The mechanics of a six-hand are similar, using the mechanism that is described here for the date indicator.

Another fun device, though more from an EE POV, are the solar+radio/GPS versions of the same. Automatics can hold power for a few days and need walking around to wind. Solar needs light (any light, though sunlight is always best) and hold power for over a month. Many higher-end models can self-set over radio time or GPS signals as well.

When the world goes tits-up someday, both classes of watches will suddenly become essential, and are already essential for people who spend a good amount of time "unreachable" for work or pleasure.

I also recommend this demonstration from 1949, in that excellent style they used back then with large scale physical models and stop-motion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMW-QWPZEm0

As observed from a comment [1] in a previous discussion: in the first animation the time and date shown are actually correct (per your web browser) when it initially renders, though it does not increment as the seconds hand reaches 12.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31261533#unv_31268444

It's been more than a year since his last post. Anyone know what's up?

https://www.youtube.com/wristwatchrevival if anyone loves stuff like this. He's great!

See also: “Clockmaking”, a 24-part series wherein a brass clock is fabricated by hand - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZioPDnFPNsETq9h35dgQq80R...

My wife finds yard sale watches and has me change the battery, but then I open one, a tiny thing and it's not battery powered but there are layers of tiny tiny gears. Mind boggling. (pro tip, a "bench knife" has a tiny blade that's optimized for plying open watch cases)

" it may be hard to believe that merely a few decades ago the most convenient way to keep track of time was a mechanical watch." I guess quartz is more convenient if you often take the watch off for more than a day. But my swiss automatics dont need a regular battery change, just a servicing every decade (or longer). I guess there are solar powered quartz watches though.

My 8yo son plays with this any chance he gets. We've started building watches together as a result (simple "drop in movement mods", but aspirations of building our own movement). The author really made something special.

How many animations does that page have? And how did they make them?

What an outrageously cool and informative website. Love it.

I'm back to mostly wearing analog watches. Had an Apple Watch on my wrist for quite a long time, but something about analog appeals once more. No smartwatch beats an analog in the style department, and I see analog everywhere around me ('burbs of NYC)

On-demand ciechanow.ski caliber articles are a pretty good AGI indicator. All the work on that site is wonderful.

Why is this getting to the top page every year?

This piece made me kind of fall in love with mechanical watches. The Orient Bambino I’m currently rocking on my wrist probably wouldn’t be there without it!

Relevant YouTube channel for a deep dive:

https://www.youtube.com/@chronovaengineering

Ineffably magnificent... no words may express how simply ingenious and incredible both the website work and such the marvel the work is attributed to...

What if schools would provide children such marvel? Yes, that requires a sufficient time to achieve, but dear... it's just... a miracle...

Related: https://ciechanow.ski/archives (Bartosz Ciechanowski...)

(2022)