Reply To: Where did everybody go?

[Bob Tascione]

Hi David and Steve,
I ducked out for awhile as I’ve been relocating my equipment and am in the process of setting everything back up now. Not fun!

Yes summers are much slower in the U.S. Picks up a bit in Australia and other countries moving into their winters.
There are quite a few people that are online course members that are into making watch and clock parts. I’m not too sure how many of those people are members of the forum though. Only a small percentage of the online course members have registered for the forum. Got to work on that I suppose.
David if you haven’t already purchased Watchmaking by George Daniels it’s a book I think you would really enjoy. Not cheap but well worth the price.
Much of the work you’ll do on a watchmakers lathe is done with hand gravers but not all. You’re right about t-rest work. It’s amazing what you can do free handing on a t-rest. Watchmakers lathe cross slides are calibrated as well as milling attachments, swing centers etc. Stops can be set up for duplicating parts and travel indicators can always be used. When restoring watches only one part is usually needed though so doing exactly what you said in your post is the best and quickest option.
Enjoy,
Bob