A Pivotal Point! This photo is going to become part of a “Photo Tour” I’m preparing for my website. The Tour will include photos of the various stages of a complete clock movement overhaul which I hope will be of interest to those who visit my site. This photo shows me polishing a pivot on a clock wheel to a smooth new surface. Pivots are the axles the gears turn on.
When they get scratched up or grooved, wear and tear is accelerated to the point where the clock will fail to run properly. Once polished, the pivot hole in which the pivot rides is restored with a new hardened brass bushing.
I hope you’ll revisit my site to see the Photo Tour. I’ll blog it’s completion!
By the way, in this photo, the lathe I’m using is a Sherline miniature machinists’ lathe. I was trained 40+ years ago on a watchmakers’ lathe, but have found the machinist’s lathe to be far more versatile for the kind of work I do. I can fabricate tiny parts that I never could on a watchmaker’s lathe. It would NOT be practical for a watch repairman, however.