#Pnw horology school how to

Taking it off is easy – putting it back in later will be much more of a hair-raising matter (that’s another pun for you, in case you are keeping track at home). Gripping the screwdriver as shown by Steve, we proceed first to loosen the screws and remove the bridge holding the balance wheel and hairspring. The class is divided into two halves: disassembly first, and re-assembly of the movement second.

#Pnw horology school how to

They know how to get complete beginners to enjoy this without getting in the weeds. The HSNY training program is well set-up to show clear step-by-step instructions and animations on a big screen. No previous skill, besides knowing the right way to hold a screwdriver, is required for this class. And when I say running, of course, I mean proceeding carefully under the patient tutelage of our teachers. All set now, and after slipping on the rubber finger protectors, we are off and running. Then onto describing various types of watch mechanisms, introduction to the tools (screwdrivers, loupe, etc) and the specs of the movement we were about to tear into (78 parts!). We kick off with a preliminary lesson on how various wheels interact from the mainspring and the gear train to escapement and time indicators. The Unitas 6498 is the classic pocket-watch-size movement, on which most new watchmakers start their training (or cut their teeth on – if you will forgive a horological pun).

Sporting two loupes and a resplendent beard, Michael was on hand to assist Steven in introducing us yokels to the secret art of dismantling and (all being well) reassembling the Unitas 6498 mechanical movement. Both Michael and Steve were happy to share anecdotes and experiences from their own time in horology school or at the bench, and no question was off-limits.

The Melbourne class, which I attended, was ably assisted by our local wunderkind WOSTEP-trained master-watchmaker Michael Woods. Steve Eagle, from the HSNY, takes a class in Melbourne, Australia And it’s also the first time in history HSNY has collaborated with a media partner, our very own Time+Tide. More recently, HSNY has started touring watchmaking classes across the USA and Asia however, this is the first time Steve Eagle (HSNY Director of Education) has ventured Down Under to connect with the enthusiasts here. The Horological Society of New York was established in 1866, and has been providing classes to the public since the 1950s. Thus, it was with a mixture of excitement and trepidation that I signed up to the “Horology 101-103” class hosted by the Horological Society of New York (HSNY), The Hour Glass and Time+Tide in Melbourne. Taking the HSNY Watchmaking 101-103 course in Melbourne, Australia Over this weekend, the HSNY ran their first watchmaking courses in Australia, and Roman S, a longtime reader and subject of several T+T stories (he has spectacular and unusual taste in watches), put pen to paper on his experience of completing ‘Watchmaking 101-103’, a class run in conjunction with The Hour Glass.įor many watch enthusiasts, the idea of spending hours of intense concentration at a watchmaker’s bench holds a certain amount of nostalgia and appeal. Whilst tremendous advances in automation have allowed robots to step into the space once solely occupied by human hands, the humble watchmaker’s bench is still an object of pride and devotion for the practice of advanced skill and mechanical ingenuity. I/trending 29392 Completing the HSNY Watchmaking 101-103 course, the “closest thing to giving something life” a man can get Roman SĮditor’s note: Time+Tide Watches is very proud to be the first official media partner of the Horological Society of New York in history.