# Watch part blank making



## jttheclockman (Feb 11, 2019)

OK it has been long enough and there are many people who make the watch part blanks. There are many videos of these things too so the mystery is out of the bag.

But with that said I would like to try my hand at some of these. I have gathered the parts dials and have all tools including dabbler blocks pliers and what ever else. I have that covered. Now I do have a few questions and remember we are a sharing group so please do not tell me it is a trade secret. 

Here is my questions. What is everyone using to glue the parts to the tubes and is one thing better than another?? I have heard nail polish, CA glue, med, epoxy. When using any or all of these how important is it to not get glue beyond the parts??  Will the glue show when cast?? Next question what resin is everyone using to cast these. I was thinking Liquid Diamonds epoxy resin. I also have Silmar. Next question, is there any other tidbits of info that you can share to make this go smooth. I see right away I will have to break out the magnifying light for sure. 

I have watched Chad Schimmels videos and yes they are well done but are there any others worth while taking a look at to get a better feel for this project??

Thanks all for the replys.


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## Curly (Feb 11, 2019)

:biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: Trade secret.  :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:


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## 1080Wayne (Feb 11, 2019)

I think Pete will trade you one secret for two of yours !


At the same stage as you on this , so no specific answers . Suspect need to keep the glue under the part . For sure , a CA boundary will show under Alumilite because of difference in index of refraction .


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## KLJ (Feb 11, 2019)

I received what in my opinion to be an amazing and flawless watch part pen on black carbon fiber in the Nov 2018 PITH from Jason ( Argo13). So I know he knows the answer if no one tells the trade secret maybe ask him. I been wondering the same thing so glad you asked these questions.


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## Argo13 (Feb 11, 2019)

John,

I am no expert but I have made about a dozen successful pens. Like you I search this site and YouTube and this is what works for me. Instead of CA for the carbon fiber I use epoxy to seal the fiber to the tube.  A small amount mixed in a cup and use gloves like chad does with the CA. I had success with CA as well, just a preference. 

I use medium CA to apply the watch parts. I try to use as little as possible. I use liquid diamonds to cast and it seems to work well to the naked eye. I have never checked under a loop to see if glue is visible. I’ll be following this thread to see what others have to say.

Again no expert here but willing to share. Good luck

Jason


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## socdad (Feb 11, 2019)

John, 
I make a 30 or so a year so I'm no 'expert'. I use thick CA (applied with a toothpick) & cast with Silmar41. 
Jeff


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## EBorraga (Feb 11, 2019)

Ask 20 people, you'll get 40 answers. I've showed several people how to make them, and i've made a few. 



It's all dependent on the resin you use as to what glue. I use Alumilte, which has troubles with ca. If you use ca you need to let it sit for a couple days before casting. And you may still have issues. 



I personally use something different. Clear fingernail polish works well, as does a few epoxies. Most have experimented to find what works for them.


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## brownsfn2 (Feb 11, 2019)

Attached is one of two watch parts blanks I have made that I was able to sell to a couple of customers.

I started by attaching the carbon fiber with CA.  Here is the process I used:

1. Paint the tube black.
2. Fill the ends of the tube with play dough.
3. Cut the Carbon fiber to length and insert the tube.
4. Stretch the carbon fiber tight over a frame or by tying the ends.
5. Drench the whole thing in CA and allow to dry overnight.
6. Cut the end of the carbon fiber close to the tube and remove play dough.
7.  Layout all of the parts that are going to be used to get a nice pattern. 
8.  Ben all of the parts to the size tube you are using with a dapping block and a press or hammer.  
9.  Using Thick CA attach all parts as organized earlier.  Use as little CA as possible. 
10. Allow to dry for at least 24 hours. 
11. Cast with PR in whatever way you choose to cast.  I recommend no more than 3-3.5 drops of MEKP per ounce of PR.  (Also I think a pressure pot makes this cast so much less frustrating. 


I think that is pretty much it.  I have heard others using PR to adhere the carbon fiber to the tube but I have not tried it.  I have had some failures with this because I did not get the CA to fully cure or off gas. 

Hope this helps someone.  I am certainly no expert.


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## jttheclockman (Feb 11, 2019)

Wow just put this up last night and get here this morning and see this many responses is great. I see others are wanting to try these too so that is a good thing. I also see again a variation of answers that I thought would happen because just like most things we do with pen blanks there is more than one way to do things. I will be experimenting for sure as I said I have 2 different resins. 

Being Ron gave a detailed description and shown a great close up of his example pen I will pose this question to him. I am assuming even though you use a little dab of CA to glue parts, my hands are not as steady as they use to be and there is bound to get CA outside the parts. Will this glue show when cast or will it disappear do to the resin and is one resin better at this than another?? 

Or if anyone else has done an experiment with different resins have you found one better than another for hiding glue drops???

One last question does the material you use weather it is painted tube, fiber tube, or something else matter with the visibility of the glue??  Also is a certain material easier to adhere to??? 

Thank you all and hopefully this will help others too now and in the future when it can be linked to. Have to say this being another first brings back memories when I spun my first pen. Not knowing what to expect.


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## leehljp (Feb 11, 2019)

This thread needs to have a link placed in the Library!!!!


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## Curly (Feb 11, 2019)

I doubt many people have tried all the glue, resin, background variations. Most try something and if it works, stop there. If not try something else. Put a drop of medium CA on a sheet of parchment paper, (Usually found in a drawer in the kitchen. Thats the place the cooked food comes out of.) using a fine tipped tweezer, touch the part to the drop and put it on the pen tube. Cast in PR.


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## brownsfn2 (Feb 11, 2019)

jttheclockman said:


> Will this glue show when cast or will it disappear do to the resin and is one resin better at this than another??



I have never had it show.  Sometimes the glue seeps to the top of the part and even when that happens it has not shown.  I have done 2-3 other blanks that I did not like and did not have a problem with CA glue showing there as well. 

I have only ever used Carbon Fiber and PR so I can't really answer the other questions.  

Since the gears and parts are cheap it is easy to practice without the expensive watch faces. Just use gears to practice so that you don't ruin a watch face.  I have some Franck Mueller dials that I want to try but can't bring myself to try them yet.  Also have been busy with other things.  Some day...


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## 1080Wayne (Feb 11, 2019)

John , the beauty of Ron`s method is that the entire piece has been drenched in CA . Any squeeze out from under the parts is automatically camouflaged .


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## Dick Mahany (Feb 11, 2019)

I have had excellent results gluing carbon fiber to the pen tube and also the watch parts with "Epoxy 330" water clear.  I only have experience with Alumilite however the glue completely disappears in that material.  I have also used thin CA to glue the parts to the carbon fiber with similar results.  I believe the epoxy 330 is used a lot for jewelry making.


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## indytruks138 (Feb 11, 2019)

I know finding random watch parts is easy, but where do you find the authentic watch faces or parts? I can't imagine a Franck Muller watch face is cheap or easy to come across. I've always wanted a Franck Muller watch and almost bought a knock off once just to have something pretty lol.


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## EBorraga (Feb 11, 2019)

I've had glue show with a painted tube, ca, and alumilite. I experimented with 7 or 8 different things. 



What works for me, and i only use this now, is Fly Head Cement. Forget the brand, but I can show a pic later. It has a nice application brush and works perfect. It also dries very quickly so you can make a bunch of blanks at one time


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## EBorraga (Feb 11, 2019)

indytruks138 said:


> I know finding random watch parts is easy, but where do you find the authentic watch faces or parts? I can't imagine a Franck Muller watch face is cheap or easy to come across. I've always wanted a Franck Muller watch and almost bought a knock off once just to have something pretty lol.




Message Harry (Longbeard) on IAP. He may be able to help you, as he does a bunch of those


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## TonyL (Feb 11, 2019)

Beautiful work. I would love to see if someone can make one with a working face - rewind by shaking.


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## Darley (Feb 11, 2019)

socdad said:


> John,
> I make a 30 or so a year so I'm no 'expert'. I use thick CA (applied with a toothpick) & cast with Silmar41.
> Jeff



You’re in the right way with your tooth pick


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## Darley (Feb 11, 2019)

Some of my work,
Good thread was wondering when this would happen 
Been doing watch parts Steampunk pens for 7 years now and before ask the first main question “”” where do you buy the watch parts “” I buy mine from eBay and buy old whole watches that I pull apart myself and use all parts I can use 

If some people got they trade secrets , sure some do and I do . 

For casting I use PR and work well have no problem with CA to show on tubes and parts , will use in the coming weeks some Royal Palm Epoxy that I just recently receive so don’t know what soil be the result , I try with LD ( Liquid Diamond ) and personally I don’t like .

My process is simple I mix my PR and degase it ( or if I can say vacuum it ) leave rest for 5 minutes then pour in my tubes , I cast up right then in pressure pot over night, I turn my blanks when fully cured about 3 days ( this is me only because of my work ) 

Then turn and fit my kit , what kind of kit do I use , well I’m the only one to use any kits find on the market and I didn’t see anyone doing CB Steampunk yet before me 
Not to be pretentious here but look at those pens 
Some members here got some of my work 

Thank you for reading and looking , any questions ask if it goes on my little secret box :biggrin:


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## Darley (Feb 11, 2019)

TonyL said:


> Beautiful work. I would love to see if someone can make one with a working face - rewind by shaking.



This is in my bucket list , one day


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## JohnU (Feb 11, 2019)

Sounds like there are many ways to get the results you want.  For me, I use epoxy to glue the carbon fiber to the painted tube.  After a day I use epoxy and a tooth pick to glue the parts to the tube after bending in the jewelers block.  Another day and vertical cast in silmar.  If your using painted backgrounds, experiment with a cast first. Many spray paints will react to the resin and heat, shrinking and melting.  Try grill or engine paint.  That’s worked for me in other casts.  Another issue is some watch face images may fade, melt or distort in resin.  You may have to coat with medium Ca first, and let sit for a day.  Just don’t use Ca and alumilite together.   Good luck!


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## jttheclockman (Feb 11, 2019)

Darley said:


> Some of my work,
> Good thread was wondering when this would happen
> Been doing watch parts Steampunk pens for 7 years now and before ask the first main question “”” where do you buy the watch parts “” I buy mine from eBay and buy old whole watches that I pull apart myself and use all parts I can use
> 
> ...




Can you explain why you do not like Liquid Diamonds??? Have you used it on a watch part pen.???


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## jttheclockman (Feb 11, 2019)

Darley said:


> TonyL said:
> 
> 
> > Beautiful work. I would love to see if someone can make one with a working face - rewind by shaking.
> ...



They do make pens with a watch face in the cap that works. It is a Cartier



https://a.1stdibscdn.com/archivesE/upload/j_122/j_13037531460317274588/IMG_2225_l.jpg


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## Darley (Feb 12, 2019)

[/QUOTE]
Can you explain why you do not like Liquid Diamonds??? Have you used it on a watch part pen.???[/QUOTE]

Yes I did use onto my watch parts blanks, the problem I have is to much micro bubbles ( maybe it’s only me but something I don’t want ) I know lots of people reve about it anyone can have is personal opinion I bought the LD in July 2017 and try it a week late , some people event say they don’t need pressure pot , all went well for everyone but my good friend who using LD and was happy with it until catastrophe happen and 30+ snake skin blanks went in the trash bin , now he use Royal Palm Epoxy and he told me about it so this will be my next move


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## Darley (Feb 12, 2019)

jttheclockman said:


> Darley said:
> 
> 
> > TonyL said:
> ...



Yes I found some like those one but the price of those little watch is quiet expensive , find them in Switzland country for watches , think yhatthose little babies as to be 3/4 inch if not 1/2 inch 
Plus you pay for the Cartier name


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## jttheclockman (Feb 12, 2019)

Can you explain why you do not like Liquid Diamonds??? Have you used it on a watch part pen.???[/QUOTE]

Yes I did use onto my watch parts blanks, the problem I have is to much micro bubbles ( maybe it’s only me but something I don’t want ) I know lots of people reve about it anyone can have is personal opinion I bought the LD in July 2017 and try it a week late , some people event say they don’t need pressure pot , all went well for everyone but my good friend who using LD and was happy with it until catastrophe happen and 30+ snake skin blanks went in the trash bin , now he use Royal Palm Epoxy and he told me about it so this will be my next move[/QUOTE]

So far when I used LD I have had good results but I use a pressure pot. I have a project that I will be using it but no pressure pot so will see how it goes. I may try Royal Palm at some time also. I hear there is a couple different formulas so be careful which one you buy.


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## jttheclockman (Mar 23, 2019)

EBorraga said:


> I've had glue show with a painted tube, ca, and alumilite. I experimented with 7 or 8 different things.
> 
> 
> 
> What works for me, and i only use this now, is Fly Head Cement. Forget the brand, but I can show a pic later. It has a nice application brush and works perfect. It also dries very quickly so you can make a bunch of blanks at one time



Do you care to share the name??


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## jttheclockman (Mar 23, 2019)

*What Kits*

While we are on this subject and keeping all together in this one thread for future use by others, what kits have the best chance of being used for these watch part blanks that can have the hands on the watch face also?? I tried Majestic JR and that did not work because I like to do a bushing to bushing turning and the cap on that kit tapers down. I just stated making a list of some of the larger kits from the library kit bushing guide. Would like to hear from actual users though. Thanks.


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## Darley (Mar 23, 2019)

jttheclockman said:


> While we are on this subject and keeping all together in this one thread for future use by others, what kits have the best chance of being used for these watch part blanks that can have the hands on the watch face also?? I tried Majestic JR and that did not work because I like to do a bushing to bushing turning and the cap on that kit tapers down. I just stated making a list of some of the larger kits from the library kit bushing guide. Would like to hear from actual users though. Thanks.




You can use any kit if you feel confident with yourself from a 7 mm Slimline to my latest one Emperor as you see in my last post yesterday , hybrid can be done too ,  here some photos of previous pens I made 

Thank you


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## socdad (Mar 23, 2019)

I have settled in using several of the Jr series, Full Statesman, Sierra Vista & Aero sets. I'm sure that there are others, but these are what I'm comfortable with ...


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## jttheclockman (Mar 23, 2019)

Darley said:


> jttheclockman said:
> 
> 
> > While we are on this subject and keeping all together in this one thread for future use by others, what kits have the best chance of being used for these watch part blanks that can have the hands on the watch face also?? I tried Majestic JR and that did not work because I like to do a bushing to bushing turning and the cap on that kit tapers down. I just stated making a list of some of the larger kits from the library kit bushing guide. Would like to hear from actual users though. Thanks.
> ...



You did quite well with all of those and really did not bulge them out which I am trying to avoid. Just getting into this so I need a bit more practice I guess. Thanks for the replys.


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## EBorraga (Mar 23, 2019)

jttheclockman said:


> EBorraga said:
> 
> 
> > I've had glue show with a painted tube, ca, and alumilite. I experimented with 7 or 8 different things.
> ...


Dont know the name. Its sold by Cabelas. Just fly head cement. I also use Sally Hansen fingernail polish. It dries in seconds. Again. Im using alumilite. Cant tell you anything with other resins as i dont use them


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