My watch workshop

Very nice. How is your space working out now?
The space has proven effective. So far, I've been able to perform all the actions I've needed to.

Here are some updated photos showing how the tools and storage has settled. First, the main bench, with lathe, mill, and vice:

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On the other side of the manufacturing room is tooling and materials storage, and the grinding and polishing station. I use an old silverware chest for my files, buffing sticks and various stones and polishes. Also, a desk for calculation and sketching:

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The clean room has my watchdesk under the windows:

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The other side has my horology library, a cleaning station, and various current projects strewn about:

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It's working!

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Some additional details you workshop geeks might enjoy:

I did the electric wiring myself--I even dug the 150' trench for the feed as well. The blue electric panel you can see in the last picture above is a subpanel of our house's main panel (hence the trench from the house). It has two 20A circuits, one for the front wall (includes the main bench), one for the back wall (polishing, timing, cleaning, etc). There's a separate 15A circuit for the overhead lights. If you trip a breaker with a tool at the bench, the lights do NOT go out. This is important!

There's heavy 8 gauge wire already in the walls from the shop panel (which has room for a 220V breaker) to 2 outlets in the manufacturing room: 1 on the main bench and one in the corner where any large equipment would go. There's no circuit breaker or outlets installed yet because I have no 220V equipment so why spend the money, but it's a simple trip to the hardware store to get some big outlets up and running.

I have a simple portable electric heater set to 50* which keeps it above freezing all winter. There's no plumbing, just portable water jugs and a dishpan, so I can let it freeze, but I use it often enough to justify keeping it at working temps (above 40).

The flooring is the most recent addition. It is very thick, heavy vinyl and the entire shop (both rooms) is a single piece. I had it professionally installed (about $4/sq.ft., $2 each for material & labor) because keeping it seamless was tricky. This was the only step of the workshop construction I didn't do with my own hands.
 
Nice shop. It looks like woods out side the windows.
 
Very nice space and I commend your enthusiasm!! To clean and oil a wrist or pocket watch does not need a room full of hand tools and machines. It can be done with a good screwdriver(s), tweezers, eye loupe, staking set and a few more misc stuff items. To truly “make” a pocket watch and I mean every part of it, requires some very elaborate and dedicated tooling/machinery. I do a lot of micro machining and have made many many watch parts. It’s not for everyone. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of the proper equipment if one intends on making a watch from scratch. And the knowledge and finesse to carry out the dream …Good Luck, Dave.
 
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great shop!
i can't fathom the intricacy it would take to construct a watch from scratch.
what an challenging undertaking it would be, nonetheless. :D
i can't wait to see the progression!
all the best
 
All kidding aside, you are really inspiring me to get my shop into operation with room for guests
 
To truly “make” a pocket watch and I mean every part of it, requires some very elaborate and dedicated tooling/machinery.... I cannot emphasize enough the importance of the proper equipment if one intends on making a watch from scratch.
I must disagree here. I think what you are saying is to make a watch to modern standards requires elaborate machinery.

Back in the 1700's, farmers would hole up in the workshop for the winter and crank out watches with only the crudest of tools--and certainly no mill. Of course, their watches were simple (usually verges) and had such poor timekeeping you were lucky to stay within 30 minutes per day. The materials used were not always ideal or long-lasting. And because of manufacturing irregularities, the watches were finicky and would stop at any provocation. All this would be completely unacceptable in a modern watch.

But it's fine with me!
 
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