It Takes Guts!

February 23rd, 2007

photo credit: 5mal5

What makes that Mechanical watch run? You hear people rattle on about different watches they own, but do they really know what makes these little machines tick? Let me break it down for ya! You have an energy source, gear train that lets that power flow–regulating tools and a display. That is the nutshell version! Your power source is your mainspring, it is wound by an oscillator or by hand, hence automatic or manual wind –and you thought latin wouldn’t come in handy! Your mainspring feeds the gear train (a series of wheels) which leads to the escapement (heart beat of the watch see: Striking balance). This whole cycle takes place so that power from that mainspring is sent in a captured manor and lessened. The hands on the display are attached to a series of pinions and posts set into the gear train that poke up. The wheels rotate at different intervals because of their size, making a hour wheel, second wheel etc. Viola, time is made. CTWG

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Entry Filed under: Just In, Watches, Mechanical