One room tool house...Tmac1956

[tmac1956]

All:

I thought long and hard (well at least long) about this before deciding to post something. There are so many real shops here that mine is pretty sick in comparison. However, I can pride myself in at least one thing... and that is that I've been able to cram so much into one room. Anything else that I get will necessarily go into the garage.

So... here it is - such as it is.

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[tmac1956]

Part 2..

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[david pierce]

Tom,
Shop looks great. It is probably a good idea to not have the vice on the bed all the time. As long as the weight is centered and not hanging on one end of the bed you should be ok but I would keep it off when not using it. If the vice or any heavy accessory was hanging on one end, it could warp the mill bed over a period of time. Always keep the bed centered as yours is when not in use. I am sure that everyone who has jumped into this knows how quickly one can spend thousands of dollars. If our wives only kenw!!!!!
david

[tmac1956]

daivd:

Thanks for that advise. I'm about to mill something today, but I do remove it when not in use just to get it out of the way. However, I'll make a ritual out of it now.

Thanks!
Tom

[Bob Tascione]

Tom,
I didn't see this yesterday. Really nice setup! Is this all in one room?
I'm curious about the microscope in the first pic. I like the size of that one. Got any details on it you can pass along? Like power, where you got it from and maybe how much they run?
Thanks for posting!
Bob

[tmac1956]

Bob:

Yep - I shoved it all into one small bedroom.

The microscope is a 20x-40x Amscope that I bought from Sears. Here'a link to the specs. (The price may have changed a little since I got mine)
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM6383289707P

I also bought the digital camera attachement. The resolution's not very good. If I had it to do again, I would have spent a little more to get a better one.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NC ... UTF8&psc=1

Thanks!
Tom

[willofiam]

Tom, very nice and well organized, YOU HAVE A GREAT SHOP!!!, From what I understand there have been many great watchmakers who had very small space to work in. A large area with all the best tools does not mean good work is being done. How long have you been working on watches? do you work on clocks also? Impressive Tom and thanks for sharing, William

[willofiam]

I have found these amscopes on craigslist for 20 - 60 dollars

[tmac1956]

[tmac1956]

[willofiam]

Tom, I hope a divorce doesnt come with the tooling (I think your kidding), my wife says if it makes me happy then she is happy, She knows that there are tools I need to accomplish certain tasks, AND even if I do buy and dont need or made a mistake, I can usually resell and get my money back. I do work on clocks and pocket watches full time. I started on pocket watches about a year ago and really enjoy the change up from a clock to a watch. both are rewarding to work on but each has its own world, many tools will cross over from one to the other and it looks like you have almost everything you would need for clocks, William

[tmac1956]

A few more that got cut off in the other photos...

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I use elastic chord and fishing line to drive my Jacot - it works really well.

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[tmac1956]

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[Bob Tascione]

[tmac1956]

Bob:

No - that's a little Crock Pot pickler. I think its really made for heating dip at parties or something, but most jewelry makers use it for heating pickling solution.

Later,
Tom

[Bob Tascione]

Thanks Tom!

[Arutha]

You have a lovely workshop there Tom, its so nice to be able to dedicate space to watch/clock repair as in my early days I remember having to pack everything away each evening and it could be so frustrating if you were half way through something. The chance of losing stuff increases as well so its never an ideal situation. It is a real privilege to have a workshop and you have built up a great selection of tools too. I still love opening the door to my workshop each morning, its mine, nothing disturbs me (especially when I turn my phone off now and again ) and I can just get on and do what I love.
Well done, all your time/effort and money is paying off
Paul.

[tmac1956]

Arutha:

Now if I could do a rubbed in jewel replacement job like you, I might be able to utilize all of these tools that I have amassed.

Thanks!
Tom

[david pierce]

Tom,
That green book sitting sideways on your shelf is one of the best refrence sources ever. Turn to the section called STEELS and read through it. I bought my copy in 1978 and still refer to it often. There is so much information there for the machinist: speeds, feeds, materials, cutter angles, thread information, bolt sizes, fit specfications etc., etc, etc. If there was only one book I could buy for machinest work, that would be the book. I always keep a copy by my toilet. That is where I have my best quality study time.
david

[david pierce]

Bob,
If you got to Ebay and bring up microscopes there should be a large section devoted to AMSCOPE products. Mine was around $150.00 and I am extremely happy with it. When I got mine I wanted the eyepieces to be mounted 180 degrees in the other direction so I took it apart and reversed the prisms and the eyepieces. The image in that scope is far better than any loupe I ever looked through. If you examine pallets, jewels, pivots, gears and any other small watch part the image is as clear as a bell. If you have a tiny jewel that is damaged or cracked, the defect will look like the GRAND CANYON through that thing.
david