Field note 2025/06/18 19:44 UTC

Lathe Ready to Roll! 🎉

Spent weeks wrestling with my lathe, but it's finally ready to roll! 🛠️ Had to remake the backplate three times because of those pesky vibrations and noise. Manufacturer woes? You bet. But the rebuild was a blessing in disguise — now I know this machine inside out! 🙌 Super excited for the next steps in this watchmaking journey. Let’s make some tiny mechanical art! 🌀✨ Check out the full saga at thebitcoinwatchmaker.com.

Your lathe is finally set up and ready to work after a lot of trial and error, including rebuilding it from the ground up due to some serious manufacturer issues like vibrations and bad software. You’ve now got a solid tool setup and tackled a steep learning curve with electronics, thanks in part to some crucial help from Alexis. Next up: refining your machining skills and creating some intricate mechanical art. 🎨🛠️

After weeks of learning, mistakes, and exciting breakthroughs — the lathe is finally good to go! 🛠️

I had to remake the backplate three times due to different layouts. The lathe's travel is limited, so I had to get creative. But now it’s dialed in and solid.

⚠️ Manufacturer Woes (Mucho NO recommendo)

To be honest — the manufacturer did a terrible job on this lathe. It came with:

Insane vibrations
Super loud noise during operation
Broken and unconfigurable software
Default tool change macro that literally caused a collision 😤

That mess sent me down the rabbit hole of rewiring, reprogramming, and rebuilding much of the system from scratch. Painful… but I now know the machine inside out!

🔩 Current Tool Setup (4 Tools)

HSS Cutting Tool — hand-ground by me at a 45° angle. My first toolmaking experiment!
Micro 100 Grooving Tool — fantastic for tight grooves and channeling.
Cutout Tool — great for partying shapes with high precision.
Drill Fixture — holds fixed drills securely for consistent center holes.

⚙️ Motor: The Real Challenge

The motor was the trickiest part. I used a Teknic ClearPath Integrated Servo Motor, paired with a power supply, analog send unit, and 22 AWG cables. I’ve never worked with electronics before — so learning to use a multimeter, solder, crimp, and protect everything properly was a major win.

Big thanks to Alexis — couldn’t have done this without his help! 🙏

🌀 Spindle & Drive

I went with a Power Twist V-belt. Pulleys are almost 1:1, and even though there’s some drop in RPM (from 2520 to 2320), it feels solid and precise so far.

✅ Past Weeks Recap

Polished the keyless works, winding mechanism, bridges, and barrel arbor
Aligned the Elara 4th axis to within 0.01°
3D printed the case, revised leg length to avoid scratches
Built a new brass fixture for 3.0mm stock (no more Loctite hacks!)
Achieved 2μm precision in XYZ on the Elara mill
Got replies from Incabloc and updated the balance staff accordingly
Started grinding my own lathe tools from HSS bar stock
Published all blog updates via Nostr — auto-summarized with ChatGPT

🔮 What’s Next?

Finish the balance staff with final jewel specs
Cut, test, and compare Micro 100 vs HSS tools
Design and fabricate the elusive crown gears
Improve pulley ratios and optimize RPM at the spindle
Figure out how to secure the movement inside the case
Start polishing and finishing parts for real assembly!

Super excited for what’s coming! Let’s make some beautiful, tiny mechanical art 🌀✨

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