I use pentagonal needle reamers and a broaching clamp. Proceed very slowly and gently and check often. Get a hand gauge to help check as you go.

 

Thanks I’ll start looking into that

 

I really don't have a good answer on this one...about all I can mention that should help, is that it's a good idea to have several broaches and a few, very-fine-tipped files. If you're looking at a half-dozen broaches that were all bought to work on wristwatches, it seems to me that you should find a few that are a 'good place to start', and--having removed some metal--be able to guess how much more needs to go, to get a good fit.

All my broaches are old...they were in a retired Watchmaker's desk that I bought many years ago, so I've never had to order any. This said, it seems to me that a broach's dimensions would indicate the range of holes it's able to make; thus, a 0.05mm-.20mm borach would have a tip about 0.05, and a widest part of 0.20.

And: a late Watchmaker from my area--trained at Waltham after WWll--was heard to mention that 'fitting hands is a thankless task', and my friend Andy Taber was ( as always ) exactly correct!

Michael.

 

.18 and .20 are seconds sized pipes. If you try to hold the hand in the vise depicted above, good luck hitting the hole...and if you do, the likelihood of breaking the broach off (or bending it) is very high due to lack of control/feel and the mass of the vise.
Start with the a broach that the pipe will slip over to about 1/3 way down the broach. Place the hand on the broach. now genlty grasp the hand between your thumb and index (or middle finger, if more comfortable). gently broach 3 or 4 times with very light pressure. Check fitment. Repeat as necessary until you get a good fit.
Done poorly, and there will be too much "bite" by the broach and the hand will bend. By holding in your hand, you will develop a feel for how much pressure is "just enough" and avoid too much. I broach back/forth (rather than one direction)...this result is smoother cutting with a cutting broach.
Good luck,
BG

 

.18 and .20 are seconds sized pipes. If you try to hold the hand in the vise depicted above, good luck hitting the hole...and if you do, the likelihood of breaking the broach off (or bending it) is very high due to lack of control/feel and the mass of the vise.
Start with the a broach that the pipe will slip over to about 1/3 way down the broach. Place the hand on the broach. now genlty grasp the hand between your thumb and index (or middle finger, if more comfortable). gently broach 3 or 4 times with very light pressure. Check fitment. Repeat as necessary until you get a good fit.
Done poorly, and there will be too much "bite" by the broach and the hand will bend. By holding in your hand, you will develop a feel for how much pressure is "just enough" and avoid too much. I broach back/forth (rather than one direction)...this result is smoother cutting with a cutting broach.
Good luck,
BG

I've used this style of hand vise quite a few times with excellent results, and, yes, it does take some getting used to. The smallest hole on the vise is not all that small, and centering something like a ww second's hand takes a little effort. Although I've done several seconds hands that show up on, say, 10 ligne movements, my guess is that really small watches would require another technique.

All of my broaches are old, and several look to have been handmade, so I'm using things that may be different from off-the-shelf, currently available items.

I frequently use a pin vise to hold a broach, and have found that slow moves=success. I remove a very small amount of metal at a time, and it can take several tries to get it right. I found that getting a feel for what's going on did take a while, but nowadays I reach for my little, French-made vice every time, and think very highly of it...a Must Have!

Perhaps the best use of a vise like this is for pocket watches. Larger hands fit very nicely, and being able to really grab ahold of a thick, steel 18s hand with one of these makes the operation very easy and ( almost always! ) successful.

Michael.

 

Smoothing broaches will not cut…so I material needs to be removed, you’ll need a cutting broach.
Yes, twisting back and forth while applying light pressure to get them to cut.
Regards, BG

 

Wouldn't you want to turn them in a single direction? I remember getting chewed out by the high-school metal shop teacher for not lifting a file on the reverse stroke.

 

Dad use to smack me upside the head when I would drag a file or hacksaw backwards. Told me I could ruin my own tools when I owned them, but not his.

 

The broaches I have cut in both directions. I get a smoother result by working back and forth and they are less likely to hang resulting in a bent hand or broken broach. Broaching hands is really as much about feel as it is mechanics.
Regards, BG

 

That explains some things…😆

As I said, my broaches cut in both directions.
Hacksaw blades and files generally do not.

Regards, BG

 

Why do they paint hacksaw blades?

It's to show you when you get a kink in it, the paint wears off there first. I had lots of practice growing up.

As I said, my broaches cut in both directions.

Now I gotta buy some just to see how that works. I pictured a "broach" to be very similar to a "reamer".


Hey, I just learned something. When you are typing in the reply window, if you click reply on another's message, it fills your reply with all the stuff needed to add that reply to yours. Easier to see than describe, just type in the reply window and then click "Reply" on another's message.

 

Ok lets see how that works…

It's to show you when you get a kink in it, the paint wears off there first. I had lots of practice growing up.



Now I gotta buy some just to see how that works. I pictured a "broach" to be very similar to a "reamer".


Hey, I just learned something. When you are typing in the reply window, if you click reply on another's message, it fills your reply with all the stuff needed to add that reply to yours. Easier to see than describe, just type in the reply window and then click "Reply" on another's message.

Cool…but, if you type anything first, it erases what you've typed.

 

That's not what I experienced. Might be browser dependent. I'm on Chrome 134 dot something on a PC. One oddity I've observed with WUS only, is that the buttons don't click if they are within about an inch of the bottom of the client window.

 

Cool!