Saturday 17 September 2011

A ruined dial

I have started making parts for No.1-04. The movement ring is done. I am working on the dial now. Everything was going well till I started drilling the minute markers. Halfway through I had an uneasy feeling about some of the earlier holes I had drilled (the holes are not clearly visible while drilling since they are under a paper template). This is what I found under the template-
If you look carefully you will notice that some of the holes at the six o'clock position (in the image) are a bit dodgy.

Here is a close up-
They are elongated. These holes are 0.4mm Dia. The problem was that I had allowed the drill bit to project too much out of the drill chuck. A 0.4mm bit will certainly flex when you drill brass.

Here is a closer look at the offending holes-

There is nothing else for it but to start over. Silly mistakes can sometimes cost an entire days work.

Aditya