Especially after one got away when I was undoing it. There is an incredible amount of stored power in that sharp edged coil of steel. Every time I handle one all bound up my testicles seem to shrink a bit. Thought some of the tech heads might be interested, so here goes. This is how you get them, they need to be wound tighter , the binder cut and a C clamp placed around the outside. In an ideal world, I'd buy one of these, but as I only do about one clock a year, not financial sense really. So I need something to unwind and wind mainsprings without opening an artery, so I made this. Shown getting ready to wind an eight day mainspring. And here after successfully winding and capturing the little bugger. Unscrew the bridge and there we are. On the left, the one done in my new winder, on the right, a hand wound one (it would never fit into the movement though). To install in the clock, it has to be rewound up tight and the binding replaced with a steel C clamp (shown in the professional winder photo). I'm still trying to figure out how to do barrel springs (top one). They are a challenge.
As a kid those toys that had something similar (pull back toy cars) never went back together. Top thinking and solution there Jim
Clocks - I don't service them, and handling those springs is one reason. Although most people think if you service watches, you also must service clocks (because hey, they both tell time!) they are very different animals. The most common question I get when someone who is not a watch person finds out that I am a watchmaker is "Do you service clocks?" I could probably make more money doing clocks actually... Anyway, clock servicing is quite different than watch servicing. There are some watches where if you let the mainspring get out of hand (literally) while removing it from the barrel, it could do some serious damage. In particular because this is often done with your face pretty close to the barrel. There have been a couple of times when it has slipped, I get smacked in the face, and I am quickly putting my hand up to my face to check for blood...and yes I wear glasses when I'm working so I can see, but also to protect my eyes... Large pocket watches have heavy springs, but also even the simple wrist watch can have quite a strong spring inside. These store a lot of energy. Clocks are an order of magnitude more dangerous as this post illustrates (Note some pics of a significant injury if you follow this link, so don't click if you are squeamish): http://mb.nawcc.org/showthread.php?64121-A-mainspring-and-protocol-unheeded/page3&highlight=mainspring injury Be careful out there...
Nice jig !! I like good old fashioned American ingenuity. Oh, wait... Seriously - those are some sweet clamps and you have a serious bench set-up. Most of of my clamps are the plastic cheapy-Chinese variety. Btw - you make your own bullets : jackets? (Ammo)