Watch Winder
Figure 1 – Blurry picture of the completed winder and wood shavings
Here’s a homemade watch winder that you can make yourself with small electric motor, a few pieces of wood, and some leather.
Here’s what you’ll need:
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Part Number |
Description |
Source |
Estimated Cost In U.S. dollars |
|
6502K124 |
½ RPM AC Gear Motor |
21.38 |
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|
8706K56 |
1” wide 1/8” thick leather strip |
6.64 |
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6432K17 |
1/8” shaft collar (zinc plated) |
.55 |
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Or |
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6240K11 |
1/8” shaft collar (brass) |
3.13 |
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¼” x ¾” Oak (I used 5/16” x 1-3/8” Oak door stop) |
|
.60/ft |
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Leather lacing (like leather shoe lace) |
|
~2.00 |
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¼” bolt, 1½” long |
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¼” washers |
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¼” lock washer |
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¼” nut (brass, if you use a brass shaft collar) |
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¼” thick 3” wide Aspen (or other soft) wood |
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½” thick 3” wide Aspen (or other soft) wood. |
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Power cord |
Radio Shack |
2 |
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Super glue (solder if you use a brass shaft collar) |
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Wood glue |
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Purpose
I wanted to make an inexpensive device to keep my automatic watches wound. Most commercial watch winders are expensive to a person who does not have a very elaborate collection, and one has to buy a new “head” for each watch. My objective was to make a simple, extensible, inexpensive winder. Instead of duplicating the complex motions that the commercial winders go through, I resolved to make the watches go through a simple circular motion, merely attaching them to the shaft of a motor somehow.
This winder is very simple, and designed not to use any out of the ordinary tools or wood working skills. The most complex cut required is a 45 degree angle.
Motor
At the heart of this project is the electric motor. ½ RPM gives 720 revolutions per day. That seems to be a reasonable figure for many watches, and it is sufficient to keep my watches wound. It doesn’t seem to be too much either – it took an entire week to bring my Swatch Body and Soul to a full wind. The motor is, I believe, continuous duty ( you can run it 24x7). It makes some noise, and it runs very hot.
Despite my concerns, I recommend this motor – it is, after all, the right speed, inexpensive, and readily available.
Base
Figure 2 – Base
The base is pictured above. The bottom piece is about 3½ inches long and ½ inch thick, the upright piece is about 3 inches long and ½ inches thick, and the angled piece is 4½ inches long and ¼ inch thick. The entire base is made of 3” wide Aspen and is held together with wood glue. If you cannot get Aspen, you can use any other wood that strikes your fancy. The Aspen is easy to work and glues very well.
The motor is screwed to the back of the angled piece. For the motor I used, I had to drill a somewhat large hole in the wood (approximately 5/16”) to accommodate the motor’s sleeve bearing. Almost the entire shaft protrudes through the wood.
The watch holder
Figure 3 – Watch Holder Frame
The watches are held in place by a partial circle of leather. The thick leather wants to spring straight, and has a slightly rough surface, so it holds the watch securely. Each strip of leather is 4” long.
Figure 4 – Men’s watch holder viewed from side
The exception to this is the ladies’ watch holder, holding the gold watch in my picture, which is a flat strip a little over 2 ½” long. In order to hold that watch in place, I made guards of leather on each of the four corners. Those guards are each one inch long, making a ½” section free in the middle for the body of the watch. The ladies’ watch is free to squirm around on the leather, but is held in place by the guards.
Figure 5 – Ladies’ watch holder from top
The leather watch holders are glued to an “H” shaped frame of the thin Oak – I recommend ¼” by ¾” Oak, but I used something a little bigger. The “crossbar,” the horizontal part in the picture above, is 4 3/8” long, and the vertical pieces are 4” long. I glued them together with wood glue.
In the center of the “H” shaped frame, I drilled a hole and inserted the bolt.
Drive Components
The motor I used has a 1/8” diameter shaft. I bought a setscrew shaft collar to attach the mechanism to the shaft. In order to provide easy adjustment, I do not tighten the setscrew all the way. I pull the watch holder frame right off the shaft of the motor whenever I want to put a watch on or take one off. Gravity holds the frame on the shaft of the motor.
I used super-glue to attach the shaft collar to the nut. If I had bought a brass shaft collar and brass nut, I would have soldered them.
I used a slightly long bolt (actually hex-head screw, but most people call them bolts) with lots of washers in order to provide clearance for the leather watch holders.
Results
This design is inexpensive, compact, and easy to live with. It keeps the watches wound, without overwinding. It's easy to build, so I can make another one and/or swap parts as necessary.
I’ve been using the watch winder 24/7 for about three weeks now. The motor has held up well, but I’ve found that it could use a little more power. I have to place heavy watches opposite each other, or it will not turn evenly. If this motor burns out, I’ll search for a more powerful one. However, I think that if it has survived three weeks, it will probably survive a good deal longer.