# My First Post Here, Better Make It A Good One



## Ondrej papi Berkus (Jul 31, 2010)

Hello everyone,

I'm new here, and i wanted to start off well, so here is a little something i've been working on - how i go about when making a watch.

About me, my name is Ondrej Berkus, i'm from Czech Republic, and currently a few days from 24 years old. I'm a student of a management, and have three years of law school behind me. I make my living by making knives, but i started making watches too, about year and a half back. I make my watches from basically the same materials i use on my knives, damascus steel, titanium, meteorite, and various natural materials.

But anyways, i've been working on this watch for the past few months, on and off, and taking pics through the whole process, so that i could compile them into a watchmaking 'how (not) to'. The thing is, the watch is not finished yet, but since i'll be using a pre-made dial on customer's request, and all that's left on the watch is to press in the crystals and put the whole watch together, i decided to go ahead and post this thread.

I will bring more progress when i get the package with the movement, dial, and all the other stuff.

So, it starts like this - a piece of damasteel round rod










I machine the case out on my lathe - all manual, no CNC here.

These pics are actually out of context, cause i didn't take a picture of the watch in these stages, so i used another pics to show how i do it. Please pardon the inaccuracy










Here's the rough machined case










And the backside of it


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## Ondrej papi Berkus (Jul 31, 2010)

Now i glue a piece of paper on the backside, and draw a guide for my lug placement. then i chuck the case onto my mini milling machine, and first use the 5mm carbide mill to bore out the pocket for the lug










Like so










And then i drill a hole in the center of the pocket, for the M3 thread










I do this at all four corners, and using two straight pieces of round rod, same diameter as the drill i used, i check if the lug pockets and holes are parallel to each other and perpendicular to my 'base line'










The base line is something i do while the case is still on the lathe - i use a perfectly centered cutting tool, and slide it across the backside of the case - that way, i have a scribed line exactly down the middle - i use it in my mill to have the lugs squared. Here is the scribed line highlighted by two marker lines


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## Ondrej papi Berkus (Jul 31, 2010)

I also use the base line to drill and mill my crown placement later on.

Now to the case lid - i use a .100" titanium, that i cover with layout fluid (fat marker at this case  ), and scribe the screw placement, and the inner diameter of the case. I drill the holes for the screws in the case lid, and superglue the case onto it, using the inside diameter scribe to align it just right.










I then drill the holes in the case, drill the back lid holes and countersink them, and tap the case holes with M2 thread.










I then screw the case onto the titanium plate, and carefully cut around it, leaving as little material to remove as possible.


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## Ondrej papi Berkus (Jul 31, 2010)

Then it's back to the lathe to properly shape the back lid, leaving just a rim in this case - the movement will be 6497 ETA, and i want to see it 










I then go back to the mill, use my base line to align the case again, measure the winding stem placement, so that the center of the stem is aligned with the center of the crown placement










And i drill through and bore out the crown pocket










Here is the crown in place, made in my lathe from a piece of damasteel, with the proper thread inside to put onto the winding stem










The parts i made so far


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## Ondrej papi Berkus (Jul 31, 2010)

Now i chuck the case and backlid and the crown into my faster spinning woodworking lathe (can be seen behind me when i'm cutting the back-lid out), and start sanding on it. I don't stop until i have a smooth 800 grit surface on all the parts.



















Then i take a 4.7mm diameter titanium rod, and make four of these - the strap lugs. I cut a thread inside them, screw and loctite a piece of screw rod inside, and fit them to the case.



















Check the width and order a proper strap










I mark them with a thin marker on the inside, and draw a line down the whole lug. This helps me when i put them into a little fixture i made out of piece of steel. The hole from the side has the same diameter as the lugs, and the hole from the top is 1mm diameter. I put the lug into the big hole, make sure it's completely in, place it with my drawn line facing up, and drill the springbar hole. This fixture ensures my springbar holes will all be in the same distance from the end of the lug. Yeah, and it makes drilling round rod a heck of a lot easier.


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## Ondrej papi Berkus (Jul 31, 2010)

Now the case is sent out to the heat treating, as the damasteel is much more wear resistant, harder, more stain resistant, and etches better when heat treated.










Then it's just polishing and etching, and the case is finished. I spaced out on modifying the screws, but i hope you don't mind 



















Backside - needs a glass to be pressed in, and the screws to be properly aligned (there's one out of line there), but that's up to final assembly.










Hope you enjoyed my little tutorial, and if you have any questions, please ask.

I will try to bring the pictures of the finished watch as soon as possible.

Thank you for looking, take care,

Ondrej


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## mb london (May 5, 2010)

Ondrej papi Berkus said:


> Now the case is sent out to the heat treating, as the damasteel is much more wear resistant, harder, more stain resistant, and etches better when heat treated.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thats pretty cool


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## MarkF (Jul 5, 2003)

Well, is that ever going to be topped for a first post? 

Great pics and I''ll look forward to seeing the finished watch.


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## PhilM (Nov 5, 2004)

Dam that's impressive, like Mark has posted would love to see more on this as post like this don't happen everyday :thumbsup:

BTW Welcome to the forum


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## DaveOS (May 9, 2010)

Awesome. Welcome


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## BlueKnight (Oct 29, 2009)

The bar for first post has been raised...!


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## PaulT (Jul 14, 2010)

Wow! can't wait to see more Ondrej


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## JoT (Aug 12, 2003)

If we had an award for the best ever first post this would be it! Great work as well, welcome to the forum. :thumbsup:


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## JWL940 (Jun 11, 2010)

:jawdrop: Stunning :jawdrop:

John


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## sam. (Mar 24, 2010)

Ok i'm blown away!,an amazing thread starter,i really like the way you have made the lugs,that really is some watch case!

Oh i almost forgot,welcome to :rltb:


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

This is my kind of post! None of this watch and vodka rubbish . Fabulous work! :thumbsup:

How did you do the pattern on the case? By hand with some sort of dremel grinder? :huh:



Ondrej papi Berkus said:


> Then it's just polishing and etching, and the case is finished. I spaced out on modifying the screws, but i hope you don't mind


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## bridgeman (Dec 9, 2008)

great talents here-records ,photos ,engineering,design- welcome.

Some members will be also asking you about motorcycle rebores and specialist parts making!


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## Ondrej papi Berkus (Jul 31, 2010)

Thank you guys, i'm still learning a lot on every watch i make, as this is my #14.

The case 'decoration' is actually a structure of the material - stainless damascus steel, brought out by etching. I used the stainless damascus for obvious reasons, but i used the kind used in knifemaking, not the one used in jewelry making. My thinking was that i will be happier having a material that's a bit more difficult to work with, but when heat treated, it's 61-62 Rc, more than most common kitchen knives (or utility factory knives for that matter). This gives me hard case, which should be more scratch resistant, and hold up better with the test of time. Right?

Thank again you for your kind comments and warm welcome 

Ondrej


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## mb london (May 5, 2010)

Surprised no one has asked yet, but how much do you sell these bad boys for?


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## ESL (Jan 27, 2004)

Welcome indeed. As first posts go, that's going to be difficult to beat. You should definitely look into commissions for these cases, you would find plenty of buyers here.

Perhaps you and Roy could partner-up to make some awesome limited editions!


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## Ondrej papi Berkus (Jul 31, 2010)

I would leave that up to PM if anyone is interested, but i have to say, surprisingly cheap 

With these, there's a bigger issue than the pricetag though, at least to me - the delivery times. I make them entirely by hand, one at a time, and everyone is an original. So if i squeeze out ten watches a year, i would call it a year i made a lot of watches  I think you know what i mean 

Ondrej


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

What dial and hands are you planning to use with this case? :huh:

That pattern kind of reminds me of Maori markings.


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## Guest (Aug 2, 2010)

Ondrej papi Berkus said:


> Then i take a 4.7mm diameter titanium rod, and make four of these - the strap lugs. I cut a thread inside them


Wow! I bet that's not easy with titanium!


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## Sparky (Nov 2, 2005)

Great stuff!! Welcome to :rltb:

Mark


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## mb london (May 5, 2010)

I want one


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## KevG (Dec 15, 2008)

Awesome, makes my quick polish and service look pathetic. I *need* one of those.

Kev


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## Ondrej papi Berkus (Jul 31, 2010)

I always thought it reminded me of something - just was too lazy to look for what it was 

Tapping and machining titanium is widely recognized as a hard thing to do, but after some practice and figuring out how to and how not to, it's actually not that complicated. There is a set of rules to do it, and when you follow them, it's almost a walk in a park. The damasteel is much worse actually, thanks to its alternating layers of different steels (with different hardnesses and wear resistances), now that's hard on your tools.

Guys, if you want one, please drop me a line in my e-mail, and we can talk. As i explained, ordering a watch like this is much more complicated than just clicking a button in e-shop, but the result is, i hope, worth it.

Thank you again, i'm really happy you like my stuff 

Ondrej


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## Ondrej papi Berkus (Jul 31, 2010)

About the contact - i just realized there might be a problem with sending a message or e-mail through the forum, but there's my website in my profile, and on it, there are all the contact information you might need 

Sorry about this sales tactics how not to lesson

Ondrej


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## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

Ondrej - what to say but *W**O**W**!*

:notworthy:

Superb work, see guys, we knew him before he became really *famous!*







AS a first post I dopubt that will *EVER* be beaten :yes:

Welcome to :rltb: - it's a great place to be :yes:


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## stevieb (Feb 12, 2010)

Welcome Ondrej,

Great tutorial, the quality of your results demonstrates your skill and ability.

Thank you very much for sharing it with us.

I look forward to your future posts.

regards steve


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## Chukas (Aug 7, 2008)

Superb work and a great first post!! :notworthy:


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## AlexC1981 (Jul 26, 2009)

Excellent work! I really like the pattern on the case. Do you have any photos of your finished watches?


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## bowie (Mar 12, 2005)

AlexC1981 said:


> Excellent work! I really like the pattern on the case. Do you have any photos of your finished watches?


+1 as said above you are a very talented young man Ondrej well done,really enjoyed your 1st post.welcome

bowie


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## Kutusov (Apr 19, 2010)

Holly carp!! That is amazing amd not just for a 1st post! Your's first is a lot better than my 900+ combined but then again I obly post rubbish 

BTW, with all that knife and watch making how do you find the time to study?? You're the kind of person I really envy!

:notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: to you and welcome to


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## Ondrej papi Berkus (Jul 31, 2010)

Thanks guys 

Actually, i have just a few pictures, as most of my watches are finished and put together with the customer breathing down the back of my neck, so i don't even have the time to take the pics 

But i will be finishing some more watches before the end of this year, so there's more stuff coming 

Ondrej


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## mjolnir (Jan 3, 2006)

Well that's just phenominal. Brilliant post.

I'd love to see it completely finished with a movement, dial and handset. I'm thinking that the hands and dial would have to be something quite special not to be completely overshadowed by, and to fit in with, the look of the case.

Thanks very much for showing this off. I really enjoyed seeing the process.


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## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

You have some serious skills there Ondrej, excellent work, I look forward to seeing a completed watch (or ten).

Welcome to the forum!


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## minkle (Mar 17, 2008)

Amazing! Great work, we are the same age but you are 1000 times more useful than me! 

Love the Modir Fluted knife.


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## Pacific Concepts (Jul 27, 2010)

Great job.

I'm afraid many people have already forgotten the "old" way to manufacture watch.

Thanks for sharing


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## inskip75 (Jan 10, 2009)

thanks for this superb post, makes very interesting reading and welcome to







.

Looking forward to seeing some finished watches


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## Andy the Squirrel (Aug 16, 2009)

Amazing work, what dial, movement hands etc is going in there?


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## cgs (Oct 28, 2009)

Respect Guy :notworthy:

Welcome to the forum.

Colin


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## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

Really wonderful first post Ondrej, Thanks for posting. Its very rare to find someone doing something like this these days. I think you may as well not bother with the Management and Law, and just concentrate on the knives and watch cases, you certainly do have a talent for it.

(PS I love Damas steel... its always hard to resist!)


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## funtimefrankie (Sep 8, 2009)

Now that's a fantastic way to make an enterance. Welcome to the forum and can't wait to see more of your work.

Frank


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## Ondrej papi Berkus (Jul 31, 2010)

Thank you guys, i will try to post the finished watch as soon as possible. I still have to wait to get the movement, dial and hands, and then have it photographed. But it will be done soon, i promise 

Ondrej


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## andyclient (Aug 1, 2009)

Truly excellent work , Thanks for sharing ,and welcome to the forum of course :thumbsup:


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## Parabola (Aug 1, 2007)

Superb, I only wish I'd seen the post earlier, by now the waiting list will probably be about 3 years!! Fantastic, I may very well be in touch


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## Ondrej papi Berkus (Jul 31, 2010)

Thank you 

please get in touch with me if you're interested, the waiting list isn't that tragic yet 

Ondrej


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## sparrow (Feb 7, 2009)

Blimey, that's some talent you've got there :hi:

I'm rather jealous of your workshop space too!


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## 11oss (Jun 15, 2007)

Hi

Nice work


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## PaulT (Jul 14, 2010)

*whistles*Patiently awaiting pics...*/whistles*


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## Ondrej papi Berkus (Jul 31, 2010)

Thank you guys, i should have my package with the good stuff any day now, so the pics will follow.

Ondrej


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