# The ESA Spaceview Project



## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

Inspired by @Roy and his:

http://xflive.thewatchforum.co.uk/index.php?/topic/102163-next-watch/&do=embed

...I thought I'd have a go at creating an ESA tuning fork Spaceview :wacko: . It wouldn't cost any money because I have a stack of old movements from Titus tuning forks donors, so I can wreck as many plates as I want to and no-one will ever know or care....










And if the initial one turns out OK, I can then use a couple of good plates from these NOS donor movements:










Didn't really know where to start on this project but decided it was probably best to use the date only version rather than the day / date version of this movement --- working on the assumption that I'd probably want to dispense with all the calendar parts anyway.

And that was the end of my pre-machining thought processes :laugh: . No fancy CNC machine here, just a trusty micro Dremel and microscope....so I went at it like a bull in a china shop.

Here is what the movement started like (this is actually a NOS one and not used in this Butcher's Shop  ).










And here is what it looks like now:










You can see that I've removed nearly all the calendar parts --- the only part remaining is the calendar retaining plate that has been greatly reduced and is only there to hold the minute wheel in place.

I've managed to open up the main plate to show the coils and tuning fork, the index wheel and pawls and part of the battery compartment with its orange insulator. Please with my first attempt although I'm not sure you're going to see many movement parts: yes, index wheel if you look very hard....and the tuning fork vibrating.

Now to fit the hands, dig out one of these Titus cases and sort out a suitable crystal. And why "Bul Tron"...it might all become clear in the next installment :yes:


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## Roy (Feb 23, 2003)

Great Stuff Paul, well done :thumbsup:


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

Impressive Paul, I look forward to seeing how this progresses :biggrin:


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## handlehall (Aug 7, 2009)

Looks interesting.

Is it actually possible to see the tuning fork vibrate with the naked eye?


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

handlehall said:


> Looks interesting.
> 
> Is it actually possible to see the tuning fork vibrate with the naked eye?


 I doubt it....but if you take a photo of the watch, and post online etc, the tuning forks are always out of focus...if the watch is running.


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## Ryan P (Sep 20, 2011)

Excellent idea :thumbsup:

Do you plan to sell these Paul?

Cheers

R


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

Ryan P said:


> Excellent idea :thumbsup:
> 
> Do you plan to sell these Paul?
> 
> ...


 :scared: I was planning this to be a one off....I guess I could make them to order, but you might want to wait and see what a mess I make of this one....it's not finished yet :tongue: .



Silver Hawk said:


> And why "Bul Tron"...it might all become clear in the next installment


 Uh oh...my original plan for the crystal has fallen through :angry:

So a change to the topic title.


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## PC-Magician (Apr 29, 2013)

I would be up for one of those Paul if you decided to make more than one, so I am keeping fingers crossed.


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## Guest (May 19, 2016)

great idea and looking forward to the results, but...........i would love a Titus tuning fork, been looking for one for a long time ........that grave yard :sadwalk:


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## DJH584 (Apr 10, 2013)

Brilliant concept Paul - I look forward to seeing the finsished product.

David


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## Ryan P (Sep 20, 2011)

Silver Hawk said:


> :scared: I was planning this to be a one off....I guess I could make them to order, but you might want to wait and see what a mess I make of this one....it's not finished yet :tongue: .


 Waiting with baited breath, as they say :notworthy:


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

Finished the initial prototype :yes: :



Titus case


Titus hour and minute hand painted white and second painted red


Accutron Spaceview crystal (not a good fit and glued in with crystal cement)


Interesting project but not sure how I feel about the end result... :sadwalk: . Maybe the hands should be bigger and a different colour? Maybe I should scratch off the words "Accutron" from the underside of the crystal --- I did try and it was firmer than I was expecting, so left it...and the technology in these ESA movements was licensed from Bulova after all...

I puzzled on how to keep the hour wheel in place and engaged with the minute wheel. On the original movement, there is a dial washer on the hour wheel that pushes up against the underside of the dial. In the end, I used a small movement clamp and screw --- you can see it clearly in photos. It doesn't actually touch the wheel unless the wheel starts to ride up. Neat solution I thought :tongue: .

If I do another, I might try making a chapter ring rather than using the crystal for the hour markers.


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## Daz. (Dec 26, 2015)

Very nice Paul.

the chapter ring idea would give a better view of the watch and you would get a better crystal fit no doubt.

you have a few people watching your every move on this one.

great work and watching for any further developments.


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## PC-Magician (Apr 29, 2013)

Love it looks good. :thumbsup:


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

Wow, that's a terrific job. Well done!


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## DJH584 (Apr 10, 2013)

Well done Paul. That is a superb effort and I like it as it is. Having compared it to the original, that is as close to spot on - IMHO - that you can possibly get without having that green plastic thing covering parts of the watch. Rather than using a chapter ring, stick with the markings on the crystal.

David


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## DJH584 (Apr 10, 2013)

Changed my mind on this. Having seen Roy's offering in the sales section, a chapter ring would look better and possibly lumed hour and minute hands?

David


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## davidcxn (Nov 4, 2010)

Well done, very impressive results. :thumbsup:

I would agree with your thoughts about the hands. Possibly a different colour / shape would give a clearer contrast with the dial.


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

DJH584 said:


> Changed my mind on this. Having seen Roy's offering in the sales section, a chapter ring would look better and possibly lumed hour and minute hands?
> 
> David


 Argh...I said to myself I wasn't going to get too involved in this...but here we, are digging out the lathe to have a go at making a chapter ring:


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## Odo (Mar 22, 2009)

Very nice indeed!

Only thing I'd suggest is more definition of the hands against the movement, darker or bigger or edged in some way?


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## Littlelegs (Dec 4, 2011)

Very nice, but I agree that the hands could do with being darker as a contrast to the dial. If you could give them some lume too that'd be a bonus. Maybe black framed with lume in the centre. Loving the amount of exposed movement...-)


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## Ryan P (Sep 20, 2011)

Littlelegs said:


> Very nice, but I agree that the hands could do with being darker as a contrast to the dial. If you could give them some lume too that'd be a bonus. Maybe black framed with lume in the centre. Loving the amount of exposed movement...-)


 +1 from me too :thumbsup:

& with a chapter ring, just perfect! :swoon:


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

Change of hands : yes

Chapter ring : no --- at least not for the short-to-mid term as my experiments yesterday suggested this was a lot of work :sadwalk:


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## Who. Me? (Jan 12, 2007)

Interesting project Paul.

How about cutting a out a dial to look something like an old-school steering wheel, leaving the centre as a hub with spokes and a rim? The 'hub' would retain the hour wheel and the rim could look like chapter ring.

I'm thinking a tinted crystal would look good too. The right shade would highlight the colour of the copper wheels and coil windings.


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## Roy (Feb 23, 2003)

Brilliant job Paul :thumbsup:


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## vinn (Jun 14, 2015)

very good work. what do you do with the accutron cases? vinn


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Missed this, great job so far, you need to crack on whilst you have time such frivolities. artytime:


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

jasonm said:


> Missed this, great job so far, you need to crack on whilst you have time such frivolities. artytime:


 Well, I've done the black hands, just not fitted them yet...too many other things going on (as you know!) artytime: .


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## handlehall (Aug 7, 2009)

Very nice Paul, completely agree about the hands though.


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## Captain Crandall (Sep 25, 2016)

Silver Hawk said:


> Finished the initial prototype :yes: :
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Wow that looks great without cutting into parts to try and show more of the inner workings !


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