A project we are working on in class is a 4x scale tourbillon model. A tourbillon (french for 'whirlpool') is a watch complication originally designed to help prevent positional errors due to gravity in pocket watches. It involved placing the whole regulating mechanism in a rotating cage that usually turns once every minute.
So far we have completed the upper and lower cage segments and the posts that hold them together. Yesterday I turned out the balance wheel on the lathe then cut out the central arms using the vertical mill attachment. Overall I am extremely pleased with the results. Future upgrades for the wheel may include inertia blocks on the outer or inner rim.
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| Here is the balance blank |
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| The arm template superglued into place for sawing then milling |
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| The complete balance, it's huge at just under 50mm |
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