I don’t know about you, but I have always been fascinated by the inner workings of mechanical watches. They are a marvel. Any intricate mechanical devices intrigue me.
I feel the same way about automatons. And puzzle boxes. I wish I had the knowledge and skill to design and build these things, but right now I don’t have the time or space (or spoons, really) to pursue it. A few years ago, my friend Simas and I tried to build a puzzle box, and while it was fun, the tools we had were nowhere near precise enough (or I wasn’t skilled enough) to make the box work.
Doesn’t mean I’m not interested. I still have my copy of the Cabaret Mechanical Movement, which I’ve looked through when trying to understand how things have been put together and how movement is achieved.
Maybe one day I’ll be able to spend some time trying to make something myself.
Anyway, all of this brings me to the reason for this post, which is that a few days ago, said friend Simas sent me this amazing link from the blog of Bartosz Ciechanowski in which he describes, in minute detail, the inner workings of a mechanical watch, complete with exploded diagrams and animations.
And really, I just wanted to share it.
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 