Balance Bridge Holder

A brass spike used to hold the balance bridge during work. Screwed into a square base showcasing a charbonnage finish and plated in blue rhodium.

The importance of the lathe in watchmaking cannot be understated. To test my skills, I had to make this long spike support, difficult not only in carefully adjusting the angle by fractions of a degree to achieve the correct dimensions, but in working against the properties of thin pieces. Ideally, rods should be held in the lathe as close to the point of operation as possible. The further from the headstock they are cut, the greater the risk that the piece will flex away from the graver, reducing accuracy and concentricity. This risk is greater the thinner the work being turned. To counteract this, I had to cut the angle in stages, leaving as much material as possible between the graver and headstock until I was ready to finalize the cone with a single light pass.