Watch and Clock Escapements | Page 7

set." To do this the
points are cut off at the line a a, Fig 11, and a steel tube is
gold-soldered on each leg. The steel tube is made by taking a piece of
steel wire which will fit a No. 16 chuck of a Whitcomb lathe, and
drilling a hole in the end about one-fourth of an inch deep and about the
size of a No. 3 sewing needle. We Show at Fig. 12 a view of the point
_A'_, Fig. 11, enlarged, and the steel tube we have just drilled out
attached at C. About the best way to attach C is to solder. After the tube
C is attached a hole is drilled through _A'_ at d, and the thumb-screw d
inserted. This thumb-screw should be of steel, and hardened and
tempered. The use of this screw is to clamp the needle point. With such

a device as the tube C and set-screw d, a No. 3 needle is used for a
point; but for drawings on paper a turned point, as shown at Fig 13, is
to be preferred. Such points can be made from a No. 3 needle after
softening enough to be turned so as to form the point c. This point at
the shoulder f should be about 12/1000 of an inch, or the size of a
fourth-wheel pivot to an eighteen size movement.
[Illustration: Fig. 11]
[Illustration: Fig. 12]
[Illustration: Fig. 13]
[Illustration: Fig. 14]
The idea is, when drawing on paper the point c enters the paper. For
drawing on metal the form of the point is changed to a simple cone, as
shown at _B'_ c, Fig. 13. such cones can be turned carefully, then
hardened and tempered to a straw color; and when they become dull,
can be ground by placing the points in a wire chuck and dressing them
up with an emery buff or an Arkansas slip. The opposite leg of the
dividers is the one to which is attached the spring for close setting of
the points.
In making this spring, we take a piece of steel about two and one-fourth
inches long and of the same width as the leg of the divider, and attach it
to the inside of the leg as shown at Fig. 14, where D represents the
spring and A the leg of the dividers. The spring D has a short steel tube
_C''_ and set-screw _d''_ for a fine point like B or _B'_. In the lower
end of the leg A, Fig. 14, is placed the milled-head screw g, which
serves to adjust the two points of the dividers to very close distances.
The spring D is, of course, set so it would press close to the leg A if the
screw g did not force it away.
SPRING AND ADJUSTING SCREW FOR DRAWING
INSTRUMENTS.
[Illustration: Fig. 15]

It will be seen that we can apply a spring D and adjusting screw
opposite to the leg which carries the pen or pencil point of all our
dividers if we choose to do so; but it is for metal drawing that such
points are of the greatest advantage, as we can secure an accuracy very
gratifying to a workman who believes in precision. For drawing circles
on metal, "bar compasses" are much the best, as they are almost
entirely free from spring, which attends the jointed compass. To make
(because they cannot be bought) such an instrument, take a piece of flat
steel, one-eighth by three-eighths of an inch and seven inches long, and
after turning and smoothing it carefully, make a slide half an inch wide,
as shown at Fig. 15, with a set-screw h on top to secure it at any point
on the bar E. In the lower part of the slide F is placed a steel tube like C,
shown in Figs. 12 and 14, with set-screw for holding points like _B B'_,
Fig. 13. At the opposite end of the bar E is placed a looped spring G,
which carries a steel tube and point like the spring D, Fig. 14. Above
this tube and point, shown at j, Fig. 15, is placed an adjustment screw k
for fine adjustment. The inner end of the screw k rests against the end
of the bar E. The tendency of the spring G is to close upon the end of
_E_; consequently if we make use of the screw k to force away the
lower end of G, we can set the fine point in j to the greatest exactness.
The spring G is made of a piece of steel one-eighth of an inch square,
and secured to the bar E with a screw and steady pins at m. A pen and
pencil point attachment can be added