First horological masterpiece: done!

[FeelingTheBlues]

Greetings TRF,

Two weeks ago I described my first week at my watchmaking school in this thread. At that time I was already in the process of working with basic tools and getting used to do some manual work on metal.

Well, after working very hard on it, I finally finished my very first job!

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen!








































































...My limed, sanded and polished brass block!



For those of you who are wondering why it took me so long, keep in mind that I have jewelry classes twice a week, therefore I couldn't work on it during those days...

...Besides, it was quite hard!

Basically I had to make sure that all the thin sides were perfectly straight and I had to make sure at least one of its angle was one of 90 degrees (all this while using a metal file and putting the block on a vice, might I add). After that I had to sand it using three types of sand paper to get all the dings and scratches off before polishing it using a little paste and a cloth.

It is now in a little plastic bag because I will use it in another class, I need to make sure it doesn't get scratched again (can you believe it? I, the man who never cares about scratches on his watches, have to be careful about a brass block...).

Notice, despite the poor quality picture, the reflection of my cellphone in it...

...Do I notice tears of joy in some of you guys' eyes?



Have we ever started a your Rolex and metal block thread? Anybody? Dino?



...And now the bad part!

Sanding it was quite a job, I had to press it quite hard with my fingers and rub it very quickly on the sand.

...Yes, I pressed that hard (don't mind the dirty fingers, it wasn't a clean job at all...)!





Today I also worked with a bocfil, I had to cut some brass (again) and I had to make sure I always kept it straight to avoid breaking the blade (which happened...twice...). I am now in the process of making two small triangles out of a block with a hole in each one of them, I'll have to lime, sand and polish them again and make absolutely sure they are a certain size so I can use them for another class (in which I'll have to make a little cylinder to put on those holes). In the end it will become a little stand on which I can lean some tools.

Thank you for reading, feel free to comment!