Here is something you don’t see every day. Emiel Noorlander, known as The Practical Engineer on YouTube, has posted a video that shows how to make gyroscopic watch winder. Now, I don’t use watch winders myself because they take up space, use power, and needlessly run the tiny, intricate machines that are automatic watch movements, but I can’t deny their convenience. This is a far more involved than any DIY project I would ever attempt, but it does look amazing.
I should note that Emiel has used a single-speed non-programmable motor in his winder, so his machine will run as long as you have it turned on and that is a bad idea. There is no reason to over-wind a watch like that and the damage it will ultimately inflict on the movement will more than outweigh the meager benefit of not having to set and wind your watch in the morning.
If you plan to try something like this, research your movement, determine the minimum number of rotations necessary to keep it running, and choose your motor accordingly. Other considerations include motor speed (rotations should be gentle) and magnetic shielding (electric motors produce magnetic fields and a magnetized watch is an inaccurate watch).
Those cautions in mind, a modified version of this gyro could make for a pretty wild display. Consider this a prototype. If anyone builds a version 2.0 of this machine, I’d love to know about it. ⬩
