At 02:25 PM 3/10/98 -0500, you wrote: >John Pickard wrote: >(snip) >> This is a rather vexed question: how faithfully should we follow the >> early craftsmen and instrunment makers?
It is of course a matter of personal preference. For myself, I would love to make beautifully engraved dials using only the tools available to the dialers of centuries past. If only I could find information on the tools and techniques of the past! On the other hand, I am moderately interested in owning a computer controlled engraving machine just for the fun of watching it churn out dials by magic. The choice of method is an individual one. Go with what feels right to you. For the most part, dials are old, so we should use the old ways. Then, the dial seems more "real". I think a machined dial, while attractive would seem somehow lifeless. Charles
