Watchmaker Staking Tool Sets
Punches and Stumps Reference
Vintage watch collectors place Kendrick and Davis (K&D) tools at the height of value. They revolutionized the repair and service industry with innovations such as the Inverto staking frame, canon pinion remover and other balance tools. Today, watchmakers like me can use tools they made in the early 1900’s.
The company dominated the market in terms the number of tools sold. I have their staking tools, bench blocks, balance screw holders, canon pinion removers and so forth. Why? I cannot find new tools to accomplish the same tasks.
Before quartz watches and replaceable movements became available, US jewelers and watch companies (like Hamilton, Elgin and Bulova) employed about 65,000 watchmakers. The United States had robust competitive suppliers and parts houses. Today, about 1800 watchmakers work in the industry according to Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. Tool manufacturers do not find the US a viable market.
In the early years, companies innovated, but few made their components backward compatible. Also, documentation doesn’t exist for cross referencing. I searched and found materials for my own use and chose to make them available to my readers.
 |
| Stubs to Inch to MM conversion chart [click to enlarge] |
This article exists to provide you with the various reference numbers of staking set punches and stumps for their respective frames.
Over their 98-year history, the company made only a few models. You can use the information here to make purchase decisions.
I use preowned watch tools. Hopefully, this information will help watchmakers and collectors identify their holdings.
Kendrick & Davis referred to their first staking set as No. 5. It came with 32 punches and 8 stumps, and they wrote in their catalog that the 5 and 5B were the same as the Hall Staking Tool. It did not have a die binding mechanism or the sustaining friction sleeve.
This organization produced a second model known as the “New Design”. The new design staking frame came in five configurations.
No. 12 100 punches, 24 stumps
No. 13 76 ” 20 “
No. 14 60 ” 18 “
No. 15 50 ” 14 “
They bundled the Models 12 -15 with a revolving base or a box and also offered a revolving base with a handle, known as an AH. The Model 16 came later with 120 punches and 30 stumps.
When the changed their Inverto Models 17 and 18, the frames looked the same as later models having a knurled punch sustainer or knob at the top of the sleeve to secure a punch from moving.
You can find models included the 17, 18B and 18R plus the 600 series still in existence. The box can confuse since most of they have the model 18 on the name plate regardless of what’s inside.
Punches and Stumps
If you buy a staking set, more likely than not, you will find punches of different sizes with different numbering systems. For example, a round face hollow punch with a .045 mm hole might be stamped 83 K&D, A 56 K&D or simply 7. Also, those punches can differ in length to fit the frame model from which they came. For example, the Inverto punches have the shorter length.
Another twist in numbering comes with the New Design model frame. Models 12, 13 and 16 use the letter number format (A xx), while 14 and 15 use the Inverto number format (xx K&D).
The company does not make staking sets as of 1998, so anything you buy will be used. More likely than not, you will find a mixture of punches with different numbering schemes in your sets. That’s not always the case, but you might want to examine the charts listed below. Focus on the Stubs Chart above. The older punches use the Stubs steel wire measure and later ones use millimeters.
K&D used Stubs Steel Wire gauge to identify the size of the hole in early punches and millimeters in later models. In a some cases, K&D used the same number on different punches.
The stumps also differed according to era. When pocket watches prevailed, the stumps had different shapes and sizes than when bracelets (strap or wrist watches) came into vogue. Inverto sets used different punches than “Specials” and “New Designs”.
In my pile of punches and stumps, I have found other branded ones, especially Moseley, Boley, GF and Swiss Standard. It took a couple of years, but I found some conversion charts for punches and cobbled several charts together.
Back to the company. You find size and type charts for K&D punches and stubs.
[Click on an image to enlarge]
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
