I decided to try and create my own watch winder device after being frustrated by the price of a typical winder. Although I can see the cost of some watches being high due to labor costs and hand construction, the winders seemed simply overly costly.

I saw a post on TimeZone a month or two ago regarding using a barbecue rotisserie as the base motor for a homemade winder. I felt the idea had merit, so I began to work on my own version. I apologize for the darkness of some of the scans.

My father was throwing away an old rotisserie so I had the basis for my engine. I simply needed the attachment that would handle the watches. I started with a design that would require some metalwork so I created the plan for the watch attachments (a large windmill/spoke thing) and gave it to a local metal fabricator. He claimed the project would be simple for him to complete and gave me an estimate of $80 and one week to finish. Here is the design. The plan was to create eight spokes of round steel that attached to the center square stock that fit inside the rotisserie. Then small "butterflies" would be attached (welded) to the ends of the rods to hold the watches in place. The ring of metal near the center was a piece of pipe in which eight holes were drilled and the rods would be placed through them and welded. This should provide enough stability to make a fairly decent watch holder.

This was left in the care of the metalworker. After 5 weeks of excuses I finally took back the plans in frustration. He apparently didn’t have the time or desire to work on it so the design would have to be re-thought.

I then complained to my father about my inability to find a metalworker that would be willing to tackle the simple project. That is when he suggested creating the wheel from wood rather than metal. A week later I had my winder. Here is a picture of the front of the winder.

Here are a couple of pictures of one of the "butterflies" up close and holding a watch...

The winder is made from scrap oak that was lying around after some recent construction work on my house. The front spoke was cut from the oak using a special jig on a bandsaw that allowed me to cut a circle out. I then transferred the original pattern of metal to the wood and cut out the "butterflies" using the bandsaw. The wheel was then rounded off by using a router around all the edges. I then took air-conditioner insulation and sliced the foam in half and wrapped it around each "butterfly." The foam is held in place by using double-stick carpet tape and small carpet tacks on the back of the wheel. The wheel had to be attached to the rotisserie somehow, so we created a small wooden spacer to a modified (via a lathe) metal pulley in which the channel for the belt was removed and the center hole was enlarged to fit around the rotisserie spit. A set-screw holds the modified pulley to the rotisserie. Four holes were drilled and the entire wheel assembly was complete. Here is a picture of the back of the wheel.

Here is the wheel attached to the winder from a side view.

Next the main unit would have to be put together. I created a simple box form that would hold the rotisserie tilted at a slight angle. This would have to be large enough to provide airspace between the rotisserie and the wood in case the motor overheated from a possible timer malfunction. The box would also require some room to contain the timer. I found a timer from a local discount store, which allows for 30 minutes intervals within each 24-hour period. I could set up to 48 events at 30 minutes each. This was perfect for my needs. I wanted the front of the winder to be a wooden covering to match the rest of the design, but I compromised (due to my father's advise) and settled on a metal covering since the proximity of the rotisserie to the wood would be too close. I decide to go with a copper front and top. A local sheet metal shop created the covering for me at a cost of five dollars. After putting together the sides and top the last part would be the base. The base was attached and the entire monstrosity put together and a tung-oil finish applied. Here is a picture of the front of the winder without the wheel on...

Here is a picture of the back showing the "open back" design for airflow. You can also see the timer...

Total cost of the entire mess was around $20. Of course a new rotisserie would cost another $20 to $30 to replace, but still a cheaper affair than most. Anyway I now have the winder I have needed for some time. The winder rotates at approximately 6 RPM. I would like to thank my father for assistance in helping me put this thing together despite his belief that it is a "crazy" item to make. Now if I can only locate a centerpiece to go on the barren front of the wheel the entire piece would be complete...