then
think of carrying these staffs in stock, all ready for use, we then begin
to realize how utterly absurd the idea is, to say nothing of how
expensive! On the other hand, if you reside in a large city and propose
to rely on the stock of your material dealer, you will find yourself in
an embarrasing situation very often, for as likely as not the movement
requiring a new staff was made by a company that went out of business
back in the '80s, or it is a new movement, the material for which has
not yet been placed on the market. This state of affairs leads to
makeshifts, and they in turn lead to botch work. The watchmaker who does
not possess the experience or necessary qualifications to make a new
balance staff and make it in a neat and workmanlike manner, is never
certain of having exactly what is needed, and cannot hope to long retain
the confidence of his customers. In fact, he is not a watchmaker at all,
but simply an apprentice or student, even though he be working for a
salary or be his own master. There are undoubtedly many worthy members of
the trade, who are not familiar with the making of a balance staff, who
will take exceptions to this statement; but it is nevertheless true. They
may be good workmen as far as they go; they may be painstaking; but they
cannot be classed as watchmakers.

This article is intended for the benefit of that large class whose
opportunities for obtaining instruction are limited, and who are ready
and willing to learn, and for that still larger class of practical
workmen who can make a new staff in a creditable manner, but who are
always glad to read others people's ideas on any subject connected with
the trade and who are not yet too old to learn new tricks should they
find any such.

[Illustration: _Fig. 1._]

Good tools, in good condition, are the most essential requisites in
making a new staff. I would not advise any particular make of lathe, as
the most expensive lathe in the world will not produce a true staff if
the workman cannot center his work accurately and does not know how to
handle his graver, while on the other hand fine work can be done on the
simplest and cheapest lathe by a workman possessing the requisite skill.
I will take it for granted that you use an American-made lathe of some
kind, or a foreign-made lathe manufactured on American lines. It is
advisable, though not absolutely necessary, to have three gravers similar
to those illustrated in Fig. 1, A being u