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For those who want to pursue Chris' gear spacing tool further, watchmakers call it a "depthing tool". There are other mechanical designs but they all work with the same principle - fine adjustment of the gear mesh and then the shafts on which the gears ride can be used directly, vis sharply pointed ends, to mark the location of the axle holes on the bedplate.Steamer needs to provide a bit more explanation. Toolmaker's buttons can be used to precisely position one hole relative to another but how do you determine the right mesh dimension ? Are the gears mounted to the buttons somehow ?
That Nickel plating is an interesting process I'm still trying to keep up with the progress