Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Electric Clockwork Winder

 We wind it up, so you don't have to
 
(0) 		  [vote for,
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A low profile battery- or mains-powered device that winds clockwork (spring powered) devices.

The unit is featureless except for a slot to accept the clockwork winder, a button or two and maybe a slider for torque control. The user can select a one time wind or an autowind, constant run mode.

Attaches to the back of, or acts as a base for, the clockwork device.

—phoenix, Feb 24 2004

Automatic watch winders http://www.watchwinders.com/
[hazel, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Nearly Perpetual Clock http://www.compadapt.com/howitworks.html
Temperature-driven mechanical clock. [Don Quixote, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

[link]






       Automatic winders for watches are very baked [link]
—hazel, Feb 24 2004
   

       But certainly not widely known to exist. I hadn't ever heard of watch winders. Interesting link. Pricey, they are.
—bristolz, Feb 24 2004
   

       Thanks, [phoenix], we needed that. With all the clockwork around the halfbakery, we've gotten a bit winded running around keeping the clockwork wind-ed.   

       (The pedant and punster had a bit of a duel over that last sentence. While the pedant had excellent form, the punster's attack was more effective.)   

       Now that we have both the electric winder and the clockwork generator, we can loop them for endless amusement and lots of free[1] energy.



[1] Offer void where prohibited by laws of thermodynamics. Subject to a one-time activation charge. Other restrictions may apply. See textbook for details.
—BigBrother, Feb 24 2004
   

       "Warning: Do not use with Acme Clockwork-powered Electricity Generator"
—hippo, Feb 24 2004
   

       I used to have a wall clock which had a lever which activated an electric motor to wind the mainspring. Every 20 minutes or so it would spin the motor a few revolutions.
—Captain_Ignorant, Feb 24 2004
   

       Captain: Me too. Prior to the invention of quartz movements, it was a simple but effective means of running a clock reasonably efficiently off a battery.
—supercat, Feb 24 2004
   

       The Atmos Clock by Jaeger le Coultre isn't electric, but it does wind itself. It uses a piston driven by changes in temperature to wind the mainspring of the clock movement. <link>
—Don Quixote, Feb 25 2004
   

       BTW, with regards the notion of clocks that electrically rewind a clockwork mechanism, the concept actually predates electricity. Some weight-driven clocks have a small weight to run the clockwork and a very large weight which re-lifts the small weight when it gets too low. This is done because it is much easier to make uniform the behavior of a small weight which falls twelve inches in the course of an hour than a large weight which falls three inches in the course of a day. If the geartrain by which the large weight lifts the small one isn't entirely smooth, it won't affect accuracy; by contrast, if the clock were driven directly by the large weight, imperfections in the gear train would cause major problems.
—supercat, Feb 25 2004
   
      
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