My Clock Building project.

dashcamdanny

Started this a couple of months ago. Thought it might stir a bit of interest.

Bought the designs of a man in Germany and spent the next month trying to find materials . Had to have the timber for the gears shipped from Germany also. The best Irish sources for timber is still quite bad. Note the 1/2 ply for the frame. Gappy.

rb25

Looks fantastic. How long did it take to make?

dashcamdanny

I'm still at it. I have still a ways to go. Round 7 more gears to cut yet and then I have to start work on the escapement and pendulum. Its quite slow work as each tooth need to be perfect.

I plan to stain or dye the frame dark and maybe do something nice with roman numerals on the face.

Hoping to finish by Christmas .

rb25

dashcamdanny wrote: »

I'm still at it. I have still a ways to go. Round 7 more gears to cut yet and then I have to start work on the escapement and pendulum. Its quite slow work as each tooth need to be perfect.

I plan to stain or dye the frame dark and maybe do something nice with roman numerals on the face.

Hoping to finish by Christmas .

Looks very impressive. Well done.

raspberrypi67

Wow, looks great.

dashcamdanny

Starting to take shape now. Many hours of sanding, filing and scrolling later. Still need to build the hour hand gears, the escapment and the pendulum.

I would love some advise on finishing the frame. I cant really do anything with the gears as any paint, stain or dye would interfere with the workings, but the frame can be painted of stained.

rb25

dashcamdanny wrote: »

I would love some advise on finishing the frame. I cant really do anything with the gears as any paint, stain or dye would interfere with the workings, but the frame can be painted of stained.

a very light clear coat?

recipio

I would think that a few clear coats of varnish, sprayed on would actually reduce friction. The Carpentry Store in Naas will sell you Chestnut cans of sanding sealer and varnish ( their melamine spray is the most durable )
Heat them up in hot water before use and when finished invert the can to clear the nozzle - they will last a long time.

dashcamdanny

After reading a bit more into it and contacting the designer yeasterday he said it's a big no no to coat any moving part that contacts with another. He has tried and failed to make it work.

Apparently after time, the friction will wear through any coating and create a gum that does not bode well for moving parts and will eventually stop the clock.

I think the Baltic aircraft grade birch ply gears looks great unfinished, but the frame is 1/2" regular bb grade birch ply and I would like to darken a bit.

From what I gather plywood is notoriously difficult to colour well, because the density of the grain varies enormously over its surface.