Tail Recursive » Projects http://www.tailrecursive.org/blog The random mutterings of a propeller-head... Sat, 26 Jun 2010 21:32:09 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Tick Tock http://www.tailrecursive.org/blog/2006/08/19/tick-tock/ http://www.tailrecursive.org/blog/2006/08/19/tick-tock/#comments Sat, 19 Aug 2006 23:13:35 +0000 Peter http://www.tailrecursive.org/blog/2006/08/19/tick-tock/ Continue reading →]]> As many of you probably know, I am obsessed with clocks, especially clocks where you can see the mechanism working. So, you probably won’t be surprised when I say I was very excited to find Wooden Gear Clocks, where they sell plans and kits for—well—wooden clocks. I ordered a kit (the Ascent) from them, and have been spending the past few weekends putting it together. I thought you might find some of the pictures interesting, even though the clock is not quite finished yet.

Ascent Kit

When I ordered the clock, what arrived was a very neat flat-pack containing all the parts and pretty much everything I would need to assemble the clock. All that I needed to supply were the tools, stain, and some lead for the weight.

The first thing I have to observe is that the kit itself is a marvel. With the exception of the pendulum (which is too long), the arbors (which must be dowels), and a couple of oddments like nylon washers, the entire clock is make of birch plywood and comes in four sheets that have been laser cut. When I first got the kit, I had a hard time getting started, because I just wanted to look at how cleverly everything had been arranged on the plywood sheets to minimize waste.

Frame Pieces

The first stage, though, was to start building the frame and some of the outer bits. This stage consisted in punching out the various pieces (which were still held in place by a tiny bridge of wood), assembling the bits, and gluing them together. At this stage I became friends with my wood glue and my new clamps, because it consists of building up three-dimentional structures out of the plywood.

Ascent Frame

Here you can see the finished frame prior to staining. After the frame was assembled, I stained just about everything and then assembled the gear arbors (the gears would have been rather difficult to stain properly after they were put on their arbors, so I did them first and avoided getting gunk in the axle holes).

Ascent Running

The next big stage is to put the whole clock together, hang it up, and do the adjustments to get it running.

I am now almost done with the clock. There were a couple of pieces I forgot to stain, and they are drying as I write this. Still, the clock is close enough to ready that I have it hanging up, and I’m starting to adjust it to get it working. At this point, I can keep it running for about an hour or so without stopping (not bad for one adjustment to the clutch and a little futzing with the pendulum). I haven’t adjusted the length of the pendulum bob, so the clock is running rather slow at this point. Right now, I’m just concentrating on keeping it running; there is time enough for getting accuracy later.

As for the process of building this clock, I have to say it’s been fun. The kit itself was very well thought-out and easy to work with. Everything arrived in perfect shape, and was easy to detach from the plywood and assemble. The instructions also were very thorough and easy to follow. I only made two mistakes, both easily corrected: I over-sanded the tip of the escapement arbor, so the second hand is a little too loose, and I got the order wrong on the laminate pieces for the lower frame support strut (that’s not as catastrophic as it would sound, it just means I have to drill another small hole for the weight cord).

I think the main thing for me, however, is that I am entranced by the elegance of the design. As I mentioned, the core working mechanism of the clock is entirely made from birch plywood and wooden dowels. There are some washers, screws, and a bit of string here and there, but the rest is wood. It is just amazing to me how you can build a complete working clock: gears, escapement, pendulum bob, even the winding mechanism entirely out of wood. The design is so simple, and the solutions to the various design problems are so elegant, that you can immediately work out how the clock is supposed to work. Very satisfying.

So, I think it’s safe to say, if you’d like to have an interesting clock in your house, you know how to use sandpaper and wood glue, and you like to work with your hands, this is the place to go.

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