Wooden Gear Clock

[oldhudson]

In '14 I made a weight driven, wooden gear clock. At the time, I presented a number of posts detailing the steps. That clock resides in the shop and I wind each morning and always enjoy the tick tock when things are quiet. However, I was disappointed because the clock was so large, there was no practical place to hang it in our small house. Further because of the need to wind it daily the one location that might have worked required using a ladder to do the winding each day….nah. 

So I purchased plans for another wooden gear clock, this one driven by a small battery powered motor. The Organic model from lisaboyer.com.

I wanted to know if there was interest in detailing the build here. It’s a bit of work and I don’t want to do it if there’s no interest. I have lots of other interests e.g., I play chess 8-15 hours a week, I have my volunteer work etc. so this will not be done in a couple of weeks. I don’t know how long I’ll fiddle with it but I would post anytime I make some real progress.

Anyway, reply to this post or PM me and let me know what specifically you’re interested in hearing about. If no interest, I’ll post a couple of picks when I get it up and running. And as always thanks for reading.

[planeur]

Bonjour Berry

I am interested in your projet, because I am  " trying" to do one myself..... the MLT-13 that I already began!

 

So you will surely be a good help for me !

So ...... I vote for your project

 

planeur

 

[Scrappile]

I'd be interested for sure.  I love the wooden geared clock, love the Boyer patterns.  I current have a wood geared clock all cut out (not a Boyer design) and partly put together.  I need to get back to it one of these days.....  But, I would love to follow your progress, and I would probably learn the "correct" way of doing them....

[amazingkevin]

Lets see the big one you made where you need a ladder to wind it up with.

[kywoodmaster]

I would love to see the build. If I ever get to retire I would love to do one of those.

[don watson]

I would be interested in this project. At pesent I am trying a Brian Law pattern and getting FLAT birch ply is impossible.

Don W

[oldhudson]

18 hours ago, amazingkevin said:

Lets see the big one you made where you need a ladder to wind it up with.

I must not have been clear, sorry Kevin. Here are pictures of the clock and the area I wanted to hang it. As you can see it's over the stairs heading to the lower level. There would be no way to reach it for winding without a ladder. You can see the weight of the clock nearly touching the floor before winding. The clock is about 20" wide and 6.5' tall with the weight and counter-balance. This style clock needs nearly the same area of floor and wall space as a grandfather clock. (Winding requires two hands one to lift the weight and the other to keep some tension on the counter-balance. )

[oldhudson]

So I’m underway here. I’m sure it’s obvious that if you are following a plan provided as hard copy that one of the first things you want to do is make a copy. But, I’ve already found out, because I’m not much good a reading the directions, that for a least one area the designer only provides one image that you’re to copy 4X, oops back to Kinko’s.

There are 14 - 8.5 x 14 pages of patterns, 5 pages of instruction and a materials list. If you’re at all interested in making something like this don’t forget all the costs. This is not a cheapo project like the Genesis clock I made a few years ago. The paper plans were $47; motor; $17; brass rods/tubes for arbors etc. $19 w/ S&H; threaded rod plus a couple of Allen screws $3; some Phenolic material for bearing packs (I haven’t tracked that down yet), nor have I found a mercury switch.

Then he strongly suggests using brad point bits. Of course my set didn’t include the sizes needed. So a set of 29 Imperial bits can run from $29 to $360….mmmmm. I went with this set from Amazon for $79 (it was $84 today). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078P375Z5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Then there’s the stock (lucky me I have all the stock on hand) and blades. I’m using BBPW and ¾” cherry. Cherry because I have a lot of it and the contrast to the pw is nice.

There are 3 parts of the clock where the pattern is too large for a single sheet of paper so the pattern must be over-laid and taped together. For example the pendulum is 27.5” long and about 3” wide. 

Here’s an assortment of pics including the pendulum.

[Scrappile]

This is going to be fun!! Just so people will know what your are into, here is a picture of the clock.  Are you going to make it wall mount?  You will never be sorry you invested in a good set of brad point bits.

Edited February 19, 2020 by Scrappile

[oldhudson]

20 minutes ago, Scrappile said:

This is going to be fun!! Just so people will know what your are into, here is a picture of the clock.  Are you going to make it wall mount?  You will never be sorry you invested in a good set of brad point bits.

Paul, the plan is to mount it on that empty wall that stares me in the face when I go to the shop. I posted a pic of it in a reply to AmazingKevin on Sunday. The only change is in the hands of the clock. To me that feels Mid-eastern and I'd like to see if I can give it a Asian vibe.

[planeur]

Go Berry Go! We are following you !

 

planeur

[oldhudson]

I did finally get rolling on the Organic clock. I started on the frame and some of the supports.

Drilling: Those new brad point bits are really sharp. I thought they cut great. I'm sure they're not at the level of a Fuller or Fisch brand bits, but I'm very happy. I can't say anything about run-out because I wouldn't know how to measure it, or figure out how much is from the chuck or my Shopsmith vs. the bit itself. There are a couple of pics. You can see how I was off the mark in one. After that I slowed down and got the holes on the pattern marks.

Cutting: The stock is 3/4" cherry and it was a piece 5.5" x 28" so when cutting on the end - a whole lot was off the table. But we are moving along. I also cut some of the arbor supports. I tried to set up a circle cutting jig. I've done that previously on both the band saw and scroll saw, but it didn't work for this.

[planeur]

I like very much cherry wood , so beautiful ! I had made a rocking chair in that wood.

But what about the expansion of regular wood ( as cherry ) for a clock ? I read that it is better to use baltic birch plywood  for the wheels, but what about the rest of the clock.

I am in the process of chosing my wood for my clock.

 

Thanks

 

planeur

 

[oldhudson]

1 hour ago, planeur said:

I like very much cherry wood , so beautiful ! I had made a rocking chair in that wood.

But what about the expansion of regular wood ( as cherry ) for a clock ? I read that it is better to use baltic birch plywood  for the wheels, but what about the rest of the clock.

I am in the process of chosing my wood for my clock.

 

Thanks

 

planeur

 

You are absolutely right. The gears, pallet and parts like that will all be made from Baltic birch. The frame is a support member so strength is the most important criteria. In the instructions Clayton Boyer specifically calls out either PW or hardwood. For the frame he didn't say, I interpreted that to me builder's choice.  

[Gonzo]

Looks like you're going to have fun. I too, am interested in following your progress

Edited February 25, 2020 by Gonzo

[oldhudson]

I thought I’d spend some time cutting the gears. I’m following the steps I followed with the Genesis build.

1)     I start by rough cutting the PW to size for the gear in question. The pics here are for Escape Wheel. It’s a 6” diameter.  (There are a couple of pics of the jig and cutting the circle. Also a pic showing the off-cuts. There are two because after the first cut I decided I could get a lot closer.)

2)     Sand and mount the pattern.

3)      Drilling the center hole. There are a variety of sizes for the different gears. But the outside diameter of the gears will be cut and sanded using a circle cutting jig.  I drilled a 3/32” hole for the pin (a nail) in the jig. Later I’ll enlarge the whole to the specified size.

4)      Slide the jig, with the gear on the pin, into the band saw with the machine running until I reach the center point of the jig. There I stop and add a spring clamp so the jig can’t move and then slowly spin the stock cutting a nice circle. I used a ¼” band saw blade with 5 TPI.

5)      Once a perfect circle has been cut, move to the scroll saw and cut the teeth.

6)      Then I use the circle cutting jig again, this time with the disk sander, to reduce the gear to it’s final size.

7)      Finally, re-drill the center hole to the final diameter. I chucked the 3/32: bit again and lowered and locked the quill inserting the bit into the existing hole. Clamp the gear down. Unlock and raise the quill.  Chuck the correct bit, 13/64”, for the escape wheel, and drill the hole.     

         Remove the pattern and do any clean up sanding.

This is a simple straight ahead process that works very well.  Thanks for looking.

Edited March 15, 2020 by oldhudson

[OCtoolguy]

Add me to the list of those who are interested in your build. 

 

[OCtoolguy]

On 3/7/2020 at 1:15 PM, oldhudson said:

I thought I’d spend some time cutting the gears. I’m following the steps I followed with the Genesis build.

1)     I start by rough cutting the PW to size for the gear in question. The pics here are for Escape Wheel. It’s a 6” diameter.  (There are a couple of pics of the jig and cutting the circle. Also a pic showing the off-cuts. There are two because after the first cut I decided I could get a lot closer.)

2)     Sand and mount the pattern.

3)      Drilling the center hole. There are a variety of sizes for the different gears. But the outside diameter of the gears will be cut and sanded using a circle cutting jig.  I drilled a 3/32” hole for the pin (a nail) in the jig. Later I’ll enlarge the whole to the specified size.

4)      Slide the jig, with the gear on the pin, into the band saw with the machine running until I reach the center point of the jig. There I stop and add a spring clamp so the jig can’t move and then slowly spin the stock cutting a nice circle. I used a ¼” band saw blade with 5 TPI.

5)      Now scroll out the teeth.

6)      Then I use the circle cutting jig again, this time with the disk sander, to reduce the gear to it’s final size.

7)      Finally, re-drill the center hole to the final diameter. I chucked the 3/32: bit again and lowered and locked the quill inserting the bit into the existing hole. Clamp the gear down. Unlock and raise the quill.  Chuck the correct bit, 13/34”, for the escape wheel, and drill the hole.     

         Remove the pattern and do any clean up sanding.

This is a simple straight ahead process that works very well.  Thanks for looking.

I'm curious about your drill press. You mentioned locking your quill. I have been trying to find a drill press with a quill lock. Other than the very old Craftsman units, I've not had any luck. What brand/model do you have?

 

[oldhudson]

2 hours ago, octoolguy said:

I'm curious about your drill press. You mentioned locking your quill. I have been trying to find a drill press with a quill lock. Other than the very old Craftsman units, I've not had any luck. What brand/model do you have?

 

It's a 1982 Shopsmith Ray.  Here's a couple of pics. In the second one I was cutting really large holes in cabinet doors. I added the speed reducer so it was turning about 300 rpm.

[dgman]

3 hours ago, octoolguy said:

I'm curious about your drill press. You mentioned locking your quill. I have been trying to find a drill press with a quill lock. Other than the very old Craftsman units, I've not had any luck. What brand/model do you have?

 

Hey Ray, I have a  Delta 12” bench top drill press that has a locking quill. It has the quill adjuster on the right side of the handle rather than the clumsy adjuster on most other drill presses.

[OCtoolguy]

I had a very old Craftsman bench top drill press that had the quill lock on the left side. I sold it and bought a Delta 16" floor model and I didn't realize at the time that it was missing that feature. I never knew how handy that feature was until I didn't have it. Dan, what is the model number on yours? Maybe I'll start looking a for a used one. I've got a tiny little 8" Delta now and I'd love to have something a bit bigger.

[dgman]

12 hours ago, octoolguy said:

I had a very old Craftsman bench top drill press that had the quill lock on the left side. I sold it and bought a Delta 16" floor model and I didn't realize at the time that it was missing that feature. I never knew how handy that feature was until I didn't have it. Dan, what is the model number on yours? Maybe I'll start looking a for a used one. I've got a tiny little 8" Delta now and I'd love to have something a bit bigger.

Delta 12” bench top drill press model # 11-990

[Sycamore67]

Are we discussing a quill lock to keep the quill from moving or a split quill.  Some drill presses have a split quill and you can tighten them slightly to reduce quill slop and run out.  

I sold my Jet floor model DP due to quill slop and run out.  I was trying to make spoked wheels and the run out made it very difficult.  I bought a Nova Voyager DVR that has a split quill and very low run out.  Too expensive but an excellent piece of equipment with totally variable speed.

[OCtoolguy]

At this point I'm too old to invest in the high quality equipment that I used to. Nor can I afford it. So I will be looking for a used DP with the ability to lock the quill at the desired height. Thanks Dan.

[OCtoolguy]

6 hours ago, dgman said:

Delta 12” bench top drill press model # 11-990

I found one on eBay in Placentia, about a 1/2 hour away from me. They are asking $250 but it's coming out of a manufacturing plant. It hasn't had the tender loving care that I like to see.