Wooden Gear Clock

[dgman]

It’s a good DP. I’ve hade mine at least fifteen years without any problem whatsoever. Same belt and everything. 6” between the center of the Chuck and post gives you 12” capacity. I have never needed more. I have it sitting on a cabinet that used to house my Bass amp and gear. It puts the table at around chest height. I don’t have to bend over while I’m drilling or sanding with my sanding mop. I know everybody says you are not supposed to run anything that applies lateral pressure on the quill, but I’ve been doing it all this time without any problem. I do not remember  what I paid for it originally but I think $250 is not a bad price. 

Edited March 15, 2020 by dgman

[OCtoolguy]

35 minutes ago, dgman said:

It’s a good DP. I’ve hade mine at least fifteen years without any problem whatsoever. Same belt and everything. 6” between the center of the Chuck and post gives you 12” capacity. I have never needed more. I have it sitting on a cabinet that used to house my Bass amp and gear. It puts the table at around chest height. I don’t have to bend over while I’m drilling or sanding with my sanding mop. I know everybody says you are not supposed to run anything that applies lateral pressure on the quill, but I’ve been doing it all this time without any problem. I do not remember  what I paid for it originally but I think $250 is not a bad price. 

Well then, all that is left is to convince Mama that I need it. LOl. That could be the deal breaker. Right now she is not in the spending mood. 

[Rolf]

OLDHUDSON, Excellent project I will enjoy following your progress and how you approach certain aspects. 

One thing that I told folks that want to build clocks is to get a complete set of drills, number, letter, fraction and metric.  The reason is that I have found most drills make oversize holes in wood, especially the softer woods. Having a complete set lets you sneak up on the the perfect size hole.  Wooden gear clocks are not very forgiving.  I have done three and have the plans for one designed by a German designer. 

Ray,  When you say Quill lock do you mean depth stop? Or do you actually lock the quill in a position for say keeping it down at the table when using a sanding drum.?

 

Edited March 16, 2020 by Rolf

[planeur]

41 minutes ago, Rolf said:

Ray,  When you say Quill lock do you mean depth stop? Or do you actually lock the quill in a position for say keeping it down at the table when using a sanding drum.?

 

I would say  "yes" to your question, because I do as you say for the sanding drum !

 

planeur

[OCtoolguy]

On 3/16/2020 at 6:53 AM, Rolf said:

OLDHUDSON, Excellent project I will enjoy following your progress and how you approach certain aspects. 

One thing that I told folks that want to build clocks is to get a complete set of drills, number, letter, fraction and metric.  The reason is that I have found most drills make oversize holes in wood, especially the softer woods. Having a complete set lets you sneak up on the the perfect size hole.  Wooden gear clocks are not very forgiving.  I have done three and have the plans for one designed by a German designer. 

Ray,  When you say Quill lock do you mean depth stop? Or do you actually lock the quill in a position for say keeping it down at the table when using a sanding drum.?

 

Rolf, yes, exactly that. Many times since I sold that old Craftsman d/p, I have kicked myself when I needed to locate perfectly where my drill bit was going to come down. I was able to bring the bit down, lock the quill and then set up fences and stops with clamps so that I could duplicate the drill holes exactly where I wanted them. It was a real benefit to have. I'm even thinking of drilling a hole in the casting surrounding the quill on my little d/p and threading it so that I could use a rounded set screw with a wing nut to lock the quill. It doesn't take much to keep it from returning to the up position.

 

[Rolf]

What drill press do you have? This is one that is making me drool! it has the same motor as what is in my lathe.  It is a tad pricey

 

[OCtoolguy]

5 hours ago, Rolf said:

What drill press do you have? This is one that is making me drool! it has the same motor as what is in my lathe.  It is a tad pricey

 

Way out of my price range. I'm the "used tool" kind of guy. That does have a ton of features though. If I was still working in the tool business, I'd find a way to purchase it wholesale. But, alas, not to be now at my advanced age. And income. I can't wait to get my government check. I have already got my half spent.

 

 

Edited March 20, 2020 by octoolguy

[oldhudson]

So in an effort to move this thread back to wooden gear clocks I'll post some recent pictures and text including a real blunder. I'm breaking this into a couple of posts so the pics end up with the text. I've been working on the horizontal pendulum. It's 28" x 4" x 3/4" and after struggling with the frame on the scroll saw I decided I'd cut this on the band saw with a 1/8" blade. Then I'd sand to the line. I had some issues setting up the band saw but in the end it went okay.

[oldhudson]

The pendulum had 5 holes drilled into it. Not like the center of a wheel but 90 degrees to the work. One of the really nice features of a Shopsmith is that it's easy set up for horizontal drilling.  I'd position the table (which goes up and down on a Shopsmith) and line up the bit with the pattern, set the depth to drill and then move the table up to the scribbed center mark and drill.  Two holes were at the very end. I was concerned so added an off-cut backer for support.  

Edited April 11, 2020 by oldhudson

[oldhudson]

So by now your wondering about the blunder. If you refer back to Paul's post with a picture of the completed clock you'll see a large semi-circular 'tail'  coming off the pendulum. The directions said to "make 4". He meant four of each segment, not 4 of the pattern. And if I'd have looked at the pictures and used common sense well IF IF IF IF. But instead I made 16 segments.

I'm really concerned about the glue-up. We all know gluing end grain is a recipe for disaster. I put Titebond on each end. Lined up the pieces. Clamped one to the bench and while pushing the second into the first set the second clamp. I fooled around with putting dowels in but that would not be straight forward. The pieces were too small for a biscuit joint. So I hoping for good luck.

I guess I'll be ahead if I make 3 more.

Edited April 11, 2020 by oldhudson

[barb.j.enders]

Enjoying the thread.  Good luck on the whole build.  I love the looks of the clocks but think I need to practice a bit more.  I plan to start that practice with a gear thingy for my grandson.

Will have to start another thread about the drill press. That was interesting.

[OCtoolguy]

I'm looking as much at your setups and home built clamps etc. You are a real master. I never dreamed of using a ShopSmith. I had heard that they take too long to set up between operations. I guess you learn the art of "plan ahead".

 

[Foxfold]

On ‎2‎/‎19‎/‎2020 at 9:48 PM, Scrappile said:

This is going to be fun!! Just so people will know what your are into, here is a picture of the clock

Can I ask, ''does it move''?  I'm just wondering about the 'string' that's hanging down. 

[oldhudson]

3 hours ago, Foxfold said:

Can I ask, ''does it move''?  I'm just wondering about the 'string' that's hanging down. 

Oh yes this moves. You can see it here: https://lisaboyer.com/Claytonsite/organicclockpage1.htm

[oldhudson]

I spent a little time cutting some of the brass tubes and rods. Very simple just lay the stock on the directions, mark and cut with Dremel cut-off disk.

[oldhudson]

I've spent some time balancing the gears. Simply stood a piece of stock vertically with a nail at the top. Placed a gear on the nail and gave it a gentle spin. It was clear after a few spins where the extra weight was. Kept drilling out the back until the gear stopped randomly. Some seemed to need no adjustment and others, as pictured, needed lots of help.

[oldhudson]

I trimmed one of the segmented sections (this is the dial ring) down. Note: I added an auxiliary top (1/8' hardboard clamped on) so I had more support.  The other pic are the inner and outter off-cuts. The glue seems to be holding very well.

[oldhudson]

The Motor Arm Assembly was next, as the name suggests it supports the small electric motor and in addition houses the battery and the mercury switch.

 

The basic shape was cut on the scroll saw but the hollowed out area that becomes the box for the battery was cut from 1.25” thick cherry. I thought it would be simpler to use the dado on the table saw. The floor, sides and back are 1/8” BB. It was also drilled to accept a #8 – 1.25” wood screw, clamping the motor.

 

The sides of the battery case, show in the 3rd pic, were left 'proud' to help with glue-up. I've since sanded them flush with the back. 

I had some difficulty finding the correct mercury switch, but Clayton Boyer, the designer provided another source. I'm still waiting for bearings to come.

Edited April 21, 2020 by oldhudson

[oldhudson]

I'm plugging along. Really only a few parts left to cut. There's the caps, a stop lever, one decorative element, the bearing pack and the hands. I don't like the hands so I'm going to design something else, you know make it mine. So I'm focused on sanding, finishing and the initial assembly. The fit seems just fine. I'll write more about the bearing pack later.

 

[oldhudson]

The tolerances are really tight on this build. And actually I ran into a problem trying to insert the arbor into the bearing pack. As you'll see in the photos the bearing ID (jeeze it's tough to try and hold the part and caliper while taking a picture) were about .008 under size. I mounted the arbor in the drill press and started with 150g emery cloth, changed to 600g and finally 1200. Things are slowly coming together. Haven't glued anything yet.  Pic 1 is the bearing pack in the pallet. Pic 2 measuring the arbor. Pic3 removing material. Pic 4 the Escape wheel in position with the pallet.

[Dave Wittich]

AWESOME clock!  AWESOME workmanship too.  I just came in here, and while studying the project something kinda hit me - so I'm going to make a fool of myself and ask:

Referring to 7 & 13 April, the butt joints - would it have been possible to dado each of the joints to make the overall structure stronger?  The basic stock is 3/4" and my eyeball's telling me each segment is about 3" long on the outside.  I'm thinking a 1" long, 3/8" deep dado (half the stock thickness) on the rear side of each joint would strengthen the whole structure immeasurably.

Or, is it an "appearance" thing?

Inquiring minds want to know.

below is a poor drawing of what I had in mind.

[oldhudson]

I thought I'd glue up the arbor supports but in looking at them they were a bit rough, due to my marginal scroll saw skills. So I thought I give them a sanding to make them round and more presentable. (The instructions call for this step, but frankly I don't think it's necessary. I imagine small square blocks would do the same job???) Anyway, used an off cut from the arbor stock to make this little jig mounted on the belt sander. Spin the support around while the belt turns a low speed. Then tap the jig with the fine adjustment tool so it moves fractionally closer and turn the arbor support a couple of times by hand and repeat until round and smooth. I'll use the same process for washer and connectors.

[oldhudson]

On 4/26/2020 at 11:02 PM, Dave Wittich said:

AWESOME clock!  AWESOME workmanship too.  I just came in here, and while studying the project something kinda hit me - so I'm going to make a fool of myself and ask:

Referring to 7 & 13 April, the butt joints - would it have been possible to dado each of the joints to make the overall structure stronger?  The basic stock is 3/4" and my eyeball's telling me each segment is about 3" long on the outside.  I'm thinking a 1" long, 3/8" deep dado (half the stock thickness) on the rear side of each joint would strengthen the whole structure immeasurably.

Or, is it an "appearance" thing?

Inquiring minds want to know.

below is a poor drawing of what I had in mind.

To me it would be both and appearance issue and figuring out how to cut in the dados along the curves. The dial ring segments are larger and adding support, say a biscuit to the back was doable but the pendulum would have been very difficult.  I have sanded and softened the edges of both the pendulum and the dial ring now. Both seem "strong", relatively speaking. Thanks for your interest. Welcome to SSV.

[oldhudson]

Here's the Third Wheel getting glued in place. In the first pic you'll see some painters tape. I'm pretty forgetful, so when I do a dry fit I put tape on the joints so I know where the glue has to go. I leave it there until I begin gluing.

[Dave Wittich]

That blue tape's a GREAT idea.