Thanks for the welcome everyone. I never got to the point where I needed to invest in a better saw, so all my work previously was done on a cheap craftsman, although I recently picked up a Ryobi variable speed at a yard sale. It's not much of an improvement, but maybe I'll be able to invest in a nice saw in the future. Almost all of the clocks I built in the past were presented to others as Christmas gifts, with the exception of one, which unfortunately is in the pocession of my ex-wife! The only example I now have is one that I recently retreived from my mother, as she mounted it poorly after a move and it crashed to the floor and needs repairs. It's one of those manchester clocks and I'm hoping to find where the patterns are so I can remake the shattered part. Of course she didn't save all the broke pieces, so I can't use them for patterns. Oh well.
I'll be starting that grandfather clock soon and will post pics as the work progesses. Thanks again everyone for the warm welcome!