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  1. #1
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    Jan 2015
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    Default New Aspiring Horologist

    G'day all,

    I've lurked here a bit and sourced solutions to my occasional projects, being mostly of a practical DIY Dad type until recently.

    Having found the time and inspiration I've completely gutted my workshop, reorganised, cleaned and re-setup my bench, tools and peg board so that I can commence a bucket list project I've had on my mind for years. Actually it was kind of slated as a retirement project but since it's looking like that will never happen, or due to the nature of working and careers these days is a kind of semi-permanent arrangement, I've taken the plunge.

    So, I'm working with what I hope is an adequate base. I have a drill press, scroll saw, combo linisher/6" disc sander, a few vices, miter saw, jig saw, orbital sander, really basic table saw, some old but wicked sharp chisels, a venerable old Stanley plane, files, diamond files and various squares, a micrometer, coping saw, dovetail saw, razor saw, marking gauge and that's about it I think.

    Here's what I've ended up with after lots of stuffing around. The pegboard, tool and bench layout is an attempt to accommodate my bicycle mechanic and woodworking requirements in a reasonably organised and convenient way.

    I have a storage rack setup with adjustable corners for a perfectly level surface, which I've got an old cut of quartz countertop for. The drill press is currently sitting on that in the pics.

    I think I will need to invest in some proper drill bits for the centres of my wheels since that appears to be one of the most critical aspects of clock building. I've been practicing with some sprocket cutting in general purpose ply from Bunnings and I'm enjoying the work and getting what I think is starting to look like a good result to start from.

    To practice I grabbed a simple two wheel plan from Matthias' online tool (https://woodgears.ca/gear_cutting/template.html) and went at it with the factory shipped scroll blade for the Ryobi and some finishing practice with an Olsen scroll file-blade fitted.

    All in all the process has been fun, challenging and motivating. I haven't broken a tooth at the end of an otherwise perfect 20 tooth wheel process though :P

    I'm researching the best way to ensure my drill press is well setup and I think I'll move it back to the main bench and bolt it down.

    Levelling the scroll saw table was done off the blade with a square and seems to have made for good vertical cuts and the drill press seems to be my biggest challenge. I'm researching that today and will be seeking advice and feedback as I go from you guys.

    Please be forgiving, I am aware that I'm tackling a difficult project and have a great deal to learn!
    I'm running this on a pretty tight budget and much as I'd like to get some better tools I think this is as good as it's going to get for a while now - I've advanced pretty much all my credit with the Boss, so now it's time to make the most of what I've got and do some actual making instead of just dreaming.

    I've been recommended by one of the Gentlemen at Carbatec to try Mr Ply & Wood for some Hoop Ply as it should be a good, stable, forgiving and durable material to do my first attempts at working pieces in.

    The clock I have purchased the plans for is Clayton Boyer's Simplicity and I've got the .dxf file as well so I can get some perfect prototype pieces made up by a friend with a laser cutter - but I am not going to use perfect machine-made parts in my finished clock. Having perfectly cut wheels to test against my own pieces however, seems to be a reasonable way to troubleshoot and compare my progress toward quality craftsmanship.

    One thing I could definitely use advice on is the selection of drill bits - Forstner / Brad Point etc? I have various sets of bits some regular ones of good quality and some of the kind that come in those cases with about 900 pieces which considering what I must have paid must be pretty ordinary!!
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    Last edited by notch; 5th April 2018 at 09:20 AM. Reason: added question about drill bits

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  3. #2
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    While I wait for the plans I’m working through Clayton Boyers book which details the process of building up a wood clock movement from first principles.

    I’m going to manually calculate a gear train based on the simple grandfather movement running at 3,600bpm (1 beat per second) and design an indexing board from which to draw gears by hand.

    So far the mathematics of the ratios and running train make sense though I’m going to do all the work in metric so and I’ll try to detail my journey here as I go.

    Yesterday I tried my Olsen scrolling blades and found the 5R very precise, the spiral not as helpful as I’d hoped and ran into trouble with my Ryobi Scroll Saw misbehaving - it was revving suddenly and the arm would skip and double cut at unpredictable times. It didn’t seem to matter what speed or blade tension I set, it was not the blade getting blunt as I tried everything while I made a block puzzle for my daughter out of hard wood to learn more technique.

    I think I’ll take it back to bunnngs with the video I took of it shuddering and revving out and get it swapped.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  4. #3
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    The plans have arrived.

    In the meantime I’ve been building out my workshop and building a cross cut sled.

    It maybe some time before I can really expect to begin this project in earnest but I will be building my skills and preparing.




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  5. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Picton, NSW
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    Default

    Welcome aboard Notch. I look forward to reading about your progress, and seeing how the clock develops. Your work shop set up looks pretty good to me, especially the sink and electric kettle. I have to go all the way inside to get myself a cup of tea, but then again, if I put a cup down anywhere in my garage, it would get lost among all my crap, and never be seen again! (I don't put the car in the garage any more, for fear of losing it! The thing that REALLY grabbed my attention was the old Mac Plus computer! Now THAT brings back memories! (Does it still work?)

    Cheers, and all the best
    Walesey

  6. #5
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    So, the best way to prepare I figured was to make some of my tools ready for the task.

    That meant starting with my new table saw and making a cross cut sled.

    I realised very quickly the difficulty of getting anything crazy accurate with the Triton. Obviously what it lacks in accuracy and repeatability it makes up for in flexibility.

    Since I’m switching between the underslung saw and router any zero tolerance sled would be limited in accuracy due to the swapping out of the saw as much as any inherent inaccuracy in the saw/table configuration - which so far I’ve found to be remarkably good!

    When I first set up the fence on the sled I got a 5 cut error of less than half a mm first time based on using the triton rip fence and careful alignment of the saw beforehand.

    A couple of minute adjustments and the sled was making very square cuts indeed. After swapping the saw and router half a dozen times since I know it’s not there anymore but it’s still cutting well enough for the work I’ve been doing.

    So after the sled I wanted a dado jig - another good project to learn some skills - edge routing, drill pressing, squaring, gluing and matching parts etc.

    To make my router table behave i made some hardwood adjustable fences out of some scrap tassie oak. That required a wedge/shim to get square and then I was able to practice edge routing for the dado jig.

    The dado jig was hard to get right as I am useless with the router. I had cut about a dozen pieces to play with and in the end I used them all and ended up with a couple of pieces which would mate and slide together ok and appear to work well enough (judged by the test dado cuts I did.) but are not up to the standard I want to achieve.

    There is a lot to learn and making these jigs has been very instructive as they are forcing me to concentrate on accuracy and patience.

    Here are a few pics of the last couple of days.

    IMG_0735.JPG








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  7. #6
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    Today I’ve returned to the scroll saw to practice another wheel cut.

    The pinion I tried out of solid wood turned out very badly so I used it to practice finding and drilling perfect centre on my press - I attached it to an 8mm dowel and my drill and looked at ways to finish the outside diameter as well as filing inside the teeth. Basically it is a write off but has been useful experience.

    One lesson was the importance of a properly adhering template! When the blade lifts it it becomes increasingly difficult (impossible) to make the cut complete.

    The 20 tooth wheel is in progress and I’ve drilled for the centre cut outs as well this time.

    I’ve gone round once working to keep a tiny amount of white outside the printed line and that has gone well. On the second round I was feeling more confident and tried to run in closer.

    The blade I’m using is the standard one that the Ryobi come with and it has its advantages as it has a profile that allows more of a bandsaw cut style than the more specialised blades I was practicing with last time (Olsen 5R and spiral)

    I’m going to return to the job later to cut out the root and tops then do the interior.






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  8. #7
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    Not bad. A long way to go I think.

    And the second Ryobi Scroll saw I’ve had is revving out suddenly. The first one got so bad I took it back and now this one has started to do it.

    I can’t work out what would cause it - two in a row indicates it’s something at my end or that would be being reported by others.

    It runs along beautifully then suddenly goes into double or triple time in a surge and returns to normal.

    It’s not the tension or over speed or resistance. I’ve tried every combination on the other one and tonight it was running the factory blade and tension.

    I’m taking it back tomorrow and asking for my money back and I’ll spend another hundred or so on a better one l think.

    Anyway here’s the wheel I’ve ended up with. Only basically finished but a good practice. I’m going to make some copies of the wheels for my Simplicity and start practicing on those next.







    Nasty void.





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  9. #8
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    Here’s a vid of the saw racing in bursts. I took it in slo-mo and you can see that when it is surging it is going into double or triple time.

    Could this be in my power circuit?

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/zdijzkx855....TRIM.MOV?dl=0


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  10. #9
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    Default

    Sometimes you get a batch of tools that will have a problem, best to take it back.

  11. #10
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    Whoohoo- I used this as an excuse to buy a “proper saw”...

    I now am proud owner of a Carbatec SS-400C!

    No point buying poorly twice lol


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  12. #11
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    crowie is offline Life's Good, Enjoy each new day & try to encourage
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    Watching to see how you progress....

  13. #12
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    Started trial cutting on the main wheel for the Simplicity.

    I’ve made copies and just got this started to develop feel for the natural wave formations of the teeth.

    I stuffed up a couple of times but I wasn’t worried as I knew this was a “blank”



    According to Clayton the wheels are very forgiving and of course have only one important direction, but I am determined to build as perfect a set to mount and mesh before I tackle the build in a quality hoop ply or maybe marine mixed hardwood AA.



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  14. #13
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    My first centre wheel.

    I completed it in one swoop.

    This was instructive as I was able to play with technique without worrying about the outcome.

    I noticed the blade I was using getting blunt toward the last third and combined with getting tired and losing concentration it was wandering a lot more.

    I really noticed the tendency for the blade to pull the job one way when aligned with a straight across the (chord?) width (back to front) of the blade. Like tracking or something. I’ve heard about the small imperfections and assymetry caused by stamping the blades causing this tendency to pull the job to an angle when cutting straight and this was more pronounced as the blade got worn.

    I ended up working at the saw’s slowest speed and it was going through the material like proverbial butter.

    After completing it I mounted it on a 8mm dowel on a board and took this as a basic jig to the disc sander to fine tune the outside diameter.

    It was really pretty good.

    Spins well on the drill.

    Next to make a pinion so I can test the mesh and play with backlash and measurements to refine the process.




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  15. #14
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    The clock butcher of Turramurra at work learning how to cut the inserts out lol




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  16. #15
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    First wheel.


    That feeling when you realise your getting worse with practice!

    Then realise you have glasses (somewhere).



    And eventually it looks ok(ish)




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