Thread: my first clock

Good one Matty

Don't you just love those burls!



Chipman (another clock addict)

Nice one matty !!

yea love those burls. got a second clock going now and a couple more burls ready to start got any good tips on countersinking the clock movement tried with a forstner bit but its long slow hard work.

Originally Posted by mattym83

yea love those burls. got a second clock going now and a couple more burls ready to start got any good tips on countersinking the clock movement tried with a forstner bit but its long slow hard work.

I made a template and used a router with a pattern cutting bit (bearing above the cutter). As the burl is usually hard, I would recommend cutting it down to depth in a couple of steps...

Chipman

yeah i was thinking of trying that. Will have to go and buy a router first

Originally Posted by mattym83

yeah i was thinking of trying that. Will have to go and buy a router first

I bought one of those little ozito ones $55 at Bunnings... works well for small things... only problem is the router bit is almost as expensive as the router! but certainly worth it if you are into this sort of thing... too bad you didn't get one of thos $99 tritons that was on the go recently. Work out what other use you will have for your router and get the best you can afford.

See the inverted flush trimming bit on this page
www.carbitool.com.au/pdf%27s/PageR010.pdf

Chipman

any chance you could post a pic of your template so i can get an idea on how to make one.
also how would be the best way of fitting those 70 mm fit up thermometres and barometres??

Originally Posted by mattym83

yea love those burls. got a second clock going now and a couple more burls ready to start got any good tips on countersinking the clock movement tried with a forstner bit but its long slow hard work.

To make your template, there are several way to do it.... perhaps the simplest way is to use your forstner bit to bore a hole through a scrap of mdf.. clamp this on the back of your burl and run the router around inside it using the pattern following bit with the bearing on the shaft just above the cutter. .

If you prefer a more squarish pocket, put your movement on a piece of 6 mm mdf and trace around it.. now make the square a little larger and then cut it out with jig saw or scroll saw, smooth it to shape and then you have your template.. if you need a thicker template to match your router bit then simply use your thin template to cut a copy in a thicker piece of mdf.

Regards,

Chipman

Originally Posted by mattym83

any chance you could post a pic of your template so i can get an idea on how to make one.
also how would be the best way of fitting those 70 mm fit up thermometres and barometres??

Work out what size pocket/hole you need, make it in mdf (as it is easy to shape and smooth) Cut it with a hole saw, jigsaw etc... can smooth it off with a drum sander in your drill press if you have one....

Now you can clamp or tape your template to the burl and rout it out with the pattern following bit.

Cheers,

Chipman

how thick was the mdf sheet you used for the template i guess it would need to be fairly thick for the router if you are going to do the cut in a few steps

Originally Posted by mattym83

how thick was the mdf sheet you used for the template i guess it would need to be fairly thick for the router if you are going to do the cut in a few steps

It was 19 mm thick but if you only have thin stuff, you can always put some scrap wood underneath to build it up a bit higher...You are right, the thickness must match the length or nearly the length of the router cutter being used.


Cheers,

Chipman

thanks for your help Chipman. I got myself a router and a flush trim bit made a template and it works like a treat, really took the head ache out of cutting those recesses

Originally Posted by mattym83

thanks for your help Chipman. I got myself a router and a flush trim bit made a template and it works like a treat, really took the head ache out of cutting those recesses

Great news!

Now get those clocks made a post your pics for us all to see!

Chipman

well i finished the second one but got a run in the laquer. when i sanded it back and resprayed you can notice the difference in layers, which sucks because all the numbers are stuck on so thick i might get some of that perfect gloss. they say its self leveling and hopefully that will hide it.
any other ideas? i dont really want to sand it back and go through the whole process again