Thread: Help needed in starting a clock

Originally Posted by steamboatbob

Hi There Guys

I am recently doing my final year at Tafe for a cabinetmaking apprenticeship and due to the set guidelines i Am able to build a Grandfater clock, I have purchased a movement pendulum and clock face whch will be on my doorstep within 2-3 weeks as for this project we have to show full plans and full cut lists for this i am getting a little perplexed by it all.

The guidelines are

-must be built within 160 hours, 20 days of 8 hours
-it must incorporate at least 1 door and 1 drawer
- it must have curved and angled construction.
I willl be given 1.5 sheets of 2400*1200 19mm tassi oak veneer
15 Lineal Meters of 25*150 solid tassi oak
and one sheet of 2400*1200 3mm ply

I really need atm a simple clock design that is around 400mm internal for my pendulum

any help of where to start would be greatly appreciated

G'Day Mate,
Don't Fret too much, Look at the clock as 3 Large boxes, 1 for the Plinth, 1 for the trunk and 1 for the hood.
If you can build boxes you can build a longcase clock, I have sent the plan you asked for and once you have looked at it you will see what I mean.
If you run into any specific problems give me a yell and I will try and help.
Catch Ya Andrew

OK

I have all the requirements and if its allright by the admins of the forum i will do a build diary of the whole process to show off and also to get people to tell me if i have gone wrong somewhere before i run into problems.
I have had to get a plan from timbecon HB 905 which actually suits my movement but i need to alter it to meet my Tafe requirements which is just adding a draw in the base of the unit so i will add 150mm to the total height so the weights get the same length to fall.

here is something I made last semester just to show what i can do
Half round table made from Sheoak

Corner unit with butterfly marquetry in the base and glass top section for the wife's good china made from Tasi Oak


and here are the movements and other mechanical parts for my clock




I start Tafe on February the 2nd so there wont be many updates till then

You are on track, You have done the first step and that is getting your Movement and parts before you start the build.
Modifying your plans should't cause you any probs, I draw mine from scratch and you can always fix anything as you go along,
Have fun with the clock and your table is a a great piece of work.
Keep us posted on the longcase.
Ravlord

When I sell a mechanical movement I supply a sheet that shows the necessary dimensions for building a case to suit. Plus lots of other info.
I also supply information about the completed Kieninger clocks using that movement . This gives my customers a good starting point for designing the clock case . Maybe whoever you purchased your movement from will be able to help you with this.
Cheers
Clock Girl
Lets Make Time Clock Company

Hi steamboatbob
PM sent
Cheers

i would love to see regular updates of your progress. Judging by the high standard of work you have done to date, your new project will be most interesting as well.

Well i start tafe in 2 weeks so the updates will start from then but first week is not really a working day we just go there to fill out insurance forms and such and hopefully do some work. i have a lot of gear done already (redrawing the plansto suit my tafe requirements) but i don't know if it is enough to start on day 1, I have 20 weeks to do it in so the time frame is not going to be a problem i will see if i can do 2 cases and give one to my father and just base it on the movement and face of mine but i will do mine in Jarrah and his in Oak

Well I started back at Tafe today and was bored for the first 3 hours of saftey jargon that i sit through every 6 months

but then it was down to business with a full size setout after my sketches of my modifications to my clock plans were submitted, the lines dont come out that well but you get the idea.


After this was done it was really down to business and after finding a jarrah Burl in my dads shed (it had been sitting there for 10 years) i used a wide belt sander to get it nice and flat ready for a bucket of clear resin to fill in the holes. this burl will make the seen bottom of the clock under the pendulum, It will later be sanded flat again and cut to size.



and thats all for today as i took ages trying to find rough sawn jarrah in 25* 125 or 25*150 to no avail

Oh well I was a little bored today so i got into a few thing for the clock

firstly just some plans
a sectional view of the draw about 150mm up from the base


and secondly another sectional view just above the movement mounting boards


and here is that burl with a little resin put on, I went through 1000ml and still have not filled them all up

Well the burl went off nicely after getting a little more resin yesterday and putting on a little more overnight

Now Today was another story I ended up getting all the side frame pieces cut to size and as the cross peices were small enough I cut them so the grain runs the same direction all the way down the side of the clock

Here are the two sides clamped up and ready to go through the wide belt sander to get them down to a finished thickness (19mm).
The sides are 2140mm tall and with the pediment it will stand at 2240 tall, with the middle of the face just above my eye level, I'm about 6'2 or 185 cms tall to give you an idea
The face side of the side had a 4mm round put on the sharp edges where the glass and panels will go and next week i will be routing out the back of them so the glass can go in. The lower section will get a veneered panel, the middle section will be glass and the top will have a door so access can be gained to the movement.

Ok Back to TAFE today and i started on the front frame, I used a cnc to cut a jig out of 12mm MDF and screwed that to a piece of jarrah precut to size for the top of the front frame. and glued the front frame together.

then i started on some fiddly bits like the side frame ply panels which have been venered in Madronas Burl (Not sure if that is the correct spelling). and routing out the side frames for glass and the recess for the back to go into. also have cut the lamello holes for the side frames to go into the front but i need to work on the draw section first before i can glue it all up and put two subframes and draw runners, basically i need to fitout the bottom section of the clock before it goes together.

here is a piccie of the side frame and of the full case frame just clamped together to give you an idea of the full height of the finished product it will finish 100mm above the top of the frames and I am 185cms tall, total height of the finished unit should be 2240 tall

any hints or suggestions would be grateful guys

Mate, keep up the good work.
Watching with interest.
Grant.

Very interesting project. Look forward to more pics as it moves along.

There is a pretty good video on Charles Neils website he makes a smaller version of a clock in the shaker style,but you might glean some ideas from it,takes it along very slowly over three or four parts each about 30 min ea.