Thread: My Wooden geared clock

With my seven spoked gear finally made and assembled it was time to test it to see if freezing can make a difference to help reduce warping in timber gears. Here is a video of the results, see for yourself. Its the best one in my opinion to date. Still not perfect. What do you think?

Dean.

Hi all I have made progress of late on my clock. Firstly the ugly but necessary pole at the front of the clock is gone. It is replaced by some wire balustrade components that have been crimped the keep the clock frame level when the weight is applied. The pendulum pole is finally bolted into place into the pendulum head. The last of the humidity reduced gears have been cut which will ensure that the clock wont ever stop again during high humidity days. And the new housing to encase the electronics is underway. Finally the second bob ( the adjustable one) will be prototyped hopefully over Easter. Still cant get over how freezing the timber has reduced the warping!







later

Dean.

Mate ... Know nothing about it but it certainly is impressive. Great technical skills.

greg

thanks....I have visited a national park named Mutawinjtji. Are you located nearby?It was a great place to visit.

Dean.

Originally Posted by 1964deano

thanks....I have visited a national park named Mutawinjtji. Are you located nearby?It was a great place to visit.

Dean.

Far out ... Thats a first .. No .. I don't live near there .. But I go there whenever I can .. Have been many times.

It has a story/history all on its own. But don't want to hijack your thread. Another time perhaps. I always bring back eucalypt branches from there and dry them and their leaves. In winter I throw a handful on the fire and the smell transports me back there. So crazy !!

Mate ... Your work is magnificent .. Wish I could see it in the flesh.

cool bananas ... Greg

Originally Posted by 1964deano

The last of the humidity reduced gears have been cut which will ensure that the clock wont ever stop again during high humidity days

Dean.

Assuming, of course, that you never get a day with higher humidity than the day you cut them

Philip.

I think I have accounted for that! We shall see....

Dean.

Happy Easter too all!
I have managed to make some progress on my clock, mostly fiddly things. I have finally bolted and glued the pendulum head and bearing unit so that now they are one. This in turn changed the alignment of the magnet on the end of the pendulum rod which in turn meant adjusting both coil centers...etc etc. Finally reduced the extra thread on the hour hand. Pic 1 the original set up. Pic 2 the hour hand I have recessed underneath to sit closer to the face when attached. Pic 3 the components all set out in a line. Pic 4 the finished? set up hopefully!.
Next I have started to prototype what I call the mini bob. The minibob sits near the end of the pendulum and can be adjusted to fine tune the time. It will measure 80mm in diameter should be made from purpleheart and birds eye rockmaple. If I can figure it out, I will be incorporating an aerodynamic leading edge made from a shiny hard disc.


Later

Dean.

Afternoon all
Above is the first of my minibob prototypes. Its a real fiddle doing a two piece job that has hole in it. Anyway is proceeding smoothly but slowly. The middle hole will be filled with birds eye rockmaple. Hope to have a finished prototype by the end of the weekend. Hopefully it is not too heavy!

Dean.

I was up at 6.30 this morning to complete the first minibob. It has taken a big effort but finally i have a real adjustable bob!.The challenge here was to create a bob that was able to travel up the pendulum rod rather than be fixed at the botton. I have a magnet at he end of mine which the typical adjustment unworkable. I have tapped a 3/4 unf 16 thread at the top of the bob to screw in some threaded alley rod I made to center the bob. The hole at the base of the bob is just slightly larger then the thread to allow it to sit on the brass adjusting nut. BTW the two brass nuts are neta hose fittings hence the choice of the weird 3/4 16 UNF a a thread.
Pic 1 shows the original mini bob. Pic 2&3 shows thew back and front. Pic 4 shows the bob mounted on the pendulum rod. The original one weighted 90gms while this one weighs 100gms. The final one will be more using purple heart and birds eye rock mapel.





Next week will be making the final with some last minute changes.

Dean.

Hi all here is todays progress in pictures..Its not much but its a start!. Hopefully will be finished by the end of the week.




cheers

Dean.

After 6 hours machining each i almost have a complete bob! Just the inner hole to machine and were done.

Dean

I don't really understand any of this ... but it looks great and the technical skill is amazing.

Could you explain how you cut and fit each gear-wheel segment ?

cool bananas ... Greg

Thanks Greg...hey nice pics of the clockmaker!
My clock has two bobs..its a long story but thats because I didnt know what I was doing three years ago. The larger bob is placed where you can see it while the mini-bob will be the one that is adjustable to get the timing right.
The inner segment or star as I call it is cut from a blank that was 20mm thick while the star was cut to a depth of 18.2mm to be precise. In the software I leave a margin of .1 so thats its "oversize" compared to the hole its going into.
I then remove the blank and place it in the drum sander upside down and sand until the star bit falls out or is liberated from its blank.
Then I machine the inner star hole so that the hole is slightly ( lets say .2mm) too small so that the fit is perfect. I then glue the star into place and gently tap down with a hammer while the job is still attached to the machine bed let it dry and then finish profiling the final shape.
Finally I am doing the bob in two parts so I need to make sure that they are a great fit when they are screwed together. (did I mention I have a metal insert between each piece?) Ahhh my head hurts...
Is that you want to know?
Cheers

Dean.