Wooden gear clocks

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John Murphy
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Re: Wooden gear clocks

Post by John Murphy »

Looks Great!

I think you will have to have very specific instructions on assembly and points for fine tuning.

I have seen these kits at wood shows some years ago, but not as much lately.

Packaged properly and promoted to a specific target audience, you may should be able to sell them.

Nice work!

John

BillJ
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Joined: Sun Jul 19, 2009 5:36 am

Re: Wooden gear clocks

Post by BillJ »

That's a beautiful design and I think people would definitely go for it. I haven't seen a clock kit of that quality and compact design before.

By the way, I sent you a message regarding your modified design of the Gary's 2003 Clock last night.

It would be nice to know things like how much weight is required and how long it runs between windings.

Thanks,
BillJ

820
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Location: Goose Creek, SC

Re: Wooden gear clocks

Post by 820 »

I like it, how long before you would have an idea on your price?

signmaker
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Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:01 pm

Re: Wooden gear clocks

Post by signmaker »

Hi Guys

This is my first post on the forum.
We have a small family business in Brisbane, Australia.
We mainly supply fabricated acrylic 3d lettering to the sign industry.
We have had a laser cutter for 3 years and purchased a 1200mmx1200mm router in December.
I'm already sorry we didn't get a 2400mm x 1200mm one with tool change and vacuum table.
It's my baby and I'm still getting to grips with programming, though Vcarve is sooo simple.

I have been looking at wooden and acrylic clocks as a retirement project.
www.woodenworksclocks.com is an extremely comprehensive site with lots of links to clockmakers all over the world.
When you see the clocks they make, you will be inspired.
There are a lot of plans and some kits offered as well as links to some very detailed escapement theory.
My research indicates that a grasshopper escapement, as well as looking impressive, is the best for wooden clocks.

You may find in your research mention of plans by Gary Mahony.
These plans are mentioned by cwizard as the basis for his great clocks.
Gary's site was brilliant with lots of theory on efficient gear design.
It's a pity it's gone.
Fortunately, I downloaded the plans while they were still available.
I will upload the very detailed and numerous PDFs in the near future if anyone is interested.
They can be opened as full size vectors in Corel draw and other drawing programs.
The pity is the vectors are broken into tiny little bits.
I will also make and upload a tutorial on drawing gears in Corel Draw.
It's amazingly easy.
This can be used to redraw Gary's clock gears very accurately and quickly.
When you can draw gears, designing a variety of gear trains and therefore a variety of clocks becomes a doddle.
Making them is another thing altogether.

I'm looking forward to a fruitful relationship with you guys.
Swapping clock designs would give us all a range of clocks we could make and sell.
I have spoken to art gallery people and interior decorators who would love to carry them.

Greg

Can someone advise me in simple language how to attach images?
I don't speak computer.
Is it possible to attach files such as PDFs and Corel Draw?
If not, I will have to send plans etc by Email or organize a link.

John S
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Re: Wooden gear clocks

Post by John S »

John S.
Nottingham England.

signmaker
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Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:01 pm

Re: Wooden gear clocks

Post by signmaker »

Thanks John.

Saves me the trouble.
Living in a place with a pleasant climate year round means that there is less interest here in indoor craft hobbies. We're too busy going to the beach, gardening, etc.
I do my computer ramblings when I get up early and have to stay quiet.
If you like good workmanship, visit www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com to see what some people do on long cold winter nights.

Greg.

I just noticed the gadget below for attaching files. Question answered.

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Gingernut
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Re: Wooden gear clocks

Post by Gingernut »

The first wooden clock I made I cut out all the cogs with the band saw, the cutting lines were CAD printouts glued on to the ply. But after sanding and adjusting so the cogs did not bind, I had such a great amount of backlash it almost made me weep. This is when I decided I would make my own CNC router, and I have never looked back since. I draw all my clocks in Sketchup and with a DXF exporter plugin I can do everything I need, and for free(good argument for Sketchup). All cutting paths I produce in Cut2D which is more than enough for my needs, simple to use and at a price that can not be beaten. The Router is controlled by EMC2 which runs on linux, so therefore completely free.If you are interested you can take a look at my clocks here http://www.uhrkunst.com

tmerrill
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Re: Wooden gear clocks

Post by tmerrill »

Very impressive clocks!!!

Thanks for sharing and welcome to the forum.

Tim

signmaker
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Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:01 pm

Re: Wooden gear clocks

Post by signmaker »

Wow! David
I love your clocks, particularly the long one. Very elegant!
Grasshopper escapement will reduce the sound dramatically as well as looking impressive.

Attached is a PDF about escapement design that clockmakers may find helpful and others may just find interesting.
There is even a link to animations of escapements in action.
I'd love to make a gravity escapement but I think it would be too noisy to run at night.

A sneaky trick I've picked up. (Not for clocks)
For a wood finish for routed signs and other stuff use clip together flooring.
As well as a variety of wood grains, you get high quality finish, perfectly flat, water resistant, etc,
When you have routed the sign and applied paint to the engraved areas, the excess wipes of easily and cleanly because of the polyurethane finish.
Not only that, it's cheap.
If you go to floor covering outlets, you can even get offcuts and leftovers from installations for free, especially if you make a sign for them.

Greg
Attachments
Escapement design.pdf
(984.35 KiB) Downloaded 1495 times

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Gingernut
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Re: Wooden gear clocks

Post by Gingernut »

Thanks for the compliments, and as to the Grasshopper escapement take a look at one of my earlier works.

I am just finishing my new Grasshopper clock which I will be shortly putting on my website. I have a great affinity for the Grasshopper, I could watch it all day, but then again I would not be able to make anymore clocks. The PDF I have already but thanks a lot anyway. The Grasshopper can be quiet daunting for the first time builder so I have also attached a PDF which just about covers all you need to know. If anyone has any questions please let me know.

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Gingernut
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Re: Wooden gear clocks

Post by Gingernut »

My bad! here is the Grasshopper PDF
Attachments
Grasshopper0001.pdf
(917.04 KiB) Downloaded 1748 times

signmaker
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Re: Wooden gear clocks

Post by signmaker »

Here is the tutorial on drawing gears I promised.
It is for Corel Draw because I've been using that for years, but similar techniques probably exist in other drawing programs.
It's useful for other things as well as gears.
Try drawing a shape, then rotate it around it's centre a few times for an interference pattern.
I use it to draw laser cut and engraved acrylic jewellery for an arty friend.
Have fun!!

Greg
Attachments
How to draw gears.pdf
(8.28 KiB) Downloaded 1361 times

signmaker
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Re: Wooden gear clocks

Post by signmaker »

Another tutorial.
How to add interesting spokes to your gears.
Have fun!

Greg
Attachments
Drawing spokes.pdf
(86.04 KiB) Downloaded 1156 times

gbanet
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Re: Wooden gear clocks

Post by gbanet »

Really nice clocks! When I find some spare time....

I stumbled upon this last night while editing a svg file. Inkscape is a free program from http://www.inkscape.org and has a gear tool in their current version. I messed around with it a bit, made this sample and added some info from a text, Mathematics for Technical and Vocational Schools 6th edition; c.1975.

Hope this helps.
Greg
Attachments
Inscape Gears.png

signmaker
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Re: Wooden gear clocks

Post by signmaker »

I have been thinking about escapements and pendulums.
To keep my musings for future reference I like to make thorough notes.
Maybe they will be included with published plans in the future.
Here are my thoughts.
Discussion, criticism and comment from those with experience are welcomed.

Greg
Attachments
Escapement and pendulum.pdf
(5.48 KiB) Downloaded 1343 times

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