The Creation of a Turret Clock

Smokin!

  Finally done with holiday parties...  Back to the forge.

  Well, the time off from the forge gave me time to reevaluate the way I did part of the hinges.  I used a weld to create part of the hinge.  Although the weld itself was very solid, it left the metal too thin at a critical point and I was worried that the metal would fatigue and break.  So, took a different approach...  Very happy with the results.

  I used a simple technique to taper part of the hinge down to get the metal to make a loop.  Much easier than my previous technique and much more reliable.  When will I learn to try the simple way first?  Oh well, it was still a valuable lesson.  Here is a pic of making one set of hinges.  I make both parts of the hinge from the same piece of metal.  This just makes it easier to hold the hinges while working on them.  This pic shows just before I cut the hinge into two seperate pieces.  Notice the chalk lines on the side of the anvil.  These are marks I used to punch the holes in the hinge.



The next pic here shows a completed hinge just after being covered with oil while still hot.  This is done to protect it from rust and it also gives the piece the black appearance most people are used to.  As you can see in the pic, the piece is still smoking.



Finally, two pictures of the completed hinges.  Very happy with the results.  The ruler helps to give a sense of scale.  I should mention that half of a hinge I posted a few weeks ago was actually tossed out due to the concern about the metal fatigue.





  The hinges are complete other than putting a curve in part of the hinge to match the chest.  They are very solid and should last my lifetime.  They have a 270 degree range of movement.  This allows the chest to go from closed to the lid hanging off the back of the chest.  I also have to say that I was able to work very rapidly today.  If I had a reason to, I could make 4-5 sets of hinges in one day.  This compares to one set in one day from a month ago.  Experience is the best teacher...