Woo hoo!

  I hope to get a lot done this weekend.  I am doing a demo for a local Shakespere festival.  Essentially, they want me to come out an do blacksmithing from early morning to early evening.  Blacksmithing all weekend?  Gosh, if you really need me to....

A bit of a milestone...

  Well, today I got out to the forge and I decided that before I did too much more on the arbor, it needed to be mounted in the frame.  In order to mount it to the frame, I needed a 1/2" hole in one portion of the frame and a 1" hole in another part of the frame.  Before I could do this, I needed to make a few drifts.  I already had a 1/2" drift.  I went ahead and made a 3/4" and 1" drift.

  Here is a picture of the frame with the arbor in place.



  The end of the arbor sticking out of the end of the frame will be squared up.  The squared up part will be later connected the the clock face to actually show the time. 

  So why is this a minor milestone?  For the first time there is a moving part on the clock.

Arbor work

  I was able to get back to forge some today.  I decided to continue to work on the arbor.  The first thing I needed to do was make a second washer.  This picture shows the arbor before I started working today.



  I needed to make a second washer for the other side of the gear.  This washer would be a bit smaller.  So cut a square piece about 1 1/2" by 1 1/2" and 1/4" thick.  I punched a square hole in it to fit the arbor.  Next, I punched a slot in the arbor that will allow me to secure the gear onto the arbor.  Finally, I shaped the end putting the 1/2" round that will actual connect the arbor to the frame.  Here is how it looks now.



  The end will be timmed to be only about 1/2" long on the round portion.  This will make it long enough to go through the frame.  I also need to extend the slot just a bit so that when I make the wedge, it will hold the washer and gear tight.  I can do that with a file.

  On a final note, I expect to be able to do a lot more smithing in the near future.  A lot of projects that have been keeping me busy are clearing up.

Nothing to do with the clock but...

This is what has been keeping me from smithing.  These are the new thrones for the SCA.  My part is mostly done.  The thrones now go out to the artists for painting and carving.  It comes back to me for glue up, sanding and finishing.