A quick update...

I've been very delinquent about keeping things up to date.  I do have some photos to share which I will try to get to this week.  Some of the update highlights.

I did make an attempt to remake the one part I mentioned in previous post.  However due to the forging process a stress crack was introduced to the tenon.  It occasionally happens but it also happened on the previous piece so I obviously need to change the process.  I decided to scrap the piece and make another attempt.  I had to also address another issue though.

A frequent techinique in blacksmithing is to have one smith hold a tool on a piece while the other smith holds the piece and hammers the tool.  In other words, a two man job.  In any real blacksmith shop of the middle ages you would have had multiple people to call on for just such a thing.  For me, that is not an option.

I decided to go ahead an make an investment and purchase a tool known as either a Smithing Magician or Guillotine depending on who you talk to.  It essentially acts a second hand to hold a tool in place.  I ordered it last week and it arrived on Wednesday.  I wasted no time and got to work with it to attempt to make the part once again.  Things went much smoother and faster using the tool.  It was a worthwhile purchase.

Anyway, I changed how I was making the piece to avoid getting another stress fracture.  I still got one though but I think I understand the issue.

What it really comes down to is if I am doing heavy forge work on a piece, there cannot be a thinner piece that is holding the weight of the piece.  Its hard to describe and will have to wait on me to upload a few photos.

Trying to keep things moving....

 

Working on clock again

 After a very long hiatus, I am finally back to working on the clock.  I've actually had several sessions just not posted here about it.  With trying to get back to the clock, I wanted to make sure I had some good momentum before I put anything here.

What I worked on yesterday and today is the armature that holds the verge and foliot.  I completed this about 2 years ago now but with going back to the clock, I am looking at what need to make better and it is an ideal candidate.  Everything about this clock stems from this part.  If this part is not correct, everything else fails.

I did not take a picture of what I'm working on tonight, but this is the part I made two years ago.



It is the part the is on top of the clock that the string is hanging off of.  So what's wrong with it?  It leans slightly to one side, the rivet on the bottom portion of it is off center (not very clean) and the long upright piece is a bit loose.  In all honesty, it could work.  However, I've discovered in the past on other projects and this project as well that the mistakes don't just add up, they multiply.  The more incorrect one piece is, the less margin for error on the next piece.  I don't want to get way to far along and discover that it won't work or that I spend hours and hours to get it to barely work.

So, I am starting over on the going train (time keeping side of the clock.).  Although this means a lot more hours, each time I do these parts it goes faster and faster so I'm not too worried.

Here's hoping I can keep it moving.