Feeling real now...

In the spring of 1996, I started working in London.  Shortly after I started working in London, I saw the clock at the British Museum that inspired my obsession.  Unfortunately at the time, I didn't know that much about making reproductions.  I say unfortunately because I lost a big opportunity in taking photos for my own use.  I made some sketches and took just a few photos.

When I returned to the states in late 1997, it took me nearly two years to learn enough about woodworking to make my first clock.  That was 1999.  I knew when I completed it that I was not overly satisfied with it.  It didn't work all that well but it was still a very cool project.



I did a few more woodworking projects and in early 2001 I made a second wooden clock.  I was much more satisfied with that one.  It worked and the wood working was much better.  I still have that clock in my house.  (The first clock was recycled for its wood.  Believe me, it was the right thing to do...)  I felt that I was ready to tackle a metal version of the clock.



At that time, I was going through changes in my life.  I pretty much put aside a lot of projects until things settled down.  In late 2002, I put together my first forge.  It was a brake drum from a truck and powered by a hair dryer for its air supply.  My first anvil was a 55 pounder from India.  That anvil dented under a stiff breeze.  It was a year after that in late October 2003 that I started this blog.

I completely underestimated how long it would take me to make the clock.  Maybe it was arrogance or maybe I was just comparing it too much to woodworking.  But I had a lot to learn.  The Mastermyr chest reproduction I did last year gave me the confidence that I would be able to make the clock.

Earlier this year when I was finally able to figure out how to make the finials on the clock.  That was a weight off my shoulders.  Once I figured that out, I knew I was on the right track.  Also, I started to make parts of the frame.  I had some success and some failures.

Just within the past month, I have been making a serious effort to make progress on the clock.  Other than the family vacation, I have been getting out at least every other day and have made very few (know on wood) mistakes.

I sat down after working tonight to relax.  When I sat down, I started thinking about it and I realize now that this clock will be made.  There are times that I have doubted myself over the years but that is in the past.  I know I still have a lot of challenges ahead.  The axles and gears I'm sure will be challenging.  However, I have no worries about them now.  Just another technique to learn.  It feels really good.

Tonight I worked on the cross bar again.  I started to punch and cut the shapes needed on the top cross bar.  This is what it looks like.  It was still wet from quenching when this photo was taken.



A little explanation.  This cross bar will be on top of the clock.  The two cutout shapes on the right side of the picture will hold vertical bars.  A small piece of metal will hold the bar in place.  The picture that follows helps to explain it.  The blue square is where the bar will go.  The yellow bar is where a shim of metal will be placed to keep the bar in place.  The hole out the to left is to hold another part.  That part will hold a part of the clock that is similar in function to a pendulum.

Steady progress...

A few more hours of work today and the other cross bar is cut to size.  If I can get just a few more hours of work in, I should be a be able to complete the frame this weekend!

Side by side comparison...

  A little bit more work on the forge today.  Finished cutting one of the crossbars.  Not too exciting but here is a side by side comparison picture.  The metal on the left is the 4" x 3/8" stock that I am cutting the crossbars from.  The bar in the middle is the cross bar I just completed.  The one on the right is a crossbar I made early this year.



  The bar is not yet completed.  There is some additional work necessary but the rest of the work won't be as monotonous as the cutting.  I just have to punch a few holes and make a few small cuts.

Cross Bars Part Deux

 A while back I started work on the cross bars.  The cross bars sit in the middle of the clock and are used to hold vertical supports for the axles.  When I made them, they have a bulge in the middle but the bulge really wasn't wide enough.  Here is a pic of the original cross bars.  This is an old pic of the frame from many months ago.  The cross bars are in the middle of the frame just resting on the frame to give an idea where they sit.



I started to make the replacements for these parts.  I am using a piece of 4" x 3/8" flat stock.  Here is a picture of the piece prior to any work.  You can see markings that am using to make the piece.  To make these pieces I am chiseling rather than drawing out (thinning) the thin part of the bars because it is easier.  Anyway, this is the pic.



There is a bulge in the middle with thinner arms to either side.  This is a picture after some of the chisel work.



Unfortunately, some storms were threatening and I needed to take care of some stuff for work so had to stop for the day.  Here are some other pictures.  This is the bending fork (or scroll fork) that I quickly made yesterday.



I also picked up some steel today to make a cutting saddle.  The cutting saddle is so that you can safely chisel through your metal.  If you did not have one of these and you accidentally cut all the way through the metal, then you would dull your chisel on the anvil face (or scar your anvil if its from India or China).  I made a saddle a while back but the metal was too thin and it distorted whenever it got hot.  The new one is much thicker.



After I formed the saddle, I made sure to make the saddle dead soft.  That means I heat it to a nice red head then cool it very slowly.  This makes the metal very soft and less likely to ruin any chisels.

Prep work for the gears

Got out to the forge for a few hours.  For tonight, it was tool making night.  First, I made another large chisel.  I then used that chisel to make a bending fork.  The bending fork I will be using to form the circular part of the gears.  To make the bending fork, I split a 1" bar stock for about 6".  This split was then bent and seperated to form a "T" shape.  After I rounded up the arms I bent them back into a "U" shape.  Overall, to make the chisel and fork was less than 2 hours of forge time.

End pins complete

Got out to the forge for a few hours today and I managed to finish the remaining 3 end posts.  Really starting to feel like things are moving along now.  If I am lucky, I may be able to complete the frame next weekend.  After that, get to start actually making gears!!!

End pins, 1 down, 3 to go.

After taking a break from the earlier blacksmithing, I decided to do a bit more work and managed to get the first of four end pins made and installed on the frame.  These pins are used to hold vertical frame pieces that the axles for the clock rest on.  They are just simple tabs that the end pieces will be attached to using a wedge similar to what I used for the strike arm supports.  Anyway, here is a pic of the end piece prior to cleanup.  It is the middle of the bar on the left side of the picture.  Also, the wedged strike arm support can be seen on the right side of the picture.