Tall Case Oak Clock

[William Chain]

I've just completed my most complicated project so far - a tall case oak clock based on the plans from Norm Abram and the New Yankee Workshop (https://www.newyankee.com/product/the-tall-case-oak-clock/). From first rough stock into the garage to accurate timepiece in the hall was just about 8 months to the day. The plans I got were very outdated and detailed a movement kit from Klockit (http://www.klockit.com) - the kit does not exist anymore, but I did manage to put together all the bits with the great help from their customer service. They fished through old catalogs to help me out. I want to do a series of posts of my work on this project with modern part numbers, etc, just in case it helps someone out.
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[Mike Henderson]

Looks great - congratulations! When you do detailed posting, please include information about the clock mechanism, such as where others could buy the equivalent.

Mike

[Bruce Page]

Beautiful work! I'm looking forward to seeing the follow on thread.

[Mark Rainey]

William, that is a fine clock. I love tall case clocks.

[Bill Carey]

Very, very nicely done. Post the details and some more pics.

[Frederick Skelly]

Wow! That's really nice!

[George Bokros]

Beautiful. Very nicely done.

[Larry Frank]

Well done!

[William Chain]

This'll take several posts! I will preface all my posts and info with the following - I'm not much for advertisement, and I have no patience for it in social media. I will do my best to crop out tools, etc, and simply advocate for the methods where I can. You pick what tools and methods work for you. I will post details when it matters - for example, the movement part numbers, details on the finish I achieved, etc.

Material prep was fun. I acquired all the stock from a hardwood dealer in southeastern Pa. I get most of my stuff in Chester and Lancaster counties. This particular project all came from Groff & Groff (https://www.groffslumber.com) in Lancaster county. Stellar stuff, and the proprietor there is extremely helpful when you can't find what you are searching for in the racks. Some of my stuff came from new piles just out of the kiln upon request.

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It looked great in the rough, so I knew this was going to be a nice piece straightaway.

I'm working with an 8 inch jointer and a 12 inch planer, so I usually buy with those limits in mind. These pieces I had to be patient, consult my cut lists, and between a track saw and the above mentioned jointer and planer, I got everyone cut to rough sizes and pieces I could machine. Buy a track saw. I don't care what brand, but buy one. In addition to breaking down sheet goods, its uses are myriad. I was able to get jointer-quality cuts utilizing mine - this saved a lot of headache and time in material prep, and a quick jointer pass rendered perfect material.

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Ok, I had to resort to a sled for the piece that would eventually become the side panel inserts, but between a track saw and this sled, we were good! The resaw job on the panels was an experience I do not want to relive on my current bandsaw, but I survived with some colorful additions to my vocabulary.

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[William Chain]

The side panels and door were all machined in parallel. All mortise and tenon joinery, and cut with a floor standing mortiser with freshly honed chisels.

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The side panels have a groove that holds the panel insert, and eventually the removable slats that conceal the movement and allow access to adjust the works. These required haunched tenons at the top and bottom. The door is rabbeted for the glass, and required tenons to account for that rabbet. The parts for the sides and door were machines in parallel, and the tenons cut with a dado stack and a tenoning jig on the table saw.

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Quite a bit of cleanout on the mortises was required and fitting was a several hour process, but I got there.

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[William Chain]

The side panels were completed in a few stages. The inserts float in a 1/4-in wide groove in the rails and stiles. Only the mortises and tenons get glue.

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Once those are glued and ready, several steps of post processing. A groove is machined to capture the case bottom (1/4-in QSWO ply) - Norm did this with a router, I did it with the dado stack on the table saw. An arch is cut with a template and a jigsaw to render the corners into graceful feet. Then, a 3/8-in x 3/8-in rabbet is cut to capture the case back (1/4-in QSWO ply) - I did this on the table saw with the dado stack again.

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I know I'm going to get some eye rolls here. The front of the case is tapered at 2 degrees. I assembled the front with the top and bottom rails attached with glue and pocket screws. It was monumentally easier to do it this way rather than mortise and tenon, and no one will ever see this. Sanded smooth after fitment, and it's good. The same arch is cut in the front to create feet with the sides, and a stopped groove is machine with a 1/4-in bit in a router with a straightedge. OCD measurements ensured this groove met the side grooves perfectly.

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[William Chain]

Now, Norm and the plans called for assembly of the case using biscuits for alignment. I do not own a biscuit slot cutter, but I do have another popular joinery machine. The front and side panels are 3/4-in thick, so with control of depth, that machine will do fine. I dry fit the case with clamps, marked for joinery, and cut the mortises. By a happy accident, my bench is just shorter than the door opening on the front, allowing me convenient clamping for these operations.

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Glueing this up was a matter of careful placement of clamps so as not to mush the side panels, and patience. There was a little bit of forgiveness in this glueup, minor disparities in the sides and front were resolved in this alignment by referencing consistently off the groove, and all my sins would be concealed behind trim later.

I carefully measured for the floor and back, and cut those pieces from the ply - again, the tracksaw is the go-to here. The 2 degree taper is trivial with that tool setup. I could have gotten away with a straightedge and a circular saw (and more colorful vocabulary), but that tool saved time and F-bomb ammunition stores.

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The back was fitted with #4 x 5/8-in brass wood screws and I lost those photos.

More to come later - home repair project awaits....

[Rob Luter]

I love the design. Simple elegance. I too am a QSWO fan. Regarding the pocket screw joinery....well played sir. You took a potential headache and executed a low risk alternative with flawless results. Smells like win to me.

[William Chain]

With the back fitted and floor installed, I put in three braces - one under the floor, one at the cut in the back for the chimboard, and one at the top that also serves as the rear support for the top. Those went in with pocket screws and glue. The grain on the back and the floor are continuous, but that was a happy accident.

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The chime board is a piece of the back, cut horizontally at the midline support, and that can be removed separately from the rest of the back. It got two standoffs made and mounted according to the directions from the movement package. The case got cleats to hold the face, which will be 1/4-in ply with a commercial metal face with specific hole patterns for the various movement components (also in the movement directions package). From there, the top goes on (more 1/4-in ply), then the two-piece moulding goes on.

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The moulding came from Keim Lumber (https://www.keimlumber.com/) in Ohio - a member here put me on to them, I cannot find the thread at the moment, but thank you to that member! I went through their catalog, found a specific profile that I liked and that would fit the style I was after (they have 1000's), and ordered it up in QSWO for less money than the stock alone would have cost me locally, let alone the machining (Keim KL 1336 2.850 Cove). I highly recommend that company - great customer service, prompt shipping, etc. The top piece is just more milled QSWO that I made, with a roundover on one corner which gives a bead effect when mated to the cove moulding.

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[William Chain]

Mounting the movement....

The plan called for two items from Klockit (http://www.klockit.com). It called for movement/dial/pendulum package #13082 and hardware package #39952. Neither exists anymore. I had to consult with customer service there (they were great) - the hardware package was supposed to include grille cloth (modern equivalent is item number 39953 - I ordered two), three door hinges (I ordered these from amazon, 3/8-in inset hinges in brass), door lock and key eschutcheon (again, amazon'ed that), and leg levelers. The hinges and lock with eschutcheon were not available from Klockit. The leg levelers were not available from Klockit either - they actually referred me to their competitor (who does that? I am very impressed with Klockit) - those came from Timesavers (https://timesavers.com/), item 32666, M8x20.5mm leveling foot, I ordered four.

The movement itself - that turns out to be the Hermle 114cm mechanical movement, item 13044, which may come up on search under 139044. You need a weight set and shell set - I selected item 13107, which is a plain brass shell set for movement 13044, and the weights are item 139440 - these are just lead slugs. The pendulum you'll want is item 20099. They initially sent me item 19070, which is a 95cm pendulum. It'll fit, etc, but it is too short to keep accurate time. In any case, both those kits come with a plain brass moon bob, and an oak stick which stained just like the case. For the clock dial, I selected a mission style that is matched to the movement (hole placements for winders, hands, and chime selector) - item 26940, 13-1/2 in dial.

The movement comes with a very clear set of instructions, and measurements for where the chimeboard and the seatboard need to sit. The chimeboard was covered already. The seatboard - I started by mounting two blocks made from 3/4-in stock to the case sides. For my case and this movement, these blocks were set 15-1/8 in from the top, and measured 3-1/8 in x 1-7/8 in. These are set 3/8-in behind the cleats that hold the clock face. The cleat for the clock face (made from 1/4-in QSWO ply) holds the ply 3/8-in from the front of the cleat. Centered on that mounting block goes the riser block, 3-7/8 in high, and 2-3/4 in wide. Atop that goes the seatboard which will hold the movement - the seatboard is 3/4-in MDF, 2-3/4 in wide, and 14-5/16 in long. Centered on this board in both dimensions is a slot, 9-in long and 1-in wide. This slot allows you to bolt the movement down, and the weight wires pass through.

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The chimeboard goes in from the rear once the chimes are mounted - the mount is cast iron and tapped for bolts. Oddly, my kit came with four different bolts for this, I guess they just toss in what fits, but everything mounted up fine.

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The movement goes in, and is mounted centered in all dimensions upon the seatboard, and the wires for the weights pass through.

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Note that the chime hammers are not even remotely aligned with the chimes at this point, you have to bend those per the instructions, which is really uncomfortable to do given the cost of the movement and my terrific years of experience with clock movements.

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[William Chain]

Wrapping this thing up....

The slats on the sides are removable - these are made from 1/4-in thick stock, ripped into strips. The strips are then rabbeted and dadoed for half-lap joints, so 1/8-in deep on those. Fit together, a couple passes through the drum sander to sneak up on the right fit, and they fit in the 1/4-in grooves and rabbets machined into the sides. I lost the photos of me doing the rabbets for those, but it was a climb cut into to stop the tearout which I learned the hard way. Fortunately the tearout did not damage anything, and the climb cut corrected that. You can fit and remove the slats from outside the case, allowing access to the chime hammers and works. The slats get the acoustic cloth (my wife cut and hotglued that on) after finishing.

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The door was fitted with the self closing 3/8-in hinges to accommodate the rabbet on the door. And blocks for the leveling feet.

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[William Chain]

Ok last bit -

The finish I achieved in three stages. After several test pieces, I settled on the following. I started with sanding to 180 grit. All brad holes from the trim I filled with a custom mix of oak sanding dust and titebond III. My own wood filler if you like. Sand that down to 180, holes filled. Then I applied Lockwood #87 Golden Brown ethanol soluble dye, 1 oz / 4 pints ethanol. I mixed up 2 pints of this (so 0.5 oz in 2 pints), and ended up using half of it. I wiped this on with a microfiber cloth. Though I did several test pieces, this still put in a panic. Note that I did the door and slats separately, but I fitted them for photos. The panels float, so I manually moved them around to make sure I got the edges that might become visible as the wood expands and contracts.

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Step 2 was to apply an oil based dark walnut stain - I landed on Varathane quick dry dark walnut stain. Not the regular yellow can, not the gel stain, but the quick dry stuff in the white can. Its consistency is in between the yellow can and the gel stain. I tested them all on top of the dye on scrap, and liked the color from this product. I applied with a microfiber towel, let it sit 3 minutes, then wiped it off.

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Photos do not do it justice. It was spot-on what I was looking for in tone and depth. I let that dry a week. On top of that went 2 coats of wipe-on poly, I used Watco and a microfiber towel. I like this more than Minwax, but I've used Minwax too on other stuff. I hit the whole lot with a maroon scotch pad in between applications, then a vac and a tack cloth.

From there, fitted the movement, fitted the face, and then the glass. That went in with 1/4-in square retainers made from scrap secured with #2 brass wood screws, per the recommendation from a member here in another thread. Thanks to those folks in that thread.

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Took me a week of messing with the pedulum to get it running with accurate time (one week later and its still bang-on, so I guess I got it right). I am just thrilled to bits with it, and grateful for all the help on here with some of the little fiddly parts and the suggestions. I'm happy to help anyone with their clock project, I made plenty of mistakes and managed to recover from them all - reply here or message me.

[William Chain]

Norm's prescription for the job... I thought about changing the pocket screws, but because it's just the face frame, buried and never to be seen again I went with it.

I'm very happy with the design. Fits right in with our home.


I love the design. Simple elegance. I too am a QSWO fan. Regarding the pocket screw joinery....well played sir. You took a potential headache and executed a low risk alternative with flawless results. Smells like win to me.

[Von Bickley]

Great looking clock, great looking lumber, and great craftsmanship... You should be proud.

[Bill Carey]

Thanks for all the details and pics. Especially the clock info - I've dealt with Klockit before and they are really helpful. Having the numbers of the items you used is great.

[Robert Dodd]

A little late to the discussion but just embarking on the project. Thanks so much for your detailed description and the info on the clock kit parts. Fall project - i am excited to get started.

[Charlie Jones]

Beautiful work and a great result.

[Bill Carey]

I love the design. Simple elegance. I too am a QSWO fan. Regarding the pocket screw joinery....well played sir. You took a potential headache and executed a low risk alternative with flawless results. Smells like win to me.

What Rob said. No eye roll here. Very nice work.

[William Chain]

Indeed, the folks answering the phones are super helpful. Lots of the components I knew what I was looking for but the photos on their website are not enough to determine if it is the right selection. The folks on the phone know their stuff.


Thanks for all the details and pics. Especially the clock info - I've dealt with Klockit before and they are really helpful. Having the numbers of the items you used is great.

[William Chain]

Enjoy! It is a fun project. If I can be of help during your work, PM me. I made all the mistake one can, perhaps I can help you avoid some.


A little late to the discussion but just embarking on the project. Thanks so much for your detailed description and the info on the clock kit parts. Fall project - i am excited to get started.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

We need a like button. I love this clock. Excellent job.