John TenEyck
09-01-2023, 4:14 PM
I just finshed building this clock, designed by Clayton Boyer, for a friend. Actually, he built the base and I built the clock works and dial. This clock uses a harmonic oscillator to release the escape wheel, in contrast to a more typical pendulum clock.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc_vnm-GUYIWAmi97TivNIHwM5TnuKBiITaXhnO_ZtrO0CGoDZ0NUXOa5 6VS_66kqrLl6HOD-kaxcL958djeRx_FNX5mhZUNOxtJHv0-Sze8l9r5dr8SXogl8HoDXT8jnF-CZD1qHkKwwzlRZsNsDo_jqg=w498-h885-s-no?authuser=0
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc86fwcnWuEXKC1fgMdy2kG62SvGqF4A8iVfgaahoGanZJ 2yAg1dkhuwv-FhsxhX16tTaZr2phBXmFqo5QC8WaLBudTNw2oNimieTHjmw2UI l0J1g_g12rrwbBK_6Q-Z1huX5xJnxIg9zjHYkR0DGjZzVw=w1574-h885-s-no?authuser=0
The base is Sapele, the clock frame is unfinished mahogany, the dial ring is paduak with ebony inlays, and the wheels (gears) are unfinished maple and paduak shop-made plywood. The gear train is pretty simple, but the mechanism to control the escape wheel was difficult to understand until I had it mostly assembled and just as difficult to adjust so that it would run smoothly. The drive weight is four copper tubes filled with lead shot. The oscillator is made from hollow copper spheres also partially filled with lead shot.
Unlike a pendulum clock, this clock only goes tick or tock, once every 30 seconds, so it's pretty quiet. The oscillator releases the escape wheel when it winds the spring it's hung by far enough for the lever connected to the spring to push or pull the escapement mechanism far enough for one of the two pallets to pull away from the escape wheel. Sounds complicated, right? It's not, but it is a lot more complicated than a typical pendulum mechanism. Here's a short video to show how it works.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1QAoA7xnvahD8b4W7
John
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc_vnm-GUYIWAmi97TivNIHwM5TnuKBiITaXhnO_ZtrO0CGoDZ0NUXOa5 6VS_66kqrLl6HOD-kaxcL958djeRx_FNX5mhZUNOxtJHv0-Sze8l9r5dr8SXogl8HoDXT8jnF-CZD1qHkKwwzlRZsNsDo_jqg=w498-h885-s-no?authuser=0
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AIL4fc86fwcnWuEXKC1fgMdy2kG62SvGqF4A8iVfgaahoGanZJ 2yAg1dkhuwv-FhsxhX16tTaZr2phBXmFqo5QC8WaLBudTNw2oNimieTHjmw2UI l0J1g_g12rrwbBK_6Q-Z1huX5xJnxIg9zjHYkR0DGjZzVw=w1574-h885-s-no?authuser=0
The base is Sapele, the clock frame is unfinished mahogany, the dial ring is paduak with ebony inlays, and the wheels (gears) are unfinished maple and paduak shop-made plywood. The gear train is pretty simple, but the mechanism to control the escape wheel was difficult to understand until I had it mostly assembled and just as difficult to adjust so that it would run smoothly. The drive weight is four copper tubes filled with lead shot. The oscillator is made from hollow copper spheres also partially filled with lead shot.
Unlike a pendulum clock, this clock only goes tick or tock, once every 30 seconds, so it's pretty quiet. The oscillator releases the escape wheel when it winds the spring it's hung by far enough for the lever connected to the spring to push or pull the escapement mechanism far enough for one of the two pallets to pull away from the escape wheel. Sounds complicated, right? It's not, but it is a lot more complicated than a typical pendulum mechanism. Here's a short video to show how it works.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1QAoA7xnvahD8b4W7
John