Long Case Shaker Clock (the replacement)

[Ron Brese]

When I first joined this forum I posted a picture of a Long Case Shaker Clock that I had crafted from Walnut. I received a lot of questions about that clock and in my replies I told a story about how I had made the clock as a spec piece that did not sell right away. My wife really liked the clock so we moved it into the house for safe keeping. My wife returned home from work one day to find that I had indeed sold the clock. She was not at all happy about the transaction so I promise to make her another one. That was 5 or 6 years ago and shortly after that we went into a construction phase that included building a 500 square foot garden house and a 3 bedroom 2 bath Cape style house. With the house completed and her birthday approaching I decided it was time to make good on my promise to replace the clock.

This clock has antique glass in the bonnet and an 8 day Hermele pendulum movement, and features a custom dial face from Larry Petro (clockdials.com). The inspiration for this piece was the clock made by Benjamin Youngs at the Watervleit New York Shaker community in the early 1800s. I made a few subtle design changes in order make the clock a bit more elegant, and I also added the corner beading on the lower case and I also chose a different material other than walnut for this clock.

Ron

[Irvin Cooper]

Beautiful, beautiful work, Ron!

Irv

[Gary Herrmann]

Very nice work, Ron. The corner bead is a great detail.

[David Tiell]

Very nice work indeed!

[Mark Hulette]

Ron-

Love anything Shaker- the clock looks great (what wood did you use instead of walnut?).

Also, love the placement of the clock between the windows- very Shaker-esque!

Thanks for sharing

[Don Bullock]

...She was not at all happy about the transaction so I promise to make her another one. ...

Ron

Well, it took a while to make a replacement clock, but after seeing what you made she must be pleased. That's a beautiful clock. I really like the simple, but somewhat elegant, design. It looks nice in your home and looks good with your other furniture. The spot you picked now has a stunning centerpiece.

[Jim Becker]

Ron, I really love the style of that particular clock. Nice...and I agree with your LOYL...that spot was meant for that clock!

[Roy Wall]

Ron -

Beautiful Clock! The beading and cove work are excellent.....Great job!!

[gary Zimmel]

Ron

Beautiful clock.. Excellent workmanship.

[Matt Meiser]

Excellent job. The bead really does add a lot.

[Ron Brese]

To all,

Thanks for all the kind comments guys, the wood is "Southern Yellow Pine". I have recently done some small pieces with some 100+ year old heart pine and that was the material I really wanted for this clock, however it would have really taken a lot of time to have found the quality of heart pine that I would have needed for a piece of this type. While looking for materials I found these yellow pine boards with an exceptionally tight grain pattern and some even contained some heart wood so I decided to see what I could do with them and some coloring techniques. After this endeavor I have decided that SYP is a really under used material for furniture and cabinetry. I don't think I could have created the look this clock has with white pine and besides this stuff is a good bit harder and heavier than the white variety.

There is a lot to be learned about finishing this material especially with extensive coloring processes, however I think this is key in being able to use it in more furniture and cabinetry applications. I won't go into the whole process now unless some is specifically interested.

Once again thanks for the kind comments,

Ron

"If you're too open minded your brains will fall out"

[matt dumney]

Absolutely gorgeous!

[Norman Pyles]

Great looking clock.:cool: I like anything Shaker, and a tall clock is on my to do list.

[chris yount]

Stunning piece of work.Im sure your wife was elated to say the least.
I too love to work with yellow pine.It routs and finshes so clean.I use it whenever possible.
Chris

[Jim Becker]

SYP? Excellent job at picking the right boards, Ron. You really scored some very nice material and turned it into an outstanding piece. 'Wish that was in my house! LOL

[Thom Sturgill]

Beautiful clock, and I'm very interested in how you got the coloring on SYP.

[Mark Beckert]

Ron,
Great looking Clock! Was the latch on the dial door your idea? How did you finish it? Thanks much, Mark B.

[Randy Dutkiewicz]

Beautiful clock, and I'm very interested in how you got the coloring on SYP.

Ron,

Same here....on how you got that coloring to look so "even" on SYP??? Looks GREAT btw! I had made a shaker wall clock several years ago out of walnut and turned out beautifully. I, too love anything SHAKER:)

[Ron Brese]

Mark the latch is a friction latch. The prior clock that I made used a brass catch that I mounted on the inside of the bonnet, but for the life of me when I was building this clock I could not remember how I latched the door so I came up with the idea of this friction latch. I think the latch is very simple and functional like most things Shaker.

The finish is a whole other story, it was not simple but it was effective. I don't usually finished pine this dark and actually it is not quite as dark as it appears in the picture however we have light colored pine floors and we thought that the clock needed to contrast so I went a little darker than usual.

All the flat surfaces were hand planed and then sanded with 150 grit sandpaper on a block. The lighter colored grain of SYP is softer and therefore abrades faster than the harder yellow colored grain and can become wavy if over sanded. I sanded everything to 150 except the areas where end grain was shown and I sanded the end grain to 320 so it would not go overly dark when the color was applied. I mixed a wash coat that consisted of 2 parts tung oil finish to 1 part lacquer thinner and applied this liberally and then wiped off the excess. After 15 to 30 minutes I applied a water based dye called antique cherry, this was a Clearwater product called Smooth and Simple, unfortunately it is no longer available. I let the dye dry over night and then applied an oil based reddish brown pigmented stain. I sealed the color coats with 2 coats of dark garnet shellac. The next day I lightly sanded with 320 grit sandpaper and followed with a maroon scotchbrite pad. My top coat was Target coatings USL semi gloss, I sprayed 2 to 3 coats of this and let this cure for 3 days. I wet sanded the cured finished with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper using water with a couple drops of dish washing soap as the wet medium. I then rubbed out with 0000 steel wool. I cleaned the parts by wiping them down with Old English scratch cover for dark woods, this either removed the rest of the residue from the rubbing out process or colored what was left in the crevices that I could not remove. And then I was TIRED!

The next morning I did the final assembly and transported the clock into the house where I mounted the dial board with the movement attached, hung the pendulum and started her up. It took a couple of days to get things adjusted but it has been keeping good time since.

That evening when Julie came home from work, not only was she surprised when she walked into the living room she was startled! Like most tall clocks it has an imposing presence in the room and she was caught totally off guard. Her comment was "you should have warned me!"

Ron

[Mark Beckert]

Ron,
Wow, thats the most extensive and detailed finishing process I've ever heard anyone use! Kudos to you though, its absolutely a flawless finish and again, the Clock looks terrific. Regards, Mark B.