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Stan Bray introducesthe fascinating world ofhorology to the complete bK inner.This bookexplainsth1& '
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ofthe clockmakerand provides generaldetails ofclock construction including layoutofwheels and esc Cn ,
a numberofthe Iatterbeing described. kn
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C ontents

Introdtlt
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Introduction

Clock m aking appears to hold : thc work. A lthough a special

1
fascination al1of itsown,particularly workshop is not rtlquiredl one thing
am ongst m odt)l engineers, many that Bri11 not do is to work in a
deciding to makc a elok:k afterhaving uxlrkshop that is fulI of svvarf and
m ade m odcls iAt-variolls types.Tllereot11cl- rubbish. a 'Xtlcepting that ' we
is something absolutcly fascinatillg cannot alsvays llaN' e a clinically elcan
about clock luaking that seel -ns toplaklc in Nvhich to operate,partictllarly
draw one towards it. This book is if it scrvkls stpsr
tlralpurposes,it is still
intcnded as a brief introduction to thcpossible to lllake a clean area for
tools,m aterialsand nRethodsgenerally spccial tlsu- alld tl1is should be a
used and to offer all explanation of priority.A tlorneroftht lNvorkshop can
generalform sofconstruction.Itisnot bt ltrlcalled ll1
ld Llny oil01 -grease lying
a book of plans btlt those who haN' e
()1-
1tht ? bench su abbcd off Keep this
suff-
icient contidence could usc ll' area clean NvlliI(
1t? ) clock nlaking
inforl-
nation it contains to l '
nakc a operationsal v in progrcss.ltis a good
sinlple clock. idkla to 1' 11aktl a false top for the
svorkbench and coveritw ith baize ora
A lthough clocks come in a11sorts of sinaiIarnaaterialwhich issof'tand w i11
shapes and sizes the basic principle notcatlse dam age to polished l mkltal.
behind a lllechanical clock las not
changed for aboutfivklhundred years. Aswi th a1lneu'projects,do nottry
Ofcourse m odern m aterials and tools and run before yotl can walk. Don' t
have superseded som e of the oldcr startby trying to btlild a col mplicatcd
ones butthis apartthe horologistwill lmechanism such asa fulI' W kstm inster
still tend to work in the traditional Chilne but rather nlake som cthing
fashion.C lock nlaking has long been sil- nplc, A m echanisll' l with a single
part of the m odel engineering hobby hand isa good idea.sttch : 1piecc w'llen
ratherthan being entircly thc preserN'
c well polished tran look attractive as
0f the horologist and thc type of well as being fascinating to watch
workshop owned by thc avtlragc wht ,n it is working. Visit l m tlsetmns
m odel engincer is quite suitablc for ' w lnere (2lock nRovcm ents can be
 @ ForttlnateIy t- or tllose u'ho are
@ tl-act1ol'l tpl-lgilles. NN'lt't1-k? 1I)t?l't'.- artl
begil'llling. thk? l-
laterial tlltt u. '1ll be cxllensivc cflstiI'lgstt'bilbtltlgl lt.solllc
used is llklilllert
lxtktl-
lsiv'
e t)l'tlxpklllsikkt bl'tss slletlt,a l2u'bils 111'
1(1 1)1tlct'
ts of
I1-
1onc ptlrtrhases :1very'oltlclt'tlk'thtl
wllen klolllpared to thtl eastil '
lgh;.tltc- s1I&'erslek'.tIand Nve are in bus1ness.
kzlallces of it tlv'el -bk ling l vgtllated tk) used form odelcngineering ptlrposes-
kcep acculute till' ltlal 'k2getlkprally very so do notbe frightened to l' nake a part NVe aIItk. lnd to t11i11k'of cIotrks bei1g
A.1Ivve art'
. tIooking t' -
(
.
'rNvhen ll' lt
'tk'il'
lg a slmal1.lNk art?tlsu'd i1)this day and age nladk 2 f-
rol'
n brass and steel btlt other
l'nore than once ifsonaething hasgone
clock is a l 'neans of nlakil1g a spindlk. l to being ableto t nt.lq'N'tlry cheap (2Iocks nnaterials can be used.Tl' lu
'll-d are a
vvrong.lt is far better than trying t()
u/th a hand attaohed to itrotate at11 allmost anysvhk lrkl tlatttre relmarkably recovk lr sol
mething that has not been nulnber of plans availab1e tbr the
given specd.The spindle lltpeds to tne acctlrate.Thkly are controlled by ur hat correctly nladt l in tl '
1c first place. constrtletion of wooden cIocks and
driven by sonnt2 forl '
n oF poNs' er. anaountsto a eolllptltcrtr1' lip and thisis Nvhi1e this l' nay not sound a suitablk ?
Unlike btlilding I modellocol uotivcs()1-
usuaIly a very pri1- nitiN't': fo1 -1'1. A hou'thataccuracy is obtaincd.These lnaterials it is surprisingly robtlst.thc
I'
neans to regulatc that poNs' trr is :l1s() tiInepitlckls are vvhat onk? l11ight (.'
Jtlrnlans have used it for ycars to
required-i11 order tllat itvvil1rtll' l;.tt :1 dcscribk?assotl1-1tlss-tllc). 'tlo nothavk 2 lllak'k?clockscol -nnlercial1y.N ou' adays
Inartickllctr speed.I1-ytltlllrt' rI lollillg t() tllc l-astri1atio1l ()f tllc I' lt?c11:
.11-
1ikra1 pl:!h:tit
? can be :1uscfu1l' nattll -ial. It is
ti11ish your tirstefforts in 111s sitlk2t)1' - devi(2e-althotlgh it nntlsl bt?atll 'nitted tzasy to u' klrk u ilh- itis hard u'earilg
tle Ilobby- NN' itl) t lllastel'pitttrt' t tllttt do thkli1'1(3t
3pdrl-
tlctIy,Tl
lk?factthat.
N.
't
z and a clock I' ntkltl of a trallsparent
neitller Ioost?s ()1'gCtil1s l' lltpl'e tlltll : .
1 c:.111)ot gtrt t1)is 1 )ig11 tlcg1 'tlk.
'
l ()f plastic can be a fascillatil)g tI1ing t()
secontl or tvvo :1 yu'i .
t1
' tllell ),tltl Ctrk .
l ltctrtlracy does11t' bt111tli.t11t1'
1lt1otl1*clock see.A Iso Clq' fti1ltblc arcplallsfork2Iocks
prtlbtbly gklil)g to bt' ttlisttloil' lted. 1t yN.
'i11 bc otltl- agk lt.'tlsIy in:tctlrtte and l'
nad: frtll )) pllper and card. Thcy
u'iI1 1 3k2 13( .
)ssiblt ? to ac1 )itls'c tl afttll'al1 t-t'
ll
-n)ally y' klars it Ns'as qt. lite appcarto u ork N' cry svelland Iastfora
rcasollablkl dk lgree t' lt- aceLlracy al-l d ctlstol laary to sct:1( .
21klck to t1)k?corretrt Iong ti11)e.
l'
nork? iI-llportal ltIy t() tlisctlN' tll-Il()vs'to
. tiI110 Ol1Ce t2V0l-j'' WC0k ()1,SO.

Tools
s'l()sl o1-the toklls Iikely to btll'
lcetltltl .

u'iIlbe lbtlnd i11the ' tvorkshop of tllc

average nlodelellgilldtlr.Ntlt ldle f'
iIes-
hacksavv,Iathe,stll- nc snlaIIdriIls and
taps are thc basic itellls that artl
wanted.In addition a slmalItiNze-sidttd
broaeh is possibly the only essential

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'
itell'ttlltll111igllll' It'
k
t1'll
'elttly be IA;tI
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he nthe
tl'
lkl $'k)I
'k'sllop eqtliplllel' lt. Tllel'k2 '
$N'1tcI )lllttk'ers'ltltles : .
11-:-k'
)xl '
)k?llsiN'e to
additit'llkllttlolsol'trtltlrsk. -tltlttiltly ttl 'c btly alld lre ot- Iitt1c tlsu- tklr (ntllt lr
l'
1()t absoltltely t 'tsstplti11. W rlaeel alltl Ptlrposcs tllal' 1's&'altrll I-llak'illg- i1 -1'l-atrt
pil'liol'
lctlttcrscotl1( 1be very'tlsel -tllbtlt thcy arc o1-doubtftll N' altlt? Nvhkln it
itis qtlilklpossiblc t()g()NN' itlkluttltpll' l. conncs lo l '
naking k. rIockh;. (J . -cntrralIy
Thert l arkr nAany people llllk'iI 1g N' ery speaking tllt .
rtypc oflalhc ft'tlllklil' lthk l
line clocks vllt? l -laN'
e llever btltlgllt av' klragt' tll-lodelkpngilleklr's yvorkshop is
stl clla ctlttcr i11tllei1-1ifd.A l -
lellt1il 'lg quittrstlittlblkl.Thk ?1'nostpoptlIar()' f-all
tool (See (71 3:1pte1 - 6 for ftl1 -t1er thesk. p al't '
t probabIy the N1yfo1- (1 7
inforllatiol'l)is usefulfor layillg tltlt Scrik ls.Nvhich havc a centre hcight of possible to givc advickl on thtt bcst stltlllds frigl ltellil '
lg btltrealIy itll- lakcs
the Nvhklt?ls btlt oncc l -
nore fal' 1-
1
-(
.
)111 3r. '
? i1 -1s. T 1 )otlsands ot- gootl c1ot?ks. lathe for :1 ntlur col -
ner to ptlrchasc.il t2(.)1'1p1k zttl sel)se. . A1thotlgl) tle
esselltia1. tlltzre are seq'
tlraI Nvays ()f l'lavt )bu-el' lI'nadc tlsing thcll' tand other a1ldepends ( 71,
- 1a partictlIarprklfcrcnt)e Il-ltlvtll-nent or ll- lecllanisl- l-
l is rotating
tloil'
lg tlc job Nsritllotlt stlcll :$11 itelll ltt1 )ch ( of a si1 -1
-1i1a1- size and and onc! .
ibudgel.I1- 1addition lllany t)f col ltil'
lual1y.itisl' lar(l1/.
. 'goil'lg t()brcak'
alltl1ikt!ctltlel's-Ctl-e eltsily il
'
t,47rf.
)N'
ised. spk lc1f-icatik' l11. T1)k .
l l)11!1iattlre typc
' the foreigi1 latllt ?s tl7;lt art
a stlld ' .
1rlx. a113,ss. r
()l'ld spklttcll'k lkrol
'klsi1 s()t1()illg.It
.
-A
'1(.
Jthe1. tlst2fu1 i' tt'
ln4 is kllk)Ns'n 81s ;.
' lkttllk?s NN'ith ccntre h:igllts ()t ' about only avaiIabld tbr:1 Iinlitcd period ot' Ilas 10 rklalyN' t3l'k'to do il1as l -ntltlllasit
11:.1lf tllat haN' c thc atls' antage k)t-being til-
ne btlfore the spt ?cificati01'1 is is ( 71
- 7Iy dris' illg 1tstllf and s()thklsllltll
chcap and asthey art ?snaall.()bN'iously changed.Anyonc u, anting to ptlrchase bcarillg stll-llct :
tl'lflstlt .
ladN'tl-
ltage tlat
lcss spact' l is reqtlired. 5, 1ost arc a lathe Nvotlld d0 vs, ellto visitont. l(4f it ctlts ti-ictltdl' l (.1tlu' n to a l' ni11iIl-ltlll'l
t
nc ;.
1N' aiIablt '
r vN'ith :1 . boIt tln 1 '1)il1drill the I
nany l
uodel-engincu'ri1 )g and i ts l l 'u-stllt reduccs the p( 7.vN't?l'
llttaurhnlk ll'
lllhatl' nakt?! .
itht lll'l itltraI l-. k
n1- exhibiti011h; 1 )k
.pld throughout thc I'lkltldtll.itt'I 'tlll11)ilgs.
cl tting the teeth on l. N'1eklls. lt is l' lot country, vN'l'
1dre it u. 'iIl be possiblu-tt)
brosvse throtlgh :1 Iarge nun-1bt '?l' ()t'
l'
nachines oftlit- ferent l '
nakcs and typkls Term inology
to '
hnd '
wrhich I'nightbtlthcnlostsuitablc.
This is alltltherthing Nvhich enginct -
lrs
Solue of the lllethods tlskrd by clock l'
nay find a 1ittlk l diffictllt lo
l
m akcrs a1 -t'
t likely to nlak( ) a1) undkrrstand. A sl)11ft or spindlt l is
'
expcrit '
lnced engi11eer u,in(2tt. Fo1' kllt-
nvn as an arbor alld the bearillg
exam ple. u'hi1e tlle cngintltll' u'ilI surfacc attllk'
lt'
llld isnot21shaftt)l'ax1k ?
always try and get as nluch bearil )g but a pivot.(iears bceol- ne svheels i11
surfacc for a spindle as possible.tllc spite of the s' ery obvious tecth alI
elock luaker seenas to try to do the round thelm tht)I '
naking ofNvhich istlltl
exact opposile. Holes that arc to btr l'nain partofclot-k l' naking.AIthotlgh
used for bt zarings are dri1lt ld slllallk )r the tccth on thc Nvhklklls are calltrd
than thc dial meter of tht p spindltt tllat teeth,svhen they art l ()1 a pinion they
NvilI fit il1 tllklll-l allkl then tltlq' are ltrt
p frequently describt ld as Itlavds.
real-
ned Nvith a tapcr broach untiIa tit Thesegears(u' heels)artll -nadeol-thin
is l-
nadc. z'Ns a restllt th: spindlt' t is section brass, Nvhich is ideal for tllc
rtlnning on the thinnestpossiblc ring I'nckrhanisl
'
n that is bcing constrtlcted
of brass. To the engineer tltl idea in order to give :1 good tit on tllc
@ @
spindlcs (arbors) tley are 'litled on H elp and A ssistance
bosses fron)now on known as colIets. There are : 1 considerable num bcr ot'
To an engineer,a e01Iet is som cthing plans available for l naking clocks of
which opens and closes to hold tools various types. Som e such as the
orm aterial.To a clocklnakertlle term designs of John W ilding are sold in
includes the length of brass tlsed to book form , com plete w ith full
support a wheel- and fillally there is instructions',they are to be very highly
the m echanism itselfwhich iscalled a recom m ended. Others silnilar books
m ovem ent.It is a1Ivery confusing at are available as basic plans and in
firstbutwe m ustrelntlm berthatevery som e cases com plete kits can btl
tradehasitownterminology.jtlstlook purchased. Thc photograph on the
for exam ple at that ttsed by tht ) frollt covt!r of this book is one of a
computerengineer. moN' emttntmadefrom justsuchakit,

, , x +
.i
1.
 @ If we accept all thc oddities thatare @
by Repton Cloeks and this too is an
idea!way to learn thebasicsofclock im posed upon usclocksare fascinating.
construction.The British Horological There are no heavy castings to hulup
lnstitute,Upton Hall,Upton,Newark aroun4 thework isnice and clean and
the end result is worthwhile.Even if
Notts.N 623 5TE stock a large range
ofbooksand otheritem sdealing w ith
afterreadingthisbookthereadershould
clock m aking and in addition organise
decidethatclock making isnotforhim
courses,both residential and hom eorher,itisstillworth while taking an C hapter 1 - H istory
basedaon the subject.Therearealso interest in them ,their history and the
numberofsuppliersofclock partsand beauty of the fmish on m any, in itself
booksbased throughoutthe country, canprovidean everlasting interest.
Before starting on constructional heavens has becn observed for
detailsofclock m aking,awordortwo thousalldsofyears and this movem ent
onthehistoryofthesubjectmayassist has been applied to time-keeping
readers in an tlnderstanding of time- m tlthods. The new m oon appears
keeping in general.lt is not only the every thirty days and the seasons
hum an race that uses tim e-keeping repeatthem selvesevery twelfth tim c it
m ethods,anilnals know'when ittimkl appears w hicll fbrms the basis of the
to go to sleep or,ifnocturnal,when to ycar as w e now record it. The
start searching for their food. Som e cqtlinoxes w'ere wr
ellknow n and tlsed
plants antl trees w i)l close tlown for religiotls ptlrposes and stars and
flow ers atnight and open them when sun were alm ost certainly used for
daylight appears.Of course this has carly navigation,whetheracrosssea or
nothing to do with clocks as we have land.
come to know'them ,they are reacting
to lightand dark and possibly also to Duringand priortotheStoneAge itis
changing seasons. No doubt the very doubtful if anything m ore
hum an ractl also started in this accurate than this would be required.
fashion,sleeping during darkness and Ifthe sun wasatitshighestpointthen
activeduring the daylight.The clocks it was half way through the day.
in use then wcre the sun and m oon. Hum ans are ncvcr satisfied with
not necessarily the m ost reliable basics and we can only speculate
sourcesas forvariousreasonsthcy are when itbecam e desirable to be able to
not always visible. Sueh prim itive split tim e into sm allcr parts and
m ethods-while notexactly telling the exactly how it w'as donc. It seem s
tim e of the day did give reasonably highly probably that a prim itive
accurate m easurem entOfthe scasonsp sundialwould be the flrstbasic form
had theiruses. of clock. Put a stick vertically in the
ground and w hen thc shadow castby
ltuus not alIleft cntirely to chance. thatstick isatitsshortestitism idday.
Archaeology and ancientm anuscripts W ho knows-perhapsitwasa tree that
tell tIs that the m ovem ent of thtt flrst gave som eone the idea that the
shadow of the sun could be ttsed to il-
nprovcluents Iuade to the systel- n. various ingeniotls m easuring dt w ices be quite crude, m any were in fact
give :,
.1 approxil
mation 0ftim e. including 'htting a dial. ensured that that sounded alarm s were deviseds ' sophisticated pieces of m aehinery.
the water clock rem ained in tlstl for these included wcights on a pece of Early clocks wt prc used for ptlblic
Sundials did not rem ain as sticks in hundreds ofyears. string that was set ' lirtl to. After a purposes and were very large.
the ground and we know stone periodoftim ethet lam eburntthrough Generallythey wouldbehousedinthe
colum ns werc used in early times. -andles were also used as a m klasure the string and the weightwould drop towerofa ehurch orcathedral.
m etal pillars of varying shapes of tim e.O nce itcould be established on to a gong telling them onksthatit
follow ing them .Thisisnothowevera how nxuch a candle burnt down in a w as prayer tim e. The idca w as There are records of clocks for
book aboutstlndials butaboutclocks. partictllar period of tilme. it was a extended to include a num ber of dom estic purposes as early as l343 in
Thesundialsubjeetisso vastthatit sin4pIe m atter to nl:1rk the sides, weightsstrung to a fram e.Thestrings France and England. The earliest
could take a separate book to discuss show ing how lnuch tim e had elapsed were ofdiflkrentlength and so burnt surviving exam ples date from around
it.W hatwe do know is that sundials sincethe candlcwaslit.King Alfred is through atdifferenttim es.In this way thc fifteenth century and are of iron
were in use around 200 BC and :1 creditcd w ith being the lirstpcrson to thegongcouldbt tsoundedatltom atically construction, the m echanism being
hundrcd years or so later a geared use candles fortimekeeping,althotlgh atsetintervals. scaldd down from the larger oncs in
m echanicaldevice wasproduced for if he acttlally did burn the cakes the public places.A l1 these early clocks
navigational purposcs at sca, whieh candles could not have been very Nobody know s whon the first were weightdriven and exaetly what
m ay orm ay notlave been a prim itive rcliable. lt is still possiblc to btly m echanicalclock cam e into being.by date the pendulum replaced the folio
form of clock. ln 600 BC the Pope candlesl marked in this w'ay' 'nowadays whom or how it was invented. The control we cannot say. However a
decreed that all religiotls institutions thcy only have novelty value. An oldestclock known of in Europe was claim is m ade thata clock was m ade
should have a sundialas a m eans of alm ostidenticalidea to thccandle was at Salisbury Cathedral antl is dated w ith pendulum control in 1656.
regulating tlle times for prayer so the to btIrn oiI, in a container with 1386. lt is still in working order, Spring drivc is hrstheard of in 1450
hulnan race wasreally becom ing nlore l'
narkings to retrllrd the til' ne that had although no longer in the toweritcan and thdrefore pre-dates the use ofthe
tim c consciotls. passed as the quantity of oiI ' w as be seen in the nave ofthe Cathedral.lt pendultlm . Regular im provem ents
rcduccd. Forshorttim e pcriodsthklre is quite an advanced clock. which were m ade to tim ekeeping
Not alI tlle Nvorld' s poptlIation w' as was also the sand-glass w ith ' which incltldesam dchanism forstrikingthe m echanism, including in particular
(-lristian and Nvt .
t1
' :11. 1st Iook at those many ofus w iIIbe fal- nilitlras an cgg hours as well as one for telling the the invention of new m ore reliable
countrics that had not adopted the til-
ncr.The glah;s and quantity ofsand tim e.Even this is notthe lirstknown escapem ents and in l7l5 Georgc
religitln to set' .
-. '
kvhcrtl possiblc, ht -
nv had to be c'arefuIly lzaatelled to thc m echanicaldevice:in 1090 StlSung G raham invented the deadbeat
tlley sorted tllingsout.Itis knoNvn that tin'le required and so the systel m Nvas m ade a device in China thatrang bells escapdm ent m aking clocks m orc
thtr (l -hincst had the idea of tlsing generaIly used only for spkleifit2 at given intervals in addition to reliable still.
u. 'illcr and although therc ' svas a ptlrposcs, as indicating inlen- nediate driving autom ata although it did not
l1Ll1' llbi .
?l-ol-v' al -iatitlnson ll1etlltll '
llt'
)-tle ti1'
1
'1t'
lbkltsveen filIing and enaptyillg thc have a dial for tim ekeeping. Drivinglt is quite am azing to think that
basic princi( 3lt.
)Nvls to tiI1a container glass u/as notptlssiblc. autom ata was popular with modern m echanical clocks work on
Nsrit1)svltter.A sllaalll' lole in thebottol' l) clockm akersand oneearly exam pleat exactly the sam e principle asthey did
yvotlld all()N. N' it to rtll asvay and by W lz dtofthklreligiotlsorders thatsvt pnt W ells Cathedral. and built in 1389. w hen George G raham invcnted his
I'lptlklsl-lrilg tlltrttll' ltltll'ttllatIlad gol' !t'
lit t() prayer lligllt and day? Solnethillg can stillbe seen working.Itis a very escapement.Materialshaveimprovett
N5.':ts possiblkl to sekl 11ov l '
nuch tilzle Nvas needt ld to teI1thel 'n vvhen itNvas elaborateaffairwith knightsjotlsting with brass and steeltaking over from
1:1( .
1 passcd i '
tll(1. if the containcr ysras tiImtlto go to the c1:1)3t)1.F.vcn thougll and a1lsorts ofotherm ovem entsatset iron, otherw ise there is little
Ilnarked yNil1 ) gl- atltllltiolls- tht? tiI' l
')e thtlPtlpe had dtttlrtlttd that:1llrcligiotls tim cs. W e do know therefore that differcnce in the basic construction of
uklkllnst' tl.lcf-htlltlbe sk lel' l1ttltglance.This ilpstittltes shtltlld have a sundial. tl1is elocks have been in use for many any typc of m echanical clock. M ass
tylc k)' #-clklck eN' trnttlalIy becalue used Nvasofno use af -
terdark orin l'nuch of hundreds of years and although the production was really the only big
:1ll ( '
)N' e1' tlc NN. '
t)1-ld k)nd variotls the Nvklather vve havc in Britai1' 1. construction ofearly ones appcars to advancem entfrom then on,butm inor
 @
in)proven-1ents to bol1) cIocks Ct11(1 M any people buy nltlchanisl- ns for
Nvatchescolltillued. these quartz clocksand l' nake cascsof
various types to housc thel -n: it is a
In the twentieth century, clocks alltl hobby on its own in which large
watches have sklen advancem ents that numbersofpeoplearchappy to indulge.
would nothavebeeltthoughtpossiblc.
cven atthe startofthe century.A bout Betbre ' linishing Nvith the history of
sjxty years or so ago people hrst clocks it is interesting to think how
started to experim cnl with the ustlof tinle itself has changed. Until quite '

electric clocks. t-'ertainly thcy u' crut late in the ninetecnth century ey' ery
vcry prim itive in comparison w ith town or district kttpt its own time.
whatwas to com e later,butthey had Com m unication between areas was $ X$1 J
#
the advantagc that it was possiblc to very poor,w ith Iim ited transport and @*
synchronisc several clocks togcthcr itm attered notwllattim c it was in a 2%
Q> K
which was idealin a factory orsim ilar tow n forty or lify m iles aw ay.W ith S f
> =%'
(.,slabIishm t )nt wherc m any people the com ing of the raiIw ays al1 this
#
werc elnployed and a!I wouId be changed.A person travelIing frol n say *
starting and stoppillg work atthe sal ukl London to B irm ingham and then 1 / 11 )fu5.
tim e.Priorto thata bcllorhooterw as wanting to get a connection to
used' , a system that in may placcs
Iltstcd tlntiIquitc rccenttim es, som cwhdre else netlded to know what
tim e that connection would leave in
In-lprovcl m ents in thc Iuanufacturc of relation to the train on which he orshe
elttctric clocks were rapid unti1 Nve would arrive.The railways thcrefore
reach the stagc at u/hich svt? are at organised their ow n time, known as
today where it is possiblc to buy a Railway Tim e, which was consistent
.x.x.
clock w ith :1 digita .I rcadotlt so that right throughout the country. .
.x.x.
.*xx..x.
Nx.. x.
Ilobody trvtln needs to know how to Gradually thiswasadopted throughout .x..
NN%%...
teI1 thkl tim e anym ore. The m odern thc country until evcryone used the
eleclronic m astcrpicccs can keep saluc.N ow tim e is relatcd directly to
perfbcttim : and are farm ore accurate thkl firccnw ich M eridian,and know n
than any except the m ost expensive as Grcenwich M ean Tim e. Othdr
m echanicalclock. Probably because countricsalso take theirtim e frol' n the
ot -thcirefficicncy they do nothavethe m eridian w ith allowances m ade for
faseination ofm echanicalones,which tim e zones.A sresultitis possiblc for
art l stiII m ade today 170th anyone,anywhere to know whattim e
eom mercially and by alnateurs. itis in any othcrpartofthe world.

*M * 1
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C hapter 2 - T he F ram e
The fram e ofaclock willgenerally be
made of two flat plates. joined ()f the pillars which join the plates
together, at or near the corners with
pillars.Al1 parts are tlsually m ade of
brass except in exceptional cases
wherewe m ightguta steelfranle fitted
with bushes.The plates are sawn and
filed to sizeand afterensuringlhey are
flat and square they should bc hcld
firm ly togetller w ith clalups.
preferably thc toolm akers'type urlile
two or three sm al1 holes are driIled
through som dwhdre ltlar tlltlcorners.
These holtlsarutto actzdptpinsorrivets
that are tlsttd to cnsurd tlle plates tlt)
not separate during operatio1sm ' onct!
the pins and rivots are i11 plactr thkl
(2lal
mps can be rel moved.
''
'' ''.' ' '
.
. 1.1..i1;.
The nexttask is to m ark thd position
together and drillthe holes forthcl -n;
wtlw illcol -ne to how they can btlfitted
shortly.OccasionalIy clock designsdo
not have this type of plates instead
they arc m adc Nvith strips of brass.
lmort) otztcn lhan not ctlt into fancy
shapesand instead offourpi1larstlleri a
are only tuo- one al catrh tlnd.The
principleofjoiningthelzntogetherand
drilIing thtl piII: 11
' holt'
ts renlains
cxact1y t1k l sa1' ne. .A.s 1 3tli!ding
.
Progrklsscs011diffcrencesyviIIelutpl- gt'
!-
for k lx:1lup1(.
, thcre NviII 1'
1ot bkr a
pendtllul' )
l alltl so they Nvill not be
fitted svith a back cock.
 thatis conllllon to alIlnethods is that
@
T he Pillars Setting O utT he Train M arking O ut
when assel-nbled the fralmes m ust be
GencralIy speaking the piIlars or The m ost Comm on way Of setting out Som etim os clock plans w ill give
rigid and square. the train is to scribe a straight line m easurem ents showing where pivot
spacersas the laym an woultlcallthem
w illconsigtofbrassbarsand they m ay lengthways dow n the plates and to set holesw i11beplaced' ,ifnotitwillbe
or m ay not be shaped.Shaping is a the escapement,centre or hour wheel I'
ICCCSSCtI'
Y to Wrrk Otlt Spacings for
m atter ftl1-the individualbuilderand and the great wheeland barrel along oneself.Startby lightly dotpunching
in alim ited way istheopportunity for this.Thethirdwhcclhasto be setatone a suitablc place forthe greatwheelon
him or her to express hiln/hcrself. side in orderto allow the pinions and the centrc line.Use a depthing toolto
Fitting thc pillars to the fram c isdone wheels to mesh.Just occasionally we mark out position on the line of thc
in severalways:son' ld are hoIIow and com e across another dcsign w here the m inutc wheel',thsm eans meshing the
a stud ispushed rightthrough and the escapementand hourwheelarein Iine great wheel pinion w ith the m inute
parts held secure w ith a nute or and both the third wheeland barreloff wheelso they run very sm oothly and
perhaps the cnds of the pillars set.This is very rarc and any details w ithout any binding.W hen satisfsed
nlachined dou'n and threadcd to requiredforsuchanarrangem entwould with themcshingsusethetoolto make
akleept a nut. ln othe1-k' laskls they are be available tiom the drawing and ally :1 seeond m ark on the linc that has
drilled and tapped and screws passed instructionslhatm ightgo along with it. becn m arked on the plate.
through the fram es.into them .A third
alternative,isto l '
nachine a step in the
pi1Iar cnds and pass this tllrough tht l
holes in the fral- nes, vs'
hich arc thell
seeurcd ' w ith a taper pin, htted in 11
holedrilled acrossthe step.Onething

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IL
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 @ colsisting oftwo lellgtbsofbarthat
Depthing Tool
A depthing tool is sonacthing that
solne people Nvill nt't has' e eoll'e
across before: it is a tool for setting
out gears to ensure that they run
sm oothly.They can be boughtbut for
norm alpurposesa homc-m ade duw ice
willdo jtlst as well,those that are
Purchased being far m ore
sophisticated than necessary for
oceasional elockl n aking ptlrposcs.
Thetoolissilm ply a nneansofmeshing
whecls and pinionssor two wheels or
the escape w'
heeland pallets.stathata
check can be nlade to ensure tlcy rtln
properly.A professionally-madc tool
w iIl be spril1g Ioaded and fuIly
adjtlstable.but good rcsults can btp
obtained fro1,-
t :
1 sim ple dcvict!
18
@
swiveltogcther and with lnJ()holes to
acccpt puncheh;.The ptlntrlles artl the
sal
ue diam eterasthe whet!larborsand
so the wheel and pinion are simply
slipped on and adjusted.Ifdiffercnt
sized arborsare likely to btlusedaf- it
brass bushes that can be intcr-
changeablc.Oncofthepunchesisset
in the n- lark already m ade and the
other is lined up on the line on the
plate. A slighl tap Nvith a snnalI
ham mer and thtlcorrectplace for the
arbor of the hotlr Nvhcel is lmarked,
John W-ilding,who isone ofthe tinest
(21ock lmakers i1, 1 the country
rt
lcolllllltllldsa piece ofslottkld bar for
the saluttpurpose:an idea thatworks
very wel1.
I ' '
. I
...
..dkkki;kk
Tl 'e tool is ntnv used to sct t11e
@ urlleelandexactly the sanae prtlcupdtlre The plates are now com plt
@ SonAepeopleliketo fretoultl4ttplatu.s
zle cxcept
distance of the third whecl- w hich istlsed.The l'nark should be lmadeol) thatifthe clock isto use a pendultlllla to l'
nake an attractive pattcrn and tl)is
tlannotbe sited 01' 1the line betrause it the Iine used by tht? great wlleelalld back cock lnust be fitlt ld.This is a is a nzatter of individual taste. Thc
would then be ilnpossible ttA nlesh al) lminut: whce! and that is the clock bracket that stlpports the suspttnsion fretting wi11obviously need to bu-donc
the whecls properly. There is no train lmarked out.Holcsforthc pivots jbr the pendultlm , w 1 lich can bc Nvith the platesseeured together. One
specific angle atwhicl)to sctthe lhird can be drilleda but don'tforget they fabricated orm illedfrom ago1idblock way ofdoingthisistodraw asuitable
wheeland this,pltlsw hetheritshould should be drilled tlndersize.svllellthe ofbrass.Ittakesthd tbl-j n ofabridge pattern on paper,taking care to avoid
be setto the rightorIeftofthkl1ine,is platcs are separated they can be to clear the palletarbor.the pivot of allpi vot holes,cut out the pattern,
am atterofindi vidtlaltaste.Gencrally opened outwith ataperreanlerso thtly which locatesin 11hole in the cock,the stick iton the plates and cutround it.
speaking an angle ofaboutforty-five area nice running tituzitlatle pivtAts. Do nottry and chain drillbutdriIla
suspension being itted on ti '
le arbor
dcgrees is used' . w hatever happens between the plateand the bearillg, Itis couple ofholcs in strattlgic places and
naakeanoteoftheanglejustincaseit The r
re is stiII ond m ore opdration
eqt
lired inordertom akea11the pivot essentialfor the gootl runnilg of the use a piercing saw or a power-
needs to be rcferred to later.Having operated scrollsaw ifone isavailable,
holes, for the pa1lets of the clock thatthecock issecured hrm ly to
decided where thcwheelw illbe going tocomplet:thejob.Finally cleanthe
repeatthc operation with the depthing escapem ent also need to be set.The theplateand w illnotwork loose.Itis
edges ofthe cutsusing sm allfsles.
tool so that a nlark is nlade for thc pallets and the escape wheel are also essl-ntialthat the escape whccl
third '
vvheelpivotll0lt).From there thk
l m ounted in tht, dcpthing tool and arbor when fitted to the coek is at
tool is used to 1ay out thc distancc adjusteduntiltheyworkslnoothly in ninety degreesto the plates.
fron'l the third whttt)l to the escape the sam e way as before.

Flilll!r;
A .
o A
o0&.
v ,
- BackCoc'k
'screws
* .'
W . tobackplate.Notelarge
. hole in back plate to clear
.
y
.
escapem enjpkvotw hich
',
.y
.
' ..
runsin back cock.
N
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j. qj ....
F . Back pjate
rcntPlate .
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20

.
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.
@ @

C hapter 3 -
P roviding T he P ow er
M ost people when starting clock G enerally speaking brass is preferred,
m aking, begin with a weight as the m ainly because of its non-rusting
Power source and so we willIook at properties,btltthere isno reason why
how thisisdone lirstofall.A suitable it should not be of stecl: many years
barrel is required roulld which a line ago m ost clocks were m ade of iron,
can be wound.This in turn istied to a although theuse ofthatm aterialisnot
weight, but not directly because the to be encouraged tlnless trying to
weightisconnectcdto: 1pulley andthe build a rcplica.A spindle,or arbor as
drive line passes through the pulley horologists prcferto callit,is passed
and is anchored on orncar the clock. through thc lniddle and on one end of
The usualplace is one ofthe pillars. the arbor isltsquare.This isto accept
Any tubing wiII do for the barrel. a key u'ith which to rewind thc line
although it m ust be thick walled. when itreaches a 1ow point.

23

. ..,.....k
lz.
 @ round-ended tool.sim ilarto aparting-
T he Barrel
One end of tllc barrelis plain-other
than fora hole through which the gut
is secured. The other end form s a
ratchetreferred to as the click wheel:
this can either be m ade integralw ith
the barrel or fitted perm anently in
place to an end cap.How the end caps
are fitted is a m atter of personal
choice,butthere ism uch to be said for
using slnall screw s to hold them in
position as it enables it to be
dism antled should any work be
needed on the arbon Also conneeted
to the arboris a whcelorgear.ifyotl
prefer, callcd the great wheel. This
connects via a pinion to the train antl
the ratchet prdvents the barrel from
unwinding,exceptwhen controlled by
the restofthe clock.To Iocate in the
ratehet is a specially shaped m etal
plate known asa click and a spring to
hold itin position.Although the barrcl
can be left plain it is a good idca to
m ake a continuous groove in it to
allow the gtlt to wind on and off
evenly'. rather than pile up.A sm all
and to m ake the ratchet sm oother in
@
The G reatW heel
off tool is idealand ordinary screw- use.The m ore normaltype ofratchet
cutting m ethods call be adopted.The will have about tllirty-six or so teeth Thc grcat wheelis mounted on the
barrelarborand drives the train via a
depth ofthe groove shotlld abouthalf and cutting by lmachine is alm ost
pinionandapartfrom cuttingtheteeth
thc diam eterofthe gtltbeing used and essential.This is not to say that the
itisquitestraightfonvard. Astheweight
about seventeen or eighteen turns are work cannot be done by handm buta
high degreeofskillisrequired to get unw inds,it drivesthe greatwhecland
required.Therefore ifthe barreliszins
long the lathe needs to btl sd to cut aIltheteeth tothesamcproGle,notto when the clock isbeing wound up the
m cntion thatthe task w ill take som e ratchetallow sitto slip past.
nine threads per inch, or the ncarest
availablefigureabovethat. considerable tim e.
T he R atchet
The ratchet can again be of steclor
brass although brass is generally spring Greatw heel,runs
Click -m ade form '.- Concentric with but
recomm ended and the teeth are cut in hardened steel ' separate from drum
the same way ason aI1the wheels.The x. 1
- .- -
ntlmber of teeth varies considerably-
depending on the design ofthe clock. Yo .
l11 som e instances designers havc ' r
'D '
- 11 :
deliberately kept tbe number of teeth
on the ratchet to the m inilnum .This
allow sitto be filed to shape,avoiding
the necessity to m ake or btly a
- '-
Ratchet -connected
specially-shaped ctltter. In these to drum
Drive Chord
instances the teeth are curved in a '.
- cjjord
gentle radius,both to facilitate filing x -
. AnchorPOint
.
K.%. .
- pujjey
W ei
V
ght
Vz'
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25
 @ @
The C lick C lick Spring
This isthd nam e given to thepawlthat Thttspring holdsthe clickdown onthe
locates on the ratchet and prevents it ratchet wheel alld m ust therefore be
unw inding.Itisusually liled to shape strong enotlgh ttA do so. while atthe
and the shape isnotdifhcultto m akeq same tim e notbcing so pow erfulasto
the only critical part being thc drag and causc morc power to be
distance bctween the hole centre and needcd than would otherwise have
the tip ofthe blade.Itshould be made been so.Thespringsvary considerably
from gauge plate and hardenett then in length and shape and so materials
tem perdd to a dark blue colour.As an lllay vary w ith differcntsprings.M ild
alternative itcould be m ade from luild steclcan be used tbrm ostsprings and
steeland case llardened and while not although itm ay sountla m ostunlikcly
giving quite as good a result as tlle m aterial. ham mering thin scctions
prcvious m cthod a Iong lasting and causcs a work-hardening effect,
reliable click would stillbe the result. resulting in springiness. Anothpr
'

Screw passes through

GreatW heel.-
into click! GreatW heel
k /);'t/'
d'.
111.t: .jIt'
.py'j7?.j
.: /
?f?'k'
y// I Aku //?c't'/l'('l i.b.5('?'(,Jj'tJt//f)//1(>
'
Jr/' tzttJ !11t,Q,I t?/?(l ?!;clI(,.5,
I 1 I >.. ;t.j//?//y(Jl' (lt('/)(,/$t./2(:(,J.
1 '
' CIickW'heel

usefuk material that has a sim ilar

effeet is drawn phosphor bronze, a
m aterialwith a naturalspring to itand
which isalso very easy to work. Like
a1l parts for clocks suitable springs
can b: purchasetl eom pleletl and
ready foruse ifone wishes-

The Pulley
The weightthatwilldrive the cloek is
suspended from thedrum viaapulley,
which effcctively halves the weight

27
 @
applied.There is not:1grcatdealcan
be saitlaboutpulley construction- 'wut
are aI1 fam iliar with thutshape ofthe
wheel w hich should generally be of
brass and run on a steel axle.The
fram eofthe pulley can bem ade from
a piece ofbrassplate and thatis:111
therereallyistoit.A ppearaneecan btl
im proved by drilling holes in the
pulley wheel.
T he eight
Various m aterials 111-: used asweights
which arc also made in a variety of
shapes.A nicely polished length of
brasstubefilled with lead isideal;do
rem eluberthata hook isrequired with
which to hang the weighton thc cord
and thatthis m ustbe setcentrally to
the diameterso thatthe weighthangs
straightand docsnotlean atan angle.
A lthotlgh the weight is nzentioned in
this chapter.beeause itispartofthe
driving m echanism , itw illbe one of
the last item s required.lt is obvious
thatwe cannothang any old weighton
the clock and cxpectitto keep time.It
1131.
1st be sufhcient to kecp thc clock
going withoutcausing itto work attoo
fasta rateand so thc am ountofweight
required will be for
experim ent.
A good idea isto gcta used food can
@ (;enerally the barrel wilI differ
and fitto itsom om eansofattaching it
to the line from the drum ,fill tlle tin
with pieces of lcad or other heavy
material and run the clock. Keep
rem oving sm all amounts until the
clockstops.Thishastobedoneovera
period of severaldays.W hen it has
stoppe; weighthe contentsofthetin,
add about half again and m ake the
nnished weightto this m easurem ent.
Spring D rive
So farwt?have dcaltonly with clocks
that are weight driven,which m eans
they are either fittcd in a long case or
hang on a wall.W hat ifwe want our
clock to sit on a shelf? It is hardly
practicalto drilla hole in the shelfand
run a cord through that to a wcight.
The answeristo drive the clock w ith a
spring:som ething with which we are
al1 fam iliar and springs are freely
available. They arrive coiled and
sealed tightly with a fastening alm ost
ready for use and litinside the barrel
using two hooks, one of which
attaches to a point inside the barrel,
the otherto the arbor. Greatcare m ust
be taken when dealing w ith springsas
theycancausenasty injuriesanditis
advisable to wear heavy gardening-
type gloves and m ost definitely to
wear protection for the eyes.Special
devices are available for setting
Springs in barrels and. while it is
possibleto do so by hantt ifin doubt
find yournearestclockm akerand take
thelotalongthere,wherea specialdevice
Willbe available which will enable the
jobtobedoneinamatterofminutes.
considerably from that described fbr
thc wcight-drivcn clock.Fora startit
becomesobviousthatoneend mustbe
removable in orderthatthe spring can
beinsertedbutothermajordifTerences
also occur.A lthough notunknown for
a clock to be driven directly by a
spring, particularly if one buys a
cheap one, it is m ost certainly not
good praetice.W hile the weightdrops
at a given speed throughoutits lcngth
the spring behaves vcry differently.
W hen tightly coiled it creates
considerably m orepowerthatwhen it
is only partly wound. W atch a
clockwork-driven toy and see how it
slows down w hen the spring starts to
run down and of course that is
som ething that is not wanted in a
clock.
The Fusee
To avoid this problcm it is usual to
connect the spring, via a device
known as a fusee,w hich is a tapered
and grooved Iength of brass on an
arbor,on which issetthe greatwheel.
M uch the sam e way as the situation
w ith the barrel on a weight-driven
clock.A cord is wrapped round the
grooves in the barreland runs to the
fusec.W hen the spring is fully wound
the chord passes round the sm allest
partofthe fusce,effectively acting as
a brake.A s the spring loses its power
so the chord winds to a larger
diametcr keeping the rotation of the
fusee at an even speed.The arbor on
which the fusee runsis sim ilar to that
29
 @ ofmostpeople.Takealength ofbrass djm cult:m akeupapieceofsteelw ith
@ setatitslowestpossiblespced forthe
of the barrel on the weight-driven
clock and the barrel now works bar of a slightly largerdiam eterthan jbur pins stted in it as shown in theoperation, in back gear if possible.
independently oftheclock m ovem ent, the maxim um diam eter of the fusee, drawing and clam p itin the toolpost Bettersti11tlst
n:1handle in lhc m andrel
providing the powerand nothing else. putitinthethree-jaw chucksfacethe Parallel to the lathe axis and f5t a and rotatethelatheby hand. Although
The clock iswound via asquare on the endand drilla hole through itslength suitably radiused toolin the end of ait is suggested above that the toolbe
fusee arbor,which in turn rotates the for the arbor. M achine the outside square bar that slides nicely throughmadefrom squarebar, thisispurely to
barrel.A sthe spring is hooked inside diameter to size and we can now the gap. Either fit a handle to the preventitfrom rotating. Readersw ith
that,ittightensup,to be released ata guaranteethatthe hole forthe arboris opposite end or w rap a quantity of sut-ficient confidence in their own
insulating tape or sim ilar m aterial
regularspee4 with thefuseeaeting as true to the outside diam eter.Set the ability can usea round one. The tool
a continuous gear and compensating top slide over and m achine the round itto avoid injury.(Do notuse m ustrem ain atornearthe sam e angle
for the unequaltorque of the spring. required angle, then use either a loose material:itm ustbe held srnaly throughout operations to be
To enable the fusee to be wound the radiusing tool or a hand graver to on the tool w ith no danger of it successful. The operation is not
conical-shaped part is not directly generate the required curve, which coming off) It is now possible to diflicultandthereisa1otofcnjoyment
apply gentle hand pressure to the tool to be gained from the tkeling of
attached to the greatwheelbutdrfves m ustbe sm ooth.
protruding throughthetoolpostasthe having created a nicely-shaped ftlsee.
it through a ratchet as already So farithas al1been easy going but
carriage m twes along alld in thisw'ay lt is probable that the grooves will
described forthebarrel.From therethe now we come to the only tricky part,
to m ake the required grooves. If the have a rough finish on them so cut a
poweristmnsm ittedtotherestofthetain. which is to m achine the continuous first cut is not deep enough the piece ofdowelto a shape thatwilIfit
groove. A set-up for coarse screw operation iseasilyrepeatedbypicking them and using Brasso or similar
cutting willtake care of the spacing up the groovew ith thetool,betbre the polishing m ateriatand w ith the lathe
Fusee C onstruction w hich isthe sam e asthatforbarrel,so Iathestartsto rotate.The Iathem ustbe running underpowerand in back gear
M any peoplefightshy ofm aking the al1we need is to organisc a toolthat
fusee and preferto purchase it,butit can be adjusted in depth as the
is a task thatis wellwithin the ability carriage m oves along.This too is not

Distancebetw een pillars

an exctfitforwidtb of
toolbeing used
Clam p this end in

W
toolpost

31
run tllt-dovvutli:
ll(
)llg the groove ul
@ studdillg is notavailable it nlay be
ltila
sluoolh finish is obtaincd.Finally part
tl'
le vvork 0ff t)r if it is thoughtto be
too large to be parted off,saw itoff.lf
saw n,lllotlntilon a l' nandrclbdween
centres,tlsillg a half centr: attl3c end
thatissawnswhich can then be faced
to size.A suitable hand-ttlrning rest
for using a hand graver to get the
curvc and a self-releasing handlc to tit
the nnandrelare described in the book
KUseful 'W orkshop Tools' ' which is
nul mber 3l in the ' W orkshop Practice
Series.
Untbrtunately lhklabovemethodsonly
apply'w'hen a lathe has suitable screw -
cutting facilitiesand this is notalways
so.Generallyil' wouldbeadvisablefor
those w ithotlt these facilitics to
purcllase a fusec ready m adc.Son' l:
pcopltdonotlikctobuy suchiten' lsas
they like the feeling of having nladd
every part for thenlselves. For thosd
people, lt is possible w ith a little
ingenttity to put on a continuous
threakl in these circul mstances if
sttfficiently detcrl-
ninedo or perhaps
just to beatthe oddsand do these m ain partofthetrain ofwheelsknow n
possiblt) to oblain a Iarge dianleter
bolt'. 21 l'
netal scrap yard is a good
plac:to searcl)forsol nething suitable.
Tht lothercnd ofthisnlustbe centred
and stlpportedby tlletai1stock.Take a
llut that fits the thread and silver
soIder.or i1 sol' ne other fashion fit a
shortlength ofmild steelbarto it.Ifit
is Iarge enotlgll perhaps a couple of
sm alIscrdwsurould do the J 'ob.Use a
piece of bar at rightangleg to this to
connectto thd screw-cutting tool,via a
slotin the firstpicce.W henthe lathe is
rotated the toolw illnow m ovc along
the thread and w ith the toolin contact
with the fusee the continuous grotwe
wi1)be m ade. M ostpeople with the
snaalllalheslhataretlleoneslikely to
lack seresv-ctltting facilities, are
tlnlikely to be luak'ing a clock which
would reqtlire 8 , Iarge dialnete'
r fusee
and the above m ethod w'illthereford
vvork quite NveII.
Contintling from the power supply
towards the dscapement are a pair of
wheelsand pinionsdesignated asthc
third and hourwheels.They form thc
virtually eNr
ery cltnck,The greatw'heelon tl'le salllt
'
t:1rbol
-astllklcentrc svlleeI.
dfivcs a pinion,which in turn drivcs Thc centre wheelhas sixty-four teelh
the centrc wheel'.tllc pinion connected
and as ifcarrics11)e Ininute hand 11:1st
to thatgocs to tlltlthird wheeland therotate once an hour. This in turn
Pinion for thatis in turn connected toconnects' with an eigbt-leafpinion on
the escape wheel. third wheel arbor, w'llich has sixty
Basically therefore we have four teeth.Itconnects to anothereight-leaf
pinion on the cscape wheel. ' W hen
wheelsand three pinions,which is a
designing 1 train itisessentialthatthe
nice easy m anageable num ber,
Partictllarly for anyone versed in escape wheel shall m akc sixty
engineering m atters. Various revoluti ons (seconds) for each one
colnbinations of wheels are tlsed but revtal ution of the centre wheel
there m ust be a logicalsequence.Let (mi nut es). To check this multiply
toget her thenum berofa11theteeth in
us start w ith a hypothetical clock,
althougb the train used will be one the dr ivi ng wheels and divide the
thatis quite com lllon. answe rby the num bersofleavesin the
pinions,lmultiplied together.W ith the
The great wheel connected to the exam ple lhat bas becn used the
drum arbor has ninety-six teeth and tkm mula in tht! appentlix gives all the
w illconnectw ith an eight-leafpinion detailsrequiredto seehow itworksout.

V
thingstbrthennselves. asthe gofng train which eonnects the
Thc fusee willhave to be hnished as power unit.whether it is a drum and
far as shaping and driIling is weight or : 1 spring and fusce, to the
eoncerned. M ake a suitable w ell- eseape m ent.svhen firstlooking into a
fitting m andre1butfittheendthatwiI1 clock it appc ars to be a iungle of
go in the tailstock centrew ith a length whee ls and pi nions and it is this
ofstudding wilh acoarsethread.This appar cnt di
s order thatfreqtlently puts
thread w i1I tlltim ately bc the one PCtopIe off m ak i
1g or repairing a
transferred to the fusee so itw illneed clock. W hi
le t
hes e gears and pinions
to have a Iarge diam eter, in order to m ay be in a num ber ofeom binations,
get a sufficiently coarse pitch. if the actual tbrm ation is the sal '
ne for

32

.1I
'..kudkki
@ @

C hapter 4 - P endulum s

A pendulum is described as a heavy tim ed by using his pulse. The

particle,suspended from afixed point im portant thing about it was thatthe
by a fine inextensible m assless rigid oscillations were isochronous which
threa4 so thatitisfreeto oscillateon m eans sim ply that the tim e for one
a verticalplane.Galileo the fam ous complete oscillation was always the
astronom er is credited with sam e.His son iscredited with the frst
discoveringitand legend hasitthathe use ofthe pendulum and whateverthe
was watching the m ovem ent of a truth of the story it has stood
swinging lamp in church which he horologists in good stead ever since.
'
BackCcck
<....
Sprl
.ng Support ' :
'.
' @ P --..
-'
Block ------ /z stlspensicn
Rivetor Back Plate - '--Spring
Screw
1'4 ..a
Pendulum
Rod

Pendulum
:: :J Bob-'
.-
2)..4. ;:
., ,.
-u ...
::,': !..'
:
.:
; ....
1:.: . .
:*:..
:
.:: : ).
,...
.
:.,:
1... ..
:
,:. : -
: ** ulum Rod.
' v
square whereIt
Make up t?fpendulum
. . -
.. passesthrough
assembl v, xyou,
' l.
ng v NwRatjng Nu t bok).
N . x
uu
bpensionspring and Ratl
.ng Screw
methodofadjustment.
35

. I.iIA
! @
I
Although a pendulum appearsto move Togetherw ith the escapemtlntand via
@
This m eans that the length of the Suspension
backwards antl forwards it actually the suspcnsion and crutch the
takes a sinusoidal l '
notion, a Pendulum is also in directrelation to
pendulum is rcsponsible fol The suspension consistsofatlatspring
m ovem entthatis not quite a circular the clock train: a pendulum that
m aintaining tim e, using Galileo's vibrates every second will need that is strengthened at the ends with
one, but w hich for all praetical discovery that each oscillation takes met al blocks allowing one end to be
purposes we can consider as an differenttrainto ahalf-second one.
the samc pcriod of tim e. A sim ple supported by the back cock and the
ordinary backwards and forwards pendulum consistsofthree parts;the otherto connectto the pendulum. The
m ovem ent. This is controlled by rod, the bob and a rating nut, a1l spring must not be too long or too
gravity and as a result the distance
requiring carefulattention iftbeclock strong and atthe sam e tim e itm ustnot
from the train to the bob varies is to function properly and is to be
according towherethependulum isin be too weak either.M ost designs will
accurate.The num ber of tim es the give intbrmation on the correctsizc of
use.There is a also a variation in pendulum vibratesorsw ingsdepends
gravitational pull, depending on the spring to be used:ifnotitw illhave to
on itslength and isselected according be a m atter of trial and error.
height above sea level. Tl4e latter is
to thetypeofcloek being m ade
such thatadjustments can easily be case and wallclocksm ore often. Lon g
than
Fortunately there is a rcasonable
m adeto takceareofthevariation. notw illhaveapendulum thatvibrates am ount of latitude available in spring
selection btlt if in doubt it is worth
once per second, 'sm allerclocks w ill
have correspondingly shortcr considering the purchase of a ready-
pendulum s and will vibrate faster. m ade unit frol'n a supplier, having in
Q m ind that unless the spring selection
A
and m ake-up isrightthe clock w illnot
ftlnction prtlperly.The back cock also
A needs to bk l m ade and assembled
'
carcfully as,ifitisoutofalignm ent,the
pendultlm cannot function properly.lt
mustalso bemadewith suflieientstrenjp
rth
to give good stlpportto the set-up.

The R od
The rod must be straight and have 21
stlitable m eansofconnecting itto thc
suspension tlnit at one end.The end
thatfitsthrough thklbob isthreaded to
accept the rating nut. Depending on
(1O l thtltype ofbob itmay be necessary to
m ake the end square so that the bob
The t7r/.//c.
/7is theJplrf thatf.qtnoved /)j.'the cannot tw ist outof line.Selection of
b'
v'
ing t?/'the./'
pt/?7pl
,k/zfzn. It./i'
lx on the ttwrt
? m aterialfortherod isimportant.lthas
Relatiollshi
p r?
/'
/pt,?;t/l//l/?A?toc.q'tqw/.?t.?nlovenjf?nt arbol) tht,prongs f' aa eilht??-side ft'
?(?tr//?kg already been stressed that for correct
'
t/gtzln.$
'/thepEa/llf/?,
fp?suspension spring. operation the weightofthe pendulum
36

.. ..L
i1
 @ thatisused.A m orem odern material
mustbe concentrated in the bob and if
@
a heavy rod isem ployed this wil!take is Invar which although expensive
the weightaway from thatarea.There may not be prohibitively so and has
is also a slight problem ofexpansion the advantages ofbeing light,easy to
and contraction of the rod w ith workwithandnotsubjecttochanges
tem perature changes. M any ideas oftem perature.
have been introduccd to com pensate
for this: som e simple, others very The end ofthe rod has to be threaded
complicated.W hetherornotthe home to acceptthe rating nut,which allows
constructor will want to go to the adjustment of the height of the
effort of m aking a com pensating regulator.lf a round ortubular bob is
version is a m atter for individual being used then the rod can be Ieft
choice. Doing so involves round where itpasses through' ,ifone
considerably m ore work than m aking of the flat type is used then the rod
a simple one but no doubt could in w ill have to have a square on it to
preventthe bob from tw isting in use.
itselfbeaninterestingproject. Ensurethatthe square ispositioned in
Assuming that at this stage anyway, such a way thatthe bob willrem ain
readersare going to be contentw ith a parallelw ith thctrain w'hen swinging.
single rod then the materialchosen for lf allowed to twist at an angle the
it is worth consideration.W hile brass balanceofthependulum willbc upset.
looks nice it is also the m etal that
suffers m ost from tem perature
chal zgesand so ifitused f'
brreasonsof The Bob
appearance the rod shotlld be as thin smooth.Cutout two disks k)f brass kt thc 1,k)lI(
)wrs.ltis alItoo easy to have
Although we tend to think ofbobsas little largerthatthc outside dianletcr the Nvork slide to one side during the
as possible or alternatively usc thin-
being m ade either in a lens shape or oftheproposed bob and allnealtlcnh, hoI1ou' ing-otlt process and in ' which
walled tubing.Alum inium tubing is
rountt in fact.many clocksusedquite if necessary re-nlarking the circltls case the bob . viIIbe ofno use atall.
also a useful m aterial and has the
fancy shapes, in particular French afterannealing. A good alternative to Periodically put the tu' o ))ieces
advantageofbeing lightand allowing
clocks were adorned in this way.but brass is giltling lmaalwhich is l'nuch together to check the ' ht- until the
the weight to be concentrated in the of course m any French clocks were
bob.W ooden rods have the advantage m ore ductiIe and needs less annealillg kldges naeet alI thc u'ay rould. Each
'
noted for their ornate appearance than norlual brass shcet. U sing t piece ntlcds a snnall section ' I
iled out
that the m aterial is less likely to
anyway.ln generalthehom eworkeris wooden bossinglmallctsshapcthetwt) fortherod und and atthisstage littlc
expand or contract with clim atic
going to use one of the two standard disksby gcntly ham m crillg them into lmore than a 1ick yvi1l do. W 'lpk?n
conditions and on a long case clock a
types and so it is these we will the hollow sin the block. As soon as satisfied w ith the ho11ou'illg-otlt
piece of dow el can m ake a very
conccntrate on. thebrassstartstowork-hardcn. anneal proccsss drill a holc about 5. .1('
lins
effective rott asitisalso lightweight.
Itshould be wellsealed w ith varnish them again antl kccp doing so dianzeter in the celltrtl of ontl of tlle
For small clocks and probably wall- whenevernecessary'- do notunderany
or sim ilar m edium to prevent the m ounted ones as well the standard piecesand deburrthe ilolcs.
absorption of moisture from the eircum stances try and w'ork the l'
netal
lens-shaped bob is usual and not if it hardens. Dtlring tlle shapillg Clean the pieces tlp by soak'ing thel'
n
atm osphere. M ake certain that the diflicultto m ake.Startby m achining a
dowelis perfectly straight in the first operations take care thattle work is i1 a soluti()n of citric acid: two
hollow in a piece ofhard wood;m ake kept centl-alto the ciretlluferenee of tablespoons to a bucket of water is
place.as indced m ustbe any matcrial sure the m achined surface is perfectly
38 39

.I.1
.du.
 @ @
aboutright.Tllt ?y need to stxlk in itfor
a couple ofhours orso to cnsure they
ark)clean entAugllto be silversoldered
together. M ake up a soltltion of flux
by m ixing il w ith m ethylated spirits
into a sm ooth paste and sprcad it
round the inside edges ofeach piece.
putthe two pieces together,with the
Piece w ith 11hole in iton top,making
sure the edgesm eetand thatnicksthat
have been filed otltare levelwitlleach
other.Lay the assem bly on a brick and
puta weighton top so the picces will
retain theirposition.W hellcompletely
satislied that thc parts art l located
.. ..1
*
correctly heat then) up and apply
siIversolderabotlttllreeorfourplakres
round 1htledges.f'oolittlffand put il
back in thcacid to elean it.
W'ith a needle filea open the places
u'here the nicks have been made and
file a square tbrthe pendulum rod to
go tlzrough. The top hole can bc
opened with a taperream erto obtain a
round hole. M achinc a Iength ofbrass
tubing so thatit is a push lit in the
5/l6ills diameter hole. Nlake up a
shortlength ofrod the salnediamd er
asthatused forthependulum andw ith

a square on it that is also the sam e.
Paintthis.using eithercmulsion paint
or by using the white Puid w' hich
typists use for corrcetion purposes.
W hen dryopush itintothebob-fitthe
tubing into the hole and then heat
som eleadtom cltingpointandpourit
through thetubeuntilthebob isfull.lt
w illspi11outoftheedgesbtltthisisof
nO COIISCQIJOFICC aSally StlrplusCan be
cleaned off later,Solder a disk in the
42
.. .
0
%...'k
. 'dianleterhole in place ofthe tubc.
'(.
Finally use a fine file.tm ttry paperor
cloth and any other abrasive material
thatm ightbe a personalfavourite,to
tidy the surfaeesofthe bob and m ake
itlook presentable.
R ound Bobs
Round bobsatfirstglance seem to be
far casier to m ake than the lens type
and in som e waysthey are:,thisdoes
@ fills al1the space.A good alternative
notm ean thatcare need notbe taken
jnthefrm anufacture.Thefinishthatis
required hasconsiderable bearing on
how they arem ade.Forexam ple some
People are contentto drilla piece of
castiron barand usethat,whichwhen
cleaned and painted can look quite
good while atthe sam e tim e itisthe
m inimum oftrouble to m ake.The only
thing that needs particular care and
attention is to ensure that the hole
drilled should be a nice fit for the
thread for the rating nut.The same
principle could be applied using a
length ofbrassrodandthiswouldgive
a betterappearance butlessweight.
A more com mon way isto use a piece
ofbrass tubeand afterensuring both
ends are perfectly square, start by
silversoldering a piece ofplateto one
end.Thisisthentrim m ed totheedges
ofthe tube to give a niceneatfinish
with ahole drilled centrally in it.The
screw for the rating nut will be
travelling through a piece of brass
t'ubeEtted insidethebob and thehole
should be a close fitforthatto slide
into.M ake up a length ofm ild steel
barwith a step to 'ltthe inside ofthe
otherendofthetubeandaholedrilled
centrally in it to accept the central
tube,referredtoabove. M ake sure that
thistubeisexactly centralwhenfittedo
Othenvise the bob willbe offcentre
and this w ill intertkre with the
Operation of the pendulum .Fill the
Outertubewith lead.lfnecessary heat
the base to ensure that the m aterial
to lead is one ofthe low -m elting point
alloys sold for casting in rubber
m oulds. These also have the
advantagethatthey arenottoxic in the
sam e way thatlead can be.Depending
on theamountofweightrequiredothe
tube does nothave to be filled to the
verytop,butm akesurethattheslling
m aterialfills thearea com pletely and
there are no air pockets that could
throw the bob off balance.The fnal
aet is to rem ove the steelspaeer and
puta brassplate overthe top:thiscan
be soft soldered in position.
A lternativelyabrassend canbem ade
w ith a lip so thatitisa push-fitin the
tube.This allow s m ore w eight to be
added ifrequired.
A merican and French clocksoften use
a fancy shaped bob and these are
usually east'.they ean be bought.To
m ake thcm oneself requires either a
high degree of skill in beating sheet
m etal to shape or the ability to m ake
suitable patterns to have the shells
cast.Any casting would be bestdone
using thelostwax process.Thiswould
m ean the bob com ing straight from
the foundry with a finish suitable
imm ediately for use.Trying to clean
up an ordinary sand casting would be
far from easy and even then it is
doubtfulifa suitable llnish could be
obtained.
The Rating N ut
The rating nutism adeto fitthe thread
on the rod and can take alm ost any
43
 @
fon'n or shape that the constructor inside by (Jriving a piece ofsquare
m ild steelthrough the hole.tlsing a
likessalthough it is as wt?llto ensure
thatitcanbeadjustedbyhandeasily. ham meralld tappillg lightly.The stetll
Fitthcrod through the boband puton willbe sufficientto clearany lead that
thenuttocheckwhetherornottherod migbtjustbei ntheway.Thisshould
wi11naove asthe nutisadiusted,1fit notapply totubularpendulunlswitha
shotlld stick at any point easc the centre tube.
C hapter 5 - E scapem ents

The escapem ent is part of thc clock.which is derived from a weight

m echanism of a clock w hich is or a spring, is prevented from
devoted to the speed at w hich thc escaping and is converted from rotary
clock works.lt consists of a coarqc. to reciprocating m otion. The arboron
specially shapk!tt toothed wheeland wllich the escape wheel, 01-as it is
an oscillating brackd w ith two pegs, oftcn called, tscape whecl'is located
called pallets that locate in the teeth. is connected via a pinion to thc m ain
The title cscapementis used because wheeltrain.Thu.action is such thata
thisisthepointwherctllepowerofthe tootll of the scape wheel is trappcd

45
and then released at regulated
@ There are m any typesofescapem ent, @ on the ntllmberstlsed in thetrain
intervalsand thism ovem entin turn is so m any in factthatwhole bookshave TheVerge and Foliot . The

The earlicst forlu of escapenlent luovem ent of thtt -

s cape whtl k
lI is
sent back through the train to the bccnwrittenonthatsubjectalone.The rcgul at cd by the palI cts , whicll alv
hands. W ithout the escapem ent the beginnerto clock m aking is generally known to be in generaluse was the
verge and foliot. pieccs of basically tlat nletal, shaped
train wouldjustunwind atno given only likely to use one of about four to a knife edge,attacl led to the verge
speed and the clock would be ofno types,butanyway any clock plan one Itisa very simple device to m ake btlt tha t r
uns vertica land is positioned so
use.M any escapem entswork atarate m ightwork from iscertain to give full unfortunately is not known for good that t
he pallets ent er t he teeth of the
ofone m ovem entpersccond and so if details of construction.Even so it is tim e-keeping. Even so it is an *sc ape whee l.Tl lese pal lcts are set at
ahand issttedto theend ofthepivot usefulto know whatwe are aim ing for interesting experimentto make one as anangl eofjustovcrninetydegreesto
on which it runs the seconds can be and how to setaboutmaking thispart itgives som e idea of whatwe w illbe each other and as onc tooth of the
counted offl ofthe clock.
looking for when m aking a m ore tscape w heelpassesone oftht,pallets
advanced version.The*scapeisin the itis Iocked by thc one opposittl.The
tbrm ofa crown wheel.w ith the teeth shape ofthis causes thc lockcd pallet
at ninety dcgrces to the luovem ent. to be pushed outofthe vvay and causcs
There is a sligiltradius ol)each tooth the folio. vvhich is a cross bar, to
and the num ber of teeth w ilIdepend sw ing and in doing so it locks the
io with balance
.. Fol
tootllon theoppositeside.In thisway
.. -.' w eightsforadjustment thtl process is repeated continuall y
A
w itl)the f-oliotmoving backwurds and
I
l foru ards as illltzlltooth is lock'et1and
Crown Wheel i
$ ul'
tlocIkkltt.
:
.
. -.
palle'
ts Thkl spced at ur
hich thc mtlchanislm
p. opklratk!sist(.
ljtlstedbyur
oightsatcach
end ofthtlfolit' l
t-i1 Ns'llicll1'
t
.series of
groovcs ll1 -(
Jctltasa nlcans 0t-holding
)
f
tlle u'cights in ptlsititln. (3f coursc thtt
/. foliotl' nust be Nvel1 balanek ld alld thc
grooves spaced evenly on klithklr sidtl
1
1 so that a good balance is l' naintaincd.
!
' It is a sil-
nple idea alld as such servtld
;
clocknlakers weIlfornlany yearsuntil
Xi13''f'
'
'
m ore sophisticated ideas cam e along,
O K. ; .
.
>x. Tlle nearer the weights are to the
w er supp >'
. .,. centrethefasterthel '
novel- nentwilIgo
weightconnected to S,*:k k s<N.
drum with cord. and vicevcrsa.ifthe weightsarc taken
towardstlle end itwiIlslow down.
To n-laktl the escapelmcnt thkl whct)l
can be m adc on a flatplankland then
rollcd into klircularfornland the cnds
silver soldcred togdher then a cross
46

. t...ukl
bar in which a holtl for thtlpivothas
@ luinutes. Elsesvhere details w iIl btp
been drillcd is silNrtlr soldered on.
N eedlcssto say itisessentialthatthe
pivot hole is placed central to the
circunaference ()f the wheelo antl a
brassbush w illalso need to btphtted to
hold the pivot. The teeth can be
luachined to shape but this is an
exalnple ofan eseapelnentwhere itis
possiblc to carefully file the teeth to
shape,w ith stlfficientaccuracy forthe
dtw ice to work well enough. As a
lueansofgettingan ideaofwhatclock
m aking is about thc escapem ent has
m uch tt) rtltlolnnlend it:collnectto a
couple of whtpels to give sixty-to-one
rcduction, fit a w inding drul '
n and
weight to lhat and we have a crtlde
elock which w i11 show secollds and
48
ztt-
found ofhoNv to convcrtthisto hotlrs
and so using little materialor til -ne a
clock can be l '
nadc in this way. Itw ill
notbea11thataccuratebutitccrtainly
lnakes an interesting starter for
anyoncwho feclsthatclockm aking is
adiflicultart.
A laterdevelopmentofthe verge and
folio escapennent was the verge and
balance,thd tblio being replaeed by :1
whecland speed was altered by either
changing the driving weight or by
claanging the depth to Nvhich the
pallds entert!d the wheel. Ul llcss :1
replica of 1 particularclock that used
tl
-lt
l dcvice is being l- nadtl it is not
solnething thatis likcly to appcalin
generalto tl'
le afnateur.
@
Verge and Pendulum RecoilEscapem ent
ltis possible to tlse the crow n whek?l RQ 11()Wr001110 t() the 113Ore COm 113On
and verge antt while retaining its type of eskrapelnents w hich w ill btp
simplicity, ilnprove accuracy found in m any of the published
considerably.The escapem ent works designs and the first noticeable
in exactly the sam tl way, tlxccpt that difference is thatthe leeth arc tztlt in
thefolio isreplaced witha pendulum . the edge ofthe w I leelrather than at
This is m ade with a crutch in exactly nindy dcgrtresas betbre.The pallets
the sam e way as pendulum sused with arC 111tlCh ITIOFC COm P3Ct 2nd Work
other escapem ents and full dctails of frolm a pivotsituated above thatofthe
how to go aboutthosew illbe found in :scape wlleel, w hich generally has
thirty teeth,butthisw illdepend on the
the relevant chapter. Ond major
differenceintheuseoftheideaisthat
the scape w het ll w i11 now lie
horizontal and so the. dircction of
m ovem entin the train w illnet)d to be
changed. In norm al enginecring
practice we would use a pairofbevel
gears forsuch a purposc,butin clock
making the method isto use anothcr
crow n wheel. sct in tht ) N'crtical
position and locating wth thttpinion
at-
tached to the tseape whtltrl.
 @ and ifso the position can beobtainetl with a pencil is m ore dim cult.An
train.The action is sil
nilar to beforo'.
one nib ofthc pal1etlocksinto a tooth by the use ofsomc sil- nple geol
-
nctry. ajjowanceofonedegreeisalso leftfor
and then as it is unlocked prtw ides a Startby draw ing the circuluferellce ot' tjw dropandthism eansthepalletsare
slight il
-npulse as the result of the the wheel and ti-om the centrc point ten degreesofthecircle.

shape ofboth teeth and pallcts.' w hile
the otherin the l'
neantime is locking a
t00th furtheralong.The m ovennentis
such that there is a very slight
backward lnovel- nent as ul)Iocking
takesplace:an action know n as recoi1.
('ienerally fulldetaiIs Nvi11be given on
any plans of how to lay out the
escapel- nents which 1n:1st be planned
as a whold in orderto find the eorrect
proportions. The pallet eentrcs are
reconlnaended to be ata distance t)f
1.4 tinlcs thc wv hcel radius frol'
n its
cclltre and althotlgh therc arc
occasions vvhttn thisnlay vary w' e u,i1l
tlsc itis ourtigure.A 11tllatis neetled
tl4t)l1is to dravv a centre line.Iuark the
position oftllc ' vvl'
lcelccntre,lmeasure
1.4 tilues the raditls, l'laktr allother
l'nark and wt zhavethe correctposition.
Sonlctilnesthattigure of 1.4 can btlan
extrenlely aw'kward (Al)e to nleasure
x,.. t /g
h
x
X'? ':g
, .
wt
@ @ . .
t>
. W
+ ar
yj (yyryyq; .
)
- (
P yj
W#
#
,,,,,, .
,,,.,
50
$#
'
draw two lines at forty-five tltlgrees.
svhcl'e these intersect the once the palletshave been draw n itis
circul-nference draw 1ines at right custom ary to cutoutthe drawingsand
angles toward thc centre line. Tht) stickittoapieceofgaugeplateandto
position atw1)ich thesetwo linescross cutand 5leround ittogettherequired
is thc one where we ' want the pallet shape.To an engineer it m ay sound a
arborto be. rather prim itive way of going about
things butthe system llas worked for Dead flf-2t.
7/.Escapelent. Nf)Jt?//7(?/the /'
t?f?//?ut'
e
unJt??r1// bv .s'j.vdegrees in ol'derthatonlvthe
Assum ing the -scape'w heelwi11have clockm akersforhundredsofyearsand /.p willbe in contao' tu/I'//lthepallets.
thirty teeth- their position can bkl there is no reason for anything m ore
naarked on the drayving. It is llot sophisticated. Brocot Pin Pallet
nccessary to lmark the position of a11
thetetrth.abouttcn Nvilldo.There ' w ill Escapem ent
betvvel' tedcgreesbetureneachbutan Those readerswho w ish to go italone
allowance has to be n-ladc forthe fact D ead BeatEscapem ent and to design their own m ovem ents
thattlltlre isa flat01
1each onc and itis Unlike the previous escapem ent, in m ightwellbe interested in the brocot
usualto alltlu'onedegree lbrthat.Usc thiscase when the palletslock on to pin pallet escapem ent, the eseape
a protractorto putthe positionsol' lthc the tscape wheelteeth with this type wheelfor w hich is virtually identical
drauzing. Readcrs who have a there is no recoil action, hence the to thatforthe dead beat.The pallets,
colnpuler w'ith Con' lpultlr A ided nam e dead beat.ltis aeom paratively however. are com pletely different.
Design (CAD )softsvar: uri11find that easy deviceto m akeand iscapableof They are in pairs instead ofthe m ore
drasving thtt eseapel-ncnt is very t-asy producing accurate tim ekeeping, norm al nibs that are found in the
indeed, tlsing 11 protractor and ruler although itshould be pointcd outtbat previoustwo escapem ents.Halfround
it is really m ore suitable for large
clocks than sm all ones. G eorge
/j Graham invented itaround 1730 and
.
> so has stood the test of tim e. lt is
hj. a particularly effective w ith weight-
X
NNN
( M n - dlivenclockswherethereisaconstant
+< < VM, ' /Y+ Source ofpower.G enerally the (scape
% Wheelwillconsistofthirty teeth and
' Nh the palletsspan anything from eightto
fourteen teeth. The pallets are
yyjy # ',.,,
',' relatively easy to make and the teeth
r5
! Canbecutw ithafly-cutter. A swith all
escapem ents the pallets should be
hardened andpolished
. /.l?-f'
?t'f)/PilPallel%'t't7/Jt??'
rlf??1l

...I21zI
:.
sections arc used and thesc ean be
@ thereforcnecessary to do thework in @
lnade from round silver steel.stepped a m illing m achine or by using 21
to fitin holes in the arm s and tilcd or verticalslide on the lathe to obtainthe O
m illed exactly in half.Only theseparts required accuracy. lt w i11 involve
need to bc hardened and the an' nscan making ajig thatwillhold thepins
be m ade froln m ild steeland the nibs securely in such a way thatthe cutter
secured with a suitable retaining can rcach thc ccntre line of the pin. o o O o o
com pound. M ounting the pins aecurately on tht? o o
wheelalsorequiresasimplejigtobe o
Pin heelE scapem ent m ade up.Thiscan bcfrom astiffcard o O
o O
A lthotlgh at first glance this type of ifone w ishes antlassum ing it is only
o O
escapem ent ' would seen' t to be the to be used oncc,otherwise m ild steel
o
silzlplestofa1Ito m ake,asthere is r)o should betlsed.Thearm sarem adein
o O
escapcwheelassuch to eutteeth onsit two parts and are fairly o o
is not quite as straightforward as it straightfol -ward and w illpresentIittle o 0
m ay seelm.Consisting of:1w hcelw ith problem to any one even slightly o www o
O o o o O
a series of hoIes into w l 1ich are versed in m ctalwork techniqucs.
inscrted pieces ofhalf-rotlnd steel.in
a sinailar fashion to thk l nibs in the
brocotcscapennentsthe spacing ofthe
holes is a smple cnotlgh proposition
French Pin heel
M aking EscapeW heels tendency t() feed a tly cutter into the
but it is essentialto ensure that when Escapem ent
the pins.which arc usually nnade frona This too is an escapem cntthatm ight The wheels ofany type ofescapem ent work too t ast. To m ake a six-tooth
arealwaysm ortpdifhcultto m akethan cutter i
s not 8
1greatdealm orediflicult
a good quality brass are halved this is prove ofintdrestto the lllotlk?!engincer than m aking a fly cutterand itw'illbe
done with absolute aeeuracy, It is wishing to go italonc and design his the norm alwheeltbund in the train,
because oftheirshape. Specialcutters m ueh ea sierto use.
or htlr own clocke as it is
straightforw ard. Un1ike the brocol can bepurchase; which aredesigned First of alI a form cutter will be
O eseapem entthepinsare leftround and to dealw ith a particulartype ofw heel
required in orddr to get the required
tbe arm softhe pallcts'hteitherside of so are only usable for the one radius.useapieceofground flatstock
the w heel. It is very attractive and escapem enttype and retkrencdto the or gauge plate as it is m ore often
various drawings w ill show readers
% 2 2P, elegantto see when working.Because
why thisisso. Suitablecutterscan be referred to these daysand drillahole
%% / the pins are rotlnd they are easier to
m ade for the recoil type of using adrillw ith adiam etertw icethe
% m akeandifam odtrrllm aterialsuch as
R <7 escapem ent from silver steel and as raditls needed. Filc or saw off the
Tellon is tlsed tbr the palletnibs,the
Only oncradiusand a straightedge is m etalleft at the side ofthe hole and
probleln of lubrication,which at one
=
D (; = tim c lmadtlthe escapem cntunpopular
requiredathey are easy to m ake.The justfi leaslightrcliefonthefrontedge
> o Cuttercan bcmadeasa' Ily cutterbutit thatisleft:do nottouch theradiusthat
> need be no problen: atall. Both types is far better to use a m ulti-toothed rem ains.A slightcham fer can also be
#C % of pin pallet escapem ent rcquire thc Cutterifpossible as a fly cutter always puton the top ifone w ishesbutthis is
c: A% pallets to be offset from the wheel,
Cq Seem s to apply too m uch force for notnecessary asthetoolisonlygoing
rather than in line,as is the case w ith Com fort as it m akes its single cut on tobeusedfortheonejob.Cuttheflat
the previoustypes. eaeb rotation and there is alw ays a stock to the required length and soak it

'
. ziL
 i
u'1
j .
,
..
!!!,
@ dcpthrequiredforvariouswheelsizcs.
' (y
-
-
'
out. The besttype ofeontainerto use
for the ptlrpose is something Iiktt a
biscuittin and the lid w ilI notonly
keep the Oilin place when notin uses
M achinty a Iittl: off the otltsidt
diatnetcro.j
tIstsufficientto takecareof
any occentricity thatthdchuck hasand
7

but willalso put out any llamtls that then tlrill the hole for the bore: we
m ightresultfrom quenchingthem etal. now know that the bore is perfectly
' concentric w ith the outside diam eter.

!
-
clean offthe scale tlzathasappeared
on the m etaland w hen it is nice and
Gcntly run the radius tool you have
justmade untilthe edgd ofthe silver

I
j
,
k
!
-
y
:
t
7
;
j
brightplaceitin asmalltin.(asardine steelbarhasthercquired shape.Usea
, tinwilldo nicely)which ishalftbllof cutting oi1 for the operation as the
sand.Heattlle sand from underneath ori ginalform toolisonlyjustabout

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I
until the m etal turns a dark straw et icientcnough forthe job and needs
colour and then quench it in the oil any help itcan getin rounding offthe
oncemore.Finallyjustrubthetop of silversteelbar.
the cutting edgesw itllttslnalloilstone
to put som ething of an edge on them Thefinaltaskistopartthebaroffand
and the toolisready forust). this is som ething which some people
Gnd dim ctllt. M uch depcnds on tbe
To m ake the actualcutter.startw ith a qtlality and sizc ofthe Iathe as to how
length of silver stecl bar m ounted in easy itis and ifpossible itis betterto
thethree-jaw chuck.Thediameterof use a rear toolpostforthe work.For
thebar,w ithin reason,isnotim portant those who really cannotface up to the
aslong as when the m andrelto which idea of trying to part off a piece of
it w ill be fitted is allowcd for, silver sttpel of this sort of diam eter
su cient depth is Ieft to obtain the therd is another w' ay round things.
full depth of the teeth. The chart W hen the m aterial is firstput in the
shows the radius and therefore the chuck,leave an overhang of aboutan
inch and a half,or forty m illim etres,
Sizes for m aking C utters butstillm achinethe outside edgesfor
concentricitys but don't drill a hole.

jQo Qo
.

o for RecoilEscapeW heels

Turn the radius as deseribed and then
Escape W heelPitch Radiusof m achinea stem atthe back ofthetool;
lessthicknessof Cutter providing the work has rem ained in
t00thtip the chtlck thewhole tim e the stem w ill
Use form toolto Bemovem etal ctltaway
shape cutteredge in frontofcuts on radius 0.05': 0 l25' ' be perfectly concentrie with the tool.
make six cuts as as shown to leave 0 06,' O 16'' Thebarcanthen berem oved from the
show n. ctltting edge 0 08', 0 2'' chuck and the part saw n off and we
0 10'' 0 25.' have our shaped m etal but with a
0.l25'' 0.3125' ' spigotinstead of a hole for m ounting
Vethodrl/'
'
g z?pr
.
?l'
l
'
uj.
;multitooth(-lftlel'
.U.
%esilver.
$
'
/t?t
?lThesame/JrI
'
ncf
#/t?applies/t
p 0 16'' 040',
u,/7(2(,/andpinion c?,?//t?r.s'.
iton a m andrel.

54 55
To m ake the teeth.m ark 01-
@ btltthey also tlo a greatdealofwork'
#-orindex it
atsix equaldivisions alltlmi1la tlatas
show n i1 '1 thc draw ing. Fina1Iy
I'nachine another fla! so that tllere is
plenty of clearanckl: again the
draw ings sllow Nvhat is required.W e
should now'have six sections evenly
spaced and the toolwillwork like this,
but if the square edges have a sm all
relieffiled orm achined on thcln itwill
work evcn better.If howevcr you are
notentirely confidentofbeing able to
get these re1ief angles without
dam aging what will be the cutting
edges,leavethingsasthey are.Finally
repeat the hardening and tem pering
exercise as detailed already and yotl
have a eom pleted scape wheelcuttcr.
lt w il1 not be as efficicnt as a
professionally-m ade one, these have
sixty tceth as a rtlle,butitwilldo the
job and afteral1itisunlikely to be impossibletodosowhenjustworking
used forcutting m ore than one ortwo
whcels.
W hen cutting whtrtlsand in particular
this type it is essential that they are
well supported to as near tlle point
where the teeth are being cut as
possible, partictllarly w here hom c
m ade cuttdrs of any sort are in use.
The pressure reqtlired to cutthe teeth,
even though we are only removing a
little m aterialata tim e isconsiderable
and the tool w ill tcnd to bend the
metalasitcuts.Thatisthe lastthing
we need.Generally *scape w heels are
m ade from m aterial of 1.5m m or
1/16ins thick and we are torn between
two possibilities here. To get the
m axim um efficiency the %scape
wheels need to be as lightas possible
W jth a fiIe and sau'.althtlugl
l perllaps The j -inal task to krolllplctk ? the
w' ith the pallets ballging up and dow n roughing Out could btl done on 11 escapelncnt will be to trroh;s otlt the
on thcnl fortnvnty-four hours a day. rnilling l'
naclline.ltiscssentialthatllle u'hccl,'svhen thatis col-
nplettxd. lllot,nt
NVI 'Iile thereforc itn-
lay be desirable to Pallets are m ade accurately and tllat itolla colletand sccure itto tllt'
tpiq' ot.
tlstl soluething a Iittle thinncr to save thenibs-which ardthe pointdd pieces Itcan then be tdsted.tlsillg a depthing
weight.doing so cotlld defeatits ow n thatstick outhave polished working tool,to check thatthe pallets w iI1do
purpose,as itis m ore likely to distort surfaces. A s m uch polishing as their job. As tlzkly are Imoved
during operations. Possible should be done before they backwards and forw ards the action
are hardened butin doing so the shape should be suflicient to slowly rotate
Som e readcrs m ay nothave sum cient and size m ust be m aintained. Final the wheel.
equipm entto m ake the above tools or polishing can be com pleted aftcr
not feel entirely conhdent about so hardening and m ethods of so doing
doing.Itispossible to file the teeth by willbe discusscd elsew here.
hand aftervery carefulmarking out.It
got)s w ithout saying that a grcat dcal
ofearc isnccded and in particularitis
cssentialthatthe straightsections art l
really that and are not angled in any
way.If: 1sm alltem plate ism ade '
hrstit
can bc used to check thatthe radiusof
cach tooth is correct . it is alm ost
to m arkings. The tem plate can be
m ade from a piece of card, but
som ething m ore perm anent is
preferable and plastic is ideal. A
suitable piece can be obtained by
cutting up an old cretlit card and
finishing the radiusa w ith an em ery
board ofthe type used form anicuring.
On m any very old clocksa11the teeth
on the wheels are hand cut, and in
comparison to a greatw heelan escape
wheelisvery sim ple indeed.
To com plete the escapem ent w e
require the pallets and to lind the size
and shape ofthese itis necessary ' Iirst
to draw the necessary angles. The
pallets can then bc ctlt out, using
gauge platc to make them . There is
really no way to m ake them except
 @ @
C hapter 6 - T he G oing T rain
& M otion W ork
Thegoing train as itis properly called
connects the power unit,whether itis
a drum and weightor a spring and
fusee,to the escapem entvia series of
wheels and pinions. W hen first
looking into a clock itappears to be a
jungleofwheelsandpinionsanditis The great whcel connected to the
this apparent disorder that freqtlently
putspeople off m aking orrepairing a
clock. W hile these gears and pinions
m ay be in a numberofcom binations,
the form ation isthe sam e forvirtually
every clock and in fact there are
noWhere near as m any aS it Seem s at
srst glance.The great wheel,which
has already been discussed when
dealing with the power,drivesa pinion
which in turn drivesthecentre wheel.
The pinion connected to thatgoesto a
third wheeland the pinion forthatis
in turn connected to the escape wheel.
We have therefore just fourwheels (minutes). To check this multiply
and three pinions,which is an easy
m anageable num ber,particularly for
anyone versed in engineering m atters.
The wheelcom bination willvary in
Sizedependingonthesizeoftheclock
being m ade and on the whim of the
designerbut m ust conform to certain
58
param eters in order to m aintain tim e.
Various com binations of whecls are
used but these m ust be in a logical
sequence. Let us start w ith a
hypotheticalclock,although the train
usedwillbeonethatisquitecom mon.
drum arbor has ninety-six teeth and
w illconnectw ith an eight-leafpinion
on the sam e arborasthe centre wheel.
The centre w heelhas sixty-four teeth
and as itcarriesthe m inute hand must
rotate once.This in ttlrn connectsw ith
an eight-leafpinion on thethird wheel
arbor,the w heelfor which has sixty
teeth.ltconnectsto anothereight-leaf
pinion on the escape wheel. W hen
designing a train itisessentialthatthe
escape wheel shall m ake sixty
revolutions (seconds) for each one
revolution of the centre wheel
togetherthe num berofallthe teeth in
the driving wheels and divide the
answerby the numbersofleavesin the
pinions,multiplied together.W ith the
exam plethatisshow n in the appendix
on page 121,this works outas sixty
w hich is what w ant; any
59
 r
@
com bination can be checked in this bLltttA 112ke a llntl%'
ol'
nelltto 1112 (
2ase otion ork becolut,s a c' ase o1-connecting tht lse
way to ensure thatthe train isgoing to thatone particularly wants.Rcferent?e rhe train then setsthe clock so thatit two to the pivotthat wilIoperate the
b: right. In addition lo this it is to thetables(st
)eAppendix pagc 122) ticks Off the lminutes btlt m ore than hourhand.The obviousallswerwoultl
possible to work outthc size ofbarrel can enable usto tind outthe speed al thatisneeded:evklry clock mtlstshow sctll '
n to bttto puta suitablc piniol lon
and length ofdriving eord thatwillbe Nvhich a pendulum of a given lengtl) the hours and solme even incltlde a the arbor of the l' ninute w'heel.
required. w i11bcatand whatwheelcom bination calendar,whileothers have phasesof connecting it w ith a wheel thal w i1I
is needed to m ake the clock work the m oon. lt is not intended to deal give a twelve to one reductilln on
If a shorter pendulum is uscd it will accurately. Althotlgh a table o#' anotherarborimm ediatdly bclou'orat
with these latter factors or striking
beatatlessthan a second and from the colnmon wheeltrainsisincltlded.(see the side and putthe hourhand on that.
m echanislms but it is necessary to
table itispossible to work otltatwhat Appendix page 124)itdoesnotmean arrange for the clock to indicate the There is only one snag,if we has' ea
speed a givc11 Itlngt1 ) w'ilI btlat. that they are the only combinations Passing hours as wellas lllintltds. pinion or a w heel rotating i1- 1a
Suppose thercfore the major factor avai1able; it is quite possible to clockw ise direction and conndet
behind tbe dcsign ofa clock is notas calculate one foroneself. As the m intlte pivot does one another directly to that,thc addition
usualto fita case round the m ovem ent colnplete revolution once every sixty one w ill rotate in an anticlockw ise
m inutes,Nvhat is needcd is a twelve- direction,Nvhich is nota greatdeal()f
to-one rttduction.in (3l'tIel'to lllark off use Thereforc two additional arbors
thehours.Thisisobtained in thususual w ith suitable wheels and pinions arc
way by using a pinion and u.ht?eland ndcdedethe lirstto change rotation to
1 thereforeany pinion and wheelwith : 1 an antitrlockw ise direction and tht?
I m ultiplication 01- tw clN' e w i1l do. sctrond to trllangt zitback again.111the
I
Pallets Another factor comes into it as wtlll llntlitntillatl any llcccssary redtlction
E cape wheel - 3rd heel and thatisthc sizc thatlhtthourwheel ckt!
'tbe il' 1t-('
,1
.porf1tt-(1.
w ilt be, for exanlple u'ith : .
t six-leaf
pinion the hour u' lldel u'ill have Son- ltlold clocks and no doubt sol- nkl
seventy-two teeth, u?hich is klui1e bdillg l'
na(.
lc atpresentasu' ellIlaN'e tllut
1
m anageable.M ake thu pinion twelvc I'
ni1)uttr hal'
l
d il-
nluediately bkllou'tllt p
I
leaves antl the hour whet?l Ileeds a hourontl.Thesc do nothave tht lgoing
hundred and forty-four tceth, a size train arrallged i1'
1a straight Iint),as is
, I
Cen re wheel . which is likely to be nltlch too Iargc the l' nore usual arrangclnent.
..F.
..
form ostclocks,Probably the targest Atlditionalarbors witl a pinions and a
.* '' .4 size that can be coped w ith in m ost reduction wheel are then set at an
.' .- (,(.w,'''xJ.. .
- ..
movcm ents w il1 be an k lighl leaf angle to enable the hour arbor to be
. . . .'
N.
pinion and a nindy-six-tootl) wheel placcd in the centre ofthe m oN' em ent.
and even thatis on the large hlizc.lhis The fsnished rcstllt is quite attractivc
x.-. j Brrel leaves a lil u it of six or scvb en-tootl) and worth considering.
Great heel I pinions as practical propositions as
1
Because space is generally linnited
above thatthings w i11becom c far too
unwieldy. lmostclockshave the hourand m inutc
wheelin the sam e place-tradition also
So far so good; we have no dotlbt probably has a part to play in tlltt
m ade up our m intls of the best arrangel- nent.The sam e ndeessity to
oom bination forthe train and itnow change the direclion orrotatiol)is still
 @ r @
presentand lhe u' ay lhis is done is to eonnecled to a hardened steclpinion.
fit a w hcelwith a suitable num ber of on a pivot tllal is generally m ade 01*
teeth ol1 the nlinute pivot and to brass.The systkllu sklen' lsto has'
d stood
arrangeanidenticalwheeladjacentto the tes t of ti
npe, btltcoul d be il
llproN'u'
ti
itwith a pinion attached to itso itwill nrith the use ofm odern naaterials.bLlt
rotate atthe sam e time.As the w heel then clock m aking is a traditional
m ates directly w ith one fixed to the industry which is one reason tbr its
m inute pivot it will rotate in the fascination.
reverse direction.There isno arborfor
this pairto run ()n and so a shortone ' W ith the pinion in plaee it is now a
isprovided and they areallowed to run case of connecting it to thc hour
free on it.It has a lhreaded cnd and whecl. which is donc by sinnply
screws into the frontplate,tiequently allowing the wheelto run loosely ()11
the other etld stlpported by a bracket an extended collethtted to tlle lninuttl
with a hole to actasa bearing surface. wheel.The hourwheelin turn istitted
In otherinstancestheremay be justa to a collet that is also a bearing of
hole in the end ofthe pivot.through extendt' !d length to ensure itruns true
which passesa splitpin to preventthe ant l t
ha t there is sutsicient surfacc 1t'
wheel and pivot from conning off. al l
ow f or wear. The collet on thc
Bearing surfaces of course should m i
nu te whc elhas a square on the entl
always be of differenl metals and in and the ha nd w'illbtla push-titon this.
this case w'e have a sligh!allom aly as Thu t hot lr hand can then bc ' l
ittcd
the revt zrse whttt
alisgenerally lnade of di r
e ctly t
o the eollet tha tstl
ppor tsthc
brass and w illbe running w ith a brass h our wheel . Bot h hands ar e now'
wheel while at the sam e tim e being rtlnni ng from a cent r
al point.

63
 @ @

Thisend ofminute
wheelcolletmade
Square to accept '
--'-..
minute hand. Hcurw heelCollet
'
Studiforreverse v'w.
A'.... .N'x..
' .
z' Rotates on minute
Minute Hand fitshere minute wheel SupportBracket . -... - .w . ,
HourHerld - ' Wjjeejcojjat'
-
'.
. .. IX .. .x' '
,
.w '
w ..-
x
(
w
6 1eafcannon pinion fits here x -
. '
.
' - '
X
- 'o
- , .......-.--
HourHand fitshere --< ::
'
) :i ..'.-.
' HourW heei ..x -- . --x.-..
-- -
''
....
Q. x '
ccl''.v
'' I
::: - , Reverse Minute
y
.:
:. 1 ,e' W heel
HourW hbel ...<
..
;j
.,..
zoe 7 Minute-W--.heel , ,, ,', ''-.-.
. -
Minute W heel .---'
''.
- -. <L .
. '
' '. ' '. ' 'x ujrjute w heejColet,
w.
'
FrontPlate x. x .- fixed to spindle
N
Stud screwed to plate

Minute W heelSpindle

&,t
.
)
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-
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i
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s
e
p
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ci
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orhas a hole asshcwn
into which isfitted
asplitpin to-rqtain pinion
@
. ..
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' Thread to secure

I stud to frontplate
! .f

64 65
@ @

C hapter 7 - D ividing

Accurate dividing is a prim c divisionsthatcan be oblained.Few,if

requirem entwllen cutting u'
heels and any lathes will have change wheels
there are a number of ways of tloing w ith m ore than seventy teeth. which
this.Any reader who owns a dividing m eans that seventy js the highest
head w illhavt?no necd of any adq'ice nunber of divisions that can be
onthesubjectandcanpttssontothe obtainetland the tlivisions obtainable
section on cutting the teeth. on the slnaller wheels are extrcm ely
Experience show's tllat i12 genera1 linlited.In his book -Gears and Gear
dividing heads are not usually found Cuttingq, lvan Law describes an
in the hom e workshop.they tend to be excellentset-up f'br com pounding tl'
)t
l
one ofthe lastpieces ofeqtlipm entto dividing gcars. thus giving a m uch
be bought,and where they are tbunct wider rallgc (.
Afdivisions.as welIas a
in generalthey w illbe hom e-made.It m ass of inform ation on gear-cutting
isnotwithin the scope ofthis book to m ethods.
gointohow tomakesuch adeviceand
in facta fulldividing head isnotreally W e m tlst a1so consider thc 1arge
necessary forclock m aking. ntlm ber of lathe owncrs who do not
have chang: whecls. For examplc
M any readers will be quite fam iliar m any of the sm aller lathes that are
with the use of lathe change wheels quite popular forclock m aking do not
fordividing and in som e instancesthe have any, neither do those that are
idea w illbe quite good enough forotlr stted with gearboxes. M ost have a
purposes. Consisting of sim ply a hollow m andrelthat could be uscd to
m eans of holding a lathe changc hold the wheelin position btlt it will
wheel firm ly in the m andrel of the involve purchasing special gear
lathe a detent or pointer that will' l
it whcelsin orderto use the system .
exactly in thc teeth of a change wheel
and secured to a perm anentpoint on The alternative is to use dividjng
the lathe;the idea has serx' ed m odel plates which are m orc acctlrate than
engineers well over the years.The gearsantlcan beeasierto use.W etend
m ain problem isthe lim itcd ntlm ber(
.
7)- to think of dividing platcs as partofa

67

4 1u..
1L
 @ r @
dih.
zJil1g head but 11)is 1ot nlaterials f
1
- kl1-clock'lllaking.Generally
necessarily so: tht ?y can be sccured speaking itwould be betterto go to tlle
directly to the Iathe nlandrel in the latter. as tlle plates sold tbr gelleral
lmotlel engineering purposes are lutss Lathe Casing
Sam e Nvay aSa gear.In 133a1y V'aySt1is La
Tightening 'x ..the Casinb Taperconected tp
is bettcr than using a dividing head likcly to have the required nulnber ()t' Nut z,,.. -z.,, . .,,.. threaded section
where there is always the problem (af divisions. P1ates bought from
'
clockmaking sourccs w ill often havc l' $
backlash in the worm gear to worry . . . . . ' x' . . .
X
about. M ost divitling plates have a exactly the rightnunlber of divisions x

range of divisions on each platc, for a col nplete clocklmak'ing train- ?. .. . . . .. x . x

giving tlexibility as wellas accuracy. m usaning tllat only one plate is . .,e'
, x .
x .. .
.. 'x d.. '..x x..
plate Securing Z
They can be pttrchased from m odcl requircd forthttvvhole movtln-ltrnt. k . , '
.X
v-Z
)'' ' ' .'.'
cllgineering suppliers or suppliers of Nut Gearor z ',
.. -athe Casing
't
. .
Dividing Plate ,' l
Lathe Casing /
l
Thin gauge tubing
with thfee slotsin
chuck end

Expansion Tube
,
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.
Requires three slots
'. k approximately 3/4.'
'
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. Xx
xx .
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..
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(20mm Iong.)
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Tommy Bar

Dividing Plate Six hol

esfortommy bar
Retaining Nut
Tightening Nut

69

II.ktt.
 @ r @
Itis nota11thatdit'lit
ztlltto lllak'e one'
s Having seribed lllc circle it is to a m icrometer or vernier gauge. by tle tim e the 1:1st one is rcached a
own division plates,providing care is necessary to refer to 1
, chord chart.It M ake a 1ight centres punch mark wholem illilntltre hasbeengainedand
taken to cnsur: they are accurate.For sounds obviousto justmeasure thc somewl lere on tle scribcd ttircle and this is now here near accurate enough
best results the plate m ust be of as circum fkrcnce and then divide by the m ark Off the divisions, starting and so some m eans of cllecking tllerefore
large a diam eter as possible and a required ntlmber but this does not tinishing at the centre-punch mark, is required.Supposd we are to divide
series of circular Iinkls should bt l works as the distance lneasured Lightly centre punch each the plate into sixty divisions, Hav'ing
scribed round itatk'nown distances.It between two points on the scribed intersection.It is advisable to use a set the dividers as suggested with a
is ofthe utm ostilzzportance thatthese circle,when using dividers,w illbtla magnifying glass to setthe dividers m ierom eter or vernier gauge and
circles are accurate, if not, the straight line across the two points andto makethepunchmarks,inordcr madethehrstindcnton thcline,mark
divisionsthem selveswillnotbe right. ratherthan round them .A chord table to gettheaccuracythatisrequired. off but don't spot thrt ztl divisions.
lt is possible to scribe the circles (see Appendix page 123) gives the Preferably using another pair of
NonmalImarking-outluethodson a tlat dividersso thatthe originalsetting can
accurately on the disk by using the figure for num bers of divisions,
plane dem and thata11l' neasurem ents be m aintained, check the distance
cross slide graduations, Use a sharp assum ing the circle diam eter to bc
are taken from a single datunn, across the three m arks.lt should bc
pointed knife tool set al a suitable one. To obtain the required figure
som ething that is not practical when cxactly the chord hgure for twenty
angle and allow ittojusttotlch the silzzply m ultiply thelength ofchord by dividing u circle. Tllcrefore the divisiolls.N extm ark offanothcrlhree
disk while rotating the Iathe by hand. the diam eter of the scribed circle.
possibilitikls of l'
nultiple errors arise. divisions and cheek again thd w' holc
A handl: that can be secured in the Having . established the length of the
For exam ple if the tlividers are one distance- using the clnord figLll-tl for
mandrelis usefulforthissortofwork required division, take a pair of
hundredth ofa n- tillil
-netre ovcrsi/tlalld tkln.Any error in the originaldix'ider
aswellasa num berofothertasksthat dividers that have nice tine points on
there are ahundred divisionsrequirdds sctting n'illntns show up and suitablc
we come acrosswhen m aking clocks. them and setthedistance by reference

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@ dividing 17lllle lhat is i!' l ustt 8111(.
1a
adjustnRentsnzadeifneed be.W'hen it plate shouI(1 be sprung loaded if Periphery to atrtlept a slla1l tol mn- l
y'
is rightand l1kltbeforesImakc the spot possible-Iargely as a mcans ofsaq'illg bar.The dividing plate or gear whct?l detant can be l -itted il'
l :1 bl-acket
lnarks w ith the punch.Rem elllberthe tim e,ratherthan tbratrtruracy whieh is hcld in plai;kl w ith another sillliIar strrew'ed to tl'
!kp sitlc of thc unit. . 4
larger the plate and circle tlsed the can stillbeachieved ifitisa ptlsh-f-it- but slightly sn-laller nut and w ith tht! sere'wz is incorporatcd to lock the
greaterthe aceuracy w illalw aysbe. aslong asitcan bc locked in position. addition tlfa specialwasherpullsthe fnandrelin position once the division
To keep unscrewing and then Plate tight,ltisessentialthatthcre is hasbeen set.
Once the m arksare m ade itis sim ply screwing up the devicc isvery tedious
, no play on the chuck-rdaining sct-up Dividing can also becarried outw ith
a case of drilling though the plate, particularly if the division is for a
using a drill of the same size as the large num ber of teeth rem em bering which m ight cause som e a rotary table htted w ith a m eansof
detantthatitis proposed to use. lt is that we are talking in many cases of misalignm ent. holding a m andrel centraIIy.Ustlally
essentiatto cnstlre the plate istlatand wheels with 21tooth countnearing tllc The device can also be tlsed on : 1 this m eans making a device on to
atcxactly nindy degrees to the drill hundrcd. sim plesdt-upon them illing m achine, whicha lathdchtlckcan befitted.Itis
when itisbeing drilled and in orderto whichrequireslittlenaorethan ahefty ditlicultto setupthesystem aceuratcly
ensure this it m ight be necessary to angle plate w itb a hole, to accept a anditisbetterthereforetoonlyusk,the
deburreach hole asitism ade.so that m andrelto hold the lathe chtlck.Thk) rotarytablutfbrmaking djvisionplates
the burrsdo nottiltthe platew hen the Securing the D ividing otherend Isthrtladed so thata nlltcalk or,ifno othersystcm isavailable,w ith
nextholt!ism ade. be used to tighten thtlgearwheelor which todotheacttlaldividing.
Plate
Nlake a series ofsuch k 2ircIes in the The sct-tlp fbr sectlring the div'iding
1)late,pret krably ofthe nulnbers that platc is quite easy to m ake. A piece of
w illbd ttsed in the clock train. Do bt '
t thin-walled tube ofa diam etersuitable
careful to ensure accuracy and to be a good ptlsh-fit in the hollou'
l'
neasurc at least twice, prefkrably m andrelis needed and thisshould be
three times,before l' naking any luark about four inches or a htlndred
and then proceed as abovc. A1I the m illim etres in length. If tube is not
holcs shotlld notonly btpdeburrcd on availableitw i1Ibenecessarytodri11or
the sidkl they brklak through btltalso bore a lcngth ofsolid bar. In one tpnd
slightly counterstlnk on the face, to litathreaded pieceofbar, aboutthree
facilitate the drilIentering u' llen they quarters of an ineh or twenty
aretlsdd.Thcdetantshould beagood m illim etres i11Icngth. The diameterof
fit in thc holessbut not so tight that thc thread w illdepcnd on thc diam der
force is required. 1f it is tapered ofthetube,butaboutthrecquartersof
slightly thtt good fst willbe ensured the bore isideal.
bu1thc laper mustbe stcep enough lo
prcventthe detantfrolllbinding in thk!A tapcrcd plug isfitted to a lcngth of
hotes. threaddd rod.orstudding and a hom e-
m ade nut. solllewhat larger than
Itis essentialthatthe detantset-up is norm al pulls the tapered scetion up
securkld to :
1position on thc Iathe in tight.The nut docs not have to be
such a way thatitwillnotl'novt)outof hexagon itcan be round and knurled
position.The actual dd ant that will and for extra security a num ber of
locat: witl the holcs in the divr
iding holcs ca1 '
1 be driI1ed round the

.,uluzk.=
I
 @ r @

28A screw allows

'
adjustmentofl
ength.
.x Tighten on flaton
u. detant body

c
= 1:
Tap
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t' #, .=m Qw .ri Q .- cxtri
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.-. ''-'''-1-1/2' .. -.-f SupportBar.Length to
suitlathe,secure to Iathe
N r frame w ith brdckets.Set
0 % up must be secure and
= N N
?
tB < .m Bore.3/32..or withoutshake.
1/146 j' m
u.= o G. r)
<
. -1 . n
s.-
x-
%
-. mo Fr
-n
u-
to to Stlltprobe
--.

l 11 zzg,. .............. ..... ... ! '.

Q ! q............... #.. t.ys '
*-p- l i
1 ll ; - -- *.'..
C1/47
'' s!t
.
u l '
y -
. ...2
a/#f Bore 3/8'
' y
1 r , z o oo
. mo
oc
.-
o. 1y4,,'
j. -. j,--.
-...-I- a/4'
, .-j 1/32. .j ..
.
,
wyeo soos.x o+
1 --------.----.- '. .
z' y,
. ' .< ,%E'
. So '
x9o
% h iNV %0
-. s- .,
1- - -- j
.. .
' x
u+w.u
%s wx
lq%w
u6
g
i
.....,.....- 7
.
. g'
h%.
x
%
jo
Spring 7/32'.0/d y -' j.
rjjjjj. '.
/
X'
'
from 20 gauge II4f'
wire 1'
'Iong 5/32..deep

75

a,-
.. . h
..
1'
@ r @
C hapter 8 - W heels & P inions
In norm al cngineering practice,what
is known as a whecl by the
clockm aker,would be ret krred to asa
gear,som ething with which weareall
fam iliar, although the- whecls in a
clock diffkr in shape and forl' flfrom
thegearsin a m otorcar.Therc arctwo
types ofteeth:involutc and cycloidal-
the form er tlsed in dnginccring Nsb llel
v Iuany other cotlntries under the ttrl
itism ore tlsualforthc sm allcrgcarto
drivc the larger one and the involutc
form gives: 1bdtterbearilpg stlrface tbr
this purpose. I11 clock m aking the
cycloidal type is used becausc in
generallargerwheclsare used to drivtl
thc snaaller oncs.w hich are known as
pinions and the tooth pattern ereates
less friction.ln 1111 things to do with
clock m aking there isa constantbattIe
to reduce both friction and weightof
conlponents in the search 1br
efficiency,Engineering-typc gears arc
describcd in Britain, Alneritra and
-l'
l
dial-netraI pitch or DP for short.
N'leastlrclncntis#bund by dividing thc
ntllllber of tetltll into the pitch cirele
dialuettlr. '
w hitlh is a positi(-311 Nvllere
the tecth nAeet. The position is llot
visbleu'htln looking ata gear,o41ly by
taking various m easurem ents of the
@ M ost of the m casurem tlnts that al-e @
gearteethaetc.can the actualposition needed are a m ultiplication of tht- #D
can be found.The m odule system uses * F
m odule number.Allnecessary details Oo t7
thereverse ofthisand isthe nuluberof for working out the wheel from the o z%
teeth divided by the pitch diam eter;it m oduleaswelIasthe m odule from tle 'p%#%
is entirely a m etric systenR, whereas the wheel sizes are ineluded in the 47& z:*
7..
*4 t?.
eh -1;
.
I.'
th1
ic
0k
0n
te
hss VX '
ov.- ,
%o . j iy6o.,
y.%ej
thcD P system can be applied to either charts.The system is quite Iogicalantl
im perialormetrie.
G$% , o'&.s <s
OP ow
06
the larger the m odule num ber, thc . .
. .e',.' uyye
.
largerthe teeth willbe.U sing alarge x y,'' ' ' r j:ee
W e are only going to deal with the .
I
.1 9e9o c
num berhastheadvantagethatwhcels .. sz
. .
. ,
c
module system asin clock making itis are less easily interrupted in their $1
all that is necessary, although the operation by dirt but large m odules
clock repairerm igbtwellnecd to usd nattlrally are not suitable for sm all Terminol
ogy forobtaining
170th w hen repairing a very o1d clock. measurements and module
clocks,such ascarriageclocks. numberofwheels
W heeland Pijlion Proportions
W heel
s
Modules = Pitch diameterin mm divided by the numberofteeth.
DiametralPitcb= numberofteeth in a wheelperinch ofdiameter
Addendum = distance from pcd to tip ofteeth (1.35 x'module)
Dedendum =distance from pcd to base ofteeth (= 1.57 x = module 0.45 and 1.1to 1.5
and 2 x modulefrom O.5 -1 J(Shortform = /.07 x module)

Pitch Circle Diameter = numberofteeth x m odule

Outside DiameterofBlank = Numberofteeth+ 2.76 x module
RootDiameter= Numberofteeth minus 3.14 x module formodules 0.45 and 1.1to 1ab
Num berofteeth m inus 4 x m odule form odulesO.5 lo 1y0
7-00th Thickness= 1.57 x module
Addendum Radius= 1.93 x moduleformodules 0.45 to 1.1lo 1.5
Includes N/Y Z'/'form
Full7-00th Depth = 2.95 x moduleformodules 0.45 and 1.1 to 1.5 -3.38 x module for
module 0.6 to 1.0
Pinions

Alldimensionsare ratiosofthe module.

Pitch Circle diameter = numberofIeaves
Outsidetipdiameters 6 = 7.71.7 = 8.71,8 = 9.71,10 = 11-61,12 = 13.61
Kp-
. pl-dl.
. p.
n.
Jp.
!.
tr
m 6 = 2.5,7 = 3.38 = 4.2,10 =5.9,12 = 4.8
Lea-fThickness 6 -8 = 1.05,IQ - 12 = 1.25
Addendum Radius 6-8 = 1.05,10 - 12 = 0.82
7-00th Pitch Ratio 2-8 = 1/3,10-12 = 1/5
A- ddendum 6-8 =0.855,10 - 12 = 0.805
gvdendum 6= 1.75,7 = 1.85,8 = 1.9,10=2.05,12 =2.10

. .. bz
ailkzL
 heels
@ of the lattcr i11 stlch a way thatthe
Exeept in exceptional eircunRstanees
wheelsare l' nadtnofbrassand 1'-
01-m ost
norl-nal clockl making purposes and
ccrtainly when conlpared w ith norlual
engineering practice. thc lnaterial
used is of a very thin section. This
creatcs its own probleln wht?n cutting
teethasthereistendency t brthemetal
to bend away frolm the cutter if any
attem pt is l 'nade to advance it too
rapidIy, or if the materia1 is not
properly supported. Beeause of the
thin l'naterial uscd tht? wlletll 11711st
.
alwaysbe supportcdonacolletwhen
assenlbled on the arbor in order to
give a greater supportstlrface. lf one
rcads any of the exeelIellt books on
clock l making and repairillg thatwere
w ritten m any years ago itwillbe seen
thatthe usualmethod of holding the
wheelon thecolletwasto rivettheend
l-
netal expanded and held the urheel
firlmly in position. N tnvadays a far
'
better idca is to use a retai1 -ting
colmpotllldo
'not only docs this give a
secure bolld btltvith a smalIam ount
of heat the bond can be broken if
required. The sam e applies w hen
litting the collet to the arbor, rather
' make a centre and then l
than use a force fst,a tiny drop of
com pound on a unit that is a good
slidinglitwilldothejobfarbctter.
The bcst brass to use is knosvn as
eolmpo ()r engravi1- 1g brass and is
stocked by both clocklnakers'
suppliers and many modeI
cngineering stlppliers as w el1.
Suppliers of clocklmaking lmaterials
often willbe abld to supply itas round
blanks of the outside dial- ntlter
required.Failing thatwe art '
tleftwith
two choices,
'itcan eithcrbe cutfrom
. ...q
wal1:kk
r sheet or sliced from
@
rotlnd bar. nnachined to size and contrentricily.It
Although engraving brass is not
available as bar stockethe m dtalw'ilI
generally be fonnd to b: quilc
suitable.It is shedt l' naterial that is
unlikely to be ofthe required quality.
'
Ib cut from a sheet of suitable
m aterial it w ill be necessary to first
nark off a
circle a little largerthan the outside
diameterofthe blank,which can be
cutout,using a piercing saw or better
still a m ecbanical scrol1 saw. Thc
centralholeisdrilled-tothesizeofthe
collet on n,hich the whecl w i1I
ultimatcly bc mountett ensuring itis
at ninety dcgrees to the facd and the
disk and m ounted on a stlitable
m andrel to be put on the lathe and
;
& -
u' i11bcnecessary eitherto lnakk ldisks
thatu'il1'hton theoutside of-the blank
to hold il '
lirm ly in positionsbecause
the dialneter of the hole for the
l'
nandrelwillbe sm allitisessentialto
avoid too m uch torque being applied
by the toolwhen trying to m achille the
blank and thcwashersw illcounteract
this.lfonly the m andrelin the smal1
hole is used there w ill be tw o
tlnwantcd ef- fccts, the first and m ost
obvious isthatthe blank w illtend to
bend as pressure is applied. Thc
secolld less obviotls one is that no
m atter how carefblone is when doing
the m achining it w il1 be alm ost
ilupossible to stop the blank from
catching while thc lathe contillucs to
81
r
ot
at
ewhi
chwi
1i
ne
N
'
i
tabl
yl
ea
dt
o
@
som e distortion of the holc and no
havc the atlvantage of being sm al1.
which l n akt)s thel'n particuIarl). '
$ @
luatterhow slightthislnightbe itwi11 suitable for use on a slnall lath:.
lead to lossofaccuracy.lfthe work is A lthough they are very expensivethey
supported and gripped by suitable arem adeofhigh-speed steeland w ill
washersthisshotlldnotoccur. lasta lifetilne.Cheaper cutterscan be
obtained' .these are dcsigned to l
iton
large horizontalm illing m achinesand
C utters although fitm ents can be m ade t()
cutters are available enable them to be uscd 011 lathes and
conln-lercialIy and specialist clock verticalm illing m achincs, the set-tlp
suppliers should be able to supply a is rather btllky. Frequently too thesc
suitable cutter for any l'
nodule that cutters are for illvolute gears rathtlr Toolm ade from silversteel,
hardened and tem pered.Obtain
n'
lightbeneeded.These specialcutters thancycloidial,so checkbeforebuying. radius with drillormilling
cutterforaccuracy.

Body from mild steel,

cross drilled fortool,
drilled and tapped at
base forscrew to hold
toolsecure

tom achinethegapbetwcen tw' o teeth.

H om em ade C utters
ln chapter5detailsform akingcuttcrs
forescape wheelsweregiNtn;itisalso
quite possible to m ake ones ow n
euttersforwheels,using silversteelor
gauge plate, w hich w ill be quitc
suitable for making the num ber of
Wheels required for a norm al clock.
W hen m aking cutters rcmemberthat
We are notgoing to m ake a t00th but
shaping half of each in doing so.
Com m ercial ctltters are of the rotary
type w ith the shape tln the periphery,
which isthen divided into num erous
cutting edges. Em ulating this in the
norm al hom e workshop w i11 be
im possible and so itis bestto aim at
six or eight cutting edges, or a tly
cutterwith a single bladc.To m ake a
1'
rl1.
l1t1-t00th cuttercalls forsom c form
 @ @
n tool in order to obtain thc notNvork outto an cxacth
of fon' ;ize forNvilit1) -
.
'
actltlrat)y neededs det1 )i1s of the a dril1is obtainablc.forexal-
nple a ().5 <% .. .

required radius which is as shown in l'

nodultlhasa radiusof0.965111114so t('
:.:w..w ' .J
the tables on page 79, 1.57 x the be exact wc nced a drill 1.931 1317) % .
+ . ..
rJ;
m odtlle. Therefore beforc any dial-neter,A standard size is 1.95l
-ntll e>
.
Y. .... : rj:
:.
.. t$.
.J
rsxa.j, .f.
' <
j;jf -
,.r
calculationsfbrteeth orcutters can be and that w illbe nearenough f br otll' . ... .
x.$.
,. .).;.
g '%
r /
'
yi(
. )p >
,. **
456'
. R
m adc it is necessary to Grst Gnd the Purpose, if necessary IAfJ great harn)
.

m odtlle that is to be used.Gcnerally would com e from uging a 1.911- 111-

1 .... M<
,1
.. xw
x
,.. xx
this wi11 be show n 011 the draw ings, dialneter driI1- which is easier t() . vx.
.t.
butthere are instanceswhere thism ay obtain.Forthose who like to work in
not bt l the case. For dxam plc the Inlperial lmeasurdm cnts 5 64ins.
author u' as intcrested in making a wotlltlbe a suitable sizc.
regulator some dctails ofwllich wert
show 1' 1 i11 an old book. OnIy the 'W hether or not to l' nake single o1 '
otltside diam ctcrs of the whecls and nlulti-point cuttcrs is a nlattt)r t)1'
the num bersofteeth weregiven and it individual choicc- ' m any people alv
wasnecessary to work outthe m odule qtlite successful w ith 'lly cutters antl
inorddrtotaketheprojectfurther. set? no need to got t
o the bothcr ot'
1-
naki11g nnuIti poi1 '1t O1'1es, 'W ith kl
The gap between tlc teeth ofa wheel single-point cutter cutting the blallk
isthe salme astht)thickness ofa tooth mustbe done l m ucllmore slowly tlall
and is one ofthe hgures reqtlired;the w ith a l' nuIti-point one aIthougl)
second is the overalldepth and thirdly rotational speeds can be as hig1, 1 t)I'
thc a11-im portant radius. Tw o eNzen higher.Thereartlntll- nerotlsidtttls
expressions crop tlp hcre. addendul 'n on Ilow to cutthe blankss 'generalIy il
and dcdcndul- n. They acttlally speak willbe a lnatter ofwhatcquipm entih ;
fortllclmselves',addendum is 81figurc availablc to the individual.The blal lk
added to thc point of the pitch tran be held in a sel-up on the verticaI
dianneter and dcdendum is f- igure of slide of tht '
l lathe. with the cuttcr
the distance below it.The radius on a rotating in the chuck.orthc blank cal )
wlleel is the shape of the addcndulm behdldandindexed i11theIathechtlck
and is the only dif-hcult part we arc oracollctand thtlcutterrotated on tht?
likely to come aeross w' hen nlaking a Ialhe saddle.To tlo 1lisa device hast()
cutter. thtl other ligtlres bcing qtlite be l made in w hich to rotate tht?cutter.
straighttbrward.It is not going to be Yearsago nnodelengineers uscd to usc
easy to getthis raditls with a file and a drivc frol' n an overhead beIt. '
absolutely ilmpossiblc w itl)a grinding nowudays w ith the ready availability
whektl unless one can be purchasetl of cheap small elcctric nAotors it is
that has been specially shaped.The l' nuch easier to l'nakc thc arrangem ent
bestway ofgetting itacetlrate w i11be sclfpowered.An easy way isto l'naktr
to drill a suitablc sized hole and use a bracket for a small nlodel l'naker-s
that.Theradiiasshown il1thechartdo drilland to l' nountthaton the vertical
84 85

ILadakkkz:k '
 @
slide tbrheightadjustlnent.There is m illing attachm ents tbr a sm alIlatlle
little involved in doing so;any silnple
bracketw ilIdo as Iong as itwillhold
the drill' l
irm ly in place.M any small
lathes are now available w ith m illing
attachm ents and these are idcal,as it
m eans the blank can be held in the
chuck and the cutter rotated on the
m illing attachm ent. Generally thcse
m illing attachm ents are fixed to the
lathe bed w ith :1 bracket and : 111
adapterwillberequired to 5x ittothe
saddlc so thatitcan be traversed as it
willbe ofno use in a lixed position.
Owners of larger Iathes l' nightfind it
worthwhile to invest in one of these
86
y
lathe. ln the ease of the lnilling
m achine a vernierheightgauge can be
used to setthecutterin relation tothe
blank.ltisalso essentialto ensure that
@u
c
o
s
u
e
d
rs
.
e
a
d
si
c
w
t
a
e
t
eh
s
a
l
v
h
ea
n
l
u
r
cm
a
b
d
e
y
rs
o
e
fn
l
e
a
t
v
h
ea
s
t
m ust work out right if the clock is
going to work properly. Enginedring
there is no shake or backlash on the practice tells us that the m ore leaves
mounting used for the blank as this the pinion has the slnoother it w ill
too willleadto lossofacctlracy, m esh and rtln with a gearand there is
no doubtthatthis is equally tru:w hen
clock m aking. Therefore ideally it
would be nice if twelve-leaf pinions
Pl
@nl
@ons were tlsed al1 the tim e as it would
The pinion or sm allgearsofa clock m ake our clock run smoother,Sadly
set the builder differellt problelns to because this would m ean very Iargu
that of making whecls. lnstead of wheels this cannotbe and we are far
easy-to-machine brass, silver stcel is m ore Iikely to be m aking six oreight-
now the m aterialto use and ratherthan leafpinions-in factthe m ore effieitlllt
cutting throtlgh 1/ '16ins or i.51' nm twelvc-leaf type is rarely scen atall.
thick materialthe teeth,or leavt?s as Therc are also three differcntprolilcs
the clockm akercalls them-w i11bklat and althotlgl l in general01 115/tu'
o are
abouthalfaninch orl2m m Iong.The used itishighly probable that:1design
shape ofthe leaves also diftkr slightly nAighti2alIforadit' ferenttype.Pinions
from thcteeth ofthe whccl,with thc Nvith a greatklrnul-nber ofleaves use a
resultthatthe cutterused forwheelsis diftkrentprofilc to those w ith :1lcsser
notgoing to be suitable forthe pinion. num bel-- thkl 1caves being m ore
There are considerably fewerleavesor roundcd o1lthtrhighernul mbers.
teeth than on a pinion,w ith ntlm bers
varying as a rule from six to tw elve In the past the k rlock-lmakcr NvouId
.
and fitting it to the cross slidc with lt and just occasiollally for special l'nakd pinionsfrol-f'lpiniol)w'i1-:-w-llic1)
bracket. Those w ho havc m i1Iing purposes there are instances of four was a Iong length of m etal u'ith the
machines can use a sim ple indexing leaf-pinions,although there isno need leaves already shaped.lf there were
arrangem enton the table,asdeseribdd to worry about those. Thc train of too m any leaves they would simply
in chapter 7,with the cutterm ounted
in the m andrcl and w ith a1l thcsc
alternativesajob thatwasoncequitc
difticulthasnow becom em uch easier.
It is essential that the cutter is set at
the exact centre height of the blank.
Norm al methods of obtaining centr:
height are generally not accuratc
enough and itis bestto use a scribcr
mounted in the chuck or colld of the
,..',1
u
c
t
l
e
to
c
n
o
e
ro
e
t
c
la
p
n
o
d
s
i
ht
i
a
o
n
l
.
'
mt
c
h
r
t
lh
l
e
n
o
g
th
e
r
s
t
11a(1bt
h
t
a
o
@ Inaking :1 suitable cutter a '
dif'f
lt)n suitablydoctoredwotlldthen asvheelare straightthose ofthe pinio)l
becutoff,polished and taken into use. tapor inwards. Because of the snlall
vt)l.
y.
icultproposition,w hilc theteeth t)j' r notbe obviotls lo thtlnaked eye.but
look at itthrough a magnifying glass
and itcanbeqtlitehorrifying.Possibly
the best m ethod of polishing is to
@anyq way the end rcstlltdoesnotlook as
gtltlJ as using the nlachine cut
vcrsions 1- :ow evcr It 1acks IittIt
anything in c'
7 if
tliciency and so can be
lt was a highly-skilled process and num ber 0f teeth and the m ake a sm all profiled wheel from recolnl mended forthebeginnerorfor
m ostm odelengineers willfeelm tlch diameter- thistaperdoes notm ean a1) brass,using the sam d cutterthatwas anyone who fdels they do notyethave
more at hom e if they l nake their increase il) area at the root- insteatl used to cutthe pinion,coatthisw ith a tlle ability to cuta norm alpinion.
pinions by m ore conventional there is a decrease which actually m ild abrasive com pound and rtln it
m ethods. makes the cuttereasierto m ake rathcr along the leaves tlntila suitablcfsnish Th0 pinion consistsoftwobrassdisks
than harder. The sam e methods arc hasbeen obtained. with a tube in the centrc thatjoins
A sim ilar system of nleasurem ent uskcdtomakethectlttersaswerctlsk zd them'
'V01CVt1$ kllo5&n aSa bobbin.
used in the sam e w ay as for the fbrtj -j:w heels.Ifa flv cutter is used W hile I
MOM people are quitc capablc thetubeisdesignedto fit013thearbor
w heels- but the lcaves are much m ore care m ust be ta' ken because ot' 0f Carrying out thkt work required to of the w heel w ith which it
thillner than are the teeth ofa wheel. tl ak, leneth that has to be tnur ellk
ld. m zke a Pinion- thore artl som e who associated, and instead of teeth a
This is to allow sufficiellt moqrem ent vjycrut-or -/k
' c a good supply of euttillj z m ay feelthe task solllew hatdaunting. series of rods connect thd disks to
il110 Ploarance ft nrtlle pinion to rotate jjt jjk!isussentialtonreventthecutttl). lnthatcaseitisworthuq
hiletryingtt-
) cach other, the drawing and
w ith thc whecl-w itllout creating too V ,jljqyja m ustbc tkd ' vcry slow ly,froll) m ake a lantcrn pinlon-which as the photograph w illexplain thesystem far
luuch fkiction,so while thc width ofa ovel.j atcating. '-
f'he pinioj) m tlst bu- name suggests- looks like a lantern bdter than any words possibly can.
t00th On ' W' hcel a''d tl'o Space in ,rted ateach end during cutting when f '
inished.'Exccpt on replicas of Although thc cnds technically are
between is equal in the casc of a suppkions,othulavise itw illflex aw ay. Old clocks,where thc originalswould disks,ifnnaking a lalltern pinion itis
operat
Piflion th0 leaf takes ond-third of thc tyom the cutter,resulting at tlltl very' qtlite possibly havc llad such a pinion as wttll tt) Llst
l only ()l
1e disk and to
area adpd the space the reluaining two. Icast in a bad profilc if not acttlally
'This applics to pinions with six to ten tnkzj,kjing thc work.
leavcs. above that thc Iea. f occupies
tuo-t-it- ths and the space the other ordcr get a good snaooth
threc. opcration itiscssentialthatthc leavcs
Of Pinions arc givcn a good polish.. oO o
Cutttu's fbr pinions can be purchased otjaumvisu they wi1lbe dragging on the D '
but again are vcry expensive and u cth of-thc wheels. No luattcr hou oO
hollltl-llladc ones wilI bd quite carej- ulone is when ctltting.the end
satisfaclory fornlaking a singlc clock. resujt wi1l always result in a ragged Lantern Pinion TypicalEight LeefPinion
At firgt glance itwotlld appear that finisj-l of varying degrees
. Thi s m ay

s ... u; z;).p4>y;w.,.

I-
I
t,/?/7??
'
r???tt(2(,
;.y/t
f/.
/jg?tr()(f
'.
'
89

uL.I.<.I
.
 @
m achine a 1cngth of so1id brass, through square.ltcan be very ditlicull root di anleter. w'
hich in thc stated there cotlld be a chant?kzof it binding
lcaving onc end to just over the to see whcn a dri11 is wandering- instance is4.2m n'1.Itcan btlslightly inlheholeinthe fral- ne.Arborscanbe
diameter required and putting a step particularly a slmall dril1,w hich w ill sm a
ll
er forthc sake ofconvenience if lmade fron) silver steel, or special
on the other.Do notpart (t off from bend. N' Vhen all the holes are onC W ishes.Beca use of the Iength of pivotsteelin an attractivc bltle colour
the bar at this stage. M ake a disk, completed passthrough eitherlengtlls lantern orany otberpinion forthat that is already hardened can be
the
m attertherc is no need to use a colld
again oversize,withaholethatwillbe of hardened silver steel or special bought. This is difiettlt to m achine
a good fit for the step on the first blued pivot steelthat is available 1- ()1' ting iton the arbor. and the only way to use it w ithout
when m oun m achining would be to keep itatits
piecc. Solder the disk to the first clock m aterialsuppliers.Betbre doing
pieces 'soh solderw illdo tine for this thigputa spotofretaining com potllld As we know,whecls and pinions are original diam cter. ' J'o prevent it
sortofwork,butm ake surethe disk is on each.Finally the ends of the pins mounted on arbors and the pivots are m tw ing throtlgh the holes in the
sqtlare.Replace the bar in the chuck, w illneed to be ground off and thkl machined on the ends ofthese.Care plates,collarswould have tobefitted.
hasbetakento getasquareedgewhcn ltw illthereforebeaswell,tlnlessone
and machine the otltside diameter of picce thathasbeen used forchucking
machining a pivotas any taperm eans isvcry experieneedsto use silverstcel.
the ends of the pinion to size and at ptlrposesalso rem oved,
the same setting drillthe centralhole.
This w'illneed to be a good fi ton the Ofcoursei tisnotpossibletojustpick'
arborand so ensure thatthk)drilltlsed any o1d size of pi11 or an)'
isaceuratelygrotlnd,thenjtlslrubthe circum ftlrence that takes onefs falltly
cutting edges on a piece 01- em cry and tinish u'ith a pinion thatis going
c10th to take the very sharp edge off. to run with the rest of the train,Thu'
A lternatively drillthe hole undersize cllartshow s how to find both the Icai-
and tlse a ream erto getitright. thiekness-which equals the diam etcr
of the pin and the pitch circlkl
Beforepartingot- f,indextheholesand diam eter,whichisneededtoplaeethe
either spot then- lor if facilities are pils.Therefore ifwe wantan eight-
available drill then). If drillings the pin pinion for a ntlmber one m odtlle
holes can be passed rightthrough to the pitch diam eter circle of the pins
w hatwillbeconAe the bottom plate. lf will be 8mm and the pin diam etcr
'
not,part ofT and take thc work to the 1.1nzm .Tooth depth has also to btp
drilling l'nachine and drill through. considcred and the bobbin thatholds
making sure the work is perfectly thepinsm usthavetheslmalldiametec
square and that the drill also passes the same as thatshown in the chartas

91

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k1ikki ..
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 @ r @

C hapter 9 - F inishing

A wcll-tinished clock m ovement is Throughout this book thc need to

solnething that can be admired over
and over again. Although in gent lral
wetend to think'ofpolished brasswork
there is :
1grcattlealm()rc to 'linisllillg
than thatalond.N o m atterhow nicely
polished the wheels and plates m ay
be,thtleffectcan be completely ruined
by untidy work dlscwherc. A Il
polishing work should be carried out
with 1 series of progrcssively iner
polishing meditlms,the typc ofwhicll
willdepend on the originalsurface of
the m aterial being workcd on. If thc
original surface is badl y pitted thell
work willhave to startwith various
grades of abrasive papers or cloths' , profile and so a piece of suitably
theiruse should be keptto an absolute
m inim um as they can creat: m ore
problem sthan they solve.N evcruse a
piece of abrasive m aterial that has
previously been tlsed on steel) on
brass, minute particles of steel can
becom e em bcdded and cause
scratching ofthe surface.
Before work starts on polishing for
appearance itisnecessary to carry out
polishing to im prove the working of Pivots
the m ovem ent and only then can the Pivotsand the holes in whiclzthtty are
question ofappearancebcconsidered. to run need attentions although the
92
reduce friction and weight has bettl)
stressed alld first thotlghts 01 1
polishi13g m tlst bc ail' ntltl at this.
M achine-cutting lmcthods invariably
Ieavk)l uetalragged alld uneven and no
lmatter ho' w careful one is or how
sharp the tools.to gcttlle bestfrolu a
clock.extra wkll'k is ntledkld to rtln-tove
these blcm ishcs.Thislneanstrying to
s11-100th the etlgkls of the teeth on al1
wheels inclLlding the escapelnentalld
p()lishing other w' orking surfaces.
Obviously'when itcol- nes to the ted h
of u' heel$
1 a lot of care needg to be
takcn to ensurc they do notloosd their
shapcd wootl can be used i13
conjunctionwithapolishingl'
neditlnR,
taking careto keep thewoodatnindty
degrees to the sides of the wheclse
escapem ent wheels in partictllarnced
attention and it m ay again be
nceessary to make a suitably shaped
piece ofwood to getthc bestrcsults.
93
 @ @
holes reall
y should have been dealt el-nery cloth or paper to give it :1
w ith when they were madc,to ensure suitable edgc.This willprovide a nik
?e
thcre was a good running fit witllthe polish to thc holcs,butdo rulmelubel.
pivot. Special finishing broaches are to keep itsquare when itis used.
available for the purpose but anyone
not w anting to invest in these can The actualbearing surfaceofthepivtlt
easily m ake a suitabletoolfrom siIver should be polished to as high :
1linisll
steel. M achine a short length to thc as possible. Special files can be
same taperasthebroach thatwasused boughtfor so doing,w ith an edge at
to m ake the hole and file the taper to an angle which prevents destroying
halfthediam eterinthesam eway that the square edge.As usualthere is l 1k)
one m akes a d-bit.Rem ove any burrs need to investin such a toolasourold
from the edges,harden and tem perto friend a piece of hardwood dan be
a dark straw colourand then justrun presscd into service. lf the hnish on
the llatsurface on a picce ofvery line the pivot is very bad stick on somc
?<
07
 @ @
very fine em tlry papt
)r as a start and
use that, hnislling as usual with a
polishing lucdium , The biggest
problem when polishing pivots is
supporting thena and the best device
for the purpose is ajaeottool. (See
photos on pages 94-99 alld draw ings
on pages l()2 & l03)Consisting ofa
tailstock supportofsom esort,eithera
taper or bar that can be held in a
chuek, a bloek is m ade that drops
below centreheightandfittcdto thatis
a drum madc of brass or plastic that
has a series of grooves in the cdge.
These start life as holes and then are
m achined to halfthpirdiameterso thal
when theblock isrotated a groove can
be setin a position to stlpporta pivot.
lt is an easy toolto make and well
worth the eflbrt.Howeverthere isan
alternative and thatisto puta piece of
98
A
..
Nvoodcn dtnvelin the tailstock chucks
fronl lhe headstock, drill a hole thc
diam etcr of the pis'
ot to be polished-
cutthe dowelso thatonly halftht lhole
dianleter is leftand the piqotq'iIlrest
in thatwhile itis being polishdd.
C rossing O ut
This is the horologist's term for
reducing thd weight of w' heels by
removing areas frolu the centre-
lcaving a spoked effccts which can
also Iook attractive.Tht?shapd oftlle
spokcs is a m atter of pergonalchoicc
butthey should becrossedoutinstlch
11Nvay thatnice square edges are lt lh
and when polislzing is carried out
those edges are m aintained. M ost 01-
the work can be done q'ith good
quality ncedlc files,stressing the need
99
 @ @

#-.ep 7 ! ' ==xu

Amexe' 'R'
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;.
* bew
'M.
*'
.%P*4%
-'4'''# >''>'
.'F'?e''
-4'
/'aw
I '?''''e- &''

to buy quality fi1es rather thall cheap atlthor has naade a h111alI fi1ing
ones. It is far better to buy threc o1 ' m achinc thatis particulal y usefulfor
*$W* # *%*m-
four good ones, rather thal)a ' wallet crossing outas its usc tllhsures thattlle
containing num erous cheap ones,the edgcs rel -nain square wi lh the work
shapes of nlany of which woultlbc supported atninety degrtcsto the ' hle.
unsuitable ltnyway. It is possible to Detailsofconstruction ofthe l' nachine
buy escapel n ent files w hich are alv given in the Nvorkhllop Practice
specially naatle ftar this sort tlf '
I-
ine Series Book 11um bcr 3 1 :Useftl1
work and inclttde specialshapds.The W tlrksllop Tools'.
1O0
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Pallets
Obviotlsly it ig nict ? to polish tlle
visible surfaee of the pallets to l
'
nake
thel m lookgoottbutl' nostilmportantof
a11isthc necdto im partagood finish
to the working stlrfaces so they w ill
lm ate snlootllly w ith the teeth of the
tscape whkltll. lt is gcner tIly
recol-nl-nended thatthisbedonewitha
whcelrotating in the Iathe, w'lile thc
palIets are stlpported on a hand tool
rest.The polishing wheel is lmadc of
wood and by supporting thc palIet01-
the rest the working stlrfaces capl be
contoured w' hile rem aining square to
thcsides.
Plates
Firstthoughtsarethathnishillg plates
is col uparatively sinlple task hut
therearecertainthingsthat' w'cnecdto
look outfor.Al1too often a clock is
spoilt by filklm arks along the plate
edg.esandcareshouldbetaken tllatalI
these are rtlllloved by draw filillg,
while atthd sallle tinae ensuring thktt
the tldgt
?sare atninety degrcesand are
keptsquartl,Clam p theplatesbetween
lcngthsofangle to work on the edges,
keeping theangleascloseto theplate
edgesaspossible,protcctingthe sides
ofthe platesby ptttting paperbetw' dell
them and thc angle beforc tighlcning
tlp. Finish lhut edges with a very Gnu'
abrasivc c10th wrapped tightly rotlnd a
filesfollowtd by a rub w ith apittceof
sqtlare-cdged hardwood with a Iiberal
am otlntofablusspoIishersprcad on it.
104
@ to allow thtlabrasiN'cl '
Lay tl'
lc plates on a llat stlrface t' ol'
polishing the sidt ls antl tlse 11 blotzk'
with 1$ Iarge surface area to do the
work. Det'p m arks can btt rennoved
w ith an abrasivc paper, Thc type
known as wet-and-dry is very good.
Use the fillest grade and B' dt it
thoroughly washing the residue off
underarunlping tap. On finescratches,
usc a pit lee of card stuck to thtl
polishing btock and soaked in 81
polishing m ediunlsuch as Brasso ora
silmilar colnl-
nercial product. Ensure
1
when the plate is turned overthatthe
supporting surface is thorotlghiy cical)
and degreased before starting on thd
second side. It is very easy, when
polishing thc flatstlrfacesofthe platcs
1:
- PiIlal-sandl' hescl-
'z .
zuu'
zz
naterialto tr
ktustp polishi1'
1g 11'
tf
.
)p k)1,
1flatareasisl' lk'ttk)be
a rotlnding off of thc edgds. Tllis l'
econAl'
nclltltltli11ti'
le case ()ftl
'
le $'
1iIlal'
s
should be asroidcd ata11costs' ,ifspacc they t'
y:ll-
ldo tlsthpup1
-k
7job.pklrtit-t!larly
Perlm its use a large piece of trard asin luostcasesthe lastthing thatNvill
soaked in the polishing m tdiunn and be w anted '
w illbe sharp edges.
lajd on a llat surface and work the
plateon that,ratlerthan theotherukty
round. U se a figtlre-of-k?jght rbors
m oveluent' -1he '
finishcd restlltshould
The nlalerials to be used l '
br nlakiI1g
notbe grained in any way buljusl arbors has already been covtlretland
have a highly polished surfaee. for l nost pcop1t, this l 'neans siIver
Polishing mops have their purposes stcel.w'llic11 generally colues w'itl) an
but generaIly their usk
l results in already lint lly ground surfacc. Tllis
rounded edges- w hich m tlst be fi1ish call often be danntgk ld i1) :1
avoided. variety of Nvays: tbr exal -
nplt? 11)ttrks
W ral) thklplates in clean c(oth svhiIc frol
'
u cl1(lt-k jaw'
s are a k-oI2)Int'n
problelm and are oten eatlsetlby thkl
a'
wraiting rc-asscl
ubly. w ork catching and rel-
' naining
stationary Brhilc the lathklcontintlesto
rcvolve.restllting in eithcrscorillg or
Pillars distloltltlratl
'ollofthc l'
netal.11iseasy
evs-ifany.llnathol(1
theln necd partieular attention.lf the
to say.''Nlak'e stlreitdoesnotcatch in
that fashiol7'-butitis l -nuch harcler tk)
acttlally preventitfrom so doing.lfit
pillars ar: plain tlere u'ikl be no
probldm as they can be initially docshappcn the l' narkswillhavc to be
polished while rotating in the Iathe. erased by polishing and therd are
Finighing work shouldalwaysbeklolle severalschoolsofthoughton htlh'this
along thcir Iength; no matter how should be done. Thc most poptllal'
carefully lhe work is done. wilness m ethod is to use em ory cloth or 2,
m arks invariably w i1lrem ain on work sil
-niIar abrasive while the work is
done in the lathe.Ifthe pillars have revolvillg' .asw ith the pillars itisvcry
been shaped we are faced w ith hard to disguise the polishing
different problcm s as m achining operation donein thisway and a ' finc
m arksareinevitableandthcsemustbe finish can be obtaincd by working
rem oved. Frequently tiny chatter lengthways. O ncc m ores a range of
m arks are Iikely to be lcfl in any polislling m aterial should bc tltttt
recesses thal have been made and becom ing progressively tiner as he
initially thesew illhaveto beremoved fsnish improves. Here too is a job
with an abrasive paper while thcy are where :1polishing m op can do a f
irst-
in the Iathe.A lthough the tlsu of a classjob.Tllestepthatismachilledto
105
 1I I
I4
!I.
$
j'.
.
I
II
@ while thtp wlleel is held firtnly in
' purposes-as the edges ofthe wheels
'
m ake the pivotshould be treated with are used a pcrfectfinish requires a 1ot are likely atleastto be m arked vcry position, nlaterial ean be saved by
' I,1 I
i . extra care.Firstly the step mustbe at ofhard work and unless itis carried badly and at the worst irreparably using the sal'
ne piece ofwood for all
i)! .I: . ninety degrecs as,if it is atan angle, out thoroughly it w ill never be to a dam aged.At- tempting to remove such the w heels and l' naking the recess
-
I
. I
I
!. there is always a slight chance of it high standard.Don'tbeafraidto tlsea m arks would change entirely the gradually largerasthewheclsincrease
1
. m oving into the pivot holes and magnifying glass to exam ine the shape ofthe wheeland so under no in size.
'
1
l
k -
.I
:1
'I
I' creating unwantcd triction.ltfollow s linish.Frequentl y looking ata partin
'
I.
i circumstances should the mdhod be
I .'''I
i..
:j
jl ,
therefore thatwe do notreally wantto an indifferentlightw illm ake itappear resorted to.It is far better to cut a A clock is judged on two things:its
. i
' $! roundtheedgesofthestep-overwhen smooth and highly polished butgetit sm allrecess in a piece ofwoodsin ability to kt
lep tim e and its overall
' jI appearance,that latter only achievcd
1' polishing and one way to avoid thisit in abrightlightandparticularlyifthat which the wheel w i1l fit w ithout
;. to m ake a smallfurrellto slip on the light is angled to the surface, what m oving around and w ith the edges byhardworkanddedicationbutinthe
long run is wellworthwhile.
' 7,k
l
1 j.
l cndsothatemerypaper.etcwillnot onceseemedtobeperfectcanlook proud of the lip. This allows tbe
''
. II. tendtotipovertheedgcasitismovedbadly scored . lf possible look atitin polishing m edium to be kept tlat,

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alongthelcngth. daylight,whichisfarsuperiortoany
artificiallightthatisavailable.
'
hIr
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I 'I , Som e peoplc like to see blue arbors

i i1jI s'Iaterials s
I EII I and apart om using special blue
li
Ijr. I Itcannotbe stressed too much that pivotsteel, there are other ways to
i.(
11,l
I
2i
; coarseabrasivec10th orpapershould achievethis.Mostmodclengineering
' I: I
'
' Ii.,I,i,j
.1I,j never be used and we should think suppliers. all gunsmiths and somc
only in tel-ms of l ine and extra sne suppliersofclock parts can supply the
j1I : m aterials.W here there are deep m arks nccessary chem icalsto blue the steel.
.
11 ,.-' it is better to rem ove them with a ltis a simple process and the finished
'I , a
I'. l. g :, Sw iss precision tiIe' , these are resultcan look very good btltin order
I I. . .
l ' '
' I :I ' ' available in a num ber ot grades and to getthe rightresultthe steelm ustbe
j
I' generally speaking Grade () will be highly polished in the first place.
I
Il1
i' I
! I needed for deep marks,moving to Chemical blueing will not rcmove
;.II
?

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g
,'.1I
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1
Grade4asthemarksredtlceindepth. blemishesandmustberegardedasa
Never use cheap files as they w ill m eans of enhancing appearances
i L.I
I
. '-
j
!I'I,' 1-! cause nlore PrOblems than they Nvi1l ratherthan aquickfix to savea 1otof
II .'I
: rem ove. ln the long run it w ill be polishing work.
ji''
!. found cheaperto buy one good lile
'
il . '
'
I j that willotl
tlasthalf a dozen cheap
1I II j
.. ones. Nyrjyrrj,
9. 1
,11'I. There are m any proprietary m aterials A normal engineering m ethod of
; 1 ' II
I'
;;I available txor imparting a very high holdingwheelsforworkingon thetlat
, 'j.
.
'
I
I;.' ?I
: finish and they can be botlghtthrough surf.acewould be to putpinsin a piece
I
:.' (ii ood suppliers of horological of wood, adiacent to the edges, to
l '. 1.I
1
. I
#
m aterials-
.m ost willdo a farsuperior prevcnt the .work m oving w ith the
1 ! ''.I
..' '
' '
.
' j
eo
Ib toan
scwhe ythNo
re. ingmthaatt
tec
ra
n betpmuracth
wha aisal
er ed
s acetio
ar
n ofthcpolishing
rather too drastic fors
.
ucochkm
cl met hong
akids
I l
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lI
I 107
'I
I1 106
h III1
I I;
( i
Kjuil
..
x1I!
.l1..,.. l
 @
C hapter 10 -
F aces, H ands and C ases
Having goneto a grcatdealoftrouble
to l'
naktpa c1oek 1hcn i1isbeholden 01 1
thebuilderto titan attractive face to it
and there ark?nllmerotls ideas thalcktn
be used for s0 dolng. Befoi 'kl
discussing tllesd wtl should Iook at
how tlle fat le wilI bd fitted to thc
l'
novcl-nent. In its bttsic form atker
having been collnpletcd the frontface
of the movenlent w ill consist of a
plate.with four screvvs orbolts atthtl
cornersand a nulmberofholesthrotlgh
Nvhich are sticking pieces ofstcel(l11c
pivots)thatgo rotlndwhen tlklkrlotzk is
w orking.Itisnotatthisstage thklnlost
'
attractive thing to Iook at.Anyuuy it
Nvould notbepossibleto tita factl01)it
as itstandsand so allotherplate (2a1Ied
109
I
 Thcre are hundreds of com m ercially
m ade faccs in al1 sizes available for
thosc who do notw ish to attem ptto
m ake their ow n; they range from -.---.- - -..-- -*' '' - . --.m
being very cheap to highly expensive.
The expensive onesare worksofartin - . - - - *.-. -- ..
their Ow n rightand are in m ost Cases
quitc intricate in theirdesign.They are *
m adeofmetaland engraved oretchede *
not only with the num erals but also
w ith various patterns.This is not to
say that som e of thk l cheapcr - -. - . -- w ..- .. .-- -0
com m ercially-m ade dials arc not
attractive and a book like this cannol
. - ..... .. . .. . - .- .- -- ..- .*
possibly offer a description of th:
whole wide range.
Clock FrontPlate False Plate Face Rate
W e are anyway concerned w ith
m aking a clock and for m any,if not
m ostpeople.thiswillinclude theface.
W c should start by separating faces
into two parts, the full face antl the
chapter ring.The latter consists of a
m etalring ofsuitable diam eterprinted
w ith hours and probably sub-divided
into m inutes.This is hxed to a basc, , . - .

frequently of wood,and is quite ' ;

,
j
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attractiveparticularly on largerclocks. .
.'' )) t
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Thc fullface isexactly whatthcnam c ..(r :.
7
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suggests:a com plete printed face as L)
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yt
;- '''
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t
a false plate is puton the front.This one unit. t
..

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.
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.
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-
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k
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:
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p.
:
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E.
..
,
:
has a large hole in the centre that '
.
l)
tsi
.
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.
' yy
'f k
,
. ;
allows plcnty of clearance for the W hichevertype is chosen the biggest )
?j
. '
)
r;# -..,
hand colletsand forthe square on the problem w ill be the num erals. W ith t
'j?,. ..
tr' ,
end ofthe drum ,w hich is to be used care itispossibl t'
kr
f
.
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. .
.

eto engrave Roman )

i
1
' '
,.
k. '
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i
for winding. Four pillars keep the numerals with the aid of a milling , .
platc ata suitable distance and short m achine.Itw i11be aswellto firstdraw j.
;
7
,
extensions to these support a further them fu11size on a piece ofpaperand y7
plate, the screw s into this are then decide the bestway to setabout '
(
'
E
countersunk so they are not it. To form a figure l it w ill be )
noticeable, it is know n as the front necessary to use a straight line with
plate and the face willbe l
ixed to it. short cross pieces and in orderto get

11O
I
 '
:

@ bechem icallyblackedforappearance. I
:

Itisalso possible to buy self-adhesivc

plastic numcralsw ith various' l
inishes
that can be stuck on to alm ost any
surface.Transfcrs,which are specially .-..-----:
designed for clock faces, are also E .
:
*
readily available and itis diffictlltto j
E
.
i
tellthem from cngraving.W e are al1 : :
.
. : :
aware of the wide range of rub-on g :
transfers non'aka
'ilable in stationers : i
and most art suppliers stock a i j
considerably larger range than the
average stationer.These do not look
al1 that attractive ' w hen used for
nlaking clock faces but if they art?
caret'
tllIy appliedto brassandthen left ! :
'
to soak for twenty-four hours in an E :
: E
ctching solution as purchased at '
: :
.
dealers in radio eqtliplnentsthe brass :
' .
'
t.ound them w illetch away lea:,ing tlltp l--......J
-
figures standing proud. ' W -ithout
rem oving the transtkrs,wash the factl
these accuratc the graduations on the orring in waterand allow itto dry but
table 1111
.1stbttuorked to.Figtlres X or do not rub it to get it dry. Apply a
V wilIneed to be a pairoflines.again chem ical blacking solution to thkl
w ith short cross pieces top and met alandwhenithasdoneitsjobarub
bottol-n'-two sizcs of cutter should be off the transtkrs.The result is black
used on thesc figtlres to give an face or ring w ith bright brass
inlproved appcarance.On sl- nallclock numbers.Be careftllhow the transfers
facesnormall' nilIing cuttersare Iikely are rubbed off as the etclling is not
to be too Iarge and dentalburrscan be N'ery deep and ifthey are attacked with
used instead.A pointofinterestisthat emery paptlr thtl num bers wi11 bc
a clock nevershowsthe tigure lV:four rubbed rightaway.
is alw ays shown as IIII.The ' I
illished
num berscan I nkrfilled w ith black wax- Readers who havc com puters cal'
which show s up weI1 on brass or produce their own designs for cIock
altlm inium ,whichever is used forthe faces, which can be printed on thin
face orchapterring. card and stuck in place.A lternatively . .
they can be printed on a transf-ersheet F/lt?.b.al'lo.
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I Hands can be cutfrom thin brass or r.
m ovcm ent would bc advised to take fr
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ofa com ptlterand stltittem porariIy in
placo.A day or1wo iatklrdraw another ersonal ideas cannot bc used. For
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t. -/kt,F.c,//?t/t?,?a t.t????/?lI/t:,:Theb't..t/n pt.
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ity to a clock and m akt l it
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1eld togttther should btp possiblkl to get stlitable
using a tIcarsi1icone and uotlzing else l-
nalel-ialsto t'
nake sl-nal1ercIock cases
and looks attractive as there is 110 from ()nt7ofthe til-nbcrlmerchants that '
wooden beading to obscure the vic' w dcal in hardwoods although it l' nay
of the clock.The base on which the n-lcau dealing w ith a colnpany solme
I case stands should be of hardwood distancdfroln ' whereouelivesasthere
.
and havtt a groove cut in it for the arc not lllany ofthzm Ieftthese days. '

' glasscase to slip into. Infoj-nlation on wllere to (lbtain wood 1,

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I The l 'nore traditional glass case ca11 be obtained frol' n the .
! consists of thin wooden beading with advertisel-nents in l'nagazines dealing
the glass Iet into it. Again hardwood with woodworking orclocks. :
should bk ltlsed and the gl
-ooN' tlforthc 'ases cal)bc ' hnishkld vvitl)one ofthe
glass can be made with a nlilling n-lodern varnishes althotlgl
l .
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I; appearancc, oncc agai1 it is w,ol-th advice is to contact advcrtiscrs in .
Y'
OI-ITIUIZS
1 haN'ing thc t
ldgt?softhk lglasspolished spccia1ist llaagazines for help and
. . '
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vvhklk
llarrangel-
nu'ntand forfinding
betore t'
nak'illg the case. infon-nation before deciding thc best lellgtllofposverchol'ttrequircd.
svav to $.
:t)abotlt it.It is bestto avoitl
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5- s' -
t'ores w,j aeI1 tj)nking oj- N ().oftccth in centrklw'htlelx N o.t3ftoeth i113rd U llt?e1 64 x 6()
traditiona1 terlms Nvhcn considering oj- = ($()
. naaterjajs. thcir stock' is ailmcd at a N o. 0ftceth in 3rd pinion x No.ofteeth il'
lestlaptlNvhkltllpinion 8x 8
ciascsandthtlchoiceofsvoodbeconles I-
nass l markut ant. t t-
or a differcnt
nlportant.ldealIy the case should be pul.pose an(jis unlikcly to bc stlitable A Sthe celltl-e 411001pinion has eighttkltlth and the groat&N'
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l001ninoty-six,the
.
. lmade of hardvvood planks btlt these jbrthissortofwork. NN'I'CCIrotates: 96
1
.. are gettil1g lnord and luore dit-ficultto 8 = 12 hours
obtaill. For long castl clockh i sol-
nkl slany cloek cascs arc tinished with
scctions ctluld bt '
tl'nade ot- veneerkld f-ancy. shaped beading and ornalments JXl'
1CIiftho dialmctklrOfthebarl-elis2 inohkrs,th0col
o h'i11beunnmund.
I blockboard but the problclm oj- Nvhich can be obtaincd frol m supplicrs
iI 7:x 2 = 6.ajykj ak
yjaj
;sij atht
?sam cpcriod.Asthecord isdotlble.the wvightfalls
I . obtaining suitable m aterials is Of clockl- naking equiplllent,althotlgh tlll.t'ugja011jy yjajj-tjak?distance thatitunNvindsfrom the barrele 'ic,3.14 inchds
l beconning N'klry diflicult indced. ()11kl l'
nostly wood som e of thcse
in tNs,e!N,k2jaoursorj 'ustover6andaquartdrinchesevdry fulIday oftwenty-
' ansurer is to tlse hartlwood strips and Cn- lbellishl'
nents are brass and either
fit a good qtlality vtpllccred p1y in B' l)'tldy do add tlle tinishing totlches t-
ourjjouys,' Thatis-thecquivalcntoffourfeetantlt'
j
wo inchdsineightdays' .

' u'hich is abotltt' lkll

- maxinaunathatnlostpeople are likcly t()w'antitto un' w ind.
I nlachinedgrooves;itishard tt)teI1the to 11t- lltok case. jtal m ountsto abouth ;ixtcen turnsround t)'
. le Nvj)k)t?Iand so therc should be abotlt
finishkld result frolm solid wood. It scvunteen coiIson the drtllm.

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C hord Tables
To dikide a cirt
zlt
linto even sections.tlse thctable below.The figurcsgiqren are
fora dialmeterofone.To fintlrequilvd figtlre-l uultiply Iength 01-k2Ilord forthe
numberofspaceswanted by diam etcrofcircleto bedivided.
Num ber Length Num ber Length N um ber Length
ofSpaces ofChord ofSpaces ofC hord ofSpaces ofC hord
I
3 0.8860 36 0.0872 69 0.0455
4 0.7071 37 0.0848 70 0.0449
Pendulum s 5 0.5878 38 0.
0826 71 0.0442
6 0.5000 39 0.0805 72 0. 0436
The mathem aticalcalculation fortim ing a com plete oscillation ofa sim ple y (
.
).4339 4: ().
()'
yj
yj yj
j :.4.)4.3:
pendulum is: 8 0.3827 4l 0.0765 7y ().(
.)4,4
'
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1 length
Tim e - 7: gr . 9 0.3429--- 42 0.0747 75 ().0419
I avity in feet ,
' I0 ().3090 43 :.073() 76 0.04I.
7
i ' lI ().2817 44 0.0713 77 0.0408
or t= ! whcre7:=3 14 l59 gravity = 32.l9
.
I
i 12 0.2588 45 0.()698 78 0.0403
f
c
s l3 0.2393 46 0.0682 79 0.0398
l4 0.2225 47 ().0668 80 ().0393
j
i Tocalctllate thktlcngth of:1pcndulum required for:1given trainofwheelstlltl jj ()a()y(
) 4: (),()(jj4 hyj (.
).e?jyjy
totalnumberofteeth in the centre,third and cscap: wheels,are multiplicd ()'jgjj 49 (
16 . .,.:6, .
4.) jya ().()?j
y?
together and then multiplicd by two.They are then divided by the numberof ajj jy? ()
' - 17 0.1838 50 0.()6 .()?,
yjy
I leavesin thepinionsotthird and escape.m tlltiplicdtogcther
. 18 0.1736 51 ().t)61( 3 84 ().().
y,
yz)
Forexalzzple,Centre Svheel= 64t-Third W heel= 60t-Escape W heel= 30t 19 0.l646 52 ().()6()4 85 0.0370
IIi
I Pinionsare1
70th8 leaf. 20
20
0
0
.1564 53 0.0592 86 0.0365
. 1590 54 0.058l 87 0.036l
64 x 60 x 3()x 2 J,Z ().ju
:
):3 .
'
F.5 (.
),4).
,
57j :8 (.
).().
357
. 8x 8
= 3604)beats per hour
.
g..,.J
I ().j?()a j(j ().4)56j j.
49 ().()?j?
I .
I2. 36(): 24 0.l305 57 0.055l 90 0.0349
I () = 60 beats perm inute 25 0.l253 58 0.0541 91 0.0345
. 6
26 0.l205 59 ().()532 C)2 0.034 I
27 0.116l 60 ().0523 93 0.0338
28 0.l120 6I 0.05 15 94 0.0334
I 29 ().l081 62 0.0507 95 0.0331
30 0.1081 62 0.()507 96 0.033l
II 3I 0.l012 64 ().0491 97 0.0324
I
It 32 0.0980 65 0.0483 98 0.0321
I 33 0.0951 66 0.0476 99 0.0317
1g I 122 34
5.
0.
0
0. 923
0896 67
68 0.
0
0. 469 100 0.
0462 0314
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C om m on C lock Trains
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I C-entrc 31-(
1 3rd Scapt
y tscape Vibralions Length of
'
q/heel Pinioll Nvheel Pinion N'
Vhtrtll pt
lr nlintlte Pendulul
'n

j'
l12 14 1()5 14 60 6() 39.l4''
t?6 12 9() I2 3() 6() 3t?.I4''
I
I 80 l0 75 10 30 60 39.14''
' 64 8 6() 8 3t) 6(
) 39 14''
!I
r 75 h4 6() 8 32 75 25.53''
80 8 72 8 3() t
?() 17.39
'' 1()8 12 1()() 1() 32 96 !5.28

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