Bayside Woodturners and Woodcrafters Club - Gallery of Machinery Group

Furniture & Construction (Machinery Use) Gallery

timber clock - Bob Webb
Bob Webb - Timber Clock

Chair - Bob Webb
Bob Webb - Turned & carved chair

Entertainment Unit - Jim Butler
Jim Butler - Entertainment Unit

Coffee Table - Jim Butler
Jim Butler - Coffee Table / Storage Box

Sailing ship - Ed Newbry
Sailing Ship- Ed Newbry

Boxes by Bob Hains Added 18th of November, 2010
	""Mid 2010 Project Box "
" Late 2010 Project Box"
	" Late 2010 Project Box"

Clock by Laurie Gwynne

Added 14th of May, 2010

THE CLOCK

The Clock Group was formed about 2 years ago on the instigation of Bob Webb (President). Several Club members agreed it would be challenging to build a wooden geared clock, powered not by spring or weight but by electricity through electrical circuits that we would have to construct. Under Bob’s guidance and supervision we cut gears and pinions, soldered circuits and manufactured frames for our clock’s gears all the while seeking from Bob answers to innumerable questions.

The clock in the photographs was constructed over a period of 15 months. The gears were cut from a laminate of 2 pieces of 4mm marine ply glued together and then veneered on both sides with red cedar giving a thickness of 10mm. The teeth were cut using a fret saw and then treated with HEMPEL to harden the wearing areas. The frame was made from Rose Mahogany and all components were constructed in a manner that allowed it to be disassembled. This was necessary to enable modifications found necessary as construction continued. The pendulum rod was made from 6mm Tasmanian Oak doweling and the bob was turned, hollowed and weighted to 400gms with lead shot. The coil used to power the clock was wound on a wood lathe and gives 16 ohms resistance. All the electrical circuitry is housed on top of the case under the top ornamental cover. The coil is positioned just below the pendulum and is activated by a slot switch, mounted on the back of the case, through which passes a flag, with a slot in it, attached to the pendulum. Thus the power to the coil is made and broken by the swinging of the pendulum. This creates an electro magnet that switches on and off as the pendulum swings and systematically attracts and releases the metal section located at the lower end of the pendulum thus powering the clock.

The clock! (Below)

The case was made from Rose Mahogany with 2 front doors and 2 removable glass side panels on each side to provide easy access to all working parts. The face was turned from Hoop Pine and the hourly markings are strips of Black Walnut glued to the face. The clock hands were made from Black Walnut and Silver Ash veneer glued at right angles to give rigidity.

Initially, basic timing was achieved by adjusting the voltage to the coil. This was not always successful as increased voltage made the pendulum swing beyond the sides of the case. Time and patience eventually helped determine the most appropriate voltage which, for this clock, is 4.25 DC volts. Having sorted the voltage out further timing was achieved by altering the height of the pendulum bob by adjustment of a knurled nut below the bob on the pendulum. Again patience was essential as any adjustments were found to need 24 hours to settle down. Continual adjustment over a period of several weeks has resulted in an accuracy of +or- 20 seconds daily.

The clock building exercise has been challenging and enjoyable and is recommended for those wishing to enjoy the clock making journey.

Laurie Gwynne

Member

Clock Group

Clocks by Bob Webb Added 25th of April, 2010 All these clocks are driven by electro magnetic pendulums using a photo voltaic or slot switch to control the pendulum travel. They are all home designed and home made. They operate at between 2.8 volts for the grandmother clock to a little over 6 volts for the earlier versions of my designs. The design journey is not yet over because I have recently discovered that the pendulum bobs require much less weight than thought and so I am slowly modifying them.
The clock corner! (Below)	Close up of first wooden geared clock. (Below)

Close up of second wooden geared clock. (Below)	Close up of third wooden geared clock. (Below)

This is what I call my grand mother clock because it is too small to be called a grandfather clock. It was the original Brian Law design that did not work and which was modified by changing wooden wheels teeth count and pinions, and then adding an electromagnetic pendulum. All remains of the original design is the frame which houses the movement and even that has been heavily modified. (Below)	Three wooden geared clocks in final stages of timing adjustments (rating) - accuracy improving; objective 1 minute per week. (Below)

This is the first brass and wood combination. The teeth and pinions are brass, the centre of the wheels is treated marine ply. (Below)	This is the final design. The clock is much smaller. The wheels have red cedar veneer. (Below)

Boxes by Peter Rush Added 20th of April, 2010

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