The wooden clock

(See the full project here)

This project actually started out as a school assignment, which asked us to make a device to accurately keep track of time, but i decided to take the opportunity to try to make a working wooden clock.  Whats notable about this project is that unlike most of my other creations, i put aside a large amount of time for calculating dimensions and designing before actually starting work.  The clock was able to accurately keep track of time to within 0.5 seconds, and depending on the height on which it was placed, it could run for an average of 45 seconds before the weight hit the floor.  The clock is entirely made out of wood and screws, with some metal weights.  My friend helped me finish the pendulum and base, as well as calibrate the whole device.

Proof of concept with legos (clock)

Every project has to start with a concept, and often a proof of that concept.  This model here is a proof of my concept for the wooden clock- before i even began building anything, i decided to test if my idea would even work.  As you can see here, it does!

"Blueprints" (clock)

The original sketches i made for the clock were much messier, and had numbers all over them, so this is a slightly later cleanup of the design.  However, this is the design i stuck with for most of the build! The clock could have been better with more gears- it could have lasted longer, but after one failed attempt of making a gear, i decided to keep the amount of gears to a minimum.  The design itself is fairly simple- just a reduction train leading to a crude escape mechanism (or what i remember escape mechanisms to have looked like back when i took clocks apart... not that much similarity, but it works!!)

basic parts cut out (clock)

Here you see the basic parts cut out, namely a rough pendulum/escape mechanism, the crank, and a couple spacers which i made using a lathe.  The sheet in the back is what my calculations looked like for getting the dimensions for the clock (namely the pendulum).

Print out gears (clock)

After many hours of attempting to draw my own gear with a compass, i decided it would be more efficient to print out designs of the gears i needed.  Here i'm transferring the design onto the plywood i was cutting the gears out of.

Gear cutting... (clock)

Now comes the actual cutting plywood into gear shapes.  Without a bandsaw, or coping saw for that matter, i had to first cut out the rough shape with a hacksaw, then drill holes to match the round section in between the teeth, and finally go around and cut out each triangle with a dremel tool.  A lot more work than i anticipated! I had to cut 4 gears, 2 big and 2 small for the clock to work properly.

All gears finished!! (clock)

Finally finished cutting out the gears!! They're not perfect, but with a few tests nailed to a piece of wood, they seem to work fine.  All thats left is to nail them to a board, screw on the pendulum, and weight it correctly!

Finished! (clock)

Finished!!
A bit of a jump in progress, but the rest was quick to put together. My friend shuster came over and helped make the base and check the clock for timing, and happily, the largest gear does make 1 revolution every 10 seconds. For a video of the clock in motion, look here!