Member postings for Dick H

I think it is "A Spring Driven Fusee Striking and Repeating Bracket Clock" by C. Reeve published in edn.s 3414,3415,3417,3418,3419 of Model Engineering in 1971. bit scant on detail.

Dick.

Many thanks for the comments. I am aware of the dangers of letting down clock springs and could do it safely. The problem is the uncertain nature of the beast due to the corrosion/thick grease etc. I think I will immerse the mechanism in a hydrocarbon and see if this changes the feel of the springs, failing this rust killer of some sort. I just don´t want it to go off whilst I´m dismantlling it! I was just after a bit of wisdom.

Dick.

I´ve been given a spring driven regulator style clock mechanism. Sentimental value, no case. I was told it had been "over wound", I suspect the drive springs are rusted together. Before taking it apart I would like to obviously let down the springs rather than them potentially free themselves during disassembly. Any suggestions? Marinate in rust remover?

Not sure how to proceed.

Suggestions welcome.

Dick

Just in case, get the on-screen keyboard going, then you can use the mouse to enter stuff and you know what you are entering. A couple of years ago every Windows update blitzed my keyboard driver on my old laptop and this was the only way to break back in. Every key press on the keyboard took an age to register on the screen.

A couple of years after I got my mini-lathe the back drive bearing on the lathe went, I thought I had completely f**ked it, the plastic gears stripped and it stopped (not necessarily in that order),.

I replaced the plastic gears with metal ones. As someone said at the time, next time something else will go.

One suggestion at the time was to use a hole, probably for the earth connection behind the control electronics to inject lubricant. On my lathe the only access was a couple of screw holes, other lathes seem to offer better access. Another suggestion was whilst you are there to drill a couple holes so you can have a look and or lubricate without having to take the headstock off. I did neither, just applying a bit of grease and putting it back together.

Whilst I was at it I replaced the ball bearings with roller bearings. David Fenner´s "The Mini Lathe" book was useful. Arc-Euro trade has some nice illustrated articles (lots of pictures) on the taking apart and rebuilding. Now they seem to advocate other bearings.

Dick H

Google "Fog catcher" or "CloudFisher". They´ve been used in Tanzania.

Looks a bit like this set up from Doll & Co. or Carl Doll (**LINK** You can probably count the teeth from the photos.

Have you considered clock cleaning solution recipes? Ammonia, oleic acid (liquid soap) and a pinch of acetone diluted down with water. But don´t leave it in too long.

If you Google around (mast, traveller, cars) the more modern versions of these things are quite interesting with recirculating precision ground delrin or torlon ball systems. The prices are eyewatering.

Someone once described yachting to me as standing under a cold shower tearing up 10 pound notes.

PEEK or PEK. Both high temperature polymers that machine well, look at the carbon fibre (CF) and PTFE filled bearing grades/varieties. Perhaps also partially glass fibre (GF) reinforced

Failing that UHMWPE, used for low friction applications.

Where did the original come from?

DickH.

Not sure how the smiley got in there!

Thanks for the links, the problem is to get small quantities. Bavaria has lots of little precision engineering firms, they must get small quantities of material from somewhere. The problem is that the brass I need is slightly chunkier than a model engineer would use, eg. 50 mm (2" dia. brass tube, 3-4 mm wall thickness but I only need a 3" length, similarly 4 mm brass plate. If I go down to the Modelbau exhibition in Friedrichshafen at the beginning of November I´ll ask around.

Dick.

Thanks but I´ve sourced from M&P before, they are fantastic for lots of things. The sort of things that are hard to come by are brass tubes for barrels with the required wall thickness for clocks etc.

Dick.

Does anyone out there have any good sources for brass (for barrels or plates) on mainland Europe? Given the punitive postal costs from GB, I´m looking around. I would also be interested to hear of any members in southern Germany.

Thanks in advance,

Dick.

Pot chuck.

Just had a look at our fridge freezer. These sliders appear to float on the rail, i.e. clearance top and bottom wrt the sides of the rail.. Before replacing the slider again, it might be a good idea to check if the rail is installed level and that the hinges that support the decorative outer door haven´t sagged. These kitchen hinges are a pet hate.

I take it this is the slider between the real fridge door and the outer decorative cladding.

Where does the thing break?

You seem to have a CAD model of it.

Wouldn´t it be possible to beef it up where necessary, add fillets or make bits thicker and less prone ot breaking and 3D print it? Make it too strong and the next thing to go will be the plastic rail it slides on. I´m sure there are some experts in 3D printing out there,

Perhaps the producers of the BBC2 programme "The Repair Shop" would be interested, then they would have two of them to polish and could use them as bookends?

Living in Bavaria my local model engineering exhibition is "Faszination Modellbau" held in Friedrichshafen (end October/ beginning if November) down at Bodensee (Lake Constance). The exhibition is held over 3 days in about 8 large halls. Apart from the stench of IC racing cars in a confined space and the sulphurous smell of coal fired miniature steam engines running on trackes spread over 2-3 halls and traction engines chugging around, I have nothing to complain about.

My partner would have told me if something was wrong or didn´t smell right She humours me by coming along. She seemed quite happy to look at the model railways whilst I looked around at the various stalls and exhibits.

This place is big with high ceilings and large display halls (almost aircraft hanger size). ( Perhaps that is the deciding factor).

Just in case you think this was a purely German event there was a group of Welsh steam enthusiasts running their engines there last year and in the trade display with a Myford lathe. All the usual scale model firms were also there together with all sorts of specialist firms.

Slow fliers, all sorts of vehicle models and aircraft models were on display. A bit of anarchy.

Apart from that a good cafeteria and a beer garden. In the middle of all this we sat in the beer garden whilst the Zeppelin based there took off low over the the exhibition area on a tourist jolly and proud model owners circled the area on riding on miniature traction engines (picture if you will a guy in bavarian dress with a ZZ top style beard riding a miniature traction engine).

One problem for me, no clocks.

No BO problems but we arrived fairly late , just as the early birds were departing clutching their RC helicopters etc.

Sorry to muddy the waters.

If you look at the Clickspring video on YouTube (How To Make A Clock In The Home Machine Shop - Part 20 - The Crutch Assembly And Eccentric Bushing) **LINK**.

The eccentric bushing and the clamping screw for the crutch are nicely illustrated in the first 20-60 s of the video.

In the absence of any analysis, I fear the solution proposed "to make a new anchor" without knowing what was wrong with the previous one and where the fault lies is just tapping in the dark.

Has it been put together too tightly, does it rattle? If you run the clock without the escapement engaged does it still whizz round if you gently squeeze the front and back plates between your thumb and forefinger?