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The Case for Clocks

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John Olsen	01/11/2010 00:00:16
1294 forum posts 108 photos 1 articles	Sam, I have had to do a similar sort of thing to put up the drawings I have done. I draw in Alibre. That will save views of the 3D model in PDF, or I can output the drawings as isometric or standard views to a PDF file. I then take a screenshot of the pdf file, load it into photoshop, then save as a jpg. With the suggested mod to the Rina engine that I did the other day, it took half an hour to produce the drawings (two of them) and then twenty minutes to get them into jpg for upload. It would be really nice if we were allowed to upload pdf files! On the case, I really think that a clock as beautiful as that needs a classier case than just perspex. But not something fancy and baroque, just a simple design that leaves the clock to speak for itself. The beveled glass idea sounds good to me. There are people doing that sort of thing at the hobby level, so it must be possible. regards John
Stub Mandrel	01/11/2010 19:44:12
4318 forum posts 291 photos 1 articles	I have to agree with you about Photoshop being a time thief. It also mops up a huge amount of disc space especially with RAW, which I now use almost exclusively. Just for the record, and because I’m a rank amateur, I transferred the skeleton clock image from Keycreator to Photoshop, switched it to jpg, then dropped the file size down to <500kb for ME purposes. Why? Because I don’t know a better way. Hi Sam, Professional photographers will keep you awake all night telling you that you have to keep your photos in RAW format. Ten or twelve years ago I used to get endless complaints if I sent jpegs to a printer, they insisted on 'lossless compression'. These days we use jpeg compression for everything, and the effects are invisible - just play with the settings and see what works and what doesn't. If the file drops to about 10% of original size I defy you to spot any artefacts of compression. You can go way lower and still get printable results. Neil
V8Eng	01/11/2010 20:02:36
1826 forum posts 1 photos	Don't know anything about Oz, but in the UK we have craft fairs where small workshop type glassblowers exhibit, I wonder if that is a feasible route for getting a glasss dome made. Edited By V8Eng on 01/11/2010 20:03:54
NJH	01/11/2010 21:49:23
2314 forum posts 139 photos	Well Neil I don't want to get away from ME but I do a lot of (amateur) photography and RAW is the way to go for that. It enables the maximum amount of control over your images and, whilst the camera will produce processed and compressed jpegs which are suitable for many purposes, once you settle for this format you can never reclaim the quality that has been thrown away. As an example I recently made a 5% crop of an image, carried out considerable tonal changes, converted it to black and white and printed it up at 300x300mm. I'm very happy with the result. It would not have been possible to do this with the jpeg file. However it does depend on the use you have for the image and to post on this site, for example, I would of course convert to jpeg and limit the size. In a similar way I wouldn't polish Sam's clock parts with 80 grit paper!! Enough photography - back to the workshop. Regards Norman
Sam Stones	01/11/2010 22:14:52
922 forum posts 332 photos	Norman, That’s a nice summary about RAW. I have to admit that most of my pictures in the clock album have been enhanced one way or another. Having been a Leica man, there’s something in me which craves good results. As for polishing the brasses, 1200 grit is the finest I have, before going on to `Silvo'. But, what’s the best way of getting rid of this stuff after polishing, especially in the nooks and crannies? Regards, Sam PS I have a little ultrasonic (pen) cleaner from when I drew in ink.
NJH	04/11/2010 10:35:15
2314 forum posts 139 photos	Hi Sam I've been waiting and hoping that you would get a flood of replies detailing good ways to remove excess polishing compound from clocks - but there is a deafening silence ! Yes it is slow and tedious and the traditional peg wood still has its place. How about dental floss for some of the internal angles? I would be interested to know the success of your ultrasonic cleaner, and , if it works, where such a tool can be obtained. Regards Norman
Stovepipe	04/11/2010 11:05:29
196 forum posts	Would some of the Dremel accessories (mounted on a flexible shaft) do the trick ? Dennis
Tony Jeffree	04/11/2010 11:23:27
569 forum posts 20 photos	Posted by NJH on 04/11/2010 10:35:15: Hi Sam I've been waiting and hoping that you would get a flood of replies detailing good ways to remove excess polishing compound from clocks - but there is a deafening silence ! Yes it is slow and tedious and the traditional peg wood still has its place. How about dental floss for some of the internal angles? I would be interested to know the success of your ultrasonic cleaner, and , if it works, where such a tool can be obtained. Regards Norman You can buy inter-dental brushes of various diameters that have always struck me as having potential uses for cleaning out pivot holes etc. I purchased a small ultrasonic leaner from Aldi a couple of years back - not many ££ - it works fine, but the bath is way too small for cleaning clock plates. I have seen similar sized ones on sale at the various ME shows (although not as cheaply). Would be useful for cleaning individual wheels and smaller parts though. An ultrasonic cleaner big enough to accommodate clock plates would be nice, but not cheap. Regards, Tony
NJH	04/11/2010 12:02:56
2314 forum posts 139 photos	Thanks a lot Tony Inter - dental brushes - great idea! Now my wife is a fan of these so there must be some around here somewhere.I don't suppose I could get her to demonstrate their use on a clock ?...........................no best not ask I guess! Regards Norman
Tony Jeffree	04/11/2010 12:25:58
569 forum posts 20 photos	Posted by NJH on 04/11/2010 12:02:56: Thanks a lot Tony Inter - dental brushes - great idea! Now my wife is a fan of these so there must be some around here somewhere.I don't suppose I could get her to demonstrate their use on a clock ?...........................no best not ask I guess! Might also be worth giving these a try: http://www.dentalshop.co.uk/acatalog/Sulcabrush.html The brush tip (which unscrews for replacement) has a cylindrical bundle of nylon fibres with a conical point - looks to me like it was designed with cleaning inaccessible bits of small mechanisms in mind... Regards, Tony
Cornish Jack	04/11/2010 13:56:57
1228 forum posts 172 photos	Sort of on topic (in respect of producing jpgs) I use a tip from another forum - With your required image on screen, hit Ctl,Print Scr. Go to Accessories and open Paint. Go to Edit and Paste. Select the crop tool and delineate the edges of your image and Crop. Press Ctl, C. Open Paintshop (or similar) and press Ctl, V. Select Save As and jpg as the format and Robert is your Dad's brother!! Rgds Bill
Ian S C	04/11/2010 15:36:20
7468 forum posts 230 photos	Sam, if you can find a supplier, brass extrusion in many shapes are available, including angle with a groove for glass, it can be plain, or patterned, and would make a nice frame for the transparent pannels of your clock. The door could be made of U section brass to matchthe rest of the case. Ian S C
Buster	28/12/2010 09:23:50
20 forum posts	Hi Sam, i have made lots of cases from (L) shaped wood from diy stores, most that i have seen is a white hardwood but there are some that is made from Mahogany type wood, each corner is mitred so that 3 pieces make one corner, i use super glue for a quick fix and then use veneer patches to strengthen each corner on the inside, you can then use thin double sided tape (window fitting outfits) or coloured silicone to fix thin picture glass, light and easy to lift on and off for winding, cheers Dave
Sam Stones	30/12/2010 02:38:33
922 forum posts 332 photos	Hi David, Thank you for your posting. I have to admit to only ever making one case similar to your description. It was made to enclose and protect a model of the Wasa Sailing Ship by Airfix, which had received a considerable amount of my time and patience. For each length of the framework, I actually joined together three quadrants to form the 90deg internal angle (L). A sort of 3/4 quadrant. There was a lot of work in fabricating the corner-joints, but the end result was a nicely rounded outer profile. It was also a much bigger case than the one I need for the skeleton clock. I'll be heading to my local hardware store once the clock is finished and ticking. BTW, I have breathed life into it, but only with torque supplied manually. I still have to work on the main spring to fusee coupling, and find a neat way to stop the bell hammer from bouncing on the edge of the bell. Thanks for your input, and thanks to everyone who has offered their help. Regards, Sam Edited By Sam Stones on 30/12/2010 02:39:47
Sam Stones	30/12/2010 04:01:42
922 forum posts 332 photos	Norman, Sorry for the delay in answering your question about ultrasonic cleaners. I can only reiterate Tony's answer. It does seem to work OK for smaller items. The stainless steel tank measures about 90mm ID and is about 40mm deep. The base of the tank is fairly well rounded, which further limits the size of items to be cleaned. I have to assume that the transducer is connected to the centre of the tank, which also appears to be isolated from the casing via a rubber seal at the top edge of the cleaner. By causing cavitation around dirt etc., it appears to lift off loose particles which either begin to accumulate on the bottom of the tank, or as scum on the surface of the solution. I generally use diluted washing-up liquid (about 1/3 of the tank volume), but I feel sure there would be a better solution. I'm not too keen on using anything aggressive, especially after having imparted a high polish to the various brass components. I trust this helps. Regards, Sam
RJW	30/12/2010 11:19:21
343 forum posts 36 photos	Sam, I don't know if you've decided upon a method for constructing a case for the clock, but a method I used some years ago may be worth considering. I built a 1/8th scale Ferrari Testarossa for a client, for which he also wanted a display case constructing. This case was going to be huge, had to be light enough to move for cleaning etc, yet unobtrusive on the corners so as not to distract from the model from all angles. In the end, I decided to use good quality 3mm glass, which was free of defects, then polished and finely radiused all edges using fine carborundum stone - this was mainly to get rid of sharp edges and make the stuff safer to handle. All edges were then covered using self adhesive copper tape, which should be available from craft shops or eBay etc. When I bought my tape, it was available in various widths and bought on the roll, not sure what would be available now. Each side of each pane of glass was then carefully soldered together via the copper tape, using the top to keep square, the top being the final addition, but you could assemble any way you choose. The job was fairly tedious, but once on a roll, soldering does progress quite quickly. I used one of those instant heat solder guns that uses a bent copper wire tip. For the base, I polished and routed an oak plank, then routed a slot all the way round for the case to sit in, the copper tape being left exposed but waxed. The end result was a high quality looking glass box, with 'fine' obviously hand made soldered joints, constructed in the same way as those miniature greenhouses, the name of which totally escapes me at the moment - and where I nicked the idea from. The solder can be left either faily matte grey, or polished to a shine! I added a final flourish to the model and case, by copying the 'Ferrari' and prancing horse logo onto one side and bead blasting the stencils into the glass. If you wanted a more 'antique' appearance to the glass, then the cheapo 3mm stuff used for greenhouses has a nice random 'distortion' to it, which also works well as a replacemtn on antique cases such as Vienna regulators and dial clocks etc. Best regards, John
RJW	30/12/2010 11:48:43
343 forum posts 36 photos	This is similar to the stuff I used, just copy and paste the item number into any eBay search box, should bring it up. Glass art products. Item number: 130455049166 Best regards John
NJH	30/12/2010 12:18:14
2314 forum posts 139 photos	Hi John That's an interesting variation. Can you recall the dimensions of the case please? Regards Norman
RJW	30/12/2010 15:42:51
343 forum posts 36 photos	Hi Norman, It was quite a while ago now, (early 1990's) so I can't recall the exact size, but around 24" x 12" x 12". It was made to case up a Pocher 1/8th scale model with room to spare, and checking on the web, that model comes up as 20" x 10" x 6", so probably not far out for the case. When soldered up, the glass, although only 3mm, made quite a substantial and solid construction. The solder gun i used was a Weller instant heat job with 2x heat settings, (remembered after I posted my last reply), and the solder, was fairly fine multicore stuff - I pulled off lengths of it to make it easier to manpulate. Best regards, John
The Harper	04/01/2011 01:45:02
18 forum posts 12 photos	Posted by NJH on 04/11/2010 10:35:15: Hi Sam I've been waiting and hoping that you would get a flood of replies detailing good ways to remove excess polishing compound from clocks - but there is a deafening silence ! Yes it is slow and tedious and the traditional peg wood still has its place. How about dental floss for some of the internal angles? I would be interested to know the success of your ultrasonic cleaner, and , if it works, where such a tool can be obtained. Regards Norman Hi Norman, You can get a very good heated or unheated Ultrasonic cleaner from Allendale Electronics http://www.machine-dro.co.uk. They have plenty of sizes, so one will be big enough for you. The prices are very competitive too. It does depend on how often you will use it though! I use mine daily as I am a part time clockmaker / repairer. I would recommend you use a proper Horological clock cleaning solution though, I have the ammonia based ones give the best results as this cleans the brass to a very nice yellow colour and needs very little polishing as a rule. You can get the solution from Cousins http://www.cousinsuk.com. The other thing is cleaning inside angles etc, I was taught to use a soft bristle brush or a soft brass wire brush to clean awkward areas, I have since found pipe cleaners and cotton buds to be of great help, although you stillhave to clean off fibres afterwards. I hope this helps a bit? regards Paul

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