John Wilding 8 day Weight Driven Wall Clock

I don't doubt it Duncan. The Wilding clock doesn't need more than 10lbs on 2 lines.

regards Martin

This happened to the 80lb fishing line I was goaded into using. Only our dog was there at the time it broke, but I imagine from a near full wind, it must have got off with quite a din.

BTW, from my background in plastics, I should have known it could happen (creep before failure).

Here's the result of a three-year stretch -

I replaced it with steel, generously supplied by a local antique clock repairer east of Melbourne.

PS - I wasn't the only one that got the winding direction wrong. It turned out to be how the barrel arbor had been drawn, and my lack of knowledge.

The knots on the ends are a mess, and will stay that way.

Sam

Adding to the above, this was a paragraph I wrote when I described building John Stevens' skeleton clock. (refer Model Engineer #4526 - Jan/Feb 2016)

To transfer the power from the barrel to the fusee I had used braided plastic fishing line. The (yellow) fishing line was rated as having a breaking strength of 80 lb. My fairly rough measurements had suggested that the main spring was exerting a tension in the line equivalent to a weight of about 10 kg (22 lb). There was plenty of strength to spare, or so I thought.

I trust this helps.

Sam

Hi,

How did everyone make their click spring ? Did you start off with a normal brass sheet only?

kind regards

WH

WH - Although one click spring is like another, it will be clear that I'm talking about my John Stevens' skeleton clock and not Mr Wilding's 8-day.

Irrespective, I had several types of brass, e.g. round and flat bar, thin sheet, and for the frames CZ120. However, I'm not sure which brass I used.

At a guess I probably commenced with an off-cut of CZ120 although the drawing shows a thickness of 3/32 inch (2.4 mm). Although not obvious in this photo, the drawing also shows the spring as a lightly tapered section to be curved (bent) later. I now have a feeling that CZ120 was not the grade after all, but a somewhat softer (leaded) grade.

Did I anneal before bending it?

I can't remember.

Sam

PS - Get a load of those non-descript great wheel tooth profiles; neither involute or cycloidal but a beginner's choice.

It worked and has done for years.

Edited By Sam Stones on 24/11/2021 02:45:50

Dick H, I was mostly looking for theory, I had found a picture of one with the extended escape pinion, and wondered if that was the recommended way to go. I'm considering trying for a center seconds, although it will be quite a bit of extra work.

WH GS, I bought oversize stock to make my main plates and used some of that leftover stock to make the click spring. Mine is half hard engravers brass, which will take some bending before it breaks. I cut it out straight, filed it smooth, and bent it to shape. It seems I don't have a decent photo of it, i'll get one up sometime soon.

Here's a shot of my click spring.