Turret clock identification

Does any body recognise this clock. It was on a stand at a model engineering (Midlands I think) exhibition a few years ago. Was its construction published any where. I'm particularly interested in the method of frame and grear construction and have nothing to scale the size if stock from which it is constructed.

My memory tels me that the gears were made from hot rolled strip and just bent into a circle using a vice and a gas axe! That is what I  would really like to know more about 

Edited By ANDY CAWLEY on 27/09/2015 08:22:09

A nice clock!

Gee.... I know I am going to get trampled in here suggesting this but a perfect job for the modern Gas Axe... Also called a laser cutter.

The gears almost all of it frame and all. Simple? No. a large amount of drawing and design work on paper or CAD.

After cutting the nice flattened and rolled features can be done after on the anvil, hot metal is fun. still plenty of lathe work.

For the modest level of accuracy required for a large clock like this high quality 1:1 drawings on paper can be scanned into CAD software and then tidied up. Or just pay a draftsman to enter the completed drawings into a cad program to be sent to the laser cutter. As long as the person is only transcribing and not designing it should not take long.

Scale? My guess is the frame is made from 2 x 1/2 or 2 x 3/8 inch black bar. The only issue I can see is if you want to retain an "Old" look the crisp edges of the laser cut bars would have to be rounded off by linishing or grinding. There are various ways to distress the finish. Or better in my view celebrate the present and leave them crisp and new.

Anyway I guess that is enough heresy for one day.

Regards
John

The link below is a laser cut tower clock I Posted here in 2013

**LINK**

I was struggling to make out the details in that pic so I tweaked it. Hope you don't mind.

Fascinating piece of work!

Neil

Thanks for that Neil, my picture was a bit muddy!

John, your concept is quite interesting but is almost the opposite of what I was interested in. The use of black bar was actually what rang my bell (oops sorry). The really early clocks were in effect blacksmith made and using tapered peg locked mortise joints equated to what they did.

The chap in the background was, I believe, the builder of the clock.

Edited By ANDY CAWLEY on 27/09/2015 17:22:05

Andy,

Sorry; I can't help regarding that particular clock

But I think you will find this paper of interest

MichaelG.

Andy,

Lovely as it is ... the 'Birdcage' frame of that clock looks to be made from mild steel strip ['though I am happy to be corrected].

It's a very different frame, but this shows some authentic wrought iron Tenon and Wedge construction.

MichaelG.

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P.S. if you want to try [roughly] scaling the clock in your photo; note that his left thumb is lying by a piece of the strip.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 27/09/2015 22:16:43

Michael, thank you.

Bar / strip, what's in a name, the point is that it is hot rolled and therefore cheap and cheerful and available at my local agricultural merchants. The Cotehele clock is just the sort of thing I was looking for, it should give me some sort of reference to start from.

.

Sorry if I did not make myself clear, Andy

I didn't intend to draw any distinction between 'Bar' and 'Strip'; but between 'Mild Steel' and 'Wrought Iron'.

MichaelG.

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P.S. ... it sounds like you have an interesting project in mind.

Is that Alec Price standing next to it.? If so I would say it was Alec Price's Half scale Turret Clock

regards Martin

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If so; then this is a useful lead ...

MichaelG.

Michael & Martin,

That is just the info I was hoping for, the name is even familiar from all that time ago!

Thanks.

one of my hobbies is Church Bellringing, during which i have been involved in a number of maintenance and restoration projects. as a result i am quite familiar with what is hidden up Church and Cathedral towers.

the Grimthorpe/Dent clock eventually installed in the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament used a flat bed cast iron frame or base, and spelled the end of the type of clock modelled by Alec Price. one that survives in perfect working order that i was very familiar with is at St Mary's Carisbrooke, IOW. another at St Peter's Shorwell was derelict. many later Victorian cast iron bed clocks are also derelict.

there has always been an uneasy relationship with 'rings of bells' in Churches, and Church clocks that strike the hours and still worse the 'ting tang' for the quarters, or Westminster type chimes. the bells cannot be left 'up' after ringing by the bellringers, and there is always the risk of damage by the clock chiming apparatus to the bells - which are far more valuable than the clock. and in lots of cases the position of the clock and the chiming apparatus creates enormous problems with the bell frame and any repairs on the bells.

first time i met Mike Chrisp, former ME Editor, and President of the SMEE, was through bellringing!

cheers,

julian

You may already be aware of this, Andy, and it's probably trivial in the context of what you are doing, but:

I mentioned, earlier, that there is a distinction between Mild Steel and Wrought Iron ... for the benefit of those who may be curious here is a clear description from a company that should know.

MichaelG.

You can add me to the list of bell-ringers on this forum. A quick check on BellBoard shows a Julian Atkins ringing tenor to a couple of QPs of Caters in Cardiff- is that you?

Bodger Brian, aka Brian Curtis (the Oxfordshire one - there is another with the same name in the New Forest)

Careful,keep the noise down or I'll be getting requests to banish bellringing to a new topic!

Don't get me started on bell ringing!

We live next door to our very beautiful old country church. Each week we get a practice night and ringing for a Sunday service - this is generally fine - however...........

Occasionally there are teams of visiting ringers and, worse still, ringing competitions ! It is VERY loud and our poor dog just sits and howls.

Norman

Norman,

That is the trouble with country incomers, they think the cockerel should not crow either

K

Hmmm yes but, of course, it is at least possible to EAT the cockerel!

N

hi Brian,

yes, that's me!

cheers,

julian

Michael, interesting to see that wrought is available (albeit from a single source). I have often wondered if I could go buy a gate at a big store and then take them to trading standards for contravening goods description? I was told that they last produced wrought iron in the late 60's but that could just be anecdotal, it is obviously still available to date.

I had it pointed out to me by a site engineer when we looked at a fire escape in need of repairs (it was on an old mill). I assumed we could just weld some patches in which caused him much amusement!

Mark

PS. For interest, if you see iron work that is riveted together (like a fire escape for example) on something old it is probably wrought!

Edited By Mark C on 29/09/2015 18:20:34