Dark Lady Clock

Yesterday I purchased the plans for Dark Lady from Brian Hogger.
A first look through the instructions is quite encouraging and it may be within my capability.
Has anyone made one or have any pointers?


http://briansworkshop.weebly.com/

Edited By john carruthers on 01/05/2016 08:11:13

I have also bought the plans, but have yet to build it. I plan to do so before embarking upon a clock of my own design (the Basic Clock Design thread). Like you, I found the plans to be encouraging, with some nice, clear guidance.

I look forward to your progres.

James.

This morning I made the front and rear plates, it's a start.
Next I shall have a root round the scrap bins for some 12mm connectors to make the milling attahment.

Are there any pictures of the finished clock? I looked on Brians website but as far as I could see there is no indication what it looks like. There is a picture of a wall clock but I don't think that matches the Dark Lady description.

With some trepidation, I 'Googled Dark Lady Clock' but the only useful link was to Brians website.

Regards

John

The picture is on his website as 'a clock for Jane' I think he has written about the build on another forum describing how he built it quickly as a present for his daughter ( in law?) who was due to visit. It isn't in his blog though. I might be wrong however and what I read being a build of this design by not-Brian.

Thanks Jason

I found the picture after scrolling down the website home page! I made the mistake of going straight to the 'Dark Lady' Tab at the top of the home page

Regards John

It looks like a variation of John Wildings egg timer

I think £ 20.00 is a bit too much for this as you have to print out 325 pages on your own printer with over 300 photo's. most clock books are £ 25.00 - £ 30.00 all printed up. just my thoughts, I wonder if John Wilding got anything out of this, I hope he did.

Don't really need to print them out, just look at them on your computer, print off any drawing that is needed if you don't have a workshop laptop etc.

I just refer to the pdf on the shed 'puta and print drawings as necessary.
The files do cover all the parts and how to make the tooling, plus Brian gives backup as required.

Day one, the plates ....

Today it was the pillars, washers and cord guide.
I milled the flats on the pillars rather than filing.

Personally I think you would have been better off buying Peter Heimann's Regulator Clock Construction book first and taking a look at the 2 designs in it. As he points out the 2nd more complicated one is no more difficult to make than the other but has more parts so will take longer. Pretty true of any clock.

I only posted that because of the word capabilities - a clock is a clock and a gear, cam or what ever is also what it says on the can. They are what they are and can't be simpler.

On the other hand if you want to just make one as quickly as possible fine. On the other hand Michael's point about shiny gearboxes that don't keep good time is worth bearing in mind. This one could be excellent. Generally but not always the only way to find out is to build one.

John

-

I hear you John, I'm using this project to learn how to cut better gears before I start making a sidereal clock.

My sidereal clock took a lot less effort

.

But I see it has a 12hr 'Dial'

... Would you be so kind as to explain how the concept of AM & PM works in relation to Sidereal time.

MichaelG.

Michael, I expect Neil looks at the digital time above which is 24hr not the "analogue" hands

.

I expect he does ... But the question still stands.

MichaelG.

Today I made most of the milling spindle for cutting the wheels, just need to find a small motor now, possibly a £8 'white box' B&Q drill ?

Depends on whether or not the reference point is ahead of or behind the local meridian, just as with the sun if you use local solar time.

Anything in the sky spends half its time PM and half AM.

So when the picture was taken the vernal equinox was about an hour and a half away from crossing over the antipodes. Is slightly confusing because at the moment of definition (noon on the equinox) the time is about the same as local solar time, except PM and AM are swapped over!

It may not be a 'popular' concept, but it's perfectly valid, and 24-hour clock dials are hard to read at a distance - which would defeat the point of having a dial as well as digits.

Neil