The Case for Clocks

My skeleton clock is rapidly approaching completion (see my various pictures). It will therefore become necessary very soon, to design and make a display case. Down here in Ozland, various ideas have been tossed around based upon traditional methods.

However, with a very limited budget and even more limited workshop facilities, I could use some help.

The overall dimensions of the clock are :-

Height = 300mm, Width = 180mm, Depth (front to back) = 160mm

Traditionally, a glass dome would be the ideal, but . . . !

Clearly, the clock must be accessible for winding, which is done from the front.

It would be nice if :-

1. The case could be made from relatively low-cost, easily worked materials, eg. Acrylic, although I don’t fancy my chances at succeeding with (invisible) glued mitre joints.

2. The clock could be seen through the case from every angle.

3. The case could `breath’ without dust penetrating to the inside, eg. filtered through a closely woven fabric. Possibly through velvet covering a base plinth.

4. For winding, the case was light enough to lift off each time. I don’t know for sure how long the clock will run on one winding, although I’d guess eight days.

Your ideas would be most welcome.

Regards,

Sam

Gentlemen,

That has been a very pleasing set of responses to my posting.  Thanks to all.

They have created some additional thoughts, especially since I had some professional dealings with a local university several years ago. I just hope that my personal links have not dwindled too much.

Many thanks again for your comments.

Regards,

Sam

Hello Paul,

Thanks for your comments about making a case for the clock.

I’m quite impressed that your ideas and description are so aligned with my own. It is however, hard to avoid the neat and clean line concept of a carriage clock.

My ideal, and as you suggest, would be a four sided `glass and brass' case, with the edges of the glass bevelled to add some prismatic colour. The vertical corners would be of slotted brass, suitably profiled to add further character. Similar in principle to a carriage clock, it would have a hinged front for winding purposes, while the top would be a sheet of brass with a central fretted-brass handle. The escapement needs to be visible, so I think that the top ought to be pierced somehow to let in more light, and preferably allow visual access. I suppose a fifth glass window, suitably bevelled and sealed at the edges, would provide this and some necessary dust protection.

While that would be my ideal, I have to admit that although the clock really deserves a quality case to show it off, we are on a very limited budget. That’s why I’m still looking at a plain acrylic case with mitred edges. Incidentally, I would have thought that WD40 would be a stress-crack agent for acrylic, but obviously you have found it to be OK!?.

The surface of the hole crazed to a depth of about 2-3mm!

I was generating too much heat during the drilling and boring stages. By reducing to a much lower level the amount of heat being generated and pulling the swarf and lots of cold air through the ML7 headstock mandrel with a vacuum cleaner’s suction, stress cracking was eliminated.

By the way, I have occasionally noticed this same stress-cracking effect has introduced crazing to the edges of acrylic security screens, where human body oils and other substances have made contact.

We are getting there, but slowly.

Sam

Hi Norman,

Thanks for your posting, especially your comments about Perspex.

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 Dennis,

I’ll keep a weather eye open just in case.

By the way, my first name is also Dennis. These days, I’m referred to as Sam (my middle name), but the reasons are long and tortuous.

Regards, to all,

Sam