beginers books

After years of making steam & I.C engines I realy want to make a clock, could anyone give me a pointer towards a good beginers guide to clock making. many books on amazon but not sure which would be a good one for beginers like me. Cheers, Steve.

+1 for me too - where to start?

For a start what sort of a clock ie spring or weight, long case wall or bracket.

for long case I found Alan Timmins Long case ideal others seem to like John Wilding At one time Elliot Issacs published a beginners clock possibly in Engineering in Miniature certainly in The Clockmaker if you can find a copy. Tee Publishing (I have no connection )have a selection of clock books

Roy

For me, something like this would be lovely.

**LINK**

Andy.

Andy,

All the constructional articles for John Parslow's clock are in the ME archive, starting here. Issue 4432, vol. 200 28 March 2008.

Harold Hall won a silver medal for one at last year's ME exhibition, not bad for a "beginner's clock".

You need an ME subscription to view them.

Neil

Edited By Stub Mandrel on 14/04/2013 17:44:07

Thanks Neil.

I have only just found issue 4446 with the picture on the front, I would have been another hour or so looking!.
<edit> still can't find it - it's digital subscriber content only! - it would be nice as a purchase in print form.

Andy.

Edited By M0BND on 14/04/2013 18:13:19

From my experience it would be wise to stay away from dead beat escapements. They are pernickerty and need very careful setting up. When good well they are very good time keepers but nothing else. I spent years, on and off, trying to get John Wilding's English regulator to work without success. One day I will revisit it. A recoil escapement clock should be easier to bulid. It won't keep time so well but it can ring bells etc.

JA

As an afterthought can I suggest that before you contemplate clockwork that although wheels can be cut with a single point cutter and pinions can be of the lantern variety. if you were to purchase wheelcutters and you would need at least one for wheels and one for pinions you are talking the best part of £100 How many more times are you going to use them?

I certainly don't want to put people off but when I started cutters were about £18 each which was probably a fortune then, I couldn't justify the cost today

Roy

I for one would like to see a series in ME about making cycloidal gears, including making the cutters and the theory behind matching gears and cutters. I know you can play fast and loose with cycloidal gear profiles in ways you can't with involute gears, as long as you follow some rules - but these rules aren't easy to find!

Also, long ago there were some pointers given to some evidence that using involute gears is just as good as using cycloidal gears. Involute cutters are easily made.

As a last resort, buy a wrecked clock at a boot sale, and file up cutters to match its gears from gauge plate!

Neil

Hi Steve and Andy

Have a look here There are lots of books by various authors. What's more you can buy all the materials you will need plus things like springs and other stuff you can't ( or don't want) to make yourself. I find books by John Wilding ( surely one of the most prolific designers of clocks recently) very accessible and the range of different types of movement in his portfolio is large. Don't forget though that you will probably need some woodworking/ cabinet making input too! ( Think of all that nasty sawdust on your nicely oiled machines .)

Happy browsing - I must say there is something very satisfying about working in brass - and Neil it does take a lovely polish!

(If you just need to tell the time though just visit your local pound shop. )

Regards

Norman

.

Neil,

There were some excellent articles in ME [mid 1970s I think ... but I could be very wrong] about making cutters ... Essentially you make a form tool from two turned disks, and mount them, suitably spaced, on the end of a holder.

I one of our Index experts could find them, it would be very useful.

Sorry, I can't remember the author[s] but I think there was originally a two or three part article, followed-up some time later.

MichaelG.

.

Edit: Just found one of Don Unwin's articles, here.

P.S.   This is  very interesting page

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 14/04/2013 21:19:59

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 14/04/2013 21:40:59

Hi try this link for a few books

Dennis

Don Unwin also provided articles in MEW issues 6 and 7 with an update in issue 41.

With regard to books, Steve, you may find Stan Brays book in the workshop practice series adequate for your needs. It is quite basic but for me, like you, I had the machining experience and it just put me in touch with the terminology. I found that was all I needed.

Andy, John Parslow does supply some of his designs in printed form so may be worth a try if you can locate him, He does occasionally contribute to this forum so may be reading this.

As a skeleton clock is made to be looked at, as well as tell the time, finishing is all important, also time consuming. There was a good article in ME number 4325 "Finishing a Gold Medal Clock" by Roger Castle-Smith. I learnt a lot from this.

Anyone who has a rotary table may be interested in my method of using one for crossing out clock wheels which saved me a considerable amount of time, This is can be seen on my website at **LINK**

I also developed a very simple method for supporting pinions whilst being cut. This I intend to provide as a small article for MEW. However, I will now place just a photograph on a temporary website I have which will give an idea of the method. I will now go away and produce the page and then give a link to it on this thread later.

Harold

Hi Harold

Don't forget to do it as an article.

regards David

The page regarding pinion cutting mentioned above is now available at 

  http://www.homews-extra.co.uk/pinioncutting.html      

David. They are on my list to do

Harold

Edited By Harold Hall 1 on 15/04/2013 11:25:06

Not sure why but the link did not work first time

Edited By Harold Hall 1 on 15/04/2013 11:27:02

Hello Mr. Williams,

If you would to build my skeketon clocn as referred to by Stub mandrel and Harold Hall you could could contact either Mr Ian Cobb E-mail [email protected] who can supply a construction manual plus materials to manufacture the clock or myself E-mail johnp10@virginmedia. Tel. 0115 9526386. I also can supply a copy of the manual.

Best of luck with yoour project.

John Parslow

To all you wonderfull horologost's and woodworkers...

I purchased a single hand Thomas Carswell movement many years ago stuck in an old Victorian oak carcase now long sold. Now please let me get to the point and as my granchildren would say come on grandad hurry up... This movement has only 4 quarters so think in these days minutes meant nothing, suspect it to be an old church clock. I am not a wood person and I think it would be well out of keeping to make the mount in steel. I have recently had a professional decorator in and thought that it would be fantastic if it could be re-mounted on the wal, andl. without saying all expenses paid.

Bob Thomson

Thank you all for your help. So much information, I am already working my way through it. once again many thanks. Steve

Thank you all for your help. So much information, I am already working my way through it. once again many thanks. Steve

Thanks to Michael G - those two articles contain much of use!

John P. - you must be very proud your design has spawned some more very beautiful clocks.

Neil