Clickspring | Clockmaking - How To Make A Clock In The Home Machine Shop - Part 19 - Making The Legs And Base @Clickspring | Uploaded July 2016 | Updated October 2024, 8 hours ago.
Making The Legs And Base, by Clickspring.
In this video I make a change to the support structure of the clock, and do a little bit of woodwork with a beautiful piece of Red Morrel Burl sourced from Djarilmari Timbers in Western Australia.
djarilmari.com
If you would like to help support the creation of these videos, then head on over to the Clickspring Patreon page: patreon.com/clickspring
________________________________________________________
A very special thank you to Patrons Dan Keen, Samuel Irons and Sean Kuyper.
________________________________________________________
You can also help me make these videos by purchasing via the following Amazon Affiliate links:
Cameras used in this video:
Panasonic GH5 - amzn.to/2rEzhh2
Panasonic X920 - amzn.to/2wzxxdT
Tools & Shop Products:
"Solidworks 2013 Bible": amzn.to/2FObS1D
Dykem 80300 Steel Blue Layout Fluid, Brush-in-Cap (4oz): amzn.to/2HGPaJJ
Hegner Scroll Saw: amzn.to/2IhteVW
Super Pike Saw Blades Size 4/0 pkg of 144: amzn.to/2IO6aPw
Interapid Dial Test Indicator: amzn.to/2FPInwH
Generic Dial Indicator 0.001": amzn.to/2FOFTyF
Abbreviated Transcript:
00:23 The classic Y Frame design upon which this
clock is based, was traditionally a very ornate and elaborate mechanism, and while the current arrangement is perfectly
acceptable, I'd like to push the final result just a bit
closer toward that classic tradition.
00:53 And for the base, I've been very fortunate to find this beautiful piece of Red Morrel. Its a species of wood native to Australia, much prized for its rich and highly figured burl, and it'll make an excellent contrast with the brass of the clock mechanism.
01:18 Now you wont be surprised to learn that I wanted to see how the legs turned out before I committed to cutting the frames, and they're a lot like the clock pillars from a previous episode, in that there are some contours that I'd like to have exactly the same across all 4 components. And like the pillars, I used simple form tools to make it happen.
02:01 I'm turning an extra chucking section, as form the basic profile. The precursor shapes for the rope knurls were formed, and then I took a taper cut along the body of the part, to reduce the workload for the second form tool. Now I've recently started forming rope knurls while rotating the chuck by hand.
04:13 Next I took care of the initial surface finishing, using a crossing file to help maintain the profile curve. And at this point most of the hard work has been done. It'll still need some more polishing before I'ts complete, but the only remaining feature to be put in is the small dome at the top.
09:04 Now the position and vertical orientation of the mounting holes for the new legs is critical. Even a slight error would be glaringly obvious on assembly, and most likely mean scrapping of the frames - an unthinkable outcome. So I'm taking this next step very carefully.
09:21 I've turned up some pins to be a close fit into the lower frame pillar holes, and I'm using an indicator to position the work upright using those holes as the datum reference. An edge finder locates the position of the new holes, which were then drilled and tapped to accept the leg mounting fasteners.
10:18 And speaking of fasteners, there's quite a set required for this part of the build. 4 small screws are required to mount the legs to the frames. 4 of these larger bolts will be used to mount the entire mechanism to the base, And a set of 8 timber screws are required to fasten the brass feet to the base.
12:47 And I don't have much in the way of woodworking power tools so I'm doing the work on my small mill which is not really ideal from a mess perspective, but I've covered up everything in the shop and I'll give the mill a thorough oil and cleanup at the end of the job. I'm using standard carbide tipped router bits and a shop made flycutter for the cuts,
13:27 Now to some extent using this piece of wood for the base is a bit of an experiment. I live in the tropics, so there's going to be an issue with high seasonal humidity.
13:42 So there's a question mark over the long term stability of this piece of wood, and I may yet have to revisit this aspect of the build in the future. But I really would like to be able to use this type of highly figured burl on future projects, without having to go through the hassle and cost of resin stabilisation.
15:26 Once the features were machined I applied a shellac finish, using the French Polishing technique. Click on the link to see a separate video showing that process.
References:
John Wilding "Large Wheel Skeleton Clock" construction book can be purchased online from Ian T Cobb:
clockmaking-brass.co.uk/clock_construction_books.html
Red Morrel:
https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/5701
Making The Legs And Base, by Clickspring.
Making The Legs And Base, by Clickspring.
In this video I make a change to the support structure of the clock, and do a little bit of woodwork with a beautiful piece of Red Morrel Burl sourced from Djarilmari Timbers in Western Australia.
djarilmari.com
If you would like to help support the creation of these videos, then head on over to the Clickspring Patreon page: patreon.com/clickspring
________________________________________________________
A very special thank you to Patrons Dan Keen, Samuel Irons and Sean Kuyper.
________________________________________________________
You can also help me make these videos by purchasing via the following Amazon Affiliate links:
Cameras used in this video:
Panasonic GH5 - amzn.to/2rEzhh2
Panasonic X920 - amzn.to/2wzxxdT
Tools & Shop Products:
"Solidworks 2013 Bible": amzn.to/2FObS1D
Dykem 80300 Steel Blue Layout Fluid, Brush-in-Cap (4oz): amzn.to/2HGPaJJ
Hegner Scroll Saw: amzn.to/2IhteVW
Super Pike Saw Blades Size 4/0 pkg of 144: amzn.to/2IO6aPw
Interapid Dial Test Indicator: amzn.to/2FPInwH
Generic Dial Indicator 0.001": amzn.to/2FOFTyF
Abbreviated Transcript:
00:23 The classic Y Frame design upon which this
clock is based, was traditionally a very ornate and elaborate mechanism, and while the current arrangement is perfectly
acceptable, I'd like to push the final result just a bit
closer toward that classic tradition.
00:53 And for the base, I've been very fortunate to find this beautiful piece of Red Morrel. Its a species of wood native to Australia, much prized for its rich and highly figured burl, and it'll make an excellent contrast with the brass of the clock mechanism.
01:18 Now you wont be surprised to learn that I wanted to see how the legs turned out before I committed to cutting the frames, and they're a lot like the clock pillars from a previous episode, in that there are some contours that I'd like to have exactly the same across all 4 components. And like the pillars, I used simple form tools to make it happen.
02:01 I'm turning an extra chucking section, as form the basic profile. The precursor shapes for the rope knurls were formed, and then I took a taper cut along the body of the part, to reduce the workload for the second form tool. Now I've recently started forming rope knurls while rotating the chuck by hand.
04:13 Next I took care of the initial surface finishing, using a crossing file to help maintain the profile curve. And at this point most of the hard work has been done. It'll still need some more polishing before I'ts complete, but the only remaining feature to be put in is the small dome at the top.
09:04 Now the position and vertical orientation of the mounting holes for the new legs is critical. Even a slight error would be glaringly obvious on assembly, and most likely mean scrapping of the frames - an unthinkable outcome. So I'm taking this next step very carefully.
09:21 I've turned up some pins to be a close fit into the lower frame pillar holes, and I'm using an indicator to position the work upright using those holes as the datum reference. An edge finder locates the position of the new holes, which were then drilled and tapped to accept the leg mounting fasteners.
10:18 And speaking of fasteners, there's quite a set required for this part of the build. 4 small screws are required to mount the legs to the frames. 4 of these larger bolts will be used to mount the entire mechanism to the base, And a set of 8 timber screws are required to fasten the brass feet to the base.
12:47 And I don't have much in the way of woodworking power tools so I'm doing the work on my small mill which is not really ideal from a mess perspective, but I've covered up everything in the shop and I'll give the mill a thorough oil and cleanup at the end of the job. I'm using standard carbide tipped router bits and a shop made flycutter for the cuts,
13:27 Now to some extent using this piece of wood for the base is a bit of an experiment. I live in the tropics, so there's going to be an issue with high seasonal humidity.
13:42 So there's a question mark over the long term stability of this piece of wood, and I may yet have to revisit this aspect of the build in the future. But I really would like to be able to use this type of highly figured burl on future projects, without having to go through the hassle and cost of resin stabilisation.
15:26 Once the features were machined I applied a shellac finish, using the French Polishing technique. Click on the link to see a separate video showing that process.
References:
John Wilding "Large Wheel Skeleton Clock" construction book can be purchased online from Ian T Cobb:
clockmaking-brass.co.uk/clock_construction_books.html
Red Morrel:
https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/5701
Making The Legs And Base, by Clickspring.
