Uploaded August 2013 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Inspired by early clockmaking, this Tinkertoy escapement merges deadbeat and verge-and-foliot principles, substituting the foliot with a pinwheel. Each of the two 8-spoke escape wheels is driven by a separate weight.
The pinwheel offers poor time regulation due to two key factors:
• Its oscillation period depends on the pinwheel’s inertia
• It’s driven directly by the escape wheel, limiting isolation between impulse and regulation
Historically, foliot regulators (used in early 14th-century clocks) were replaced by pendulums—thanks largely to Christiaan Huygens. Later, Robert Hooke introduced a metal spring paired with a balance wheel, creating a harmonic oscillator. This innovation remains central to modern clock regulation.
Explore a series of Lego verge escapement mechanisms
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCbYhDNjOviH38uCdbc6uum38vKZjXGyE
#TinkertoyClock #PinwheelEscapement #DIYPhysicsMechanism #MechanicalOscillator #ToyEngineering #ClockDynamics
Inspired by early clockmaking, this Tinkertoy escapement merges deadbeat and verge-and-foliot principles, substituting the foliot with a pinwheel. Each of the two 8-spoke escape wheels is driven by a separate weight.
The pinwheel offers poor time regulation due to two key factors:
• Its oscillation period depends on the pinwheel’s inertia
• It’s driven directly by the escape wheel, limiting isolation between impulse and regulation
Historically, foliot regulators (used in early 14th-century clocks) were replaced by pendulums—thanks largely to Christiaan Huygens. Later, Robert Hooke introduced a metal spring paired with a balance wheel, creating a harmonic oscillator. This innovation remains central to modern clock regulation.
Explore a series of Lego verge escapement mechanisms
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCbYhDNjOviH38uCdbc6uum38vKZjXGyE
#TinkertoyClock #PinwheelEscapement #DIYPhysicsMechanism #MechanicalOscillator #ToyEngineering #ClockDynamics
