Inclination by Christopher Savold

Inclination by Christopher Savold

Christopher emails: "Hi Clayton!
What a difference 1/64 makes!

I finally found some time to finish off some of my outstanding
projects, one of which was Inclination. I had it about 85% complete
for a year or so and got distracted. I've had it running for about a
month now and it goes non-stop - or at least until the trolley weight
rolls off the incline... ;-)

I had the devil of a time getting it going. As it turns out, once again, I didn't follow your excellent plans very carefully. I drilled 1/16 holes in the pendulum crutch connector rod (or for the laypeople, the little triangle thingy). I wasn't paying attention that the plan called for 5/64 holes instead. Easy mistake to make given that 1/16 pins go into the connector rod. Well, that 1/64 of an inch clearance makes all the difference in the world! Could not get the darn thing into beat for at least a week. It would tick five or six times, slow down and stop. Very frustrating until I realized my mistake with the connector rod. Once I redrilled those holes, I tapped the pendulum once to get it started and it has literally been running ever since.

Thanks again for another great project. Regards,
-Chris"

Clayton responds:  "Well, even with all your tribulations your Inclination turned out beautifully. I'm always happy to see when the builder chooses one of the optional cut-out designs. Very nice!

And, YES!, Inclination is a fantastic runner. Mine (like yours, I hope) has never given me any problems at all. I just wind it each morning (either very early or after 8am because of where the wind hole is located) and she runs and runs and runs.

Glad to hear yours is in that same category. She really is a fine runner, and yours is a beauty.

Thanks for the beautiful pix of your beautiful Inclination.

Aloha. Clayton"

Excellent Tutorial Video Series by Ron Walters, Part One

We are proud to share with you some really great videos by Ron Walters in which he demonstrates experiments he conducted  (on his Simplicity clock plans) with segmented, solid wood wheels, homemade ply and contrasts his homemade versions with purchased Baltic birch ply. These videos contain some really great information for the advanced wooden clock builder who wants to make his own solid wood wheels or wheels from homemade ply.

Note from Lisa:  I will be posting these videos in four separate blog entries, but I will be posting all four entries in one day to preserve the sequential order of the tutorials.  Enjoy!

        Simplicity Variant - Homemade Plywood – Introduction

Excellent Tutorial Video Series by Ron Walters, Part Two

Plywood Clamping Jig - Making Plywood Part 1

Plywood Clamping Jig - Making Plywood Part 2

Plywood Clamping Jig - Making Plywood Part 3

Excellent Tutorial Video Series by Ron Walters, Part Three

Segmented Clock Wheel Part 1

Segmented Clock Wheel Part 2

Comparison Of Completed Clock Wheels - Plywood & Segmented Wood

Excellent Tutorial Video Series by Ron Walters, Part Four

Wood Gear and Clock Wheel Repair - Baltic Birch Plywood

Ron Walters emails:  "Also on YouTube is a recent series on Improved ShopVac Performance and a Cyclone Separator made of wood. Easy to make and it works great. I have used one of these on my scroll saw (it picks up sawdust and the pieces cut out of gear/wheel teeth) and for metal cuttings from my small lathe and mill. I have emptied the 5-gallon bucket several times and haven’t touched the bag in that ShopVac in years. You might find it handy in your shop. A ShopVac isn’t much use if the airflow is choked and the 5-gallon bucket is so much easier to empty than the ShopVac (with or without a bag). 

This is also a construction article on http://woodgears.ca .

Thanks!

Ron Walters
Springfield, MO

YouTube videos listed under: ronaldwalters47

Shop Vac Filters - How To Improve Performance
Shop Vac 5 Gallon Cyclone Separator Part 1
Shop Vac 5 Gallon Cyclone Separator Part 2

Shop Vac 5 Gallon Cyclone Separator Part 3
Shop Vac 5 Gallon Cyclone Separator Part 4"

Great job on the tutorials, Ron!  Thank you.

Radiance by Tim Wilson

Tim Wilson emails:  "Hi Clayton,

Here are the pictures and YouTube video of the Radiance.   What an enjoyable build!

Even though the adjustment factors are critical, it is worth the effort after it comes to life.  I commend your brilliance in designing this clock, and thanks again for the plans.   I did some things a little different in designing the weight and pendulum, and had a idea for the C.W. lever that I saw from a picture from your Flickr Pool at your site.

Kinda a frame motif...hope I did it justice.

 Again, your plans are great and accurate. Off to the Solaris and Marble Strike in the near future.

Have a Wonderful and Blessed day.  Tim Wilson"

Clayton answers: "Aloha Tim, that's just totally great! You caught me so off guard with your creative choice of pendulum weights that I actually laughed out loud! Brilliant!

This is exactly why I love seeing pictures. Of course I always enjoy seeing my designs reproduced exactly the way I designed them, BUT I also LOVE seeing the creativity that other woodworkers put into their mechanisms to personalize them and make the completely unique.

This is a beautiful and creative Radiance. Thank you for doing such a wonderful job on your Radiance and you are right...she is a bugger to get adjusted correctly, but such a wonder to watch when she's running.

Congratulations on yet another successful and creative build.

Aloha. Clayton"

Toucan by Guillaume Marcon

Guillaume Marcon emails: "Hi Clayton!

I send you 2 vidéo : one about my new wooden clock, a TOUCAN a little bit modified to be symmetric and I add a seconds hands. The seconds gears is simply 3 identical gears with a little backside frame.
I wish you enjoy it. The design look like less at the animal calling "TOUCAN"!! But it'll be another clock different...

Thanks for this and I look forward the next!!

The second video is a machine built by myself to execute the coil and to add up the number of meter to spin

ALL THE BEST!

REGARDS!

GUILLAUME FROM FRANCE"

Clayton answers: "Guillaume, that is one beautiful Toucan! You did a wonderful job on your build. The color contrasts between the black and white really make your mechanism POP! Also, that is quite a creative way to add a seconds hand.

But I really have to hand it to you on the machine you made to create your coils and to count the turns. That is pure brilliance and totally Rube Goldberg! What an incredibly creative mind you have!

Thanks for sharing both of those totally wonderful videos.

Aloha. Clayton