Building a Grasshopper Escapement Skeleton Clock

[willofiam]

Well…I finally started to build a clock. After much time debating on whether to design one or use a book to follow I found myself thinking it would be a good learning process to go thru a book, let alone save some hair on my balding head 🙄 . Though I have found this a much more difficult task than I first thought, following someones processes and techniques…I believe this was the right direction to go and have been learning alot while putting my own twists into it. The book was written by W.R. Smith is called “How to make a grasshopper skeleton clock” and can be found online for a very reasonable price.

This will be a ongoing thread until the clock is finished. I look forward to your input, questions and suggestions so feel free to interject at anytime.

To start I ordered the materials needed. For the brass I decided to use c353 engravers brass for the plates and wheels though the thickest sheet I could find was 3/16″ thick which is thick enough for most parts, other parts I am using c360 half hard brass round bar stock. I have not been able to find c353 in round bar stock nor have I found c360 in sheet stock 🙄 ….ssssoooo I am mixing the 2 throughout the build. The steel parts will be made out of O-1 tool steel and other miscellaneous mild steels as needed.

[willofiam]

In the beginning…the plates were cut out. I used a band-saw to rough out the shape.

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[willofiam]

Once roughed out the front plate is drilled and reamed at the pillar hole locations using “Elmer” the milling machine. O.K….maybe Im goofy naming my milling machine….Elmer was the gentleman that sold me his 1958 Bridgeport. He was the second owner using it in his basement for 48 years as a tool and die maker, machining beautiful and wonderful things. He stops over once in awhile to make sure I am taking care of it….how cool is that…

At first I didnt want to use the locating holes for the plates described in the book since they could possibly be seen when the clock is finished, I changed my mind later seeing that they would be helpful in several other processes. The back plate is drilled and threaded in the same locations. The 2 plates could then be bolted together, cut and shaped.

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[willofiam]

O.K. using the scroll-saw (an old Atlas 24″ variable speed) and piercing saw with a #8 blade, I cut and trimmed the plates close to the final form. On this clock the front plate has the 2 side “wings” that will hold the dial in place, the back plate will have them cut off. In hindsight I may have liked using layout blue and a light scribe line to draw out the dimensions and design….just me being a bit picky 🙄 the paper template lines were rather wide and I felt a bit inaccurate…next time, right?

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[willofiam]

Moving on to the final dimensions of the plates. I used a Milwaukee die filler, and an assortment of hand files. In photo # 2 notice the hardened steel filing guides, easily turned and hardened for the round areas, sure makes for a easy, nice, round piece when finished. All the final filing and polishing will be done near the end of the project.

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[willofiam]

Alright, next will be making the pillars, feet, washers and screws for the pillars. Using the c360 brass round stock and o-1 tool steel.

Now this piece of brass may look like a mess 🙄 thats my train of thought and believe it or not….I do have a plan

Not giving away all my secrets…..I used Elmer the mill, a Ellis dividing head and a endmill the size I needed for the idea. You may already have guessed what I am doing, if not stay tuned.

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[willofiam]

Wanting a 2 tone style of finish I did a bit of brainstorming about how I would do that, thru experimenting on scrap and making some other oddball items not related to clocks gave me some ideas…there I go thinking again 🙄 …

Running the mill at 1115 rpm’s and turning the crank on the dividing head while feeding the endmill into the side of the brass piece I was able to create what I was imagining in my head and had drawn on paper.

Notice the effect leaving the machining marks have when reflecting the light. I like….

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[willofiam]

By grinding a peice of hss to a specific inside radius I made a form tool for the areas I wanted curved. Worried about making marks on that fragile finished surface I thought using the form tool would be alot safer than using a hand graver…

Also, using the form tool allowed me to be more precise when putting a curve towards the finished area….and…no matter how that form tool is ground, round, oval, square, crooked, oblong ect…ect…they will all be the same when done.

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[jdp020351]

Good Morning William.
Let me start out by saying WOW!
I purchased the same book by W.R. Smith in 2005 and after reading it 20,000 times 😆 from cover to cover. I was completely intimidated, and still am to this very day. I have a lathe but no milling machine ( still don’t ) I continued working on clocks and pocket watches that I learned from Bob’s course. Then several years later I came across a software program that featured cutting a brass gear on a CNC machine. So I set out to build a cnc machine and when it was completed I still had no confidence to jump in with both feet so I started machining wooden gears (so much better with the cnc, than band saw)

I am excited to watch your progress (no pressure. Right)
Thank you for my renewed interest in building a metal clock

Grateful your thread (post)
Jerry

[willofiam]

Thank you Jerry… building a cnc machine would be extremely intimidating to me 😯 @jdp020351 wrote:

reading it 20,000 times from cover to cover

like I was saying…following someone elses process is difficult for me…just have to jump in with both feet (like you mentioned), be creative, make mistakes, chalk it up to a learning experience, save up for more materials and try again, no harm done ….hopefully… stay tuned.

by the way we would love to see your cnc machine, if your willing…another thread in this clockmakers forum with cutting wooden clock wheels cnc style would be great…William

[brianw]

Good luck with this project William. I will be watching from across the pond with great interest. This is the clock that I would love to build…

[willofiam]

Thanks Brian. Just found this photo 🙄 loose my head if it wasnt attached.. Being rather excited to see some finished product I spent some time polishing the pillars and feet. Since then I have decided to hold off on the final polishing of parts until the very end, focusing on fit and function for now. Here is how I set up for polishing the feet and pillars. Since they have a 8-32 threaded hole for mounting and I didnt want to hold anything that could possibly get damaged I made a short spigot with a threaded hole. Using the smaller lathe (Schaublin 70) finding it easier to maneuver around and my microscope swings over it for close up inspection, now that can be a issue….not sure of the magnification I get from my microscope..all I know is it came out of a operating room and gets me REAL close to what I am working on, the issue??? every tiny detail is largely enhanced and I really dont think it is possible to get a flawless surface….after hours of trying I found a perfect surface to be a exercise in futility Anyway, using a threaded rod I was able to safely mount the pillars and feet in the lathe for the polishing stage. Using progressively finer grits of sandpaper, wood sticks, polish, rags, and everything else in the shop …..I had to end the madness before I lost ALL my hair 😯 and be satisfied…

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[jdp020351]

Thanks William
i’m actually in the middle of building a larger CNC. I got the rest of the parts needed to finish for Christmas (I must’ve been a good boy 😆 )
When finished, I’ll send off a photo of both.

Thanks for your response
Jerry

[willofiam]

After the initial polishing a thin coat of lacquer to prevent scratches and fingerprints. To hang the parts I used threaded rod, made a hook, then dipped into the lacquer. I thinned the lacquer to approximately 2 to 1 lacquer to thinner and warmed up the brass pieces in my dryer box before dipping. This helped in reducing “globs” of finish in certain areas.

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

[willofiam]

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by Tamas Richard.

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