On the left is a photograph of my first gear. It was originally going to be the center wheel in my first clock; however, in a surge of sentiment, I decided to keep it separate from the final piece. It's a good reminder of where it all started. Back then my garage was mostly empty, my machining knowledge was almost non-existant, and I was a little intimidated by the two thousand pound mill I'd just inherited. Before long, these tools would become very familiar, and I would use them to make this strange piece of mechanical art.
I'm currently working on my sixth mechanical piece, and have been documenting the progress. Check back soon; my next entry will catch everyone up on what I've finished so far.
The body of this clock consists of three brass plates held together by pillars. After the sketch was completed, it had to be traced into these plates. Sizes and gear ratios would be adjusted until I reached a blueprint that would accommodate both the art and the mechanics. Pictured here are the plate drawings. These were spray mounted to 3/16 brass plate, and then cut out with a handheld jewelers saw. Read More...
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If you can imagine brass in the place of the shaded areas, inked and weathered paper where the dials are, and a hand on each of the two dials, then you have a pretty good idea of what No.6 will look like. I try very hard to adhere to the initial drawings, and hopefully the more clockmaking experience I gain, the easier this will become. I'm going to present my progress as I work toward completion; however, I should mention that much of the technical information will not be included. If you're truly interested in making clocks, you would be wise to purchase books on the subject.
Welcome to ericfreitas.com! The future writings of this site will give you a look at my process, ideas, and progress as I bring my idiosyncratic world to life. But before I get to that, thanks are in order: