Eric Freitas' Incessant Ramblings

GEARS AND PLATES

Eric Freitas — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:19:28 GMT

It's been awhile since I've posted any progress on No.7; I've been a garage hermit lately. Slowly, carefully, and affectionately I'm machining and carving my way toward an eventual finish. I'm not going to project when that will be; I'm making it a point not to think about deadlines anymore, only to keep going.

When I first started working on this one, it was my intention to show an even more detailed account of the process than I did with No.6. The opposite seems to be happening. With the scale of this project, and with the benchmarks of accomplishment along the way being further apart, it could be very easy to run out of gas unless I'm really immersed in it and enjoying every drop of it's creation. I am very much immersed; and I am loving every minute that I spend in the garage. Unfortunately this mindset is at the expense of photography and writing. When I'm focused on the work in front of me in a personal and introverted way, it's very difficult to switch into photography mode.

So, here's where I'm at with No.7.
All of the gears for the train are cut (this excludes the small motion works gears that are done at the end) and except for one, they're all carved and darkened to their final state. I've previously posted the pictures of the center wheel, and the six-legged escape wheel. There are pictures of two finished gears in this post: The 108 tooth gear that will be exposed in front of the frame, between the center wheel and the escape wheel; and one of the gears for the weight train, which will be tucked in between the plates of the clock.

The thicker of the two is the gear for the weight train. Being closer to the power source, this one needed to be cut from 3/8 plate. In a way, it's a shame that it will be more hidden, because it's thickness allowed for a lot of depth to be carved into it. When the pinions for each gear were made, enough material was left so that the flanges overlapped the spokes of the gears by a significant amount. This allowed me to carve the gear spokes and the pinions into one flowing piece.

The plates of this clock were cut from two pieces of 12 x 24, 1/8 inch thick plate. The 24 inch measurement doesn't include the giant fan shape on the right of the clock. For these plates, I had to use a jig saw rather than a jewelers saw for 90% of the cutting. The other 10% includes the more intricate parts that required the maneuverability of a jewelers saw. Soon these two plates will be carefully pierced with holes, joined by 1 1/2 inch pillars, and ready to accept the gears of the clock. The assembled frame will be extremely rigid, and very heavy. Judging from the weight of everything I have so far, this clock is going to make the studs in my wall cry.

ESCAPEMENT TEST VIDEO

Eric Freitas — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:19:31 GMT

I've recently finished testing the new escapement style that I've decided to use for No.7. If you take a look at the original concept drawings for No.7, you'll notice that this wasn't part of the original design. During the initial planning phase, I was seriously considering it. It's very animated and interesting to watch, and theoretically very accurate as well. The problem is that this mechanism, the Arnfield Gravity Escapement, usually hangs downward from the pendulums fulcrum, and I visually wasn't sure how to make it work with No.7's horizontal design. I've since had a few 'eureka' like thoughts, which led to some thinking, drawing, figuring and measuring; and now you can add successful testing to the equation.

When this was first completed and running, I must have stared in the most elated of states for over an hour. I can now say with some confidence that No.7's future is very bright, and I can invest the thousand plus hours with anticipation rather than concern.

OCTOBER

Eric Freitas — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:28:43 GMT

My calendar year might as well end with October. It's the month I look forward to the most every year, and it's usually the busiest for me as well. This months hectic, stressful and anticipated activities included: A trip to England for a rather large Steampunk show at Oxford University, a cold but eye popping evening at Theatre Bizarre (incredible costume required), and participation in an annual show aimed at the gothic and dark arts called the Damned Show.

The trip to England was packed with unforgettable experiences for my wife and I. Our first stop was the quaint and cobble-stoned city of Oxford. Greeted by rain, we hopped off the train with all of our luggage to begin what was supposed to be a quick ten minute walk to the hotel. Just for the record, maps are a bit harder to fold back up when they're wet and limp. Twenty minutes later, drenched and a little disoriented, we finally located our hotel. Amazingly enough, this was the last time we were hit by rain during our stay in England.

When I arrived at the museum to unpack and set up the clocks, a near nightmare experience was unveiled. Apparently the tiny vibrations during the shipping process caused some of the screws to turn and shake loose. There were pieces loose in the box! Luckily everything stayed away from the gears, and there was no permanent damage. The clock was re-assembled, hung, and seems to be fine. Because of this, I'm very glad that I decided to make an appearance and set everything up myself.

The exhibition is filled with some very nice work. If you're going to be near Oxford between now and February 21st, I recommend a visit!

Soon after I returned it was time for Theatre Bizarre. Fortunately for me, my wife can sew very well, and as such I've had some great Halloween costumes for this event in the past. For anyone who loves this holiday, and loves that old school twisted circus atmosphere, Theatre Bizarre is the only Halloween party around. I've posted just a couple pictures to give you an idea of the way this event is presented, but believe me when I say that you have to see it to fully understand. The main stage is occupied by bands, burlesque shows, fire breathers, sword swallowers and many other horrific and terrific attractions. And that's just the main stage, there are others throughout the area, and also spinning fire cages, a rickety roller coaster, suspension rigs, creepy stilted clowns, and of course four stations to get free refills of swill throughout the evening.

Not one week later I was preparing my 'No.2' to appear at the Damned Show, taking place at the Tangent Gallery in Detroit. This show housed a very long list of artists, including H.R.Geiger, Viktor Koen, Patrice Hubert, and Chad Michael Ward. On Devils night, a masquerade mask was required to enter the exhibition, and the attire throughout the scene was either dressy (usually black and red) or fetish. To my surprise, over 90% of the attendees kept their masks on all night. The ambiance was very cool indeed!

With everything that was going on, I didn't even get a chance to carve pumpkins! No..I'm serious, I was looking forward to that. Oh well, next year.

OFFSET LITHOGRAPH

Eric Freitas — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:02:25 GMT

I've just added a print of 'No.6' to the shop, the clock now hanging in the Steampunk exhibition at the Oxford Museum of the History of Science. After three hardcopy proofs, I arrived at this nicely represented image, and did a run of 250. This photo was snapped with a 21 megapixel camera for a very crisp image! The clock is fittingly hung on a background of delightfully damaged victorian style wallpaper.

Size - 8.5 x 22

Each print is signed, and is on sale for just $20.00!

WALLPAPER

Eric Freitas — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:23:33 GMT

If anyone is interested in grabbing some nice desktop wallpapers, Irene Gallo of tor.com has generously done a post allowing subscribers free downloads of a couple of clockwork photos. They're taken from hi-res images, and sized for various screen dimensions to accommodate just about any monitor.

Enjoy!

CENTERWHEEL

Eric Freitas — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 20:21:49 GMT

I'm going to go somewhere now, somewhere I've thought about for a very long time. For me this is an old intrinsic voice, looking back at me and waiting for my ability to catch up. For you hopefully this is something new to make your curiosity tingle. This place isn't named anything that ends in 'punk' or 'ism'. In fact it's not named anything at all, because so far it's mine, and I prefer not to give names to things.

Little retro-gizmos and anachronisms can be very interesting. There's a curiosity that comes along with an object that looks temporally confused or out of place. This experience is heightened if the 'place' can't be identified. To create that I have to go somewhere. Somewhere that belongs to me, and not them.

No.7 is on its way. It's going to be big enough to call attention from further away, but the tangled layers, strange shaped gears, and curious clicks will beg to be explored up close, and from every angle. Hopefully I'm on the right track, because it's going to be a lot of work.

That said, I give you the first completed gear for No.7.

This gear will be located just behind the dial. About half of it will be exposed at any given time. When I began cutting the spokes out it became very clear just how much of a jump in labor this clock was going to be compared to previous projects. A typical center-wheel (for some reason clockmakers call gears 'wheels') is two or three inches. This gear is about ten inches, which doesn't seem like that much, but the thickness of the metal must go up proportionately. This gear is made from the plate that I used for the frame in the smaller clocks. It's thick, and the designs are intricate, which means using a thin jewelers saw on 1/8 inch brass plate. That thickness also means that I have more visual options, such as carving the surface right into the gear teeth, or having shapes cross over each-other without touching.

I've been keeping track of the hours for this entire project, and also each individual part. This gear took about five times as long as the center-wheel for any of my other works. If this is an indication of how long the entire project will take, I'm looking at a frightening 2000 hours! If I could work full time on this clock (40 hours a week) that means it would still take a year to finish. This proves to me that my head must not be concerned with money, because what I'll have to charge makes this one very unsellable.�

The process of grinding away at this gear was brutal. I wear glasses now, ever since my eyes began rejecting my contacts. This means that I have to use goggles in the workshop, rather than the usual safety glasses. It was atypically hot that day for September, and sweat is the worst kind of hinderance. Every five minutes my vision becomes impaired from the sauna trapped in my safety goggles, and I have to take them off and wipe them clean or I won't be able to judge the terrain right. That and using sharp spinning stuff blind is never a good idea.

The brass comes off in sharp thin splinters as I grind away. The sweat makes them stick to my arms and face, and many of them start to needle my skin while I work.� If I try to wipe the shards off with my hands, they'll stick in me more, so I have a brush that I use to wisk them off of me. After I'm finished, my skin looks like I have some sort of rash - it's the brass cactus effect.

Today, the sweat and sharp brass is gone, but I still have the gear. The hard work ends, the clock stays - to me, that means it's worth it.

No.7 BEGINS

Eric Freitas — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:46:57 GMT

Sometimes things speak to you. Things that are among other similar things, but for some reason have a shape or personality that grabs your eyes and lulls you into it's world. It's like walking down a fall road with a thousand dead leaves swirling around you, and for some reason one of them grabs your attention. For some reason the shape is interesting. You might stare at it curiously for a moment before the electric fall wind blows it away. Sketching ideas is similar. I have to jot down the ideas before they get rustled away. Most of them are just dead leaves, but once in awhile something falls on the page that mirrors a strange loop in my head-something familiar, something I miss and I'm happy to see again, mingling with my newfound obsessions.

I almost lost this one. The initial drawing for No.7 was small, over erased and overworked. Eventually my hand started to listen to my instincts, and then there it was - my next project. It would need to be refined so that what I saw in it when I drew it would actually be there. This is a delicate thing. It's a matter of feel. The small sketches remind me of the moment that I created them, but many times they need to be revised so that they really do convey that feel to the logical side of the road. It's a back and forth process that eventually bridges the gap, and hopefully lets others in as well, on some level anyway.

I like this one enough that I've decided to make it larger, and in that lies the real challenge. Taking a two inch sketch, and translating it into a five foot clock is very difficult. The good news is that when I first latched on to this sketch, I saw it as a large piece. Hopefully that means that this one will be most accurately realized when it's finished and moving.

So here you are, this series of drawings shows the birth of No.7. This is where it's at for me - this sort of cuffs off design style that isn't really a part of any genre or movement, it's simply what I want it to be. When I first got into clockmaking, this is the type of thing I had in mind. This piece has a very un-forced and naturally imperfect repetition to it, including the fan-like shape, which has an almost 'golden section' proportion. The overall look has a sort of temporal confusion and abstraction to it. It seems like it might have been something else, and it got ripped apart. Or maybe it grew into this.

There's a lot of visual experiences from a lot of different times that decided to clash here. I don't need to pinpoint where they came from, and I'd rather not know. My subconscious knows. Your head automatically holds onto the things that it finds aesthetically interesting, and ignores the rest. It holds onto things, and you can't stop thinking about them. Then those things start mixing with the stuff your brain held onto 20 years ago, and new things start to happen. I'm going to let it all just happen. It's the only way to do it. That goes for life in general I suppose. You have to listen to what's inside you, or you'll go insane. It's not easy attaining that kind of child-like mental freedom with the 'real world' impatiently looming over your shoulder. This is a goal worth pursuing though, and I think it's a good way to stay very connected with, and be happy with what I create.

The first cuts are coming soon!

NIX

Eric Freitas — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:24:38 GMT

Anyone want to know what a real graphic designers work looks like? Horror, pin-ups, chainsaws and hotrods, all tastefully woven together through the skills of Mr. Robert Nixon. Check out his new website!
robertpaulnixon.com

Here are some samples of his work

PRINTS

Eric Freitas — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 07:28:22 GMT

Two 11 x 17 full color giclee prints are now available for purchase in the shop. These images were shot with a 21 megapixel camera, and printed with a high quality twelve color printer using archival inks. The pigment is applied to thick archival paper, and has a beautiful velvety matte finish.

Only 20 of each made! Each print is signed and numbered.

INK

Eric Freitas — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:59:04 GMT

Apparently my visual style is appealing to the dermally modified. It would appear that the clockwork tattoo phenomenon isn't going to stop just yet, and I'm starting to wonder if I went into the wrong business. I say this jestingly of course, as I wouldn't trade the clockmaking thing for the world. The continued appreciation from this often creative group of individuals does make me wonder though. Perhaps I'll start marketing myself as a custom tattoo designer.

Here's the latest few that have been inked. Two of No.7, and a shoulder piece that incorporates Quartz 2 with some other designs. One of the No.7's isn't shaded yet.

I'm going to have to put a section in the gallery for these.

ORIGINAL RENDERINGS

Eric Freitas — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:16:02 GMT

I've just put the original concept drawings of Quartz 9 and No.7 for sale in the shop. These are what were used for the prints that were made. They're each done on high quality drawing paper. The Q9 rendering is on a cream colored strathmore, and the No.7 was done on Rives, with the deckled edge left on.

Both of these were completed BEFORE construction began on the clocks. This means that there wasn't any reference to help with the shadows and reflections. When I was primarily an illustrator, I always used reference for tighter drawings like this, so I'm happy about the results of these drawings.

SHIPPING

Eric Freitas — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:32:11 GMT

In leu of my upcoming exhibition in England, I've come up with some very elaborate shipping methods. The one depicted here consists of many sheets of foam board, stacked and glued. Each layer is carefully cut with a hobby knife to conform to only the stronger parts of the clock, while leaving the delicate gears untouched. This brick of form fitting foam then fits perfectly into a double thick cardboard box. The materials cost almost $100. The total cost to send this one to England is more than my plane ticket! Actually, a lot more, since the plane ticket is round trip. If things go well, the clock won't need to come back!

You'll also notice a very out of place chunk of shiny brass attached to the front of the clock. This is bolted directly into the stronger parts of the clocks frame. It acts as a handle to move the clock, and a guard to prevent anything from pushing on the face or gears.

The second to last picture shows the casing with the top on. I gave it cutouts for the removed piece of the frame, mounting bracket, hardware, and the handling/setup instructions.

The bottom picture shows the two grooved halves that safely sandwich the chain. This is necessary to prevent the points of the chain from hitting anything, and bending. This chain is strong in the direction that it needs to be, but fragile in other ways. In a way it's the star of the clock, so it deserved its own careful packaging. Once the chain is secured between the two halves, they both sit on top of the interior packaging to act as a lid.

All of this is time consuming to make, but it's the only way I can let No.6 leave my possession without becoming a nervous mess! I feel a little like a mother sending her kid to the first day of school in a protective bubble.

When everything has arrived safely, and the clock is at the museum, I'll be glad I took the added precautions. My fans in England have always been very kind, and are worth the extra effort!

OXFORD SHOW!

Eric Freitas — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 22:31:20 GMT

In just a few months time, I'll be heading over the Atlantic, and making my way to the beautiful, and prestigious "City of Dreaming Spires". I was lucky enough to be chosen for a steampunk show that will take place at the Museum of the History of Science, the University of Oxford, U.K. It will run for a marathon four months, until February 21st, 2010, and will showcase some very big names, not just in the steampunk realm, but in the art world period!

It's a great feeling when you've admired someone's work, and are then asked to participate in a show with them. Such is the case with a favorite artist of mine, Kris Kuksi. I excitedly bookmarked his site around a year ago, and when I learned that he would be participating, I became very happy with what I was going to be a part of.

As you can see from the circulating poster (pictured left) there are some very well known and talented artists taking part in this show. Hopefully most of them will be able to attend. It's always interesting to talk with various artist about their ideas, and even more so when you all have a common thread and mutual respect for each other.

I'd also like to add some kind words about the curator of the show, Mr. Art Donovan. When it comes to doing all of the promotion and leg work for a show like this, he's nothing short of a machine. His enthusiasm quickly indicates that he is, in fact, a human being who is very passionate about everything he does. He literally handles EVERYTHING himself. This is a double edged sword. While it doesn't leave any room for someone else to drop the ball, it also means that in these next few months, he's going to be very overloaded with work to ensure everything goes perfectly! Luckily he's done this before, and can handle it! Hats off to you my friend.

Here's a link if you'd like to view the official information on the show.

QUARTZ 11

Eric Freitas — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:44:18 GMT

As of late, my designs have been very horizontal or vertical in nature, and while they've been asymmetrical, they've been relatively balanced as well. For this design, I decided to create something that had less of an axis, had a strange balance of elements to it, while flowing just the same.

Even though this one is smaller than the three foot wide Quartz No.10, I still used the thicker materials, including the lathe turned lip of 3/8 brass plate. As always, I've made all of the screws and components myself so that just the right proportion could be reached, and the desired look achieved.

The hands on this one are a favorite element for me. In order to get the thick beveled diamond shape without weighing down the motor, I had to hollow out the thickness from the other side. The hands are balanced, and the motor can easily handle them. This brings up another point worth mentioning. Since my fifth, it has been my practice to disassemble the motor, and modify it a bit. The center pin on all of my quartz clocks is now a solid piece of brass, which allows me to solidly attach thicker hands with the use of a set screw. This matches the finish on the rest of the clock as well.

This clock is for sale in the shop of this site under 'clocks'. I have some other items for sale there as well, and I have two full color posters on the way. Unfortunately this is all I can afford to get made at the time, so no books yet. One plus, is that the print items that I have included are of very good quality. I've recently raised the bar on the photography, and have two pristine images ready to be made into posters. A very high-res camera was used, and off camera flashes were employed, so the color is spot-on. If you're on the mailing list (through the contact page) you'll get an e-mail when they're finished.

If anyone visited the shop when it went live a month ago, I apologize for some of the bugs that were present. Everything has been ironed out, tested, and works perfectly now. All of the posters and print sets receive a 20% discount for every one after the first. In addition, the shipping is set up so that you get charged significantly less if you order multiples of a type of item (since I can send more than one poster in one tube, etc.). You would be amazed how complicated it was to find good shopping cart system to program into the shop!

Check back to this site soon, I have something big I'll be announcing within the week!!!

FAN FROM ARGENTINA

Eric Freitas — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:05:50 GMT

This is one of a few people from an an art sharing site called DeviantArt who decided to get a design of mine inked on them permanently. This is quite flattering indeed! Typically, I don't let people use any of my designs for free, but in the case of tattoos, I make an exception. Unlike posters or advertisements that are being used to make money with a given piece of artwork, this is very personal.

This is also a rather strange feeling. If there's any artists out there who've had this experience, you know exactly what I'm talking about. You almost feel responsible when you realize that it's your artwork that they might be sick of, and stuck with in ten years. However, it is the philosophy of many ink addicts, that while your tastes change, the tattoos remind you of where you were at, emotionally or mentally, during different times in your life. Some day, this fan will look at the markings on her arm, and remember that stylistically strange clockmaker she used to like. Hopefully, I'll keep making new work, maybe even become a name, and this piece will have even more meaning.

NEW SHOP-NEW CLOCK

Eric Freitas — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:19:24 GMT

The shop on the site is up and running, and there's several things available for you to indulge in the strange, and the mechanical. The main attraction is a motorized piece that spans three feet, Quartz No.10! Three feet is the largest i've made thus far in the realm of commercially powered clocks. It looks perfect hanging over mantles, doorways and the like. It's a horizontal piece, unlike the photo to the left. Here's some more pics.

This is my biggest and most elaborate quartz clock to date. Its design, intricacy, and solid construction put it in another league than its predecessors. I'd like to see this one on my wall for a while, but I have a feeling it won't last long!

CRAGS AND CURLS

Eric Freitas — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:56:02 GMT

So, the question everyone seems to be asking is when can I buy one? Well...not yet. Soon though! This one will be presented in a show this fall, so it is not yet for sale. You'll get more details about that later.

What I can say for sure, is that after I finish this post, it's right back into the garage to fabricate another delectable chunk of brass cragginess for your viewing pleasure. And yes, the next one ( probably the next few ) will be available for your bank account to compulsively devour! Thank you to everyone who has been patiently waiting.

CONCEPT DRAWINGS

Eric Freitas — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 21:46:07 GMT

Before I got into clockmaking, I was an illustrator. I soon decided that commercial art wasn't for me, but I still like to draw and paint from time to time. With that in mind, I decided to start creating tighter versions of my concept drawings. This means I have to take longer before I can dive in with the jewelers saw, but it also means that I have a more precise idea of how everything will look in the end. This is kind of important when your facing hundreds of hours of work.

The drawing with the 'six', is going to be a quartz clock. I began working on it a few days ago, and it will most likely be finished in a week or so. As for the mechanical clock, I honestly can't say when I'll begin. I'm VERY excited about this design. It incorporates all of the key elements that I''ve wanted to use since I began making clocks. So why wait? Well, all of my mechanicals so far have been two feet or less, without the pendulum and chain of course. I would very much like to make this one larger, say five or six feet. This puts the biggest gear, located in the center, around a foot in diameter. I've never made gears that size before, and to cut that on my bench lathe, I'll need to do some re-tooling. Hopefully everything will go smoothly, and you'll see a finished gear sooner rather than later.

The shop will be ready soon, and these drawings will be for sale, along with very limited edition offset prints. I also saw the first set of proofs for a card-set of No.6. This will consist of six double sided cards, all done with hi-res offset printing. On the fronts of five cards will be photos of the clock, and on the back, will be the preliminary sketches. The sixth will have some info about the piece, and the very first moleskine sketch that set the whole project into motion.

No.6 FINISHED!

Eric Freitas — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 11:39:40 GMT

In May of 2008, not long before this website went live, I began creating this piece. In the last eight months I've documented just a small slice of the process, and hopefully given you an idea of what might go into a project like this. The chain alone took over 100 hours, and consists of over 1000 hand machined pieces. The addition of the final link marks the completion of No.6!

For now, this one is not for sale.

Postcard sets, posters, and a book are all in the works. To accommodate the upcoming merchandise, I will be updating my very neglected shop to include a 'shopping cart'. Now that this clock is finished, I'm going to be working very hard to bring some quality items to you. This includes professional photography and photo retouching, experienced and talented graphic designers, and very high quality printing. If you've added yourself to the mailing list through the contact page, you'll know when the first of these things is available for purchase.

Please visit the gallery to view a few more pictures of this piece. Enjoy!

WEIGHT

Eric Freitas — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 03:00:24 GMT

The weight of this clock is attached to the chain, which goes up and around the sprocket, drapes back down the right side, and then the other end is pinned to the bottom of the weight, completing the loop. Making the chain loop back to the weight is very important, because otherwise, as the weight falls, more chain will be on the left than on the right. The chain itself has a significant amount of weight, and if there's more on the left than the right, the clock will run faster.

In order to wind this clock, you simply pull the chain on the right side, and the weight goes up on the left. A ratchet is on the sprocket, which holds the chain in place when the weight reaches the top. This poses a small problem. Once you're done pulling, and let go of the chain, seven pounds of weight is dropped, and abruptly jerks the entire clock train when the nearest ratchet tooth catches. The distance to the next tooth might only be an eighth, or a quarter of an inch, but when the clock is wound every week, this stress may take it's toll on the train over time. To alleviate this problem, I've added a compression spring to the inside of the weight. It very effectively absorbs all of the shock from winding.