Since the last post I’ve made a handful of pinions, spoked out the snail cams for balance, and made the little star wheel for the day click.
There were also a couple of other things that required more time than expected. I put some of the clicks and levers on a test plate (a clockmakers depthing tool actually) to check the functionality and geometry. A couple of them were a little on the fussy side. I prefer things to work with absolute certainty, in a way that can’t fail even if an unexpected variable is introduced. This is especially important for a clock that will be half way around the world, where I can’t just pop in to service it. For that reason I had to recut and re-work some things.
Re-cuts are pretty common with each of my projects since every piece is a one-off and there’s no pre-set template for things. There’s always a bit of trial and error.
The good news is I’ve also completed a delrin (plastic) test frame for the perpetual mechanism, and have started putting the parts in. This frame doesn’t look like much, but the holes were all very carefully measured and drilled. Their exact location is crucial for everything to work. Now I’ll be able to mount everything together and watch it all work in concert for the first time.
Lots of work ahead, but the fun stuff is right around the corner.
