WIP - Cogitation - Designed by Clayton Boyer

[trsleigh]

Keep it coming.

Sorry about your pillar drill problem. One useful tip I got from Clayton's website was to check the alignment of your pillar drill before starting. He suggests simplist way is to put a double bent length of wire in the chuck & sweep it through a complete circle to check that the end of the wire touches the table equally all the way round.

I have just about finished a Genesis clock, bit rough but a good learning experience. I've found a second hand Hegner :-D that should be on its way today and have already got the plans for the No. 6 clock and case. That'll keep me going over winter.

 

[trsleigh]

[I'd like to make a suggestion, in order to motivate me to keep posting. There is a "good" icon (thumbs up) at the bottom of posts. Even if you have nothing particular to say, that warrents a post, if you have an interest in this thread and would like to see future entries, can you use the "good" button. I can see how many people select it, and so differentiate between the number of views - which could be people with no interest in it, but perhaps the title caught their eye - and those who would like to see the next entry. It will help considerably to motivate me to spend the time photographing, editing the pictures and making the entry itself. Thanks very much.

Ian, thanks for that tip, I've never really noticed the "thumbs up" before nor realised its significance.

 

[devonwoody]

I'm interested in your project and wish you every success to its completion.

 

[Ian down london way]

Keep it coming.

One useful tip I got from Clayton's website was to check the alignment of your pillar drill before starting. He suggests simplist way is to put a double bent length of wire in the chuck & sweep it through a complete circle to check that the end of the wire touches the table equally all the way round..

What an excellent idea.
Of course I'll be dreading doing it tonight !!

 

[boysie39]

Ian ,Great WIP thanks for posting it .Looking forward to following to the end . Although it's a bit too complicated for me I will enjoy watching you complete it

 

[gwr]

I'm with Boysie on this! Great WIP keep them coming.

 

[devonwoody]

Ian did you see this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNuhr3htNWs

 

[pjm699]

So impressed! Mostly with your patience, but also your skill and armoury of machinery.
I will be following your posts and hoping that one day I am granted with the ability to work on something so beautiful (complicated) and with the final result so far off!

 

[AES]

Ian,

I only just stumbled across your WIP post - absolutely 1st class, especially as I fancy such a thing myself ("one of these fine wet days!"). Please keep it coming.

Have you see the Adrian Iredale series of clockmaking videos on Youtube?

I noted you're having some trouble finding good ply, especially in Imperial sizes. Try a good model aero shop (plenty in London - send me a PM telling me where you are and I'll send you a couple of names & addresses). They should stock (or could order) aircraft quality birch (and other good woods) ply in a wide variety of thicknesses from a US company called Midwest. If they don't stock it they should be able to order it (I think the main distributor is a well known US kits, etc, supplier called Sig). The only problem you may find is that as far as I know it only comes in smallish sheets (I think about 12 inches by 6 inches max, but I may be wrong about that).

As a quality example, on my desk as I type this I have an offcut of Midwest ply that's one eighth of an inch thick and consists of 7 laminations, all birch, all laminations exactly the same thickness (as far as the eye can tell) and not a void anywhere to be seen.

If that doesn't work (or if I'm right and the Midwest models ply sheets are too small for you) then there is a firm specialising in all sorts of tools and materials for home builders of light (full size) aeropülanes. Again a US firm, called "The Yard", but I suggest worth looking at:

http//www.yardstore.com

All the best & congratulations on a excellent job.

Krgds
AES

 

[trsleigh]

[What an excellent idea.
Of course I'll be dreading doing it tonight !!

And the result was...?

 

[Ian down london way]

Thanks very much indeed for your input. Much appreciated.

Have you see the Adrian Iredale series of clockmaking videos on Youtube?
AES

I hadn't thanks, will look at those.

... only problem you may find is that as far as I know it only comes in smallish sheets (I think about 12 inches by 6 inches max,....I have an offcut of Midwest ply that's one eighth of an inch thick and consists of 7 laminations, all birch, all laminations exactly the same thickness (as far as the eye can tell) and not a void anywhere to be seen.
AES

That is very impressive.
And I shall check out out. I wonder how loud I will gasp when I hear the price . I do like the finish of birch ply. My local builder sells it at about £45 for an 8 foot x 4 foot sheet (8mm I think). I have made my own ply in the past, using veneer (but quite a small piece, say 1/4 thick, takes lots of veneer!) However, it was amazingly rigid at the end of the process. I may put my own veneer as the top layer on a more commercial ply, although the paleness of the birch is working well for now.

I shall preserver for the time being with the normal shop - albeit best quality they have - ply, and where necessary, sandwich that together to make thicker ply (each layer is just over 1mm thick). If that fails me, I'll start looking further afield.

Thanks again for your input.

Ian

 

[Ian down london way]

[What an excellent idea.
Of course I'll be dreading doing it tonight !!

And the result was...?

The result was interesting, and I think I want to improve the design. Yes, the wire now touches all the way around, but it also flexes (Maybe I should use thicker wire). So, I'm wondering about something that is more rigid, like a home made compass affair with a pencil in the end, so I can see where it touches the paper on the table, perhaps.

But I do like the idea allot.

 

[AES]

Yup, the price of such ply will NOT be cheap, especially not when compared with buying a full sheet or half sheet of ply from a wood dealer, etc. But that's always the way with modelling goods - small packets of nuts and bolts; bottles of glue; paints, etc, - just about everything in fact, is always much more expensive than the same products sold in larger quantities elsewhere. But OTOH, sometimes model shops have stuff that is FAR superior than the "normal" equivalents and that ply is one example.

Good luck anyway - and I'll keep my fingers in my ears until you've heard the price - after all, I'm only about 700 miles away from London :?

Krgds
AES

 

[Ian down london way]

The Escapement (part 1?)

The power for this kinetic sculpture comes from the weights which are attached to the drums behind each of the large drive wheels already mounted. What stops the wheels spinning round is the escapement.

This takes the form of a smaller wheel, whose teeth connect to the drive wheels. What stops that smaller escapement wheel from spinning even faster, is the way in which it is held back by stoppers which press against brass pins which are mounted on these escapement wheels, which only lets them rotate 1/6th of a revolution at a time.

Each escapement is made of a solid wheel which engages with the drive wheel, a spacer behind (to ensure the escapement wheel is at the same distance from the frame as the drive wheel), and the escapement wheel itself - whose key aspect is the series of pins which are used to stop it from spinning uncontrollably.

So, first, the solid wheel. Same technique as before, hand cutting on hegner, and making it circular using the vertical belt sander. This time, I checked the drill for its orientation to the table though !

Then the outside and inside of the escapement wheel. The teeth around the outside will be used by the mechanism which allows it to rotate only one pin at a time.

The escapement wheel also has four more brass pegs, which actually protrude opposite to the rotation-limiting pegs (6 of). They are used to allow the sculpture to be wound up. They support a ratcheting mechanism, whereby when the drive wheel is applying torque to the escapement wheel, it tries to spin it, but if you rotate the drive wheel in the opposite direction, then you do not have to spin the escapement wheel - such is the nature of a ratchet. To tell the truth, till I made one of these on my first model from this designer, I didn't realise how it would work, so don't worry if you don't either. But its rather clever, and is used in a number of his designs (clocks as well).

So, having also cut the ratchet teeth, these are the two sets of components needed to make the escapement. The escapement wheel has already got its brass pegs in place.

Now for their assembly. I had to thin down the wheel, so the back of it is looking a bit ropey - I've not bought the expensive ply of just the right thickness, but the front looks fine.

The spacer is stuck to the back, and the ratchet wheel, part of the ratchet mechanism is stuck to the front, all three items are mounted onto a 9/32 brass tube (which will rotate on the 1/4 inch brass rod).

So, once assembled together, on the mounting rod, a single escapement assembly looks like this. You can see the ratchet assembly which is what couples the front to the back.

And here is what they pair look like in situ.

Next - more cogs and the bits which engage with the pegs on the escapement.

 

[gregmcateer]

Ian,
I am really loving this WIP.
Can't wait to see the finished article.
Greg

 

[Steve Maskery]

Excellent Ian, don't stop.
S

 

[Ian down london way]

I'm nearly there for the next one. But xmas and a nasty does of flu (I fainted for the first time ever), has delayed things. That and the need to make xmas presents (butterflies on thin dowels on a turned base, rather nice, but time consuming).

I'll be posting within a couple of days, and you can look for the, um, deliberate mistake - )

 

[jordec66]

That is so fantastic, we're all waiting with baited breath to see the finished art. That is seriously impressive stuff you're doing. Nice one.

 

[Eric The Viking]

This is fun!

I was right there with you on the drill table.

I've been caught out twice: I tilted the table for drilling into the edges of dolls house floors (for wiring) and forgot to put it back properly (only roughly).

Then, on the morticer with a drill chuck mounted, I found out I'd never checked it for squareness with the table - and it wasn't :-( Now shimmed with kitchen foil pro tem. Quite infuriating really, but so easily done!

Thoroughly enjoying your postings.

E.

 

[Graham Orm]

Great stuff. Looking forward to seeing the final item. Maybe a little inlay work to spruce it up? :twisted: Just kidding! I spotted this on the same You Tube page as your video link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hHTuXe1rZrQ How do you even begin to design something like this??