Elegent Scroll Frame Skeleton Clock

[wagnmkr]

 

[cnr6400]

  Very nice work Kim, looks great!

[Kim]

Thanks Tom and Jeff! 

Kim

[Dave Otto]

That's a nice looking tool Kim!

Dave

[Kim]

Thanks Dave!
I'm enjoying making these tools.  The parts have all been fairly simple up to now, and I'm not overly worried about the finish on these, since they are just tools.  But it's all good practice, right?!

Kim

[Kim]

Today I made the crank handle.

The crank was made from 1/4" x 3/4" 1018 steel.  The hub for it was made from 3/4" 1018 round rod, then Loctited onto the crank.  The handle sleeve itself was made from a length of 3/4" DOM with a 3/8” ID center hole.  The 3/8” bolt will be used as the axle for the handle sleeve and will need to be cut down in length.  I clearly haven’t done that yet.


I also realized I hadn’t drilled the hole for the set screw, so I did that next, then tapped the hole 6-32 for a set screw.


And here it is all assembled and put in place on the growing Mainspring Winder.


My next task will be to make the ratchet wheel for the spindle.  That’s going to be a little more complicated because I’m going to make a cutter for this ratchet wheel.  It will be a bit of practice before I make the cutters for the clock wheels (i.e. gears, for all of us non-horologists).  I'll be using a slightly different process than when I've made gear cutters in the past.  It should be fun!

Thanks for looking in,
Kim

[Kim]

Last time I made gear cutters, one of the things that I was not very pleased with, was making the relief.  I tried to ‘carefully file’ a little relief behind the cutting edges, but it just didn’t seem very satisfying to me.  I know there are plans for that Eureka tool in Ivan Law’s book but that looks like an absurdly complex piece of machinery to make. And it’s so special purpose.

However, in J Malcolm Wild’s book, “Wheel and Pinion Cutting in Horology” (recommended by Gerrit earlier in this thread, thank you Gerrit!) he describes a different method for creating relief in a multi-tooth gear cutter.  He uses an offset jig in the lathe.  It’s hard to describe, and took me a while to get my mind around, but now I think I’ve got it figured out and I’m going to give it a try.

So, with that lengthy preamble, what I did today was to make that offset jig for creating multi-tooth gear cutters with relief.

Malcolm Wild doesn’t give plans for this jig, he just describes it and shows a few photos of it in use.  So, I scribbled up my own plan for it.  My jig will be 1.75” in diameter and will have a 1” shaft that will fit into a 1” 5C collet (Malcolm holds his in a 4-jaw chuck).  I’ll be making a 3/8” boss on it for holding the cutters (I’ve standardized on a 3/8” hole for my gear cutters).

I had a short piece of 2” diameter 12L14 that I decided to use for this jig.  I started by facing the ends square, then on the mill, I drilled a center hole (just for future registration), reamed a 3/32” hole for the registration pin, and then a hole that will be in the center of the 3/8” boss which will eventually be tapped 1/4"-28. 


I chose to make the boss for centering the cutters on 0.200” high.  To avoid doing a lot of interrupted cutting on the lathe, I cut most of the face down on the mill, leaving plenty of metal around the 3/8” spigot for turning later.


Back to the lathe, I centered that offset spigot using the 4-jaw chuck.


Then proceeded to cut it down to precisely 0.375” in diameter.


After centering the part up on the center hole I brought the bar down to 1.75” diameter.  Then using a parting tool, I cut deepish marks for the start and end of my 1” shaft that will be held in the collet.


Using these cuts as my guides I alternated between left and right-handed tools to remove the bulk of the steel.  My tangential tools are great for removing material, but they don’t work so well in tight spaces like this. But I got as far down as I could using them, then switched back to the parting tool to finish the shaft to the final diameter.


With that done, it was time to part it off.


I also made a couple of washers. One with a 3/8” hole to fit over the 3/8” boss to hold the cutter blanks firmly, and a thinner one with a 1/4" hole just as a washer for the SCHS.  I also made a 3/32” pin from 303 Stainless.


This gives you an idea of how the jig will be used.  This is a gear cutter I made several years ago.  I had to take this picture BEFORE I added the registration pin in place because this cutter doesn't have registration holes. But my new cutter blanks will!


After I Loctited the registration pin in place, I realized that the 3/8” washer would not fit past the top of the registration pin! That would cause real problems when trying to hold cutter blanks in place!


So I took a notch out of the washer so that it would now fit down over the registration pin.


Well, that’s it for this gear cutter jig.  I’ll be trying it out next time!

Thanks for stopping by.
Kim

[cnr6400]

  That should work great Kim! Nicely done. 

[crueby]

Looking forward to seeing it in action, as well as the rest of your process for making the  cutters. Fresh bag of popcorn ready to pop...   

[Kim]

Thanks Jeff and Chris! 

Kim

[Admiral_dk]

Very interesting Project Kim 

It is a kind of Engine    and you are making some very useful Tools + your usual thorough info on how to 

Per                

[Del_61]

I also made the mainspring winder to the design of John Wilding, but it is slightly different to your design.

I followed his design in the appendix of the Skeleton clock book, but was unhappy at the method of securing the outer part of the spring. I see your design uses an idea of long nose pliers to hold the outer part of the spring, which is a better idea.

However I decided to copy a commercial winder and make up a series of containment "tubes" of different diameters. I have to say that this is much safer not only when removing mainsprings but installing them.

Can I ask where did your modified John Wilding winder come from?

[Kim]

I also made the mainspring winder to the design of John Wilding, but it is slightly different to your design.

I followed his design in the appendix of the Skeleton clock book, but was unhappy at the method of securing the outer part of the spring. I see your design uses an idea of long nose pliers to hold the outer part of the spring, which is a better idea.

However I decided to copy a commercial winder and make up a series of containment "tubes" of different diameters. I have to say that this is much safer not only when removing mainsprings but installing them.

Can I ask where did your modified John Wilding winder come from?

Hi Del,
In the version of John Widling's book that I have, the construction of the mainspring winder is covered in Chapter 10.  Then there is a Chapter 11 which is called "Modifications to a Mainspring Winder".  That is where he shows the needle nose clamping bar used as the top connection of the mainspring.  He said this was an idea that he got from Colin Walton. I'm guessing that I have a later edition of his book which contains this update plus a few others, I'm sure.  For example, there is an Appendix 3 which has a photo of the hammer assembly with a statement of how this has confused people in the past so he included this additional photo for clarity, which seems like a later addition too.  I wish he'd include a few more 'additional photos' as I found many things unclear.  But I think I've worked through most of my confusion. 

Kim

[Del_61]

Thanks for the update about the winder. You do have access to the upgraded, new and improved winder details !

I would not be without mine, it's a great tool to have and vital when removing g and fitting g mainsprings especially big ones from fusee clocks. Before you use your winder for the first time, best practice with a smaller spring first.

I have a Gledhill clocking in clock with a fusee, that has an enormous spring in its barrel. I had to make a special device that used the lathe as the winder.

Final bit of advice, please use safety glasses and thick leather gloves when installing and removing mainsprings...

I have an old version of the "book" and it's on my list of projects to make. I will be watching how you get on and to see the work progress. I have to say that John Wildings descriptions vary from the very good to the not very clear at all....

Good luck!

[Kim]

Thank you for the advice, Derek!
Sorry, I used the wrong name before.    I went back and checked and you have signed several of your posts with Derek (not Del).  I apologize for my confusion. I do try to use people's correct name when I can!

Yes, all very good advice.  The safety glasses I would have used regardless. The heavy leather gloves though, I'm not sure I'd have thought about that!  I will certainly do so though.  I'll have to let you know how the spring clamp works.  I thought it looked much more reliable than the little screw head hook on the original winder, so I went with it.

Kim