Grandfather Clock Plans Free Download _HOT_
Tisa Timchak
Timber
I bought two pieces of 300 mm wide timber, knowing I would have to cut off approximately 100mm to get them through my thicknesser. The timber was machined to 20mm thickness and then coarse-sanded to 18.3 mm.
My design was for 18mm, as this is readily available in pine at local timber yards. All lengths for the base and trunk of the clock were cut over length by 20mm. I tried to keep similar grains in pairs on either side of the centre, like a mirror image, and to balance the effect on the clock. As glass panels were specified, the only wide timber needed was for the base panels. For this, I laminated two pieces back together to give the large front panel.
I also decided to use solid timber for the sounding board carrying the chime rods and mount. There was no need for this to be a perfect match as it was inside the case. Fortunately, my sander would sand 400mm in width in one pass. I had designed the case to be in three pieces so that it was easy to transport.
Cross timbers
With the sides glued up, the cross timber can be mounted. As the trunk of the clock is the most fragile item I have screwed the cross timbers where they will be covered with mouldings, making the trunk stronger in the joints.
Next, the backboard is cut and fitted; this is for the chime rods to be mounted on and is used as a sounding board. Here I used screws and glue to fix it in place after making sure that it aligned correctly and was plumb. The trunk is screwed in plumb to the base and left to fully cure overnight. This needs to be watched, as out of plumb, the weights can catch on the internals of the case on the way down.
Back ply
I left cutting and installing the base ply until I had marked up the nicest piece for the trunk. The base ply overlaps the bottom rear rail of the trunk so there is no light penetration through the joint and helps in positioning the trunk to the base. The ply cut for the trunk had to be painted black. The trunk was fitted to the base and the trunk ply was tacked in place.
With the hood runners clamped in place on the trunk sides, the seat board that the clock mechanism sits on was made to fit between the runners. I drilled out a hole for each of the six chains, making sure that the chain end fittings would go through the holes, saving them from being stressed in removal and re-attachment. I drilled two 5mm holes for the mounting screws, so there was a little movement if needed.
The hood
With the main parts of the hood cut to size and fine-sanded ready for the routering and final length cuts, I work on the hood base which is also the rails that secure it to the clock hood when installed. This has an ogee shape routered around the top edge and is mitred on the front corners. I leave the sides oversize to be trimmed back when the correct position is confirmed.
The front mitres are my usual tongue and groove method but with a hidden joint, not machining, all the way through to the front of the mitre. This part is going to see a lot of handling and the extra strength will be a bonus. The sides will have the same construction as the trunk sides and base panels. The small round-over radius is routed in the internal edges of the styles and rails, which again is stopped short at 20mm from the corners.
The back of the groove is removed between the top and bottom rails and on the top and bottom rails themselves so that it becomes a rebate for the glass. When machining the front pair of styles for the sides, I also grooved the internal side to joint a fillet strip to close the gap between the side panels and the dial outer edges. I use glue joints wherever possible with just eight screws and a handful of nails for the ply backs and to secure the hood rails to the hood side panels. You could screw the rails on.
Upper coving
Between the fillets, I machined the upper coving for the dial. This coving is the shape of the top edge of the dial and overlaps it as the fillets do by 5mm, hiding the rivets attaching the edge of the dial to its backing plate. This is grooved to match the groove for the fillets.
The sides, dial fillets, and the top can all be assembled and dry-checked for fit, then glued and clamped until dry. For the front panel above the dial and door, I continued the break arch dial shape through the panel with an increasing diameter to give the look of ever-increasing circles.
The bottom edge of the front panel has an ogee shape routered into the lower edge and around the corners where another moulding of the same shape will continue the shape around the clock sides. The two side mouldings have a round over upper edge as they are only a small bar and not as tall as the front panel, which will carry the final topmost moulding. They carry the moulding line along the sides to balance the moulding band around the clock.
Hinges
With the doors now ready, the rebate for each hinge can be routered. I was able to use a template for the brass hinges I had.
The depth of cut is the thickness of a closed hinge; this has been done to facilitate fitting the doors to the styles, which eliminates the accuracy needed to align the door hinge rebates as a mirrored pair. I have used three hinges on the trunk and two hinges on the hood.
Finally, the pillars will be made as a three-quarter round and fitted to the outside edge of the hood front styles. This allows clearance for the hood door to be opened wider. As a clockmaker and repairer, I find hood doors that open only 90 degrees are restrictive. When there are children around, it is safe practice to fit a lock to the trunk door to prevent them from playing with the chains and pendulum. For me, it is not the best idea, as I make my living fixing these problems but I know there are no small hands in residence with this client.
Mechanical Clock Kits on this page are for the clock case maker or to set up all new insides to a currently existing clock.Mechanical Clock KitsTypes of clock kitsMechanical Movement optionsBuy prior to case creationBuild a Seat BoardPendulum info Please view these information tabs for Building Mechanical Clock Kits.Mechanical Clock Kit Styles AvailableMechanical Clock Kit Styles Available include wall clocks, mantle (shelf) clocks, and floor clocks. Floor models includes the granddaughter, grandmother, and grandfather series. Mechanical Clock Kit Styles are in the list below.
If the clock has three places to wind with the key it is a quarterly chime unit. This means it is either Triple chime or Westminster only. In other words every 15 minutes it will progressively play part of the song. At the top of the hour it will play the complete song then strike out the hours.
So fastening it well is very important. The movement can have a pendulum or no pendulum but of course the pendulum is most popular. When a mechanical clock does not have a pendulum it has a balance wheel instead. This is a floating and rocking wheel on the top of the movement and operates more like a watch balance.
This means the weights will hang on cables instead of chains, and plays choice of three songs. However it is not always triple chime because some are Westminster only. This is the largest and tallest of the floor clocks.
As for the other noise makers, we call them strike clocks because they only strike out the hours and usually bong once on the half hour. These include Gong strike (coil gong on the back or below the movement), Bell strike, or Bim Bam (sounds like its name, on two or three strike rods).
We offer complete kits at Clockworks, however we can't include them all as it would be overwhelming. It may be possible to alter any aspect in the clock kits that are available. Please call to let us help with kit modifications or for general assistance.Mechanical clock-kit movement options - Floor ClocksChime typeEither Westminster only or triple chime. Both of these Mechanical Clock Kit options play a melody every 15 minutes and require a three weight movement.
Options include metal rod to a decor for the kitchen style clocks are available, or a wood stick pendulum if the clock is tall enough. For the shorter mantle units it will be just a round bob that is usually adjustable for time keeping.
If the situation calls for this type of clock dial, may want to chase a different clock design to make, it is not often it works out well unfortunately. The shelf clocks are easier as it has a door that closes with glass in the front, rather than the round brass bezel with dial and glass all in one combination.
Although it may seem counterintuitive, it is more common than you might think. To put a lot of effort into building a luxury case only to realize that the necessary components do not fit inside. It is advisable to purchase the clock kit first to avoid this frustration and potential financial loss, . This will allow you to ensure that all the components fit properly before investing time and resources into the case.
Naturally, it will be easy to measure the various parts of the clock kit such as the pendulum swing and dial. Having the luxury of the components being in the air makes it much easier to measure and is a wise decision.
They most certainly are gorgeous but try to find another one like it. These are no longer available. This is the case with many others as well. This is yet another reason to buy the clock kit before building the case.
The winding arbor holes will need to be done, if a dial can be found. This way it will have a hole to put the key or crank into. Chain driven clocks are the only style that does not need winding holes in the dial.
To sum up this topic on clock kits. It is wise to get the Mechanical Clock Kit before building the clock case. The best thing to do is set up the movement kit in the workshop. This way you can visualize the size prior to installation.
These are the screws with the rectangle washers. Of course, an easier method would be to mount two, three quarter or 1 inch square boards running parallel, which are 1 inch apart, across the inside of the clock case. This is really all a mounting board needs to consist of.
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