This past week I was away working with some people on a project, one of them showed me the info for a personal project he had made. See
Unvbelievable piece of work. I have a couple of friends that have built scrollsaw clocks from plans purchased from Clockit, and they thought they were doing brain surgery because of the level of accuracy needed.
Everything is so important on this, not one piece (unless it is an hour marker on the face) can be less than 100%.
And honestly, I am not sure which I am more appreciative of; the fact he built it, or the fact that HE designed it and did all his own drawings. Start to finish it is really impressive.
I enjoyed the comments, too. I remember when I showed off my first segmented piece I made on my lathe after working my butt off to get things to line up, fit, and plain just look OK.
One of the first comments I got was "now there's a great way to use up your scraps!"
Robert
You gotta love the "bizarre comments". Most of us have heard them, every one (even when not applied to the same level of craftsmanship) ... further proof of the end result of the short-circuiting of survival of the fittest.
Yeah, but where does the cuckoo come out?
The craftsmanship required to do this is just incredible. Of the 290 parts in it, I doubt I could get one to have the precision needed.
Beautiful!
Have you ever seen a one hit wonder that never had anything else to prove? I'll bet this guy is pretty good at whatever he does.
Tom in KY, maybe a little jealous of the guts to try something like this?
The comment that I have gotten a lot that never fails to amaze me is "you can't make one of those, you have to buy them". I'm a machinist and tool maker. My response always is, "you want to bet"? I'm sure that he has gotten comments like that a lot on various things he's done over the years. Joe Average generally doesn't have a clue.
"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in
I wouldn't be too sure about that ... I know that every time I visit your site I get hungry.
After working with him on some sonar matters, the answer is YES.
Suspect he's also a really nice, down to earth person as well. Most folks who are that good, and know they are that good don't have anything to prove and are typically just good, neat folks to be around. It's those people who are mediocre and afraid someone will see through their mediocrity that are usually arrogant pains in the @$$ to have to deal with.
That is just one amazingly well-crafted piece of work. My dad did watch repair for a number of years. The precision required of *metal* objects in order for precise timekeeping is extraordinary, when putting a watch together, if it didn't just fall into place, something was being done incorrectly -- it is an absolute testament to this gentleman's craftsmanship that he could build such a precise clock from wood.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
snip I've had that very comment many times in relation to furniture and other things I have made. Used to get it a lot when I had just finished my apprenticeship, especially by relatives.When I'd say "Of course I can I'm a cabinetmaker. Who do you think makes the items in the shops". I'd receive a stunned sort of silence then you'd see the lights slowly come on. Sort of milk comes from a bottle, Never thought about a cow. regards John
The next question is: How long did it take him to make it?
The escapement took 3 months, and there are 290 parts.
Look further down the page. It says,
a.. Design, Drafting and Manufacture Period a.. a.. 3,000 Hours over a 2.5 year period.
I feel that the truly intelligent and talented people have a better personality because they do not as often become frustrated with their inadequaticy to express or accomplish.
And that is still pretty fast for a beginner. Some beginners are still pondering left or right tilt. :~)
Please post the link to this clock. I missed it in the original posts.
Steve
I've been a machinist and tool / die-maker. I've done production work with tolerances of only a few millionths (.000030"+-) and did it extremely well (10,000 parts, 3 rejects). I never sniff at other peoples work. Good tips its hat to good.
And that clock is good.
Another poster commented that if an assembly does not just fall together, it's wrong. I would only add that the exception to that rule is when the resistance is intentional. (see "Classes of Fit" in "Machinery's Handbook"). I typically do my woodwork to 'sliding fit' with the intention of doing one test fitting before final assembly. With that class of fit, you don't get many trial fittings before the class of fit is lost. But there is something very comforting about having the parts lightly hold alignment while I grab for the clamps & cauls.
The OP did one heck of a job and has every right to be pleased with the outcome.
Maybe for his next project he could model the known universe, with orbits.
;-)
Bill
On his website he makes the truly disheartening remark that out of 100 people, only a couple of mathematicians appreciate what he has accomplished.
I'm not a mathematician (though I've got a degree in math), but I sure appreciate the effort involved. And I see there are plenty of others here that do, too. Hundreds more, if not thousands, I'm willing to bet. When I was 11, sitting idle after finishing my math exercises quickly, I conceived of building a wooden clock, and I actually started hacking at it a few years later. I didn't get very far, but still hope to revive that project someday. I see the bar has been set pretty high, though.
Please pass along our appreciation, and thanks for showing it to us.
- Owen -
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