Wooden wall clocks: history and DIY options

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All photos from the article

The topic of this article is wooden wall clocks. We will get acquainted with the history of the creation of all-wood mechanisms in our country and find out who and in what years created the most remarkable designs. In addition, we will get acquainted with the methods of making watches with our own hands - both based on a ready-made quartz watch mechanism, and from scratch, with the execution of all mechanics from wooden blanks.


Wall clock made of wood.

DIY wooden clock drawings. Pendulum clock deer

The idea of ​​creating a watch out of wood hung in my head for a very long time, it was ripening, so to speak. At that time I was working at a wood processing plant, it would have been a sin not to take advantage of the opportunity to do something for myself. So, after scouring the web, I found several sites where they offered to buy ready-made drawings/models. On one of the sites, drawings in PDF format were available. It was possible to buy it, but it was interesting to rebuild it yourself and, if necessary, make changes to the drawings. The website itself: https://www.woodenclocks.co.uk/index.htm

Appearance:

Assembly diagram:

Scheme of operation of the anchor mechanism:

Model built in PowerShape: breakdown by workpiece:

Assembly:

Naturally, I wrote the entire treatment myself. The processing was written in PowerMILL. Processing the dial and small details.

Writing processing for gears.

He made watches from walnut and oak. The frame, dial, hands, and some small details are made of walnut. Walnut was used with a thickness of 16mm. All gears are made of oak. The so-called “deck” blank is a 3mm thick veneer glued together under a press and calibrated to a size of 8mm. Made from re-glued material, because... I thought that the plywood would be more durable and less susceptible to warping. I bought axles in a store, 6, 8 and 10 mm thick, made of beech. The factory does not have the equipment to produce such small items).

All processing was carried out on a FlexiCAM machine. This is not a small machine; in the photo, a sheet of plywood 2.5 * 1.5 meters is processed. There are other completely different details in the photo, perhaps more about them another time. I also did the processing on the machine myself and did not trust it to the operator. But somehow my hands were full and there was no camera at hand, so there is no photo of the actual processing on the machine ((.

Workpieces after the machine:

Sanded Gears

First build

And this is a small assistant. Grabbed the frame halves and let's run with them. Shouts - I'm a tractor! After that I had to glue one of the halves. Fortunately, wood is a good material, you can’t even find where it was glued after gluing it.

Dry assembly

Side view. This version does not yet have a single metal part. When I first read the author’s website, he mentioned that you shouldn’t make axles out of wood, there will be problems with them, but then I somehow missed it.

Tiny seconds hand

All parts were covered with teak oil. Oil does not change the texture of the material, but highlights it and makes the color more saturated. Well, the details become a little matte. I like oil better than varnish.

Blocks for hanging loads. If the weight is attached directly to the clock, then the winding will last for 12 hours. But this is not enough and the table under the clock interfered with this design. I let the rope go to the ceiling and to the corner where the load would not bother anyone. I used a chain hoist). As a result, the plant lasts for a couple of days. When the load is near the floor, the little one likes to kick it and tug at it))). I scold you.

The material is striped - I took scraps from blanks at the factory. This material, made from walnut and maple plywood, is called laminate. Butts are made from it, and they turn out very beautiful. But this is kind of exclusive. Usually it is walnut for oiling or beech for painting.

After covering it with oil, it turned out that the watch did not want to run. The sanded ones just walked without problems, and then they started to stop. I had to grind all the axes into the holes and lubricate them with graphite. In general, on the next watch I will install bearings everywhere, well, well... such problems.

The anchor is closer. While I was adjusting, I got carried away and cut off the excess. I had to glue a little meat onto one of the teeth of the anchor.

Escape wheel In general, a watch is a thing that requires precision and care in manufacturing. If you haven’t cleaned a tooth somewhere or left a burr, they will stop.

Final assembly Changes regarding the plant mechanism had to be made to the author's design. Brian suggested making the plant with a key. Initially, I did just that, but after a month of use I realized that if I don’t change it, the clock will eventually stop working. Imagine, to start it for a day you need to make 24 revolutions of the wheel on which the thread is wound. 24 revolutions are 48 half-turn hand movements. Taking into account the fact that the watch is hung high, the hand simply gets tired. I changed it so that when you pull the black cord, the watch starts. Fast and easy.

Preparing the location for wall mounting

Wall installation. The wall turned out to be uneven; the upper attachment point had to be moved a few millimeters from the wall, otherwise the pendulum would touch the bottom of the wall.

Installing blocks, passing the cord through the blocks

Preparation for cargo. So far the pipe is dirty and there isn't enough lead inside to finish it. In general, a load of one and a half kilograms is enough to operate the watch. I plan to hang the load on a triple chain hoist so that the plant will last for three days, so the load will need to be about 4 kg. The pipe will need to be shortened a little, but not by much. As a result, the length will be somewhere around 330 mm.

Well, what happened in the end, a few photos.

Many people think that wooden watches are not accurate watches. No, that's not true. This is a mechanism, everything is tied to the movement of the pendulum, and therefore to the force of gravity. I stopped adjusting them when the accuracy became about 30 seconds per day. I did not build a threaded metal rod into the pendulum, and the weight simply moves along the wood with tension. If you integrate a threaded rod, you can adjust it to precision in seconds. The goal in production was to make a beautiful and useful thing, and not to make a chronometer))).

What was unexpected is that the watch is quite loud. Those. they hang in the kitchen and at night you can hear them in the room)). This is the reason why they hang in the kitchen. Jaune cursed. She didn't like them at all. But I like them. And I like the way they tick. They create comfort with their measured pace.

The video can be viewed on the page in my world.

The idea of ​​creating a watch out of wood hung in my head for a very long time, it was ripening, so to speak. At that time I was working at a wood processing plant, it would have been a sin not to take advantage of the opportunity to do something for myself. So, after scouring the web, I found several sites where they offered to buy ready-made drawings/models. On one of the sites, drawings in PDF format were available. It was possible to buy it, but it was interesting to rebuild it yourself and, if necessary, make changes to the drawings. The website itself: https://www.woodenclocks.co.uk/index.htm

Appearance:

Assembly diagram:

Scheme of operation of the anchor mechanism:

Model built in PowerShape: breakdown by workpiece:

Assembly:

Naturally, I wrote the entire treatment myself. The processing was written in PowerMILL. Processing the dial and small details.

Writing processing for gears.

He made watches from walnut and oak. The frame, dial, hands, and some small details are made of walnut. Walnut was used with a thickness of 16mm. All gears are made of oak. The so-called “deck” blank is a 3mm thick veneer glued together under a press and calibrated to a size of 8mm. Made from re-glued material, because... I thought that the plywood would be more durable and less susceptible to warping. I bought axles in a store, 6, 8 and 10 mm thick, made of beech. The factory does not have the equipment to produce such small items).

All processing was carried out on a FlexiCAM machine. This is not a small machine; in the photo, a sheet of plywood 2.5 * 1.5 meters is processed. There are other completely different details in the photo, perhaps more about them another time. I also did the processing on the machine myself and did not trust it to the operator. But somehow my hands were full and there was no camera at hand, so there is no photo of the actual processing on the machine ((.

Workpieces after the machine:

Sanded Gears

First build

And this is a small assistant. Grabbed the frame halves and let's run with them. Shouts - I'm a tractor! After that I had to glue one of the halves. Fortunately, wood is a good material, you can’t even find where it was glued after gluing it.

Dry assembly

Side view. This version does not yet have a single metal part. When I first read the author’s website, he mentioned that you shouldn’t make axles out of wood, there will be problems with them, but then I somehow missed it.

Tiny seconds hand

All parts were covered with teak oil. Oil does not change the texture of the material, but highlights it and makes the color more saturated. Well, the details become a little matte. I like oil better than varnish.

Blocks for hanging loads. If the weight is attached directly to the clock, then the winding will last for 12 hours. But this is not enough and the table under the clock interfered with this design. I let the rope go to the ceiling and to the corner where the load would not bother anyone. I used a chain hoist). As a result, the plant lasts for a couple of days. When the load is near the floor, the little one likes to kick it and tug at it))). I scold you.

The material is striped - I took scraps from blanks at the factory. This material, made from walnut and maple plywood, is called laminate. Butts are made from it, and they turn out very beautiful. But this is kind of exclusive. Usually it is walnut for oiling or beech for painting.

After covering it with oil, it turned out that the watch did not want to run. The sanded ones just walked without problems, and then they started to stop. I had to grind all the axes into the holes and lubricate them with graphite. In general, on the next watch I will install bearings everywhere, well, well... such problems.

The anchor is closer. While I was adjusting, I got carried away and cut off the excess. I had to glue a little meat onto one of the teeth of the anchor.

Escape wheel In general, a watch is a thing that requires precision and care in manufacturing. If you haven’t cleaned a tooth somewhere or left a burr, they will stop.

Final assembly Changes regarding the plant mechanism had to be made to the author's design. Brian suggested making the plant with a key. Initially, I did just that, but after a month of use I realized that if I don’t change it, the clock will eventually stop working. Imagine, to start it for a day you need to make 24 revolutions of the wheel on which the thread is wound. 24 revolutions are 48 half-turn hand movements. Taking into account the fact that the watch is hung high, the hand simply gets tired. I changed it so that when you pull the black cord, the watch starts. Fast and easy.

Preparing the location for wall mounting

Wall installation. The wall turned out to be uneven; the upper attachment point had to be moved a few millimeters from the wall, otherwise the pendulum would touch the bottom of the wall.

Installing blocks, passing the cord through the blocks

Preparation for cargo. So far the pipe is dirty and there isn't enough lead inside to finish it. In general, a load of one and a half kilograms is enough to operate the watch. I plan to hang the load on a triple chain hoist so that the plant will last for three days, so the load will need to be about 4 kg. The pipe will need to be shortened a little, but not by much. As a result, the length will be somewhere around 330 mm.

Well, what happened in the end, a few photos.

Many people think that wooden watches are not accurate watches. No, that's not true. This is a mechanism, everything is tied to the movement of the pendulum, and therefore to the force of gravity. I stopped adjusting them when the accuracy became about 30 seconds per day. I did not build a threaded metal rod into the pendulum, and the weight simply moves along the wood with tension. If you integrate a threaded rod, you can adjust it to precision in seconds. The goal in production was to make a beautiful and useful thing, and not to make a chronometer))).

What was unexpected is that the watch is quite loud. Those. they hang in the kitchen and at night you can hear them in the room)). This is the reason why they hang in the kitchen. Jaune cursed. She didn't like them at all. But I like them. And I like the way they tick. They create comfort with their measured pace.

The video can be viewed on the page in my world.

This unsightly looking mechanical wall clock

have one significant advantage over conventional watches: they have a power reserve of up to
four days
, whereas, like a regular watch, the power reserve is 1-2 days.
A large power reserve was the main task in the development of these watches, in solving which it was necessary to simultaneously provide technology for mass production, and ensure minimal friction losses in the gears, and not particularly overload the weight. The result is a product that we present to your consideration. call it a prefabricated watch model
, because...
This is no longer a model, but a full-fledged working mechanism. The working wooden watch mechanism
is assembled from laser-cut gears included in the kit, which are mounted on wooden axles and
bearings
.
The clock mechanism of these bearings uses as many as 8 pieces, and the ninth is in the weight, which ensures easy and reliable movement. This wooden watch
uses a Graham escapement, weight drive and wheel winding.
And although the clock uses about 150 parts (of which about one and a half dozen gears), to assemble this wooden clock you only need glue (such as PVA and cyanoacrylate), a sharp knife and a file. The design turned out to be interesting! The clock mechanism is open, without a case
.
And the dial and hands are made in contrasting black and white, in contrast to the brown color of the mechanism itself. The clock is driven by a hanging weight, into which you will need to fill 1.5 or 3 kg of weight (we recommend using 8 or 8.5 mm lead buckshot as a filler). The design of the watch is designed for two options for using the weight: full-fledged mode, when one winding of the weight lasts for four days
, and light mode, when the weight of the weight can be reduced, but the watch will have to be wound once every two days.
As with all mechanical watches
of this design, the accuracy of the movement is regulated by the position of the pendulum lens.
A well-tuned watch will provide you with an accuracy of 1-2 minutes per day. To increase the durability of wooden watches,
it is advisable to coat their parts with two or three layers
of Danish oil
. Additionally, the oil will give your wall clock a nice, professional look.

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Try cutting out a craft like this. Your loved ones will certainly like it by placing it in a visible place, for example, on a shelf. To make this craft you will need the following:

Sawing tools.

Preparing your desktop

First of all, you need to prepare your table on which you will work. There should be no unnecessary things on it and every tool should be at hand. Not everyone has their own desktop and has probably already thought about creating one. Making a table is not difficult, but choosing a place for it in the house is difficult. The ideal option is an insulated balcony, on which you can do crafts at any time. I have already written about preparing the table in a separate article and tried to describe in as much detail as possible the entire process of creating it. If you don’t know how to prepare your workplace, then read the following Article. After you have completed the process of creating a table, try to start choosing your future craft.

Best ideas for inspiration

And finally, here are some more examples of decorating, creating or remaking wall clocks. Check them out, get inspired and create!

Bright wall clocks will decorate any interior


Creative ash wall clockBicycle wheel clockTriangular wood wall clockHomemade wall clock with original designAmazing wall decor


Interesting clock on the wall


Another original dial designClock from an old kitchen colanderLarge wall clockHomemade wall clock made of wood


Original domino clock


Simple wall clock made of buttonsClock using decoupage technique


Clocks from ordinary books


Photo of a homemade wooden clock


Wall clock for the kitchenLarge clock on the wall


Another example of a clock made from a bicycle wheel

Popular articles Congratulations on April 1 in verse

We choose quality material

The main material is plywood. The choice is always difficult. Each of us has probably encountered such a problem as delamination of plywood from the end part and asked the question, what causes this delamination? Well, of course, this is mainly due to low-quality plywood. If this is not the first time you have picked up a jigsaw, then you can select plywood from the remnants of a previous craft. If you are new to sawing and you don’t have plywood, then buy it at a hardware store. Choosing material for sawing is always difficult. You should always choose plywood carefully, often look at the defects of the wood (knots, cracks) and draw conclusions. The difficulty in choosing plywood lies in the fact that no matter how you guess at its defects and shelf life. For example, you bought plywood, cleaned it, translated the drawing and suddenly it began to delaminate. Of course, this has happened to almost everyone and it’s oh, how unpleasant. So it is better to pay attention when choosing and choose good plywood. I wrote a special Article in which all the principles of choosing plywood are described step by step.

General information

Where did grandfather clocks come from?

The term floor clock “Floor clock” came to our country from England, and its varieties appeared there:

  • — “Grandfather Clock” or grandfather clock, height 195-200 cm;
  • — “Grandmother Clock” or grandmother’s clock, height 150-190 cm;
  • — “Granddaughter Clock” or granddaughter’s clock, height does not exceed 150 cm.

They first appeared in the 17th century; in those days, this piece of furniture was an indicator of wealth and testified to the aristocratic origin of their owners.

At first, the clock looked like a narrow cabinet in which the clock mechanism was located, and on the outside there was a dial. And only almost a hundred years later, the production of watches with a glass front began; now, in addition to the dial, an exquisite pendulum was presented to the eye.

Types of grandfather clocks:

  1. Classic vintage ones are made of dark wood or veneer. Outwardly they resemble the Big Ben tower.
  2. Interior clocks can be made of either wood or plywood. The shape and color depend on the design decision.
  3. Modern clocks can be very different, for example, in the form of a street lamp or a telephone booth. Materials for production: glass, metal, plastic, wood.

Stripping plywood

We clean our plywood with sandpaper. As you already know, “Medium-grained” and “Fine-grained” sandpaper is used for cleaning plywood when sawing. You've probably seen sandpaper in hardware stores, and that's what we'll need. In your work you will need “Coarse-grained”, “Medium-grained” and “Fine-grained” sandpaper. Each of them has its own property, but a completely different coating, by which it is classified. “Coarse-grained” sandpaper is used for processing rough plywood, i.e. which has many defects, chips, and cracks. “Medium-grained” sandpaper is used for processing plywood after “Coarse” sandpaper and has a slight coating. “Fine-grained” or otherwise “Nulevka”. This sandpaper serves as the final process for stripping plywood. It gives the plywood smoothness, and therefore the plywood will be pleasant to the touch. Sand the prepared plywood in stages, starting with medium-grain sandpaper and ending with fine sandpaper. Sanding should be done along the layers, not across. A well-polished surface should be flat, completely smooth, glossy in the light and silky to the touch. How best to prepare plywood for sawing and which sandpaper is best to choose Read here. After stripping, check the plywood for burrs and small irregularities. If there are no visible defects, then you can proceed to the process of translating the drawing.

Translation of the drawing

For me, drawing translation has always been the main process in my work. I will tell you a couple of rules, as well as tips for high-quality translation of a drawing. Many people transfer the drawing onto plywood not only using a pencil and copying, but also using “Black Tape”, glue the drawing to the plywood, then wash off the drawing with water and the markings of the drawing remain on the plywood. In general, there are many ways, but I will tell you about the most common method. To transfer the drawing onto prepared plywood, you must use a copy, a ruler, a sharp pencil and a non-writing pen. Fasten the drawing in plywood using buttons or simply hold it with your left hand. Check if the drawing fits the dimensions. Arrange the clock drawing so that you can use a sheet of plywood as economically as possible. Translate the drawing using a non-writing pen and ruler. There is no need to rush, because your future craft depends on the drawing.

Kitchen clock made of cardboard

There are instructions on how to make a watch with your own hands, which will help you create a real masterpiece. For example, the product can be made of cardboard. At first glance, this material seems neither practical nor presentable.

If you look at it carefully, it has many advantages. The work is easy, and technical equipment will not be difficult to replace if a breakdown occurs.

To create a kitchen accessory you will need the following tools:

  • Plastic plugs;
  • Thick cardboard;
  • Mechanism;
  • Marker;
  • Acrylic based paints.

At the first stage, you need to draw an oval on the cardboard; a compass is used for this. Then the points where the numbers will be located are plotted. Plastic plugs are glued to these places.

The numbers are drawn with a marker and acrylic paints. Using an awl, a hole is made in the center for the mechanism. It is installed together with the arrows.

There are quite a lot of products that are made on the basis of cardboard. If you watch master classes by experienced craftswomen, you can choose the best ideas for watch frames.

Drilling holes in the parts

As you have already noticed, the parts contain parts of the grooves that need to be cut out from the inside. To cut out such parts, you need to drill holes in them using a hand drill or, as in the old fashioned way, make holes with an awl. By the way, the diameter of the hole must be at least 1 mm, otherwise you can damage the elements of the drawing, which, alas, are sometimes difficult to restore. To avoid damaging your work table when drilling holes, you must place a board under the workpiece so as not to damage the work table. It is always difficult to drill holes alone, so ask a friend to help you in your task.

Start making boxes

1. Cut out the front/back J and side K walls of the drawers. Install a 10 mm thick mortise disc into the saw machine and secure a wooden plate to the longitudinal stop. Move the stop close to the disc and secure it. Adjust the overhang of the disc and cut out folds 5 mm deep J (Fig. 7).

2. Now install a 6 mm thick groove disk into the saw machine, rearrange the longitudinal stop and cut out tongues on the inside of the front, rear and side walls J, K at the bottom edge (Fig. 7).

3. Cut out the bottom L of the drawers. Dry assemble the drawers to check the fit of all parts. Then glue the boxes together, securing them with clamps, and make sure they are square and free of distortions.

4. To make partial tongues in the side walls of drawers, install a straight groove cutter with a diameter of 6 mm in the collet of a router mounted in the table and set the routing depth to 6 mm. Position the router table rip fence so that the cutter is exactly in the middle of the width of the side wall K. Check the settings on a piece of trim that is the same width as the side walls. Attach a stopper to the longitudinal stop to the left of the cutter to limit the length of the milled tongue to 84 mm (photo H). After making a tongue on one side wall, turn the box over and rout the same tongue on the other side.

Align the bit exactly with the middle of the side wall and rout the tongues on both sides of the drawers without changing the settings.

5. Try all the drawers one by one against the body opening and ensure their smooth movement by carefully grinding the guide rails. Drill a mounting hole in the center of each front wall J for the knob handle.

Sawing parts

There are many rules for cutting, but you need to stick to the most common ones. First of all, you need to cut out the internal parts, only then according to the external pattern. There is no need to rush when cutting. The main thing is to always keep the jigsaw straight at a 90-degree angle when cutting. Cut out the parts along the lines you accurately marked. The movements of the jigsaw should always be smooth up and down. Also, do not forget to monitor your posture. Try to avoid bevels and unevenness. If you go off the line while cutting, don't worry. Such bevels and irregularities can be removed using flat files or “coarse-grained” sandpaper.

Cleaning Parts

You should always clean the parts of a future craft carefully. At the very beginning of the work, you already sanded the plywood with sandpaper. Now you have to do a small part of stripping the plywood. Using medium-grain sandpaper, sand the edges of the parts and the back of the plywood. “Fine-grained” sandpaper is considered the final stage of cleaning parts. It is better to clean the front part of the parts with fine sandpaper. When processing plywood, take your time. You can also use a rounded file, which is convenient for cleaning the inside of the holes. Try to ensure that the parts come out without burrs or irregularities.

Varnishing crafts

If desired, you can transform our craft by covering it with Wood Varnish, preferably colorless. Read how best to varnish a craft. Try to choose a quality varnish. Varnishing is carried out using a special brush “For glue”. Take your time. Try not to leave visible marks or scratches on the craft.

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