Wood gear electromechanical clock project
I like the idea of using the CW to build a wood gear clock. I studied several sets of free and for-sale plans, and found a few drawbacks to these entirely mechanical pendulum clocks. One is the size - the pendulums make the clocks quite large. Another is the maintenance cycle - most must be wound every day. And, the clocks are not terribly accurate.
During my search, I came across an electromechanical clock by John Pickron. You can see it here http://www.naia-artists.org/gallery/john_pickron/ (the mantle clock - scroll down a bit) and another example here http://www.woodenworksclocks.com/PictonAndrea.htm These clocks use a 1-RPM timing motor that is almost hidden in the frame of the clock. These synchronous timing motors lock onto the 60-cycle AC power, which power companies actually regulate very closely. So, a clock using this type of motor would be very accurate, even if the wood gears are not perfect (unlike a purely mechanical clock).
I've started on my design. Thanks to JLT's Radial Vector Generator http://forum.carvewright.com/showthr...ctor-Generator... I have made some gear designs in Designer. Coincidentally, I got an email from Rockler notifying of a sale on 1/4" Baltic birch, with free shipping to boot, so I got my order in. I will cut some gears from this and put them together to test the concept. I already have a timing motor on order.
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Originally Posted by gregsolano
