Has anyone ever used thier Shark to create. ..

[cjablonski]

A weight driven wooden geared clock? I've searched the forum but seems if Noone has. Great use for a cnc...

[NewAgent45]

CJab...,

I recommend you check Clayton Boyer's site out http://lisaboyer.com/Claytonsite/Claytonsite1.htm

As I recall he is using and older CNC Shark and VCarve Pro. I bought his downloadable book "A Practical Guide to Wooden Wheeled Clock Design ($42). He also sells plans. His plans are copyrighted and he does not license anything made from his plans for re-sale.

You can find a lot of neat related projects on the web if you search for "Kinetic Art".

Hope this helps!

...... Rod

[cjablonski]

Thanks. I have built one of his designs to date ( marble strike ) but used my shark sparingly for that purpose ( frame, pickup wheel, no gears ). Was trying to accomplish 2 things with the post;
1) - Guage interest in the topic itself as
2)- see if anyone else has achieved shark use for it.

I too have his book (great read btw) and am moving on to a kinetic sculpture and the CMCO (celestial mechanical calendar and orrery ). Just looking to see what others have done....

[NewAgent45]

CJab,

I haven't built a clock yet. But have done some projects that required gears. There is a better way for making gears on a CNC machine than the gear gadget. Take a look at a string of posts made by FixitMike on the Vectric forum. He posted instructions for constructing a gear. Be sure to download the improved version of his instructions. Mikes method produces gears that have a "full radius root" and is necessary for gear cutting from the side like you would do on a CNC machine.

http://forum.vectric.com/viewtopic.php? ... 00#p155600

I have made several nice gear sets using this method. If haven't already seen Mikes method check it out.

Have you posted any information or pictures of your clocks? We are definitely interested!

Have a great day!

... Rod

[cjablonski]

Haven't posted any photos as I didn't know if there would be interest in it. Will make a point to take some pics and post as time allows. None will have a finish (stain/poly) due to the effect on its function, but nice to look at nonetheless.

[asever]

The Shark works great for making wooden clocks. Clayton Boyer is a master of beautiful design as is David Atkinson. You can find there sites here:

http://lisaboyer.com/Claytonsite/Claytonsite1.htm
http://woodentimes.com/

My current project is the Sextus clock from David Atkinson. A couple more weekends and I hope to have it completed.

I don't tend to take many pictures of stuff that i make but here is a link to a few of the clocks that I have made:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6x8phpgdw14p ... rEAwa?dl=0

Andy

[bill z]

I have my heart set on making a wooden gear clock. I downloaded some PDFs, printed them out, cut them out, glued them onto some plywood and started using my band and jig saw. Then, after all of that work and NOT getting much of anywhere, I found a CNC Shark on Craig’s List 6 months ago, which I bought.

Yes, I would like to make some wooden clocks!!

One question regarding the clocks. I have NOT found information on the shafts used to move the hour and minute hands, like diameter and better places to purchase. Seems like all of the hobby shops in my area are gone because of the Internet. I don’t want to order if what I order doesn’t work or fit.

[asever]

All of the shafts on the clocks I have built are brass (typically 1/8 I believe). The newer clocks from David's woodentimes site tend to also use bearings. Both Clayton and David provide a complete list of all the items you need with the plans and I would be very surprised if you could not find it all on Amazon. With that said for the clocks from the woodentimes site I just order the hardware kit. That way i know I am using the same stuff the designer used to make the clock. It can take a bit to arrive from Germany but when it arrives I know all the different shafts will fit in the proper holes without making adjustments to the drawing. Now that I have been making misc clocks for a few years now I have a drawer full of bits and pieces of brass rod and tubes.

Personally I find the hardest part for me is getting good quality plywood locally to cut the gears from. Even aircraft ply can have some less then ideal internal layers. I have used some from Apple Ply

http://www.appleply.com/ and it has worked pretty well. On my current project I am making my own plywood and it is working very well. The other things I find useful is good quality bits. I tend to use .0625 found here:

http://www.precisebits.com/products/car ... 125f3f.asp and I use double sided tape to hold the ply down to the sacrifical table so I do not have to carefully sand away tabs. I found this product works the best for me.

http://www.tapesolutionsinc.com/intertape-592.html

I would encourage you to give it a go making a clock. It takes time and patience but I have found it to be very rewarding...I just wish i could design my own clocks.

Andy

[cjablonski]

I agree with Andy. Wooden gear clocks is an absolutely rewarding hobby. Key things to keep on mind before embarking in this field are....
Patience,
Patience and



Patience. Tolerances are important to its function so being meticulous is key to being successful. I have found all the hardware I need on ebay (brass rods and tubes) with the rest readily available from big box stores ( less ply, which for me has been easily obtained as I am a cabinet maker by trade ). No pun intended here, but take your time on your build, enjoy the journey. I have also used woodentimes.com for the sextus (style of clock currently underway ) and Clayton for his Marble Strike ( complete, ticking away on the wall). Next up is the Celestial Mechanical Calendar and Orrery, which I intend to be driven by the strike automatically. The shark is incredibly accurate for key components like the frames and artistic items, and I wouldn't be without it now moving forward for said things. Try it once, but be forewarned of the ensuing addiction

[cjablonski]

PS- be sure to polish all brass arbors (shafts that spin in moving parts like the frame) to literally a mirror finish as friction is your sworn enemy in clock building and function.