Longcase clocks

[RogerS]

Ahem...here's one I made a few years back.

 

[Mike G]

Ahem...here's one I made a few years back. ....

Wow, that's bold Roger. A striking mix of traditional and modern.

 

[Woodbloke]

Ahem...here's one I made a few years back. ....

Wow, that's bold Roger. A striking mix of traditional and modern.

Certainly is, wood? - Rob

 

[RogerS]

Ahem...here's one I made a few years back. ....

Wow, that's bold Roger. A striking mix of traditional and modern.

Certainly is, wood? - Rob

Absolutely.

 

[Cncpaul]

W

Ahem...here's one I made a few years back.

Terrific job Rogers, what is the movement ?

 

[RogerS]

W

Ahem...here's one I made a few years back.

Terrific job Rogers, what is the movement ?

Thanks, Paul

It was custom made (1 of 3) but I don't know the actual type - sorry. Gravity ? It was a beautiful piece of work. There were another three - similarly skeletal - also made to an incredibly high standard. I made six cases in all - birds' eye maple, zebrano, African Satinwood, London Plane. Then another three of a more traditional design and then fitted in a longcase clock of a more traditional style in flame mahogany. One was sold out of Hamilton and Inches, Edinburgh ...list price £45,000 ! I didn't get anywhere near that amount :lol:

Rather than wreck Rob's thread, when I get a moment I'll start another thread on my longcase clocks and move the posts over.

 

[Cncpaul]

W

Rather than wreck Rob's thread, when I get a moment I'll start another thread on my longcase clocks and move the posts over.

I look forward to it

 

[MattS]

Rather than wreck Rob's thread, when I get a moment I'll start another thread on my longcase clocks and move the posts over.

I’d be interested in seeing those too

 

[Phil]

Rog, that is excellent work! :eusa-clap:

I Like the visible clock worx and pendulam.
I made a small mantle clock years ago and fitted a battery operated Westminster Chimes and a pendulam.
(will have a look for the pics)
Wife removed the battery as the chimes irritated her.

 

[Woodbloke]

I made a small mantle clock years ago and fitted a battery operated Westminster Chimes and a pendulam.
(will have a look for the pics)
Wife removed the battery as the chimes irritated her.

That was an option that I was thinking about but when I listed to the sound quality of the chimes through the speaker that idea got kicked into the long grass

With a battery powered electickery quartz clock, what does the pendulam do? - Rob

 

[Phil]

I made a small mantle clock years ago and fitted a battery operated Westminster Chimes and a pendulam.
(will have a look for the pics)
Wife removed the battery as the chimes irritated her.

That was an option that I was thinking about but when I listed to the sound quality of the chimes through the speaker that idea got kicked into the long grass

With a battery powered electickery quartz clock, what does the pendulam do? - Rob

Nothing

Its purely for show and visual appeal.

 

[Nico Adie]

Wow! That certainly makes a statement, and it’s a statement I like very much indeed.

 

[RogerS]

Woodbloke finishing his clock reminded me that I'd started a spin off thread but gone no further.

So here's the story. About 5 years ago, I was contacted by a guy who wanted to start producing high-end longcase clocks with the mechanisms purpose made in the UK and using the highest quality components to keep the movement as accurate as possible.

He had found a clock maker who would produce 9 mechanisms -3 different styles and 3 of each. Six(3 x 2 styles) would be skeletal type movements and so needed to sit in a longcase clock that allowed visibility from three sides. The remaining three would be in the more traditional Vulliamy style of movement and sit in a traditional longcase cabinet. He commissioned me to make the nine and we agreed on flame mahogany, birds' eye maple, African satinwood, Zebrano, Pippy Oak and London plane (aka lacewood).

I'm afraid that I didn't take any WIP photographs per se but just a few as I went along. So without further ado, here's a photo montage. Any questions, then please ask.

 

[Phil]

Very nice.

 

[Woodbloke]

As a matter of interest Roger, who made and supplied the mechanisms? Having made my clock case, I've got no intention of doing another, but would be interested to see who's manufacturing clock mechanisms in the UK - Rob

 

[Mike G]

Lamb's tongue chamfer stops. Nice.

In the 5th photo, there are some door frames in what I presume is lacewood. Did those thin sections behave themselves?

I really like these, Roger, even though I'm not a huge fan of highly figured wood. I hope the guy sold everything he made, but it really is a rather niche market he was aiming at, so I doubt he retired on the proceeds.

As the only sibling in the country I had always assumed that I would inherit the family grandfather clock, a 250 year old clock made locally in Colchester, with a single hand (no minute hand, by design), a beautiful brass face, and sitting in a nice simple oak case. Turns out that isn't the plan :evil: :evil: So, I am going to have to make my own.

 

[RogerS]

Here's another photo of the beat scale. The hole is where the weight drops through as it 'drives' the clock mechanism. The turned 'lip' was done by Mark Hancock.



Nearly all the wood was bought from Whitmore's in the Midlands. For those who've never been there, it's a Mega-Aladdin's cave of all sorts of wonderful timber, the majority of which is stored in large sheds. They band up maybe 15-20 planks of a particular thickness in a species and stack them as bundles some 15-20ft high. You tell them what you're after and they will drive a side-loading forklift to the right stack and pick out a bundle for you to choose from - even it it's at the bottom of the stack. The bundle is then laid on a couple of trestles, the metal bands cut and then you can leaf through the planks selecting those you want. They then re-band, restack and get you the next one. I drove back very, very slowly with a set of very overloaded Rhino bars on the roof of the old Discovery.

As an aside, when I went back out of curiosity for a re-quote a year later, due to the high interest in exotic hardwood furniture by the nouveau Chinese middle-classes, the prices of some species had gone up by over 400%.

So to the questions. Therein lies a sad tale.

I got sucked in (suckered in?) by the hype and pizazz. My clients' previous job took him into contact with VHNW (very high net worth) individuals. There was no doubt he was plugged into the right customer base and the right entrees into the media. There was talk of the clocks featuring in the FT weekend glossy.

While getting one ready for the launch at a special exhibition of longcase clocks, a chap walked in off the street and bought it there and then for £45,000. Just like that. :shock: We were walking on air! But Christ, that was a long night getting a second one ready.

There was even talk of making twelve special clocks for one of the richest men on the planet and to be installed in his twelve houses around the world, each slightly different for his children. They even had their own exclusive Pantone colour which would feature in the design. Talk of hiring a freight Hercules to fly them around the world, installing as we went. That would have been fun.

So I invested rather a lot in dedicated spindle cutters, timber and time. More than I should have done.

Then reality kicked in. My client was great in ideas, in the vision, in the sales spiel but totally lacking in commercial nous. He knew a precision clock-maker and had asked him to design and make the mechanisms. But, as he later told me, these clock-makers are a weird bunch. Often with some sort of mild psychiatric disorder. They like nothing better than to make one-offs. So, even though he had a small CNC machine, to make three of a particular design was pushing at his limits of personal tolerance. But my client had paid him everything in advance.

We never got all the mechanisms. The project went TU. My client probably still hasn't got them all. I made very little money - if at all. I learned a lot though. Don't get sucked in.

So, Rob, afraid I can't help re clock-maker and Mike, I have no idea if they were all sold. I very much doubt it as not enough mechanisms.

The doors behaved themselves nicely, though, and didn't 'wander'. Partly because I was rigorous in my selection after ripping. Any sign of a bend and I'd rip another piece. Plus the glass was toughened and I have a sense that toughened is stiffer than float and so would discourage wood movement. (Of course, I could be talking tosh !)

So there you have it. Warts and all. :eusa-violin:

 

[AndyP]

Chimes were hard back then.

 

[Malc2098]

Chimes were hard back then.

:lol:

Thank you, Mr P. Time to get your hat and coat, I think!

 

[Robert]

Interesting and somewhat familiar story.

Back when I was in business we had a customer with contacts and big plans that seemed legit. Took us for about 50k in the end. Had smaller losses of around 20k to a Clive Sinclair business once. A tea plate sized satellite dish project that we tooled up for and bought the first batch of material for - didn't work well enough and they folded.

Any business dealing can be a gamble just have to win a lot more than you lose.

Lovely looking woods in those very well made cases.

 

[Woodbloke]

So to the questions. Therein lies a sad tale.

I got sucked in (suckered in?) by the hype and pizazz. My clients' previous job took him into contact with VHNW (very high net worth) individuals. There was no doubt he was plugged into the right customer base and the right entrees into the media. There was talk of the clocks featuring in the FT weekend glossy.

While getting one ready for the launch at a special exhibition of longcase clocks, a chap walked in off the street and bought it there and then for £45,000. Just like that. :shock: We were walking on air! But Christ, that was a long night getting a second one ready.

There was even talk of making twelve special clocks for one of the richest men on the planet and to be installed in his twelve houses around the world, each slightly different for his children. They even had their own exclusive Pantone colour which would feature in the design. Talk of hiring a freight Hercules to fly them around the world, installing as we went. That would have been fun.

So I invested rather a lot in dedicated spindle cutters, timber and time. More than I should have done.

Then reality kicked in. My client was great in ideas, in the vision, in the sales spiel but totally lacking in commercial nous. He knew a precision clock-maker and had asked him to design and make the mechanisms. But, as he later told me, these clock-makers are a weird bunch. Often with some sort of mild psychiatric disorder. They like nothing better than to make one-offs. So, even though he had a small CNC machine, to make three of a particular design was pushing at his limits of personal tolerance. But my client had paid him everything in advance.

We never got all the mechanisms. The project went TU. My client probably still hasn't got them all. I made very little money - if at all. I learned a lot though. Don't get sucked in.

So, Rob, afraid I can't help re clock-maker and Mike, I have no idea if they were all sold. I very much doubt it as not enough mechanisms.

The doors behaved themselves nicely, though, and didn't 'wander'. Partly because I was rigorous in my selection after ripping. Any sign of a bend and I'd rip another piece. Plus the glass was toughened and I have a sense that toughened is stiffer than float and so would discourage wood movement. (Of course, I could be talking tosh !)

So there you have it. Warts and all. :eusa-violin:

An interesting story Rog, many thanks and it's a shame that all the mechanisms weren't delivered, but there you go. C'est la guerre, n'est pas? - Rob