Lathe Turned Clocks

[John Terefenko]

Hello all

Does anyone have any lathed turned clocks they would like to share photos of??? Thanks.

 

[john lucas]

I will shortly. I'm working on some. I haven't done my clock turning demo in a few years and volunteered to do one for the Smokey Mountain Woodturners week after next. I thought I had better brush up on my technique. I'm adding some segmented instruction to my clock demo so I wanted to make a few clocks with segmented rings so I could discuss the techniques used for that.

 

[John Terefenko]

Love to see them John. Please take lots of photos. I too have some ideas kicking around for some new inserts I have coming soon. Love to see other examples. What do you all say.

 

[Bernie Weishapl]

John here is one I turned a couple of months ago. I am going to make more but had a 2 X 12 piece of pine that I didn't think turned out to bad. I have some walnut and maple that I am going to try along with some different patterns.

 

[Dennis DeVendra]

Small Cherry clock

I have uploaded a picture of a small Cherry wood clock. The movement is pressed into a 1 – ½ inch hole. The diameter of the piece is 3 inches. This is a fun project that sells well at shows.

 

[John Terefenko]

OK now we are talking. All clocks look good. Simple yet elegant.

Anyone else. Can be a mantle clock or a wall clock. Lets see them.

 

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

John, these are turned as eight large laminated segments into a donut shape and then the donut is cut apart to produce 8 clocks. The faces are about 3.25" diameters.

 

[john lucas]

Here are some clocks I made using the clock inserts. These are split turnings so I 2 clocks out of each turning. I added various inserts to the flat side before glue up. The one on the left of course was a little more ambitious.

 

[Bernie Hrytzak]

clock

http://www.aawforum.org/photopost/search.php

John,

If you go into member gallery and do a search for "clock", several clock postings should pop up. (link is listed above)

Bernie

 

[Ed Davidson]

Here ya go -

 

[lark leazar]

Here's one from Mahagony. Pretty basic, I'm afraid, especially after I've viewed some of the other postings .

 

[John Terefenko]

Boy I am glad I asked this here. I have gotten more responses than 2 other sites I asked. Thanks all for showing and again there is amazing work here.

Ed ( yo Yo spin) I would have expected nothing less than a yo yo clock. Fantastic idea.

Malcolm what can I say I have always been amazed at your work and one of these days I am going to give it a try.

Fantastic work by all and please keep those photos coming. It is getting my anxiety to get some of mine started. I hope by the end of the week to have my inserts that I want to try. I have a couple ideas. Thanks for participating.

 

[Richard Baker]

Those look like fun. Where do you all buy your inserts, and which ones? Assume there is some variation in quality. Which are the best quality?

 

[john lucas]

I buy my clock movements from Klockit. http://www.klockit.com/ They have been very good to work with. My Dad had bought several of the larger School house movements and is very happy with those as well.

 

[Richard Baker]

Thanks John.

 

[John Terefenko]

I get mine from www.clockparts.com

 

[Richard Baker]

Thanks John. Have saved both links for ref. Maybe try a couple clocks for events later this year and see if they sell.

 

[John Terefenko]

Clocks will always sell. I have been making clocks for over 25 years and still sell them and always a good seller. Now I wanty to try my hand at some turned clocks. Have to see what I can come up with. I have a new insert that I have coming and want to incorp[orate it in some turned clocks. Should be fun.

 

[Charles Raney]

Clock

John here is one I turned a couple of months ago. I am going to make more but had a 2 X 12 piece of pine that I didn't think turned out to bad. I have some walnut and maple that I am going to try along with some different patterns.

Where did you get your clock face from?

 

[john lucas]

Charles you can get clock faces from Klockit as well as Woodcraft.
I have a question. When I ordered some clock movements the other day they mention on item in the clock description. I don't know what it means. It says Max Dial Thickness: 1/8" I know what the shaft size is and the clock dimensions but I don't know what this is. does anyone else know.

 

[John Terefenko]

Charles you can get clock faces from Klockit as well as Woodcraft.
I have a question. When I ordered some clock movements the other day they mention on item in the clock description. I don't know what it means. It says Max Dial Thickness: 1/8" I know what the shaft size is and the clock dimensions but I don't know what this is. does anyone else know.

John

Not sure if you are asking the question or Charles.

So I will make it a general answer. You should have 3 numbers always available to you.

Max Dial thickness--- this is the measurement of your dial which could be just a metal dial that you buy or a combination of the wood you are putting it on and the dial together. (this is the place where you drill the hole for the shaft to protrude) This is inportant because it tells you what shaft size you need. Now you can use a movement with a max dial thickness thicker than what you have but this only means more threads sticking out the front that are shown after the flat washer and nut is attached. The ideal look is to have 2 to 3 threads showing and no more, just for profesional looks sake. ( some people take up some slack by placing washers between the motor and the back of the dial face)

Shaft thread length ---is just that. It tells you how long the shaft is from the motor to the last thread.

Overall length-- is just that. Measurement from the motor to the tip of the farthest brass piece where a cap nut can be screwed on along with the hands. This measurement is actually inportant when using those glass bezels. You do not want the shaft to stick out so far the hands will scrape on the glass or that cap not to come in contact with the glass.


The first 2 actually work hand in hand and can tell you what you want to know.
But the most inportant number will be the Max dial size.


Hope this helps.

 

[john lucas]

I built this tool to be able to measure the thickness of my clock face. I just took a coat hanger and bent it 90 degrees. I scribed some marks in steps 1/8" from the inside of the bent area. Then it's just a matter of putting this in the hole, pulling up and check to see how thick it is. Turn away more wood until you get the thickness you want. In this example the face is 1/4" thick.

 

[John Terefenko]

I built this tool to be able to measure the thickness of my clock face. I just took a coat hanger and bent it 90 degrees. I scribed some marks in steps 1/8" from the inside of the bent area. Then it's just a matter of putting this in the hole, pulling up and check to see how thick it is. Turn away more wood until you get the thickness you want. In this example the face is 1/4" thick.

John

I like yor tool you made. Question on your cutting of the segments. What angle did you use and what kind of jig are you using to cut them??? Thanks.

 

[Richard Baker]

John T.,
There are 12 segments which means that each side of each segment is cut at 15 degrees. Thus each segment has a 30 degree included angle, multiplied by 12 segments equals 360 degrees, a circle.

 

[Oeistein Jensen]

John T.,
There are 12 segments which means that each side of each segment is cut at 15 degrees. Thus each segment has a 30 degree included angle, multiplied by 12 segments equals 360 degrees, a circle.

Hello all

Does anyone have any lathed turned clocks they would like to share photos of??? Thanks.

Here is mine clock, it is turned as a dish with chip carvings.
The clock is made from norwegian birch and it is 400 mm in diameter.

 

[Richard Baker]

Oeistein,
Welcome to the forum. Glad to have you here.

That's a great looking clock. Could you post a larger picture to show the carving in more detail?

 

[Gretch Flo]

welcome

Welcome Oeistein. Nice to see a Norweigian join us. My ancestors came from around Stryn. When visiting 10 years ago I found a town called Flo (as well as a mountain and a lake!!) Gretch Legreid Flo

 

[loberg]

That is where my grand parents are from Gretch.

 

[John Terefenko]

Here is mine clock, it is turned as a dish with chip carvings.
The clock is made from norwegian birch and it is 400 mm in diameter.

That is a well turned clock and you incorporated another fine art of chip carving which I see you are very good at. Thanks for showing. I hope other will join in and show us some of their work. I am hoping to in the near future.

 

[John Terefenko]

Saw your lathe turned clocks in the gallery and they came out great. The segmenting is not over the top but just right. I really like the walnut and birdseye maple one. Can you tell us how you made the diamonds in that one??? Thanks for showing.

 

[john lucas]

John are you talking about the diamond shapes in the Mahagony clock. Those are done using a router with a 90 degree V bit. I use the indexing wheel to index at 12 points. I have a table platform that mounts on my lathe banjo. The router sits on this. I rig up a stop to control the depth of cut and then just make 12 cuts. I glue square stock in the V and then just turn away all the wood that sticks up.
This is a photo of my rig. In this shot I'm using it to flute a spindle but the same rig is used for the diamond cuts. If you use a round bit you get round ends, a straight bit leaves square inserts and the V bit leaves pointed or diamond shaped cuts.

 

[John Terefenko]

Then how do you fill them??

 

[Joe Greiner]

Then how do you fill them??

No offense, JT, but try reading a little slower.

John are you talking about the diamond shapes in the Mahagony clock. Those are done using a router with a 90 degree V bit. I use the indexing wheel to index at 12 points. I have a table platform that mounts on my lathe banjo. The router sits on this. I rig up a stop to control the depth of cut and then just make 12 cuts. I glue square stock in the V and then just turn away all the wood that sticks up.
This is a photo of my rig. In this shot I'm using it to flute a spindle but the same rig is used for the diamond cuts. If you use a round bit you get round ends, a straight bit leaves square inserts and the V bit leaves pointed or diamond shaped cuts.

 

[John Terefenko]

Thanks Joe. Sometimes I can't see the forest through the trees.

I need to make me a rig like that. There are so many thing you can do and highlightes you can add to a piece.

 

[john lucas]

Yea it can be confusing. I fill the round grooves by glueing short dowels in them. The square and V grooves are filles with square dowels.

 

[Joe Greiner]

If it's any comfort to you, JT, it didn't sink in for me until the second or third reading, with a couple trips to the gallery picture too. I missed the 90-degree part, immediately compared it to a sharper Dremel bit I have, and envisioned cutting narrow wedges on a table saw.

 

[Bruce Haber]

clocks

I made a bunch of these last year. I am relatively new to turning, (I am used to working in clay) so please bear with me. I had fun with them though. I do have close ups available on my website if you would like to contact me directly. Not sure if this helps.

Bruce

 

[John Terefenko]

I made a bunch of these last year. I am relatively new to turning, (I am used to working in clay) so please bear with me. I had fun with them though. I do have close ups available on my website if you would like to contact me directly. Not sure if this helps.

Bruce

Bruce there are some really nice woods there. How large are they??? What type finish do you apply??? Thanks for showing. I may start out with something simple and then jump up to something like John did. The only difference is I want to use some inserts I had recently bought. So getting too fancy with segmenting would not be feasible and most would be cut away. They are in the planning stages as we speak.

Keep those photos coming. Thanks.

 

[Bruce Haber]

Hi John-

As I said I am pretty new to all of this. I used mostly wood I found around the yard/locally with the exception of the Cocoblolo. The spalted maple is from some branches I cut a few years ago and had sitting around waiting for my friend to come by an pick it up for use in his wood stove!

They range in size of between 3 and 4 inches in diameter. I just used a friction polish to each of them. They actually started out as a need for a gift for my mom's 75th birthday, especially since they do not take up a lot of space. As I learn more, though, I think I would take more time and use an oil finish and then buff them out. I just got a buffing system and am looking forward to seeing the results. I see what Donna Banfield is able to do and it gives me some very lofty goals to shoot for.

This medium is so much different to work with than with clay on a wheel!

Bruce

 

[Ian Woodford]

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents worth. I'm fairly new to this forum and I make a lot of clocks but never segmented. Most of mine involve many different turned parts as you can see in the attached.