Newbie Skeleton clock question

M

monkeyb0y

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I'm a complete newbie and getting ready to jump in with both feet and build my first skeleton clock. I've looked at plans/books for a couple of skeletons and I have one starting question (probably with a lot more to come) and that is - Is there any reason you couldn't substitute aluminum plate for the brass plate used to make the front and back plates? If that's possible are there any modifications required (i.e. can you put a pivot or arbor directly into the aluminum plate of would you need to put in a bushing? Thanks in advance Kevin
 
Hi Kevin
Yes it is posible to use alloy for the plates but enshure the plates are as strong as engraving brass ,the spring in a clock is a powerful item and can distort plates that are weak. I dont know enough about modern alloys to give a opinion on what one to use but I am sure we have a member that can.

You will need to bush the pivot holes if you want long life.

I hope this helps

Brian.
 
Hi Kevin,

Why would you want to? The amount of engraving brass that you would need is not that expensive and and takes a beautiful polish and matches the gears. If brass has been used for hundreds of years (even after aluminum became available) there is probably a good reason.

Michael
 
I am considering aluminum for a number of reasons. One is cost. Pricing the sheets of brass I will need comes to over $400 and since I'm new at this the chance of my making a mistake and screwing one of them up is not insignificant. The second is esthetics, I think the contrast between highly polished aluminum and the brass works would be visually interesting if done properly. Thanks Kevin
 
Hi Kevin
I have just posted (in "The next project") photos of steel plates with bushings.
I am doing this "My way" and writing a book at the same time, to encorage newbies to have a go, even with minimal equipment, you may find it interesting???? any comments greatly appreciated.

Brian.
 
Hi Kevin,

It has been a while since I bought any engraving brass, but $400. whould give me serious pause. You're right, aluminum would be a nice contrast with brass.
Good luck!

Michael
 
Hi Kevin

What clock are you thinking of???

Brian.
 
Hi Kevin

I have the Wilding book, its a nice clock, its on my list of possible projects for the future.

My only reservation is that the striking work looks like an add on, but it is possibile to cut the brackets as part of the main plates.
 
Brian. I am almost finished with the Wilding skeleton clock and there are a few places where I disagree with him. The only real problem in building the clock is grooving the fusee, If you want to take the time to take the screw out of the cross slide that will work but I didn't want to do that so I build a tool to do the job. His other method using the tool he made does not work well because when cutting from the top, as the radius of the fusee increases, the angle of rake on the cutter to the work changes and you get a lot of chatter. I like my tool better as it cuts from the side and eliminates that problem. I don't know how to post a link on this site but you can find a you tube video under "Cutting a fusee for an English clock". Good luck. It's a great project. JL
 
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