A Slow Clock (Build) To The Past -- Can I Do This?

[algale]

Soliciting input from all of you. Should I try to build this project?

In the 1930s my Grandfather, who owned the Old Colony Furniture Company, had his men build a copy of a "grandmother clock" on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC as an anniversary present for my Grandmother. The original clock is shown in this link.
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the ... earch/5202

That clock fascinated me as a kid growing up in the 60s and 70s. Sadly, the clock was stolen in 1977.

Now I want to build my own copy. I have a set of measured drawings published in the 1920s. In fact it is the same set of drawings my Grandfather's men used. I don't want to publish them here because, as old as the book is, it may still have some copyright issues.

But here's a close up photo of the hood of the clock my Grandfather's men built built (on the left) next to the museum's clock (reversed the photo of his version so it would be oriented the same direction as the museum clock in the pic).

Two Clock Hoods.JPG (165.87 KiB) Viewed 2465 times

So, can I do this? It looks to me like the thing that would be hardest of all and something I've never done anything like, is the swan's neck (goose neck?) moldings (mouldings?) at the top of the hood. Next would be the bonnet tops, which follow the lines of the swan's next molding. After that, the semicircular molding over the dial would be a challenge. Lastly, there are some ogee bracket feet. Other than those parts, the clock is just a series of rectangular boxes with a few straight moldings.

Here's the thing. If I decide to go forward with this project, the first thing I need to do is invest in the movement and dial because I've read you want to build that hood door around the actual dial you intend to use and not vise versa. I've sourced the movement, dial, and parts and it is a huge investment if the clock turns out to be beyond my abilities.


As an alternative, I might see about trying to build the swan's neck moldings in pine just to see just how hard/feasible it is. If I succeed, then I would buy the clock gizzards and then build it in expensive wood.

Anyone here have experience building clocks? Do we have a "Clockwright" on the Forum?

Al

[dusty]

Your question is "Should I build this"? Only you can answer that but I believe that you should set it as a goal and maybe even start working on it. Some parts of it will be a real challenge but the rewards when you are finally done will be so great.

[BuckeyeDennis]

Al, you do like a challenge! But I have absolutely no doubt that you can build that clock.

For starters, I highly recommend that you buy How to Master the Radial Saw, by Wallace (Wally) Kunkel. It's a great read. Some of the book is specific to radial saws, but much of it is devoted to making complex mouldings such as the swan-neck. One of the pieces covered in his book is a 18th-century highboy with swan-neck mouldings and finials that look almost identical to those on the clock.

Almost all of that info would be relevant to doing it on a Shopsmith -- the moulder heads are essentially identical. Matter of fact, Wally bought a 10ER when they were new, and used it to make furniture for his family.

[algale]

Your question is "Should I build this"? Only you can answer that but I believe that you should set it as a goal and maybe even start working on it. Some parts of it will be a real challenge but the rewards when you are finally done will be so great.

I want to build it, certainly. I know I will need some additional tools (bits for a router at minimum or possibly the Shopsmith shaper kit and some shaper knives. Maybe some hand carving tools.) The real question is whether it is ultimately beyond my limited woodworking skill set.

Until about 8 years ago, I never realized that the clock I knew growing up as a kid was a reproduction of the one at the Met Museum. I was in NYC and visiting the Met for the first time. There's a hall in the American Wing where all the tall case ("Grandfather") clocks are lined up. Most are close to eight feet tall. As I walked past those giant clocks, I walked past one peanut-sized one (it is only about 60 inches tall) and I froze dead in my tracks. As I stared and stared at that clock I began to tremble for reasons I didn't immediately understand. It took a few minutes but the longer I looked at it, the more I came to believe that it was (visually) the same clock I had last seen in my Grandfather's house in 1977. When I got home I went through some old pics of his house where I could see the clock and there was no doubt. Then I went through the surviving books from his library and found the one with the measured drawings of that clock and the mystery of how he did it was solved. I've been thinking about building it since then.

[algale]

Al, you do like a challenge! But I have absolutely no doubt that you can build that clock.

For starters, I highly recommend that you buy How to Master the Radial Saw, by Wallace (Wally) Kunkel. It's a great read. Some of the book is specific to radial saws, but much of it is devoted to making complex mouldings such as the swan-neck. One of the pieces covered in his book is a 18th-century highboy with swan-neck mouldings and finials that look almost identical to those on the clock.

Almost all of that info would be relevant to doing it on a Shopsmith -- the moulder heads are essentially identical. Matter of fact, Wally bought a 10ER when they were new, and used it to make furniture for his family.

Great idea, Dennis! Thanks for the reference! Book ordered!

[rpd]

This video shows the process of making Goose Neck moldings, there is a great router jig for following the profile.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0hNKt6kByc[/youtube]
Yours would be smaller than the ones he does.
Having seen your work on the Slow Boat to Nowhere I am sure it is well within your capabilities.

[dusty]

Your question is "Should I build this"? Only you can answer that but I believe that you should set it as a goal and maybe even start working on it. Some parts of it will be a real challenge but the rewards when you are finally done will be so great.

I want to build it, certainly. I know I will need some additional tools (bits for a router at minimum or possibly the Shopsmith shaper kit and some shaper knives. Maybe some hand carving tools.) The real question is whether it is ultimately beyond my limited woodworking skill set.

Until about 8 years ago, I never realized that the clock I knew growing up as a kid was a reproduction of the one at the Met Museum. I was in NYC and visiting the Met for the first time. There's a hall in the American Wing where all the tall case ("Grandfather") clocks are lined up. Most are close to eight feet tall. As I walked past those giant clocks, I walked past one peanut-sized one (it is only about 60 inches tall) and I froze dead in my tracks. As I stared and stared at that clock I began to tremble for reasons I didn't immediately understand. It took a few minutes but the longer I looked at it, the more I came to believe that it was (visually) the same clock I had last seen in my Grandfather's house in 1977. When I got home I went through some old pics of his house where I could see the clock and there was no doubt. Then I went through the surviving books from his library and found the one with the measured drawings of that clock and the mystery of how he did it was solved. I've been thinking about building it since then.

Right at this moment, it probably is beyond your woodworking skill set. That is sorta what this is all about - Expand that Skill Set.

[beeg]

Go for it. Do the what ya think is the hardest part in pine. Then if it turns out good, use walnut to build the clock.

[JPG]

Where is 'Horologist' when we need him?

I find it interesting that your 'grand mother' sized clock has the two upper dials especially if it is only "5" foot tall.

At least you could do this without taking up the sun room for months.

Follow your heart!

[ERLover]

Algale,
you can do it, heck if you could do that canoe, this with some research should be a snap. I saw something on another forum about the goose neck build, I will try and find it, I dont know if it will add to Rons post.