A Couple More Worthington Hall Clocks

[William Young (SE BC)]

I have been puttering away at these two since the first of January. I have been using the making of them as physiotherapy after not being able to do any shop work since last October. 10th when I smashed up my arm and broke the bone in a WW accident.
Two weeks seemed like forever to get these two finished because I could just do a little at a time. They normally only take a few days.
I generally stack saw 3 at a time of this one but I was low in wood so I just did two. Both are pre-sold. One is for a customers birthday present for his wife on the 20th so I got them done just under the wire. The other one goes to a local restaurant. I will soon do a couple more just for backup because I missed a few sales on this particular model when I couldn't work in my shop for three months.
Of all the dozens of different clock styles I make, this one has always been my best seller. They measure 12" wide, 30 1/2" tall and 5 1/4" deep.
Hope the picture shows OK . I took it on an outside wall and it was snowing at the time.

The therapy I got out of making these two has also helped me get back to guitar playing and I am playing at several musical functions every week now at long last.
W.Y.

[PiALaModem]

Well done! I see your therapy has advanced quite acceptably. Couple of questions:

WW accident? Woodworking? World War? Welcome Wagon? Inquiring minds want to know.

Such an avid guitar player, and with such woodworking skills -- have you dabbled at all in lutherie?

[William Young (SE BC)]

WW accident as in Wood Working . Was my own carelessnes when working on my wood lathe . Ripped my arm wide open and broke the bone. Got a steel plate on it with 6 screws. Put me out of commission since last Oct. 10th and I am glad to be finally back at WWing and guitar pickin' and grinnin' again.
This is getting off topic because it was wood lathe related so I will say no more about that here. Full details were discussed on the turning board in my own multi board Woodworking Friends Website.
Yes, I made two Martin style dreadnaught acoustic guitars from scratch back in the 70's . Got offers I couldn't refuse and sold them. Got all my lutherie supplies from a business in Winnipeg and I understand he has since moved to California .I also did a lot of extensive repairs and re-finishing on guitars for musicians when I had my own music store for many years in Ontario. It was Mr. Muzic. (z is not a typo).
Back to those two Worthington Hall clocks. . . I noticed a piece of crooked trim on the bottom of the one on the left. No Problem. That is the beauty of using Aleen's Tacky glue for clock construction. I will heat that piece with high heat on a hair dryer and remove it and replace it in a straighter position. Pictures have a tendancy to pick out mistakes like that. <G>
W.Y.

[SharonW0111]

OUCH !!! That had to hurt ..... but on the one hand you needed a rest from work --lol-- bad pun on humor there-sorry.. but they are beautiful
Sharon

[Ann]

Bill, so glad to see that your truly nasty injury has healed sufficiently to allow music and woodworking -- I too play guitar and am learning to play the mountain dulcimer I made as my first woodworking project. I'm learning scrolling now as I guess you've deduced -- music and woodworking are such wonderful therapeutic, creative hobbies which are also wonderful gifts to share with others. Though I'm not great at guitar, dulcimer, OR woodworking, my little efforts have been offered to others from the very beginning and seem to have brought a lot of joy and cheer.

Anyway, SO glad your mending well!

QUESTIONS: 1. How difficult are those incredible clocks?! I'd love to try to make one! 2. Where are the patterns available? 3. Roughly how many hours does it take YOU to make one?

Many thanks -- those clocks are truly amazing! Beautiful work!

Ann

[William Young (SE BC)]

Ann;
Those clocks are a piece of cake to make. If you can scroll something small you can scroll something bigger like that.
It's just a case of more time and more pieces. I have lost track of how many of that one I have made now but it is well over fifteen of them.
A person learns little tricks as they go along which makes it go a lot quicker than one would imagine. Normally without the injury it only takes a couple days to stack saw and assemble a couple of those. I very seldom go in my shop in the mornings so by a couple days I am referring to afternoon and sometimes a few hours in the evenings.
If I spent much time in my shop I wouldn't have time to play on the computer
I get most of my patterns from
http://www.wildwooddesigns.com/

Try a big clock some time and you will be hooked. Don't worry about how long it takes . I am production oriented and I get as much enjoyment and relaxation out of that as some do that take their time.
W.Y.

[lucky788scroller]

Ann.. the big clocks should be thought of as many smaller projects, but, to add a little more thought into it, its more like many little projects that must fit together as one. Meaning, the use of a tablesaw, and/or a miter saw is almost needed to assure good crisp, tight fitting corners. I agree, anyone can build one of the bigger clocks, they are not anything to fear.The Worthington is a pretty good clock to try, as well as one called The Wakefield , both sold by www.wildwooddesigns.com . The choices are almost endless from Wildwood.Dont be afraid to expand your skills because a project looks tougher then what your used to, you can do it, you already know where to come for help!!!!

Bill.... Did you learn anything by your accident, besides that doctors charge way to much?

[Ann]

Yup, I am really challenged by those beautiful big clocks. When I finish my "Krazy Klock" I'll think about one of the more intricate bigger ones.

I'm a bit tool-limited and don't have space for more large things. My "shop" is in the second bedroom of my apartment, where I've covered the twin beds with plastic sheeting, put tarp on the carpeted floor as much as possible, but don't have room for more big tools. I basically have my Dremel 1680 on its stand, made a 2x4 workbench from kit legs and 3/4" MDF, and have a set of shelves for all the stuff accumulating. I have a sooper-dooper Dremel Rotary tool 400 XPR with all the attachments which I use like crazy (yup, all meanings of crazy), a coping saw, a very cheap and weak B&D drill, a palm sander, a 1/4-sheet sander, a hammer, some wrenches, screwdrivers, a few clamps... and that's it! So my projects are somewhat limited. I also don't want to accumulate more because I will probably be moving overseas by Septemeber and can't take all these toys with me. Waaah.

If I had space and was going to be around a long time, I'd be saving for a band saw, table saw, router etc, drill press, planing machine... you know....

Anyway, not having a table saw, drill press, or miter saw, etc, what recommendations for clocks can you make to me (besides the simple ones and the mini-clocks).

[William Young (SE BC)]

Hi lucky788.
Yes , I certainly did learn a lesson from that accident.
NEVER . . NEVER . . EVER . . . use MDF on a wood lathe even though the pattern in a magazine calls for it.
I was making a 4 quadrant bowl bottom turning jig for my chuck and the pieces flew off in 4 directions. It was like playing Russian roulette times 4 and if one had hit me in the head at that force I wouldn't be here to tell about it..
Sorry to be off topic on a scrolling board but you asked if I learned anything from the accident and I didn't want to just say *yes I did* without a little explanation.
I think something like this is a good thing for any woodworker to see (scrollers included) because it makes us more aware of having the utmost respect for our power tools and the way we use them and the types of material we use on them .
I consider myself very lucky that it was only my arm. I was told at one time by the surgeon and physiotherapist that I would never play guitar again and probably not get back to woodworking.
Little did they know how determined I was going to be about not acepting that as an answer.
W.Y.

[lucky788scroller]

see, now for once I agree with bill. seeing things like this reminds us all of the potential for injury!

Ann , The wakefield clock does not have to many critical joints, and shouldnt be too difficult to do on strictly a scrollsaw.if you view a picture of it (#60385 at wildwood) , you will see where the corners line up, and where the parts meet. One nice way to hide a little crookedness you might have where some parts meet others is to cut a little extra fancy trim to cover up the oops.I did have to do that once, and now I cant picture the clock without that little trim piece on it.Theres also a couple clocks ,Little Sweetheart, and Sweetheart Junior, bout are nice, and done require a fully loaded shop to build.There are many others as well, them are just a couple that I know pretty well.Depending on where you are located, you might be able to find someone closeby with the toys you dont have, and they more then likely wouldnt mind cutting a few pieces to size for you, or ripping a straight edge on the tablesaw for you.If your not sure they would do it, bring cookies! that works wonders!
Your moving away? Congrats, I think??????????????????

[Ann]

Lucky788,

Thanks for the advice and suggestions. I don't really know anyone with tools nearby.

Not really "congrats" on moving away -- I'll simply be going "back home". I've lived in the Middle East for 24 years, and am in the US for a year-plus-a-little helping our 18-yr-old through his major transitions to life in the US and getting into college.

So by September, all going well with our son, I'll return home to Beirut, Lebanon.

All the best!

Ann

[CanadianScroller]

For years all I used was a scroll saw and a drillpress. I got the drill press of around $40
You should be able to tackle most jobs with these few tools.
As for mitres, you could use a home made shooting board and a hand plane.

All you need to make most projects is a source of wood and time. Well experience helps too

[millwab]

Bill,
I was looking for a different clock project for a future wedding present, but wanted something a little smaller than the Worthington. Thinking maybe along the line of the Williamsburg. Have you ever made one of those?

Also, if you cut your clocks out of BB, what do you do about the ply edges? Everything I've done so far has been with solid wood. When I looked at the piece sizes Wildwood posts for the clock I'd have to glue up some panels to get enough width. Ply would solve that problem, but wouldn't the edges take away from the look?

Scrollers, please jump in and let me know how you dress up the ply edges.

Bruce

[William Young (SE BC)]

Bruce;
I much prefer the Manchester clock over the Williamsburg.
I have made a half dozen of them. .They are almost identical in appearance but the pattern maker made a boo boo in designing the body too narrow in the Williamsburg and the pendulum bangs against each side. There are ways to get around it but they are micky mouse solutions like putting foam rubber on the insides for it to bang against. With the Manchester you won't have that problem because it has a wider body.
Both those clocks are about the same size as the Worthington though if not a little bigger so they may not be the answer if you are looking for something smaller.

As far as the BB edges go, I am not having a problem with it. After staining, the BB the edges are only noticeable if you are really looking for it . At a few feet back it is very hard to tell the difference between solid and ply.
I used to be an die hard advocate of solid wood only for clocks but since the price of hardwood has gone out of sight where I live , I had to start making them out of BB. I still make them from solid wood if that is what a customer wants but when I show them a solid one against a stained BB one and explain the solid one will cost $100.00 more, they will take the BB one 99% of the time.
Also, I will not ship a clock made of solid woods because the fretwork can crack quite easily in the grain lines in the wood.
But I will ship BB clocks anywhere because it hase 5 plies running in opposite directions which makes for very stable wood for fretwork.
Below is one of my Manchester clocks made of BB and the customer wanted it stained cherry to match their furniture. They were very pleased with the results and referred others to me to make the same clock. Nice to get referrals like that.
W.Y.

[millwab]

WY,
Thanx for the info. Even tho the size of the Williamsburg is more like what I had in mind, I think I'll pass given the 'design problems.' I ran into something similar when I was making a Daniel Regulator; not only was the case tight for the pendulum, but the dial support design is too tight for the dial size recommended.

I think I'll give the Manchester a try using BB. Is there a type of stain that works best with the BB? I've always used solids for my clocks — choosing the wood for the natural color — and finishing them clear, so staining is something I'm not as familiar with. On the Manchester you showed, do you pre-stain the inside during assembly before putting the front on? Or do you have another trick for that? And also, did you leave the BB natural on the piece the dial is mounted to? Can't quite tell from the picture.

Bruce