Grandfather Clock

Grandfather Clock - 205¼ hours Can$ 4,944.00 - Intermediate From a very young age I was fascinated with clocks, especially the big ones with those heavy weights and the moving parts. Their slow ticking had a calming effect while I was reading or just doing nothing. In those days I did not have a wristwatch or alarm clock. Only the man of the house had a pocket watch that was frequently compared with the time given by the main clock in the living room or hallway. And then there was the alarm clock next to the bed of mom and dad. When I woke up in the middle of the night and I wanted to know what time it was, the only solution was to stay awake and listen to the chiming of the main clock sometime, somewhere in the house. Making my own grandfather clock has been on my to-do list for a long time. A close friend in South Africa had built one too. My mind was made up when I saw that one; and that was in 1989. In October 2008 I started seriously thinking about the project and doing some more research, which lasted some three months. The results of that can be found in the references section below. My clock case looks very similar to the Winchester Grandfather Clock of Oakside Classic Clocks which is not surprising because I like that style (pictures up to 04). My design and drawings took about three months and were done based on the various dimensions of the Kieninger HTU movement. Comparison between my clock case and the Winchester: This (my) clock case Winchester case height x width 83¾" x 24¾" x 14¼" 80" x 21" x 13¼" x depth Slides off to the front to provide Is a fixed extension of waist and has rear access hood style access to the movement. for movement removal. Mouldings and columns (spindles) go all Flat back intended for placing around the back allowing this case to be used back style against a wall. free standing as well. opening ¼" rare-earth magnets and Lock and key with escutcheon mechanism knobs US$2,950, that is Can$4,253 including duty and delivery movement cost (Jan-2009) £1,923 (USA & Canada, Nov-2009) Movement is now US$2,090 (Nov-2009)!!! wood Can$349 case cost glass & hardware Can$342 total cost Can$4,944 + 205¼ hours labour £5,481 or ¼ 5,620 (USA & Canada, Nov-2009) The time reflects construction and finishing time, and also includes some 8-1/2 hours of lost time due to mistakes made during the construction. Design and drawing time is not included. ---=== NOTICE ===--The 3-dimensional drawings 13 to 26 still have to undergo the final review. ---=== NOTICE ===--- Pictures Click on a picture to get a larger picture and then used the back button of the browser to return. Winchester grandfather clock (courtesy Oakside Classic Clocks) This is my inspiration! 1: Movement arrived in 4 Kieninger HTU movement and boxes: movement, pendulum, chime dial tubes, weights (courtesy Klockit) This is what I bought! 2: Content of movement box: the movement itself, dial with moon phase, weight shells, hands, other hardware, documentation 3: Content of chime tubes box 4: Content of pendulum box 5: Rough sawn lumber 6: Temporary movement stand 7: Movement mounted 8: Cut up lumber 9: Flatten, straighten, planed to ¾", ripped to size 10: Leftovers from ripping; enough for cleats and hood roof 11: Hood top front stretcher 12: ¾" stock trimmed and sorted 13: Mortises & tenons 14: Mortises & tenons dryfitted 15: Patching wrong dado cut 16: Finished dado cuts 17: Arch drawing jig 18: Arch drawing jig 19: Hood and waist pieces for frame edging 20: Base pieces laid out 21: Frame edge detail 22: Disaster struck! Bye-bye hood door top stretcher 22a: Routing inside arch with sacrifice board 23: Hood pieces dry-fitted 24: Waist pieces dry-fitted 25: Base pieces dry-fitted 26: Base frames glued 27: Base frames waiting for glue to cure . 28: Frame edge removed between top and middle stretchers of waist side frame. corners still need to be cleaned up. 33: Detail of holes for knob and magnets 35: Routing hinge recess in 34: Setup for door hinge recess hatch panel 36: Start position. removed back edge above middle stretcher 29: Waist frames waiting for glue to cure 30: Hood frames waiting for glue to cure 31: Movement seat board 32: Inside edge of frame edge removed. left recess and left router bit lined up . 37: End position. right recess and right router bit lined up 38: Hinge recess in door 39: Routing hinge recess in base front panel 40: Hinge recess in front panel 41: Hatch panel open 42: Hatch panel closed 43: Base section (upside down) glued using a temporary back 44: Base bottom board board 45: Base section without bottom board 46: Leveller detail. is but without compartment board 48: Waist section glued using 3 mounted against the cleats temporary back boards . note that it 47: Base with bottom board. 50: Base with waist bottom support cleats dry-fitted 49: Waist section 51: Waist dry-fitted on base 52: Base with base boards and waist bottom support cleats installed 53: Waist glued to base 54: Hood holding cleats glued to waist 55: Base/waist completed except for base compartment board and back board 56: Hood section glued using a temporary back board 57: Hood section . smallest tenon/mortise I ever made with the Leigh FMT (3/8" x 7/8" x 1/8") 60: Dial trim panel glued 61: Dial trim panel glued into hood 62: Hood with dial trim panel 63: Hood temporary placed 64: Moulding material 65: Shaping the double moulding 66: Shaping the double moulding (note the marked high spot) 67: Wood chips from milling the 68: Moulding shaped 69: Front moulding installed on hood .58: Dial trim panel parts 59: Dial trim panel details. moulding 71: Installing base/waist 70: Hood with moulding on top moulding of waist 72: Base/waist moulding installed 74: Cutting waist edge on back 75: Base compartment board board installed 73: Everything put together 76: Rear view of hood 77: Rear hood detail 78: Back board . 79: Back board installed 80: Movement installed 81: Movement side view 82: Hood in place 83: Full view 84: Front view hood with 10 roof slats 85: Remaining roof slats and filler piece 86: Back view hood with all roof slats 87: Jointing angle on roof slat filler 88: Roof slat filler and side 89: Scrape and sand roof inside 90: Setup router for frieze and . but not yet trimmed clamped 100: Front left/right moulding 101: Top moulding trimmed at 102: Outside arch of top glued in place and kept straight 63.piece glued and outside top moulding 91: Setup frieze for routing 92: Ready for routing 1/2" edge on frieze 93: Front frieze with 1/2" gouge for little arch 94: Front frieze ready for tracing roof line on back 95: Side frieze glued in place 96: Frieze installed 97: Same setup for routing hood 98: Hood arched top moulding 99: Side moulding glued and arched top moulding routed.5° to fit other mouldings moulding shaped with a slat . 103: Hood trim glued in place 104: Hood finished. note the columns photo frame turners 107: Rough pieces to make the 108: L-shape front column columns glued 106: Complete clock so far 109: Two back column halves 110: Paper glued on temporary 111: Column blanks glued pieces 112: Column blanks trimmed to 113: Corners taken off from length. except the 105: Hood backside. note the paper joints the 114: Capital of test column . back and top glued. sides marked 118: Sides glued 119: Flute jig ready 120: Column mounted in jig 121: Flute routed 122: Back column halves split 123: Back and front columns 124: Columns glued and clamped .column blanks 116: Columns with template 115: Columns with template 117: Flute jig. movement seat board. waist door stained 130: Felt pad on top of left hood 131: Felt pad against top of left holding cleat hood holding groove 132: Back side view high resolution 133: Front view. no hood high resolution 134: Front view. no doors high resolution 135: Hood detail high resolution . base hatch door. hood door.125: Hood finished 126: Construction completed 127: Hood stained 128: Base/waist stained 129: Compartment board. 136: Waist detail high resolution 137: Base detail high resolution 138: Hood side view high resolution 139: Waist side view high resolution 140: Hinge detail high resolution 141: Full view high resolution 142: Full view high resolution 143: Full view. open doors high resolution 144: Full view high resolution . which can also be used for printing the drawing." Dominic. Requires the free latest version of Abode Reader©. works fine. Thanks for allowing me to share that with others. With letter size (8-1/2" x 11") printing using the Adobe Reader use "Page Scaling" set at "None" for smallest 1/2" margin. For construction the pdf format drawings 04 to 10 contain all the required details. I learned a lot about grandfather clocks and I have the leveling procedure down pat now. but not least. The clock is quiet and the chimes are not that loud at all. 05 and 06. The Hermle movement uses chime rods that are mounted on a block that is visible in the back of the hood. We exchanged many emails discussing issues. He used MinWax Special Walnut stain and finished the case with hand rubbed boiled linseed oil.How others did it Dominic Brindisi got hold of my drawings when I had barely started my own construction. The movement is operating flawlessly and keeping accurate time. Notice that he did not use glass in the waist sides. And last. no arches at the top of the waist door and base hatch. but he came up with good ideas to deal with that. Drawings. He had laid his hands on an old Hermle 1161-853/114cm movement. Plans. I enjoyed following your project and the picture shows what a fine grandfather clock it has become. at a total cost of US$ 550. Dominic had some limitations with respect to available woodworking machines.00 he certainly did it cheaper than me. and he was eager to get started on the case. as those will show the details better. it took a lot of tweaking to get everything in sync. I used the level just to get it in the ballpark and then used my ear to finish leveling and get the clock in beat. and in order to ensure good sound he did the hood sides with scroll saw work that is covered on the inside with black speaker cloth. In his own words. . That certainly kept me on my toes to stay ahead and to keep the drawings up-to-date with the latest changes. Recommend to print the double scaled pdf drawings 04. "I cleaned and oiled the movement and checked for excessive bushing wear and all was within acceptable standards. Sketches (inches) Click on a drawing to view the letter-size (8½" x 11") drawing in "pdf" format. Drawing 01 .An approximate 3D drawing of the movement so that it can be put in the 3D drawing of the case to see if everything fit together properly. they are only intended to show relationship between individual pieces.Please note that the 3-dimensional drawings 11 to 26 may not show all the details. . normal pendulum swing is 14" C = hand shaft center to weight drop at end of 8th day D = hand shaft center to top chime tube mount (see 1) E = tip hand shaft to back mounted chime tubes (total depth of movement) F = overall width chime tube mount frame (total width of movement see 2) G = hand shaft center to bottom of movement (begin movement seat board) H = front movement plate to front surface of dial I = front surface dial to front of weight assemblies (1) = inside clock case length is weight drop (C) plus the greater of top chime tube mount (D) and top edge of dial (hence total height of movement) (2) = overall width is determined by the greater of width chime tube mount frame (F) and minimum inside case width (B) (3) = center point of moon dial is 5-9/16" above the hand shaft center. y y y y y y y y y y y y A = hand shaft center to pendulum bob adjust screw B = minimum inside case width = diameter pendulum bob + 6" to 8" to allow automatic beat adjustment.Drawing 02 . see references below .Front and side view of movement with dimensions. Case front view Drawing 04b . .Case front view Drawing 04 .Case front view One drawing in double scale on 4 sheets of letter size paper that need to be glued together.Drawing 04a . Drawing 05a .Case front section A-A Drawing 05b .Case front section A-A One drawing in double scale on 4 sheets of letter size paper that need to be glued together.Case front section A-A Drawing 05 . . Case side section B-B Drawing 06 . .Case side view and side section B-B One drawing in double scale on 4 sheets of letter size paper that need to be glued together.Case side view Drawing 06b .Drawing 06a . Drawing 07 .Case back view . Drawing 08a .Case top view Drawing 08b . D-D (waist) Drawing 08c .Case top sections E-E (base) .Case top sections C-C (hood). Drawing 09 .Movement seat board . Column details .Drawing 10 . Drawing 11 .Full case view with doors open .Full case view Drawing 12 . Case main components .Drawing 13 .Full case view Drawing 14 . Hood construction .Drawing 20 . Hood construction .Drawing 21 . Waist construction .Drawing 22 . Drawing 23 .Waist construction . Base construction .Base construction Drawing 25 .Drawing 24 . no. description Hood cut at length=22" shape top to fit roof mortised to receive front stretchers rabbet W=3/4" D=1/2" on outer edge to received length width thickness suggested basic material. Measurements of 1/32nd and 1/64th only indicate the theoretical measurements and we recommend that you cut those items a little bit oversized and trim accordingly. Measurements up to 1/16th are accurate.Back board construction Materials List (inches) Here is the detail materials list. comments 2 front stile 2123/4 33/64 7/16 . All wood is solid red oak unless stated otherwise.Drawing 26 . both ends inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit rabbet W=3/8" D=1/2" on back edge to received back board mortised to receive roof top back stretcher inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit ends shaped with 3/8" reversed frame bit inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit ends shaped with 3/8" reversed frame bit turned with appropiate base/capital and flutes turned with appropriate base/capital and flutes arch radius I=7-11/16" O=11-3/16" inside arch decorated with R=1/2" core box bit 1 front stretcher.c.c. top side stretcher. front 16-1/8 20-3/8 2 2 side stile. both ends arch radius I=6-3/8" O=10-7/16" 14-5/8" with tenon L=3/4" W=1" T=3/8" o. back front frieze side frieze front trim side trim back stretcher. front 1/2-column. both ends arch radius I=8-15/16" O=10-7/16" cut at length=12" width=1-3/4" shaped to fit roof line cut at length=12" width=1-1/2" shaped to fit roof line 2 roof slat. bottom side stile.c. left/right roof slat.side stile 83/4 11/16 13/4 3/16 3/4 14-5/8" with tenon (2) L=3/4" W=1-1/2" T=3/8" C=2" o. bottom 3/4-column. top 16-1/8 1 2 front stretcher. top 7-7/8 5-1/2 3/4 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 7-7/8 2-1/4 3/4 17-1/8 17-1/8 21 2Ø 2Ø 7-5/8 3/4 12-3/8 3-1/2 3/4 4 1-1/4 1/2 12-7/8 1-1/4 1/2 19 5-5/8 3/4 18" with tenon L=1/2" W=1" T=3/8" o. filler left/right 11-5/8 1-1/2 3/4 13/4 3/16 2 11-5/8 . back 20-3/8 2-1/4 3/4 2 side stretcher. front hood/waist moulding.c. 10-5/8" with tenon (2) L=3/8" W=7/8" T=1/8" C=1-3/8" o. front 175-7/8 1-7/8 top arch 23/64 top moulding. both ends and spread over the bottom 2-3/4" arch radius I=4-3/8" O=7-1/8" red oak. front 41-7/8 1-3/4 left/right 37/64 top moulding. bottom 11-1/2 2-1/4 3/4 . see drawing 07 for profile joins arch at 63. side door stile 14-1/4 1-7/8 1-3/4 21-3/4 1-7/8 1-3/4 2 2 1 2 12-3/4 1-7/8 1-3/4 172-1/4 3/4 11/64 2 1 door stretcher.4° angle. side hood/waist moulding. see drawing 07 for profile cut at length=18" inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit arch radius I=4-7/16" O=6-11/16" inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit ends shaped with 3/8" reversed frame bit inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit ends shaped with 3/8" reversed frame bit 1 dial trim panel (or 16use next 3 items as 20-3/4 1/8 alternative) 1/4 2 dial trim panel. stile 18-3/8 2-3/4 1/4 1 dial trim panel. top 11-1/2 6-7/8 3/4 1 door stretcher. both ends arch radius I=9-7/16" O=11-3/16".18 roof slat 11-5/8 1 3/4 cut at length=12" shaped to fit roof line red oak plywood. bottom stretcher 11-3/8 2-3/4 1/4 1 top moulding. 2-3/4" wide border arch radius I=4-3/8" O=7-1/8" The hoot front frame overlaps the dial trim panel by 3/4" all around.c. see drawing 07 for profile see drawing 07 for profile moulding is attached to hood and has a 1/2" deep and 9/16" wide groove. 10-5/8" with tenon (2) L=3/8" W=7/8" T=1/8" C=1-3/8" o. cut at length=19" mortised to receive stretchers red oak. red oak. see drawing 07 for profile moulding is attached to hood and has a 1/2" deep and 9/16" wide groove. top stretcher 11-3/8 7-3/8 1/4 1 dial trim panel. front 16-1/8 3 51-3/8 2 3/4 3/4 2 side stile. extends over full length of case 41-1/8 2-1/4 3/4 1 door stretcher. front hood holding cleat. see drawing 07 for profile inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit ends shaped with 3/8" reversed frame bit arch radius I=14-5/8" inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit ends shaped with 3/8" reversed frame bit red oak plywood. top 11-1/2 3 3/4 1 1 door stretcher. side door stile 7-1/16 2 7-1/16 4 3/4 3/4 1 17-7/8 4-1/2 3/4 2 101/16 1-1/4 3/4 1 18-7/8 1/2 115/16 1/2 cleat is attached to waist. back 51-3/8 2-1/4 3/4 2 4 side stretcher. middle & bottom movement seat board cleat under movement seat board hood holding cleat. top side stretcher. bottom back board 11-1/2 2-1/4 3/4 83 1/2 20- . both ends inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit rabbet W=3/8" D=1/2" on back edge to received back board ends shaped with 3/8" reversed frame bit inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit ends shaped with 3/8" reversed frame bit shaped as per drawing 09 2 front stile 46-1/2 1-5/8 3/4 2 2 front stretcher side stile.Waist mortised to receive front stretchers rabbet W=3/4" D=1/2" on outer edge to received side stile 14-5/8" with tenon L=3/4" W=2" T=3/8" o. see drawing 07 for profile 2 2 1/2 1/2 cleat is attached to waist.c. bottom side panel cleat under waist bottom support cleat. both ends inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit rabbet W=3/8" D=1/2" on back edge to received back board inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit ends shaped with 3/8" reversed frame bit inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit ends shaped with 3/8" reversed frame bit 2 front stile 12 1-5/8 3/4 1 front stretcher.c. top side stretcher.1/8 1 bottom support cleat.c. top 19-1/8 2-1/8 3/4 1 2 front stretcher. front bottom support cleat. bottom side stile. back 12 2-1/4 3/4 2 side stretcher. front cleat under waist bottom support cleat. on both ends arch radius I=44-11/16" 17-5/8" with tenon (2) L=3/4" W=1-1/2" T=3/8" C=23/4" o. side 19-3/8 1-1/2 3/4 glued with biscuits to waist bottom 2 9-9/16 1-1/2 3/4 glued with biscuits to waist bottom Base mortised to receive front stretchers rabbet W=3/4" D=1/2" on outer edge to received side stile 17-5/8" with tenon L=3/4" W=1-1/2" T=3/8" o. side 8-9/16 2-1/4 3/4 2 8-9/16 6-1/4 3/4 43/8 3/16 2 8-1/2 1 17-3/8 1 3/4 glued and screwed to inside of base front front edge shaped following top front stretcher 2 111/16 1 3/4 glued and screwed to inside of base side . front 19-1/8 5-1/4 3/4 12 2 3/4 2 side stile. bottom hatch door panel 14-1/2 2-7/8 3/4 1 14-1/2 2-1/4 3/4 147/16 23/8 5/16 1 Hardware 1 4 4 Kieninger HTU movement 2" swivel leveller corner brackets 68-3/8 2 3 141/8 1-1/2 3 13/16 9-1/2 cable. from KlockIt Lee Valley 01S06.01 (sold in set of 4) . 9-tube. top hatch door stretcher. pendulum. front baseboard. side 21-5/8 1-7/8 1-3/4 121-7/8 1-3/4 11/16 22-3/8 4 131/16 4 3/4 3/4 2 1 2 see drawing 07 for profile top angled at 45° top angled at 45° cut at length=6" inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit ends shaped with 3/8" reversed frame bit arch radius I=42-3/4" O=45" inside edge shaped with 3/8" frame bit ends shaped with 3/8" reversed frame bit arch radius I=43-1/16" 2 hatch door stile 52-1/4 3/4 39/64 1 hatch door stretcher. side 1/16 1 glued and screwed to inside of base front 2 1 1 3/8 glued and screwed to inside of base side red oak plywood see drawing 07 for profile compartment board 15-3/8 8-1/2 1/2 waist/bottom moulding. front cleat under bottom 11board. dial with moon phase.1 bottom board 19-3/8 113/4 1/16 3/8 red oak plywood 1 cleat under bottom 18-5/8 1 board. side baseboard.02 Lee Valley 01S04. front waist/bottom moulding. 81 (sold in pkg of 100) for attaching back board (23).51 (sold in pkg of 100) for hinges (24). waist door 37-1/4 . waist bottom support cleats (4). 1-1/8" bevel all around shaped to match door frame. hood door 16 shaped to match door frame.41 (sold in pkg of 100) for photo frame turns Lee Valley 01Z12.70 (sold in set of 2) Lee Valley 00F1150 (sold in package of 8) to hold hood to back board Lee Valley 01Z10. and attaching waist to bottom support 12 biscuit #20 113/8 3 mm (~1/8") 5 mm (~3/16") 3 mm (~1/8") 1 glass. arch radius=4-3/4" edge height=11-3/8" approx. cleats under movement seat board (4).4 1/4" rare-earth magnet set 1"x1" solid brass knob 1 1 3/8 Ø Lee Valley 99K33. cleats under waist (6). hood side 13-1/4 7-3/4 113/8 1 glass. base compartment board (3) for attaching levellers 9 3/8 flat-head #4 Phillips 35 5/8" antique brass 5/8 steel screws pan-head #4 Phillips 1/2" antique brass 1/2 steel screws #4 9 #4 flat-head #8 Phillips 47 1" antique brass 1 steel screws #8 16 pan-head #8 Phillips 1/2 ½" flat-head #8 Phillips 1-1/2 1½" #8 4 #8 for attaching movement seat board for attaching hood to hood/waist moulding.10 (sold in set of 4) 3 Lee Valley 00W90. hood holding cleats (7). magnet washers (4). cleats under bottom board (7) Lee Valley 01Z20. arch radius=14-15/16" edge height=36-1/2" 2 glass.10 6 2-3/4" x 5/16" finial 5 lift-off case hinges photo frame turners 1 5/16 5/16 Lee Valley 01D02. arch radius I=4-7/16" O=6-11/16" = The radius of the inside arch is 4-7/16" and the radius of the outside arch is O=6-11/16". planer. The centre of the tenons are 2-3/4" apart. Where possible I used leftovers from previous projects. drill press. G.table saw. biscuit jointer. Clear Window & Door (Silicone) Sealant 1 stain 1 1 4 varnish sealant (caulking) felt pad 3/4 7/16 1/32 use 3/4"x3/4" pads and trim to size Material List Legend For example: 18-1/8" with tenon (2) L=3/4" W=1-1/2" T=3/8" C=2-3/4" o.c. jointer.c.E. waist side woodfiller wood glue 39-1/8 65 mm 15/16 (~3/16") approx.g. random orbit sander. I needed 50 bdft and bought 57 bdft. wood lathe (17-1/8" between centres) . Cloverdale Timberlox Acrylic Urethane Varnish 42314 Clear Satin Finish e.2 1 1 glass. both ends = 18-1/8" long with 2 tenons on both ends. band saw. In this case I got a cheap deal on 4/4" dressed red oak which is actually 15/16".) of the end. 1-1/8" bevel all around e.g. and place on centre (o. I also need 6 bdft of 8/4" dressed red oak for the mouldings and bought 9 bdft. Cloverdale Timberlox Wiping Stain 16204 Clear Base e.g. Woodwise Red Oak Woodfiller e.g.g. miter saw. router and table. Required Tools y Power tools . Raw Material For my projects I prefer rough sawn red oak. LePage carpenter's glue (or Titebond III wood glue) e. Tenons are 3/4" long and hence overall length is 19-5/8" (18-1/8 + 3/4 + 3/4). Tenons are 1-1/2" wide and 3/8" thick. clamps. 1" core box bit (Lee Valley 16J15.81).54 cm) because all wood measurements in the shop are in inches. square. movement installation Cut up rough-sawn boards Straighten boards and plane to 3/4" thick Rip to width.51).03) Miscellaneous . 1-1/4" hole saw.y y y y Hand tools . (reverse) frame edges (sides. 8" dado set. 3/8" core box bit (Lee Valley 16J15. scroll saw. hatch) Glue frames. properly stacked with thin slats between each board to let them adjust to the temperature and humidity of the workshop. shape and sand all pieces and dry-fit them together with clamps. 1/2" #7 bent gouge. was the first day that saw dust was made for this project. The lumber was checked for staples so that no sharp blades would be ruined! A list was made of the measured lumber for later use.06).Leigh Frame Mortise and Tenon (FMT) jig. The rough sawn red oak lumber has been in the workshop for almost 3 months.58). test movement seat board. 2009.70). 8" cabinet rasp (grade 11) Jigs . sanding block. rabbets of front frames and back stiles Inside arches. chisels. 31/64" plywood bit (Lee Valley 16J04. complete outside arches and frames hours 5¾ 3½ 6¾ 14¾ 13¾ 14 18½ . 3/8" rabbeting bit (Lee Valley 16J32. 3/8" spiral upcut router bit (Leigh 173-500C). 3/8" laminate flush trimming bit (Lee Valley 16J09. I recommend to cut.pre-drill bits for screws with countersink. It is assumed that you are familiar with all your machines and Leigh jigs. November 2nd. Check out the Workworking Tips section for basic machining tips of rough sawn wood.turning tools. To give an idea of the required construction and finishing time: Activity Test stand.3/8" reversible ogee frame bit (Lee Valley 16J67. fronts. for dial trim panel only: 1/8" spiral upcut bit (Leigh 164C) for mortise and 3/8" spiral upcut bit (Leigh 173-500C) for tenon Router bits . sand paper #220 and #320. 45° chamfer bit (Ditmar 102R4-45). 3/4" and 1-1/2" sanding drums Construction All measurements are in inches (1 inches = 2. doors. cut to length Mortises & tenons of front frames. Spots were marked that cannot be used. tape measure. plane 1/2". magnets.the narrower middle part of the clock case that houses the pendulum and weights with an access door to get to those. so that when I use a term you know what I am talking about. base panels 9½ Knobs. 3/8" and 1/4" boards. varnish Install hardware & glass. frieze and moulding Hood columns Stain. The hood is removable to provide access to the movement and tubes. hinges Sanding Base assembly Waist assembly Hood assembly Mouldings Back board.the lowest part of the clock case. The base has a small compartment immediately . dial trim panel. base compartment board Moment of truth Hood roof. Base (or bottom) . The base contains the levellers to adjust the clock case so that it is absolutely vertical.top part of the clock case that houses the actual clock movement with an access door to the dial and hands. y y y Hood . install movement GRAND TOTAL 8¼ 3¼ 10¾ 7 2¾ 11¾ 5½ 3 22¼ 23¼ 12¾ 8½ 205¼ On March 14th. and more importantly to ensure that the movement seat board is absolutely level. 2010. Terminology & Assumptions Before we begin it is important that we all speak the same language. the grandfather clock was installed in our dining room and fully operational.Movement seat board. place clock case. Waist . often mounted in between two stiles.. Temporary movement stand and seat board (pictures 06 and 07) The temporary seat board and movement stand are used for mounting the movement and letting it run for at least 8 days. Moulding . which are the front and side views and cross sections. and between waist and base. etc. No details . cutting a rabbet. As there is a gap of 1/16" between the inside of the hood and the outside of the waist that means that waist depth measurement are multiples of 1/16" too.horizontal piece of wood. Slat . and that is what a grandfather clock is all about. For that we need well seasoned quarter sawn wood that has been in the workshop environment for many months. General comments on drawings and construction y y y y Drawings . Stile .a long narrow strip of wood such as the roof slats of the hood. The only piece that I had to glue up from two separate pieces is the front stretcher of the hood.y y y y y y behind the hatch panel (flip-down door) to keep the clock documentation and the winding crank. in my opinion an arch from a single piece of wood with the grain horizontally is more pleasing to the eye.usually a bit bigger than a slat and used to strengthen the construction.The most important drawings are the double size drawings 04. The radius of the moon dial is 4-9/16" and hence the derived hood door arches end up being multiples of 1/16". do this.a decorative piece of wood as used at the top of the hood. movement seat board and column details. such as ripping. Frieze . Arches . 09 and 10 are the back board. This allows for verification of all kinds of measurements that will be used in refining the design and drawings. planing. 3 or even 4 segments of wood glued together are more stable. For that I selected material left over from other projects as follows: no.This will be the first project where I will assume that you have the basic skills to machine/mill the wood. and hopefully makes it easier to follow the construction process without being too verbose. Cleat .vertical piece of wood. 05 and 06. jointing. For tips of those basic machining/milling skills see Woodworking Tips. Upon completion the waist and base form one piece. description 1 2 seat board side length width thickness comments 3/4 1/2 plywood plywood 18-15/16 4 60 11 . do this. Drawings 07. Stretcher or rail .You will notice that I use a "single" piece of wood to make each arch. Measurements . All these drawing you should have pinned up on the wall in your shop for easy reference. step 2. Although constructing the arches from 2. routing.a decorative piece of wood like at the top of the hood. and as a separator between hood and waist.I like to standardize the measurements in 1/8" and if absolutely necessary 1/16". and using the Leigh Mortise and Tenon jig. but the joint is hidden by the front frieze. It will basically be a list of step 1. Place the sides with their front edges on a flat surface and glue/nail the back top and bottom support in place. For the seat board drill two 1-1/4" holes with a hole saw at the ends of the slot. I figured out that the spring had to be below that pin. The 8 lbs weight needed a screw-in hook and a screw-in bottom nut. I use some brads to keep things in place while the glue dries. The night shut-off mode lever system on the front of the movement has at its end a 1" straight spring which was above the pin to the rest of the chime system.After installing the movement it was obvious that the 1/2" sides are too flexible and diagonal braces were needed to make the stand sturdier. My stand from 1/2" plywood was not sturdy enough. 1/2" in from the front. Glue the seat board risers on the inside of the sides such that the seat board risers are flush with the front edge of the sides and stick out 3-1/2" at the top. During the synchronizing of the chime and time I discovered that the "night shut-off" mode between 10:00pm and 7:30am did not work. The 14 lbs weight had the screws embedded in the weight and needed the screw-on hook and screw-on bottom nut. I had already sent an e-mail to KlockIt for technical support when I discovered after an hour of studying the movement up close what was wrong. Use a 5/16" straight router bit to cut out the rest of the slot on the router table. There was just enough space between the pin and an adjacent gear and I very carefully maneuvered the spring under the pin. After chiming it takes at least a minute for the tubes to stop vibrating. Place the seat board on top of the seat board risers. Easy to figure out and all required material was provided. Shape the back edge and pre-drill the other holes. Once stable and . The 11 lbs weight needed a rod with screw-on hook and screw-on bottom nut. but this should not have happened for such an expensive movement. NOTE . Set the stand straight up. but it is noticeable in an open setup. Turn the whole on its back and glue/nail the front bottom support in place. Sand all boards and make them dust free. A sturdy stand is essential.2 1 2 back top/bottom support 18-15/16 9 front bottom support seat board riser 18-15/16 9 10 7 1/2 1/2 3/4 plywood plywood plywood Cut the plywood boards. but the documentation showed the use of the rods for all three weights. I took my time. Again easy once you know what to do. Installing the Kieninger HTU movement I followed the Assembly and Operation Instructions from KlockIt that came with the movement. Most likely not a problem in the proper case. Pre-drill two holes on each side and secure with screws. The stand is now ready for mounting the movement on it. Some critical comments though: y y y y All three weights had to be assemble differently. Just the slightest touch caused the tubes to swing and create an unwanted concert. Set the fence of the jointer to 87. rabbets (pictures 13 to 16) For the mortises and tenons I use the Leigh Frame Mortise and Tenon (FMT) jig with a 3/8" spiral upcut router bit.6° edge on that side. Mark each board on the short end with a letter and put that letter next to the item(s) on the material list that you expect to cut out of a board. I typically cut long 8ft boards into manageable sizes between 40" to 60".2°. I numbered the pieces on the material list and prefixed those with H(ood). Machine those pieces now and don't forget to mark the finished pieces appropriately. Depending on you planer give yourself about 2 to 3" on each end of lumber. Begin with the longest stiles. but that was still not enough. That has also an advantage that you have less problems and waste with warped boards. tenons. We do first all the 3/4" thick stiles and stretchers. the dado. See also References . Don't forget to keep at least 3 to 4 pieces of 3/4" wood to use as test pieces for setting up the Leigh FMT.4° angle on the roof filler slats either. Take the list of measured lumber and decide on the most economical way to cut each piece up into the various parts needed for the project. all the pieces of the frieze and all the baseboard pieces at least a 1/2" longer as those will be trimmed later on during construction. Next joint the sawn edge to get a 2. the stiles of the base hatch. After the above 3/4" thick pieces are machined use the left over 3/4" stock to cut the required cleats and roof pieces. With the jointed edge (wide part up) against the table saw fence rip off 1". At this point don't worry about any cleats and roof slats as those can be cut from leftover material later.6° edge on one side of the two roof slat filler pieces. Easy to do when you follow these steps. I was able to completely stop the side to side movement of 1/64" by stabilizing the test stand against a wall. the stiles of the hood door. I also recommend to make some spare roof slats so that the best 18 slats can be selected just before they are glued onto the hood later. Again leave those a bit longer as we will trim them later. and thus work your way through the list. This is the most dangerous part of the whole project so use push sticks because blood does stain red oak very badly. because when you run material through the planer it often have some indentation in the first few inches. Make one pass with a board over the jointer and you have a perfect 2.4° and a take-off at 1/32" per pass.6° edge.General comments and design criteria. Don't cut the 63. All the material is 3/4" thick so once the center of the . Cutting plan and machining ¾" boards (pictures 08 to 12) Before doing any machining it is important to make a cutting plan. also called snipe. The 18 roof slats have a combined angle of 5. or 4 to 6" extra per board.with the pendulum swinging you see the tubes swinging ever so gently to. Leave the front stiles of the hood. Mortises. and the reversible frame bit. Any remaining 3/4" boards can be milled down to 1/2" and 3/8" as required. Yet another lesson learned. I added a brace on the back and the front. W(aist) and B(ase). then the widest stretcher. Also put 2. Repeat with the left over board. width is set it can be locked. I do that on purpose so I don't get confused by adjusting the Leigh FMT. Adjust the dado to cut 3/4" away from the fence (width) and 1/2" high (depth). Note that the tenons and mortises have the same length/depth. Dry-fit the tenons and mortises and make corrections where needed. Hammer in a long finishing nail on that . It is very easy to get confused and make a mistake (see also "what went wrong") so mark where the dado has to be cut on each end of the six front stiles. and left/right. top/bottom. Cut the dado with the wide surface on the table. Adjust the dado to cut 1/2" away from the fence (depth) to receive the back board and 3/8" high (width). Arches. frame edges (pictures 17 to 25) I don't have a fancy tool to draw arches so I took a leftover piece of melamine of 48" long and about 24" wide. Ease over the end of tenons and the edge of the mortises. Next use the 3/8" x 1-1/2" template and cut the 3/4" long tenons on the base front stretchers and the matching mortises in the base front stiles. Still with the 3/8" x 1-1/2" template cut the 3/4" long tenons on the hood top front stretcher and the matching mortises in the hood front stiles. Set up the dado in the table saw and place a flat piece of scrap wood against the fence. Mark each stile to properly identify it in terms of back/front stile. We do the ones on the front stiles first with a width of 3/4" to receive the side front stile and a depth of 1/2". Now mark the six side back stiles and cut the dado with the wide surface on the table. Switch to the 3/8" x 1" template and cut the 3/4" long tenons on the hood bottom front stretcher and the matching mortises in the hood front stiles. Draw a parallel line 12" from that straight edge. Upon completion label the tenons and matching mortises. the rabbets are a good place to do that. Start off with the 3/8" x 2" template and cut the 3/4" long tenons on the waist front stretchers and the matching mortises in the waist front stiles. Note that the mortises in the stiles are an extra 1/2" in from the back because of the 1/2" back board. Therefore after cutting the tenons I trim about 1/32" off the end. Lay out the material and select the best sides as the front/visible surface and then mark the back side with a pencil. Look at drawing 08 to see where the rabbets need to be cut. Note that the underside of the stretcher starts 1513/16" from the underside of the stile. Continue with to the 3/8" x 1" template and cut the 1/2" long tenons on the hood top back stretcher and the matching mortises in the hood side back stiles. Don't forget that the good side always goes against the FMT and that the pencil mark is facing you. The tenon/mortise centers should at 1-1/4" and 3-1/4" above that point. One long edge must be straight. that is your center line for the arches. I still use the fence for support though --.center line at 1" from the short edge. Mark each edge that needs a frame edge with a "V" that points to the good (outside) of the frame edge. base front top stretcher and top hatch door stretcher. With the stretcher secured place the 45" hole over the finishing nail and draw the arch.so tear-out can happen very easily. Next select all the wood pieces that need frame edging and/or reverse frame edging and lay them out while selecting the best surface for the clock case outside. . Special care is needed when cutting the inside arches as you go from with-the-grain to against-the-grain. Continue doing it for the other arches and stretchers. the good surface on the table. that is your circle center point. measure its thickness and drill a hole of that thickness 1" from the other end of the slat. And above all. Using a large square draw a line through that point perpendicular to the straight edge of the melamine. Drill a hole at 1" from one short edge that is just big enough to fit over the finishing nail. I use a 1-1/2" sanding drum in my drill press. so use the start or guide pin to keep control over the amount of wood that is taken off when you begin cutting the arches. The slat is now set for drawing a 45" radius arch. The top of the stretcher should be exactly 45" away from the circle center. These are the stretchers we are marking now: hood top front and back stretchers. First mark the center on the bottom edge of the stretcher. See also "What went wrong" further down. Use a rectangular board with an edge perpendicular to the fence and keep that on the back side of the piece you are cutting. Cut the frame edge with "V" pointing down. Select a "round" pencil to draw the arches.in this case all the stretchers . hood door top stretcher. waist door top stretcher. Change the router bit for reverse frame edging (also called coping cut) and match it against the already cut frame edges. You can make the cut in one pass. All this to minimize tear-out or chipping.e. For a different radius simple drill a new hole to fit on the finishing nail at that radius distance from the center of the pencil (pictures 17 and 18). we need that to line it up with the center line on the melamine. To keep the stretcher in place while you are drawing the arch on it you can either clamp the stretcher to the melamine or us a piece of 1/2" double-sided tape . If the finishing nail has a head then snip it off. Mount the router in the table with the 3/8" framing bit for the frame edge (also called the sticking cut) and adjust it so that the groove start exactly in the middle of the edge (picture 21). Don't forget to select the best side of each piece for the (visible) outside. so mark that point on the center line. always cut against the rotation of the router bit or you can pick up you piece (and hopefully not your finger) on the other side of you shop. but I prefer to use a fence and then cut about 3/16" in the first pass and after all the straight pieces are done do the final pass against the bearing of the router bit . The reverse frame edge is typically cut on cross-grain wood . You can make the full cut in one pass. These will be the side frames and the doors and hatch door. i.doublesided tape you can find in arts & craft stores --. Look in your scrap pile for a slat 47" long and about 1" wide. Next we cut out the inside arches with the band saw and sand them smooth with a drum sander. Now place the stretcher on the melamine with the top edge against the line you just drew and the center on the center line. Take for example the hood front top stretcher. Cut the arches and sides with the band saw. The glue and water to clean off the glue can cause the steel of the clamp to leave stains on the acidic red oak. Smooth the top and bottom edges of the frames on the jointer. Next (re)mark the outer arches and tops of the sides of the hood front frame. One pass should be enough when the gluing was done accurately. the doors and hatch door. Mark that on the side edges of the stretcher.At this point clean up any edges and dry-fit the side frames. Check for squareness by making sure that each diagonal has the exact same length. Set the cut at 1/128" and use a backing block to avoid tear-out. hood back top stretcher. Ensure the everything is flush at the ends. Determine where the glue joint(s) will be on the steel of the clamps and apply some masking tape there. My glue says clamp for 25 minutes. Go easy on the glue. While we are there remove the material left by the rabbet on the side back stile above the top of the middle stretcher to the top of the stile (picture 28). clamp and check that the ends are flush.The top of the middle stretcher should line up with the top of the waist front frame. The total height of the hatch door should be 6-1/8" and hence the top of the top stretcher must be 1/8" above the top of the stile. of the hood. base) layout the dry-fitted pieces for sides. cross cut shy of the markings width a crosscut saw and chisel the frame edge away and smooth. I only have a limited number of cabinet makers clamps so I can do just about 4 frames at a time. Mark that on the side edges of the stretcher. Don't glue up to much as you end up struggling getting everything put together and square. The total height of the door should be 19-7/8" and hence the top of the top stretcher must be 1-7/8" above the top of the stile. Here is how I do it. I only glue the 2 or 3 stretchers to one stile. Then take the loose stile off. Or in other words. Use the drum sander to finish the arches. but make sure that all glue surfaces are covered. This is your last chance to make any corrections as next is gluing the frames.The stile was cut at a length of 18". etc. After the gluing the edges can be made flush with the middle and top stretchers. Recommend to do that before gluing up the frame. Mark that on the side stiles. put the other stile on without glue. front and door/hatch. apply glue and put it back. before assembling the sections (pictures 26 to 30 and 32) For each section (hood. waist. Hood door . These are the specials: y y y Waist side frames .. Base hatch door . waist and base. Basically the top stretcher and the bottom stretcher lines up with the top and bottom of the stiles. Also notice that the frame edges between the top stretcher and the middle stretcher needs to be removed. hood door and base hatch door. the front frames. but I leave it in the clamps at least 2 hours. Lay out two (or three) open clamps on the work bench. Gluing the frames. the top of the middle stretcher must be 4-7/8" below the top of the side stiles. and clamp. but stay shy of the marked lines.The stile was cut at a length of 6". Wipe off any excess glue with warm water before the glue dries. Mark the exact width. . Note that the outside arches of the hood front frame and hood back top stretcher must matched exactly. . Then with 1/2" straight router bit in the router table I carefully remove the rest of the slot material. sand the front and back surfaces flat. magnets Knobs . waist or hood). For countersinking the mounting slots I use a countersink bit in the router table and carefully make the countersink while holding the movement seat board against the fence. Ease over the other edges.Shape the seat board according to drawing 09.Mount a 3/8" deep rabbet bit in the router table. After that clean up the corners with a chisel.Most of this work is much easier to do while the frames are not yet glued into an assembled section (base. Drill the holes as indicated. Get enough material and machine 1/2". Dry-fit the pieces and adjust as needed. Movement seat board .(pictures 58 to 62) This is made from the 1/4" boards. 3/8" and 1/4" thick boards as per the material list. Mark the arches on the top stretcher. cut out the inside arch with the band saw and sand it smooth. base panels While you are waiting for the glue of the clamped frames and doors to cure you can work on the movement seat board. For the cable slot holes I use a 1-1/4" hole saw. Mark the center of the 8 end circles of the mounting slots. As the gap will be visible we will emphasize that by making a 1/16" 45° chamfer on the inside edge of the panels. Hinges. dial trim panel. We first mark and drill the holes in the left stile of the doors and top stretcher of the hatch door. The center is in the middle of the stile (or top stretcher) and 15/16" in from the side edge.. Base panels . Place the front side of the stiles and stretchers against the FMT and give the boards as much support as possible. hence the 1/4" boards. The top stretcher starts at 13-3/8" from the bottom of the stiles. I use a chisel to remove the remaining material of the mounting slots. For the mortises use the 3/8" spiral upcut bit and for the tenons use the 1/8" spiral upcut bit. Dial trim panel . Glue the frame together. Set the 3/8" deep rabbet bit to 3/8" height and router the outside edge of the doors and hatch door on the back side. Mark the center of the end circles of the cable slot.Measure the openings of the sides and hatch door of the base and cut the panels from the machined 3/8" boards. 45° chamfer all edges about 1/16" except where the movement seat board will rest on the sides and cleats of the waist (picture 31). The panels should have at least 1/32" free play to allow for any future expansion. except the front outsides edges. Construction is basically the same as the hood front frame. For the knobs on the material list you need a 11/64" drill. Now the frames can receive the glass and panels. With the Leigh FMT we use the 1/4" x 1" template guide. Rip and trim the stiles and stretchers. Adjust it such that it cuts away the back edge of the frame edges (picture 32). Give the inside front edges a 1/16" 45° chamfer. etc. Mark the center of the two chime tube mount holes. the dial trim panel. Movement seat board. I decided to try using solid wood for the dial trim panel instead of plywood. knobs. Do the same for the hatch door. the magnet with cup does not completely line up with the steel washer. The 1/4" magnets are in a cup with an outside diameter of 3/8". Extend . So I have a problem and here is the solution. Even if I drill the 3/8" holes at the very edge of the front and door stile it still does not cover the steel washer completely. and the steel washer is also 3/8". The finial part of the hinge sticks out 1/32" beyond the base of the hinge. Repeat for the other recesses. i. Use 1/16" spacers all around to make sure that the door is properly place in the front frame. And now the door covers everything (picture 33). 3/8" wide and 1/8"thick strip of oak halfway on the left side of the left hood door stile.The back side of the doors (hatch) has a 3/8" x 3/8" rabbet so that they fit inside the fronts with a 1/16" gap all around. Make sure that the rectangular base of the hinge is place flat on the front frame. The magnets are located halfway the stiles at the same height as the knobs. On the inside of the door edge drill the 3/8" diameter and 5/16" deep hole with the center at 1/4" from the edge. First mark the recesses on the edges. That means that there is actually only a 5/16" overlap of the doors (hatch) with the left front stile (top front stretcher). For the hood door the recesses start at 2-1/4" and end at 5" from the top/bottom edges. and thus I basically widened the edge of the door from 3/8" to 1/2" at the point where the magnets will come. mounted in the left front stile.Magnets . but then measured from the left/right edges. for the waist 31/32" and for the hood 1-3/4".Before routing the hinge recesses it is important to put a 1/16" 45° chamfer on the outside front edge of the (hatch) doors first!!! The hinges (see material list) have a rectangular base which will be recessed by 3/32" into the right edge of the doors and flush with the inside edge of the door. Trace the left/right side of the hinges onto the front frame. Put a 5/16" straight bit in the router table at a height of 3/32" (the thickness of the hinge base). also pre-drill a hole for the screw to hold the steel washer. Extend the mark about an inch onto the front of the (hatch) doors. Finally use a chisel or sharp knife to clean up the ends. Pre-drill the holes with a 3/32" drill bit for 5/8" flathead #4 Phillips screws (pictures 34 to 38).e. 3/32" up. Place the router fence such that the distance between the fence and the inside edge of the router bit is exactly that distance. Hinges . For the waist door the recesses start at 4-1/4" and end at 7" from the top/bottom edges. Next clamp a strip of wood 3/4" away from the fence and mark exactly the beginning and end of the router bit. Secondly. The best drill is a brad-point drill bit. For the waist door we use a 4" long strip of wood as we use two magnets. one 1" above the halfway point and one 1" below the halfway point. but don't let the brad-point pierce the front surface!!! Drill a shallow 3/32" deep hole in the left front stile just shy of the edge halfway between the top and bottom. this causes the door/hatch to have a gap of 1/32" with the front frames and is exactly what we wanted. Glue a 2" long. In my case for the base that distance was 4-9/16". In my case the outside of the bit was 11/16" from the fence. Leave the router bit setting as is. With the router bit running carefully lower the door edge on the bit with the left recess marking matching the left router bit marking. Clamp a wide board against the fence for added support and position the fence such that it takes just enough material away from the (hatch) door that the hinge base is flush with the inside of the (hatch) door edge assuming the (hatch) door is placed with the back against the fence. but remove the strip of wood. Measure the distance from the rectangular base to the front frame edge. Then slowly move the door to the left until the right recess mark is lined up with the right router bit mark and lift the door straight up. Mount the hinges on the door and place the door on the front frame. mounted in the door. The same for the base hatch door. place the temporary back board. Take actual measurements for the bottom board from the base section and cut it from 3/4" red oak plywood. now is time to fix any unevenness using the jointer set at 1/128". Check that the tops are flush with each other. Ease over the sharp edges with a few passes of sandpaper. Clean up the recesses and pre-drill (pictures 39 to 42). If necessary use a laminate flush trimming bit in a hand held router to make it flush. those edges will the sanded after the sections are assembled. These will be placed at 3/4" from the top. Assemble base (pictures 43 to 47) Glue the 3/8" panels made earlier in the side frames and hatch door. Note that the front cleat extends below the arch of the hatch opening. So trace the arch on the front cleat and use a draw knife to take the excess away on the front side of the cleat . I use a random-orbit sander for the bigger surfaces and a sanding block for the smaller ones. but do not chamfer the lower 4" where the base boards will come. Clamp and later secure with flat-head #4 Phillips 5/8" screws. I used one set of hinges for making the hinge recesses and found out after the varnishing that the other two sets of hinges had their holes a wee bit off while the hinges were also a wee bit higher. sides and cleats. making sure that the bottom board is tight against the front. No need to chisel the ends square. We need to be able to reach the levellers with a screw driver so drill in each corner a 3/8" hole at 31/32" from the corner edges. Trim to length butt joints are fine . Glue the sides to the front. Make sure that the side edges of the front frame are flush with the side frames.and glue to the inside of the sides and front with the top edge at exactly 21/4" from the bottom. TIP: Measure all hinges to ensure that they have the exact same dimensions.the hinge marks to the back of the front frame. Glue the bottom board on the cleats. To use the big back board would be unwieldy so cut a temporary back board from some left-over 1/2" plywood. Trim the cleats for the waist support to length . Now router the slots the same way as for the doors/hatch. Sand the bottom board. Sanding Sand all frames with 220 grid so that surfaces are smooth and the stretcher/stile joints are flush. Sand and apply a 1/16" 45° chamfer on the front side edges. and do a preliminary check for squareness. but now with the front side of the front frame on the table. Using a 31/64" plywood router bit cut the 15-3/8" long and 1/4" deep slot at 1" from the front edge.butt joints are fine --. clamp everything and check for squareness. Place the pieces upside down as this will guarantee that the top of the pieces stay flush when we are gluing. Do not sand the edges where they join other frames. 2 screws in the side cleats and 3 in the front cleat. Use a flat piece of melamine and dry-fit the front and side frames of the base. Rip the 1" wide cleats for under the bottom board from left-over 3/8" red oak. Keep the temporary . and do a preliminary check for squareness. and on the inside of the side bottoms at 2" from the side edges. Use the biscuit jointer to cut the slots in the bottoms using the inside as the reference surface. If necessary use a laminate flush trimming bit in a hand held router to make it flush. Now glue the cleats to the inside of the sides and front with the top edge at exactly 3/4" from the top. We use #20 biscuits to connect the front/sides to the cleats such that the inside of the front/sides is flush with the inside of the cleats. Check that the front top is at the same height as the middle stretcher of the sides. I bought a full sheet of 1/2" red oak plywood. Therefore mark the center of the biscuits on the inside of the front bottom at 2-1/2" from the left and right edge. And again we cut three narrow temporary back board pieces from some left-over 1/2" plywood. Install the corner bracket for the levellers using 1/2" pan-head #8 Phillips screws. and put a 1/2" 45° chamfer on the top edge of the site baseboard. Then glue the waist with the biscuits on top of the base assembly. but I like to select the nicest end for the back board. clamp everything and check for squareness. Dry-fit everything again.and dry-fit them on the cleats of the base and dry-fit the waist on top of that. The brackets rest against the underside of the cleats for the bottom board. glue in place and clamp. Make sure that the side edges of the front frame are flush with the side frames. Put a 1/2" 45° chamfer on the top edge of the baseboard. Trim the front baseboard with a 45 degree angle on the left and right. glue in place and clamp. Sand and apply a 1/16" 45° chamfer on the front side edges. 2 screws in the front cleat and one each at the back of the side cleats. Extend the center marks for the biscuits from the waist front/sides unto the cleats. Once the back board is installed we also screw the back brackets against the back board. Once the glue is set secure them with flat-head #8 Phillips 1" screws. The front and sides sit on top of the bottom support cleats. and cut the slots in the top of the cleats using the inside as the reference surface. Trim the side baseboards. Clamp and later secure with flat-head #8 Phillips 1" screws. Glue the bottom support cleats onto the cleats of the base.butt joints are fine .at approximately 45 degree angle. Therefore the compartment board is made after the back board was successfully done. Glue the sides to the front. Only half is needed for the back board and the compartment board. (pictures 50 to 55) Trim the bottom support cleats to length . Remember that the cleats must be flush with the inside of the waist front/sides. place the temporary back board pieces. Ideally the cleats rest against the front and sides of the base. TIP: The compartment board will be done much later. now is the time to fix any unevenness using the jointer set at 1/128". Assemble waist (pictures 48 to 49) Use again the flat piece of melamine and dry-fit the front and side frames of the waist. 2 screws in the side cleats and 2 in the front cleat. Mouldings Making the mouldings . clamp and later secure with flat-head #8 Phillips 1" screws. Glue the sides to the front. place the temporary back board piece. Mark a line at 1/2" from the front top and the top of the side middle stretcher. Glue the cleats in place. Make sure that the side edges of the front frame are flush with the side frames. Sand and apply a 1/16" 45° chamfer on the front side edges. The front and sides sit on top of the hood/waist mouldings. Trim the cleats to have a 45° joint between front and side.(pictures 64 to 68) The mouldings are made from 8/4" dressed red oak. and the top back stretcher to the sides. now is the time to fix any unevenness using the jointer set at 1/128". Glue the dial trim panel to the front. Take the 1/2" thick board and rip and joint the hood holding cleats to exactly 1/2" x 1/2". The board was about 7" wide. Remember that the chamfered edge faces to the front! TIP: The dial trim panel is glued against the front of the hood after the front and sides are glued together because the dial trim panel would be in the way for proper clamping. Once more we cut a temporary back board piece from some left-over 1/2" plywood. Mark the exact location of the corners of the dial trim panel on the inside of the front. We use #20 biscuits to connect the front/sides to the mouldings such that the inside of the front/sides is flush with the inside of the mouldings. 2 screws in the side cleats (1-3/4" from front and 1-1/4" from back) and 3 in the front cleat (center and 1-3/4" from edges). Then I trim it to length creating two pieces: 28-1/2" x 4" x . For the front top moulding of the hood I machined a piece of 23" x 5-7/8" x 1-7/8". Use the biscuit jointer to cut the slots in the bottoms using the inside as the reference surface. For the rest of the mouldings I machined a piece of 51" x width-of-board x 1-3/4". Ease over the edges. Therefore mark the center of the biscuits on the inside of the front bottom at 3" from the left and right edge. checked for any warp and then ripped/jointed it to 4" width. Assemble hood (pictures 56 to 63) On the flat piece of melamine dry-fit the front and side frames and top back stretcher of the hood. Next I put a straight edge on one side with the jointer and ripped of a piece of 4-3/16". Make sure to keep the temporary back board piece as it is needed until the end of the project. The other reason is that the dial trim panel is very fragile. Finish using a scraper and/or sanding to ensure that the surfaces of the front/sides and cleats are flush. Do a preliminary check for squareness.back board pieces in place to ensure squareness. that will be the top of the hood holding cleats. The front opening overlaps the dial trim panel by 3/4" all around. and on the inside of the side bottoms at 2" from the side edges. If necessary use a laminate flush trimming bit in a hand held router to make it flush. clamp everything and check for squareness. 25-1/2" each (enough for the base/waist front moulding and the waist/hood moulding). Set the dado height at 3/8" and set the fence 3/8" from the dado. and remember that the moulding height is 1-3/4" and the width 1-7/8"!!! If there is any secondary warp then get rid of that with the jointer set at 1/128". Set up a 9/16" wide dado in the table saw. Each piece should have two "tunnels". Set the dado height at 1/2" and lock the fence exactly 1/2" from the dado. Finally sand the ends and corners and ease over the edges. Using the table saw we now rip the mouldings apart at 1-29/32". Extend the center marks for the biscuits from the hood front unto the inside of the front moulding. Installing the mouldings . and cut the slots in the top of the moulding using the inside as the reference surface. Mount a 3/4" wide dado in the table saw. Then raise the bit about 1/5" and route again until a maximum depth of 1". Again saw each piece against the fence and repeat with the other side of the pieces. They meet at a 45° angle. May need 2 or 3 passes to avoid tear out. Then I trimmed it in half. The remaining piece I put a straight edge on with the jointer and ripped it to the maximum width possible (about 2-1/2") and jointed that edge too. Glue the two pieces together creating an approximately 5" wide board while making sure that the surfaces are flush. Repeat with the other side of pieces against the fence. The front moulding angles start at the inside corners of the hood. They have to be flush with the inside of the front and sides of the hood. Feed each piece of wood against the fence over the core box bit. Once the glue is set do the same for the two side mouldings. Do first the front moulding and then the side moulding. Then with the jointer set at 1/32" do one pass with the sawn edge over the jointer for a final moulding width of 1-7/8". Finish by sanding and easing over all edges except the two back edges. For a better fit it is recommended to put a small chamfer on the inside corner of the moulding. Set the fence at 1-1/2" from the dado and repeat the above process until the dado is exactly at a height of 1-3/8". Set the height at about 1/5". . Fit a 1" (1/2" radius) core box bit in the router table. With the top of the moulding against the fence cut the groove in the back of the moulding. the mouldings will just be glued in the corner of the base and the waist. Dry-fit the moulding using the biscuits and then glue and clamp. Set the fence 7/8" away from the core box bit. Next are the mouldings for the base/waist. You should have now three pieces of wood. Usually one or two passes is all you need. Slide the hood with the grooves over the hood holding cleats on the waist and checked everything.1-3/4" (enough for 2 mouldings for the base/waist sides and 2 mouldings for the waist/hood sides) and 22-1/2" x 4" x 1-3/4" (enough for 2 mouldings for the hood top sides and 2 mouldings for the hood top front left and right). Mark the angle and trim. No biscuits or grooves here.(pictures 69 to 73) We start with the mouldings under the hood. It is a good idea to verify the actual measurements from the clock constructed so far. . top. Work quickly (left. Then put it straight up and slide the hood in place. bottom. Don't glue the compartment board as it will be easier to stain and varnish the inside of the base later with the compartment board removed. Place the back board on the table against the fence with waist/hood transition point just past the blade beginning mark. We use the table saw to rip the waist section narrower by 1-1/2". Set the saw for normal cutting with the fence at 9/16" again assuming that the blade is 1/8" thick. Repeat for the other side. but to be sure verify actual measurements!!! (pictures 74 to 79) The back board has a maximum width of 20-1/8". clean up.Back board. Sand the other edges and surfaces and ease over the edges. Clean up the rest with a hand saw and file. so ideally half a sheet of the plywood is all we need. Rip one side of the hood section until past the hood/waist transition point. Lower the blade below the table surface. Remove the back board. Next mark the transition points from base to waist and from waist to hood. In the ideal world we would like the left and right of the back board to be approximate mirror images in terms of wood grain. Stop the saw. Sand the top edges making sure that the edges are just below the hood back stretcher by about 1/16". Set the fence at 1-3/8" assuming that the blade is 1/8" thick. Start the saw and now raise the blade until almost at maximum height. Finally trace the top of the hood onto the back board and use a hand scroll saw to remove the extra material. make minor adjustments for the perfect fit. apply a beat of glue in the recesses. and if not then make it so. check for flatness and let rest for a night. Place the back board and pre-drill and counter sink for 23 flat-head #8 Phillips 1" screws: 7 for the base and 16 for the waist. base compartment board Use drawing 07 for the back board dimensions. Select which end of the board is going to be the bottom and make sure that that edge is perpendicular to the sides. Place the base/waist with the front side down on a flat surface like the top of the table saw. replace the back board and screw it in place. With that in mind rip the plywood to a width of 20-1/8". Next run the board through until the blade end almost reaches the waist/base transition point. Dry-fit the back board on the base/waist/hood combination and adjust until there is a good fit and making sure that the whole back side of the clock case is flat. Turn the whole assembly over on its back. Set the saw blade to almost maximum height and mark the beginning and end of the blade on the fence. Sand and secure with three flat-head #8 Phillips 1" screws to the front support cleat under the waist. right. From the leftover piece of the half sheet of plywood cut the compartment board and fit the bottom into the slot in the bottom board of the base. middle) before the glue sets. Flip over the board and do the same for the other side of the hood section. Clean up any squeezed out glue immediately. (pictures 84 to 89) Sort the roof slats and discard any warped slats. In the perfect world the dial should be perfectly centered in the dial trim panel. Trim the cleats for under the movement seat board. Mark the center of the four mounting slots of the movement seat board onto the top of the cleats and secure the movement seat board to the cleats with four 1-1/2" flat head #8 Phillips screws. Hopefully you end up with 18 good ones. Note that the slats overhang the back stretcher by 1/2". Mark the top center of the arched front and back stretchers. The slat should be flush with the front stretcher.roof slats Take the hood back into the workshop and we put on the roof. mouldings and columns (spindles). Carefully move the movement and movement seat board forward until the dial face is against the dial trim panel. Assemble hood . pendulum and chime tubes from the movement and store temporarily. With a pencil mark the bottom side of the slats where they meat the arched front and back stretchers so you know where to apply the glue. Place the 2. Mark the movement seat board position on the top of the waist sides. Repeat this with the remaining 16 slats. Place movement board on waist sides. Place the base/waist part of clock case. Remove weights. frieze. Use levellers to ensure it is straight and level. Measure the gap both on the front and back arch before ripping as it is well possible that they are not the same!!! . Take the top right slat. Carefully slide the hood in place. Clean any squeezed out glue. Once again place the temporary back board piece to ensure that we don't deform the hood during this process.6° edge against the slat and fit them to fill the remaining space along the arch on the left and right by ripping the edge perpendicular to the surface. The cleats should be on the inside of the waist sides and flush with the top of the waist side. Place and press the slat to the right and against the already placed slat and flush with the front stretcher. and move it out of the dust environment of the workshop. Use two 1" flat-head #8 Phillips screws in each cleat (3/4" from each end) to secure them to the waist. Arrange the slats such that the grain more or less matches. Measure the total depth of the hood and trim the roof slats accordingly. apply glue to the bottom spots and some glue on the side that meets the slat that is already in place.Moment of truth (pictures 80 to 83) Make everything dust free with vacuum and tack-cloth. Remove the movement from the temporary movement stand. Then let the glue cure overnight. If necessary a different size cleat can be used to raise the movement seat board. Take the two roof slat filler pieces. Mount movement on movement seat board. Realize that the slat is flat at the bottom while the stretchers are arched so make sure that the middle of the slat is pressed to the stretchers. Take the top left side slat and apply enough glue to the marked spots on the bottom and place it to the left of the center marks. there will be 9 slats to the left and 9 slats to the right of those marks. 5° and decrease it when there is a gap at the bottom. To begin with set the jointer fence at 65° and the take-off at 1/64" per pass. Line-up the top of the top moulding with the line on the melamine.Mark the 63. Next use a rasp (file) to make the fronts of the slats flush with the front stretcher. and clamp to the melamine. Make four passes with each of the four pieces then dry-fit them. Rip off the excess material of the side pieces. Remove the top moulding from the melamine. Mark the center of the frieze on the top and bottom edge. Make two passes for each piece and dry-fit again. From this line measure off 11-3/16" along the center line and mark that spot. 1-7/8" thick board for the top moulding and mark the center on the top and bottom edge. Pre-drill and secure the front frieze to the melamine with a flathead screw in each top corner. Clean squeezed out glue immediately and let dry overnight. this is the center of the arch circles. i. Drill that size hole in the arches center point on the melamine and tighten the bolt through the hole with a nut. Where the arch crosses the bottom edge is the center point for the 1/2" and 1" decorative arches and draw those in now. If there is gap on top increase the fence angle with 0.4° angle start. Remove the front frieze from the melamine. Mark the pieces also as left and right. Find a suitable size bolt and nut that is strong enough to act as pivot point for routing the arches. Trim the front frieze to 21". and clamp to the melamine. It will be very hard to get a perfect rounded roof. Where the inside arch crosses the bottom edge is the point where the 63.4° angle on the ends of the filler pieces and the two side pieces. making sure that the center is aligned with the center line on the melamine. Next we make a jig from 5" wide leftover 1/2" plywood. hood width so far plus 1-1/2". Assemble hood . this line represents the top of the hood arch. but at least give it a good try. I just grinded a shape on an old rectangular scraper. making sure that the center is aligned with the center line on the melamine.frieze and top moulding (pictures 90 to 106) Get out that piece of melamine board again. Fill any gaps with wood filler and sand again when dry. Predrill and secure the top moulding to the melamine with a flathead screw in each top corner. Glue the pieces onto the hood and clamp. don't angle the rasp! Use the rasp again to make the back ends of the slats flush with each other. so mark those angles on the left and right. Use a shaped scraper to make the inside of the slats flush with each other and then sand the inside. At one end draw a line perpendicular to the center line. Towards the other end we drill 4 holes of the size of the bolt of which the centers are at the radius distances from the center of the router (bit): .e. Take the oversized. With a compass draw the inside and outside arch on the top moulding. Finally use the scraper to round over the outside of the slats and sand. When you get close do only one pass at a time until you have a good fit. With a compass draw the inside arch on the front frieze. On one end mount your plunge router. Line-up the top of the front frieze with the line on the melamine. The center line should still be there. I just happen to have a 4" long 5/16" carriage bold. description router bit radius final depth half round groove on inside of frieze 1" core box bit inside edge on top moulding 7-11/16" 1/2" 31/64" plywood bit 9-9/16" 1-3/8" 9-15/16" 1" half round groove on top moulding 1" core box bit top edge on top moulding 31/64" plywood bit 10-9/16" 3/8" NOTE 1: Use only 1/2" shank plywood bit!!! NOTE 2: If you use another router bit then you will have to recalculate the radius as follows: radius = required-outside-radius - (0.5 * bit-diameter) For example, the frieze radius = 8-3/16 - (0.5 * 1) = 7-11/16 Cut out the inside of the front frieze and use the drum sanders to smooth the edges. Screw the front frieze to the melamine. Drill a large hole in a piece of leftover 3/4" oak and place that over the bolt and nut to act as a spacer block to keep the router jig flat. Put the 1" core box bit in the router. Place the router jig over the center bolt and router the half round groove on the frieze in about two passes. Use a 1/2" #7 bent gouge to hollow out the decorative small half round grooves. Next cut a 45° angle on the front edge of the two side frieze and clamp those in place on the hood flush with the top of the hood. Set the fence of the jointer at 45° and the take-off at 1/32". Joint the 45° angle on both sides of the front frieze, but go slow and each time check the fit. When you get close change the take-off to 1/128". Once the front frieze fits clamp it in place and trace the hood roof line onto the back of the front frieze. Cut out the outside arch of the front frieze and use the drum sander to smooth the edges. Glue the front frieze in place and once the glue is dry glue the side frieze in place. Finally sand the frieze flush with the rest of the roof. The transition points from arch to horizontal is where the 63.4° angle begins sloping towards the center. Mark those angles as we need those to fit the moulding later. Time for the top arched moulding. Cut out the inside of the arch moulding piece and use the drum sander to smooth the edge. Screw the moulding to the melamine. Drill a large hole in a piece of leftover 1-7/8" oak and place that over the bolt and nut to act as a spacer block to keep the router jig flat. With the 1" core box bit still in the router, place the router jig over the bolt using the inner edge hole (!!!) and make one pass; basically removing excess material. Next place the router jig over the bolt with the half round groove hole, and make another pass. Lower the router bit and repeat the two router passes until you have reached the depth of the half round groove. Put the 31/64" plywood bit in the router such that you can reach the depth of the inside edge. Make sure that the bit is sufficiently deep in the chuck!!! Route the inside edge. Next route the top edge. Trim the side mouldings to size with an 45° inside angle on the front. Note that the top of the moulding is 1-7/8" wide; easy to get confused here. Clamp the two side mouldings in place. Trim the angles on the arched top moulding, but leave at least 1/8" spare. Have an initial dry fit to see how well the top moulding angles line up with the lines drawn on the frieze. Next cut the 45° angle on the two front side mouldings. Fit them against the side mouldings and mark the 63.4° angle and cut those, but stay 1/16" too long. Careful when trimming this piece as it is very short; using a sanding disc sander is often safer for fine tuning later. Dry fit the front side mouldings and the arched moulding, trimming them a wee bit at a time. Check the 63.4° angle fit and adjust the angle ever so slightly if needed. Make sure that the front side mouldings are flush with the roof top. Once a good fit is found glue the side and the front side mouldings in place. Dry fit the arched moulding, clamp in place and trace the hood roof line onto the back of the arched moulding. Cut out the outside of the arched moulding and use the drum sander to smooth the edges. Dry fit regularly to ensure that the moulding edge does not go below the roof line. Glue the arched moulding in place. May need some elbow grease to sand the moulding, frieze and roof line flush with each other, but in the end it is worth the effort. Finally cut the trim pieces and glue those in place. Sand were that was not yet done. Ease over all edges. Mark and drill the holes for the photo frame turners on the back of the hood, 3 on each back stile and 3 along the roof arch. Make the hood dust free and dry fit over the base/waist. TIP: If getting the mouldings flush with the roof line is to difficult then aim at mounting the moulding about 1/16" above the roof line. It gives a clean look and hides any roof line imperfections. Assemble hood - turning columns Ordering glass - Measure up the openings for the glass and make templates for the two doors. Ideally the glass should be 1/16" smaller than the opening all around. Recommend to order it now, as you will find out that the transition from arch to horizontal on the hood door glass cannot be a sharp corner and is more likely a gentle curve with a 1/2" radius. Once the glass is available the inside opening of the hood door can be adjusted with a hand chisel before the staining and varnishing. (pictures 107 to 116) I don't know about you, but it was some 20 years ago that I did a little bit of wood turning. I took a bowl turning class about a year ago, but that is different from spindle (column) turning. Recommend to practice turning the capital on a test piece before using the real stuff. For the best turning results we need columns with the grain as straight as possible. I just happen to have a 1-1/2" thick board that is 11-5/8" wide. Very dense old red oak that have been sitting in my shop for some 3 years. The maximum diameter of the columns is 2". So ideally we need blanks that are 2-1/8" x 2-1/8". We need 4 pieces 2-3/16" wide, and 2 pieces 2-3/8" wide. All about 21-1/2" long; remember the planer snipe. First flatten one surface on the jointer and then plane to a thickness not less than 1- 1/6". Next rip the 2-3/8" pieces in the middle and flatten/square the inside edges on the jointer. Glue one of the small pieces onto a 2-3/16" piece to form an L-shape and clamp making sure there are no gaps. This will be the left front column. Repeat for the right front column. A 180° piece or a 270° piece is impossible to turn. Therefore we glue the two back half columns (180°) together with paper in between so that they are easier to separate later after they have been turned together. We do the same with the two left over small pieces which we glue into the gap of the L-shape and also with paper in between. I use heavy letter size paper, but I know that people also use brown paper. Apply UHU or Elmer paste glue to strips of paper and glue onto the two sides of the left over small pieces. Paper must not overlap!!! Apply UHU/Elmer paste glue onto the other surface of the paper and then clamp the piece in place onto the L-shape and clamp. Do the same for the two back halves. We need a column length of 17-1/8" (make sure and measure), so trim the column blanks at 171/4" which give us 1/16" on each end to make the perfect fit later. Assuming that all blanks have the same size of 2-1/8" square, draw a 2" diameter circle at one end. Remember that the inside corner of the L-shape is the center. Set the table saw blade at 45° and trim off the four corners to make the blanks basically octagons. Real wood turners would not bother with that, but I try to minimize the forces I put on the paper joints. Pre-drill a small hole in the center of each end, again to avoid that the pins of the headstock and tailstock of the lathe will push the paper joints apart. On the headstock end of the blanks saw a cross for the headstock to have a better grip. Not more than 1/32" deep and at about a 45° angle to the paper lines. Make a template on which the beginning and end of the cove and bead are marked. Take the extra 1/16" at each end into account. Details can be seen on drawing 10. At each of the four marks cut a small V so that it is easy to put a pencil in the notch to transfer the mark to the rotating column. These are not detailed turning instructions, just the steps to get to the finished turned columns with identical capitals on each end: y y y y y y y Mount a blank between the centers of the lathe. Adjust the tool rest and select the speed. Have caliper ready. Use a roughing gouge to transform the octagon blank into a 2-1/6" round spindle. You may want to switch over to a skew chisel for the finer work. With the skew chisel turn the last 3" of both ends to exactly 2" round. Use the template to mark the beginning and end of the 1/4" wide bead. Use the long point of the skew tool to score the two lines and continue to make a V-groove to the left and right of the bead, but not more than 1/8" deep. With the short point of the skew tool round over the bead. With the parting tool remove the material to the left and right of the bead until 1-3/4" diameter. Turn the ends to a uniform diameter of 1-3/4". Use the template to mark the begriming and end of the 3/8" wide cove. Use the parting tool to make a 1/16" deep groove where the cove has to come; I do that to give the gouge support so that it can not catch and goes out of the cove area. Then use a 1/4" gouge to make the cove until a diameter of 1-3/8". Finally turn the spindle part between the beads to a diameter of 1-3/4" using the roughing gouge and skew chisel. Finish with a scraper. With our 31/64" plywood bit make a lengthwise slot in the center that is at least 12-5/8" long (the length of the flutes). The advantage is that the chuck can be raised to almost against the bottom of the jig. Choose two screws that are not too long or thick and drill a tight fitting hole at the pivot points. On the inside of the sides I draw lines through the column pivot points at 45° intervals. but it was either that or a 1/4" core box bit. Next cut the back piece of 1/2" plywood. .y I am not a good turner so I use #220 sandpaper followed by #320 sandpaper to make all surfaces smooth. secure with a few brad nails. Assemble hood . 17-1/4" long and 2-1/2" wide. Put a mark on the front side of the jig at the center. The offset is needed so that the paper joint in the column can be lined up with any of the marked lines and thus the flutes are routed completely in the wood rather than straddling a paper joint. The 3/8" diameter core box bit was a bit to big to my taste. Cut two side pieces of 3/4" plywood. Put a 3/8" diameter core box bit in the router. a top with the properly sized slot attached to the sides. secure with a few brad nails. remove the jig and then raise the bit 3/16" more (the depth of the flute). Lock the fence at exactly 2" from the center of the bit.5° offset from the horizontal (or vertical). Basically two sides with screws to hold the column. Raise the router bit until it touches the column. For the jig first cut the top piece of 1/2" plywood. Obviously with the jig standing on the table and using the plunge router with template was not the best way to do this. and with a 22. Place the column between the sides and secure with two screws making sure that one of the paper joints are lined up with one of the lines on the sides. and a back piece for sturdiness. leaving 3/4" space to the left and right. Too thick screws can easily separate the columns at the paper joint and that is not what we want as yet. Put end lines on the table perpendicular to the fence at 6-1/8" from the center of the bit on both sides. in the perfect world that is 1/8" above the jig "bottom" piece. At exactly 2" from the back and 1" from the top mark the pivot point for the columns. Glue the back piece under the top piece flush with the back edge of the top piece.5° to the horizontal (or vertical). 18-3/4" long by 4" wide. Place the jig over the router bit. as a 5/16" bit was not available. Draw lines through those pivot points at 45° intervals starting with the first one at 22. So we route the flutes with a 3/8" diameter core box bit.add flutes to columns (pictures 117 to 121) The flutes are grooves running lengthwise along the columns. 4" long and 2-1/2" wide. At this point I recommend that you first read the "What went wrong" section further down. Therefore I decided to use the router table and fence and let the jig slight over the table against the fence. Glue the sides under the top piece and against the back piece. Tape both ends of a column with about three layers of masking tape to help prevent the paper joints from opening up. To use the jig on the router table turn the jig upside down with the top on the table and the back against the fence. I had already figured out that I needed a jig of some kind to hold the column in a certain position and a slot that would guide the template guide in the router. Don't do this on the column edges as you will damage the columns. Clean up the surfaces by moistening the left over paper and UHU/Elmer glue. Sand the flutes and ease over the edges. Use a scraper to scrape the surface clean and clean any residue glue away with a cloth and warm water. Let each coat dry for two days.Clamp the sides together to ensure that the column cannot rotate while routing. (pictures 122 to 126) Separate the two half back columns at the paper joints using a sharp object (screw driver. loosen the screws a bit and rotate the column so that the paper joint lines up with the next 45° marker. Repeat for the other columns. Lift the jig straight up. and make everything dust free after sanding.. etc. And this is the completion of the construction of the grandfather clock case. After the surfaces are dry sand them with #220 grid. Staining. Glue the columns in place and clamp them. like a small crack not filled. the beads stick out on the back. varnishing (pictures 127 to 129) Time to make the workshop dust free. back board Waist door Base hatch door Base compartment board Use a tack cloth to make the components dust free. Stain everything. Do the same with the front columns to get the filler pieces out. Sand very lightly with #320 grid between each coat -. . Give everything a once over to ensure that nothing is forgotten. Start the router and with one end of the jig on the table and the back of the jig against the fence slowly lower the other end and router the flute until the center mark on the jig lines up with one of the end marks on the table and then router to the other side until the center mark on the jig lines up with the other end mark on the table. Clean up any squeezed out glue immediately. Remove the movement (if not done yet) and disassemble the clock case into its individual seven pieces and remove all hardware: y y y y y y y Hood Hood door Movement seat board Waist. inside and outside. The underside of the base does not need any staining or varnishing. Once more place the temporary back board piece at the bottom of the hood! Carefully trim the columns to make a perfect fit. base. including the back side of the back board. Don't sand the edges as you easily go through the varnish and damage the stain. Unclamp.two passes with the sand paper is more then enough as you only want to remove the dust specks --. The 180° part of the front columns should face forward! The body of the back columns must be flush with the back of the hood. but be careful not to round over the edges!. an edge not eased over. Let the stain dry for at least three days. tighten the screws and proceed again from the beginning of this paragraph until all flutes are done on the column. Apply three coats of varnish to all stained surfaces. chisel) at the column ends. Use a bit of epoxy when they are too loose. the hood is heavy and when the hood has to be taken off after a very long time it could be stuck without the felt pads to make it slide easier. if necessary raise them with small pieces of veneer or paper. Put one felt pad on the inside of the left and right hood holding groove of the hood against the top about 1/4" from the back. and make from wood a little spacer piece with a hole in the middle. Remove the hood (again). Basically the gap is dictated by the hinges. Then apply another bead of clear caulking and smooth that with a tool or wet finger. but don't tighten the screws yet. they should stick out a wee bit. Transfer that hole onto the wall and put in a . Follow the movement operation instructions to adjust the movement. Mount the movement seat board on the waist sides. Clean the glass panes on both sides. Our wooden floor deformed when I walked on it and that caused the swinging. TIP: Strictly speaking the thin felt pads are not needed once the varnish is properly cured. Install the knobs on the doors. Slide the hood in place and adjust the movement seat board position such that the dial face is against the dial trim panel. Put a felt pad on top of the left and right hood holding cleat of the waist about 1/2" from the front. The trick is to place the beginning of the hood with the groove over the hood holding cleat. Don't push the magnet cups too deep in the door. The only solution is to anchor the top of the clock against the wall. Same procedure for the two doors. press the bottom of the groove against the hood holding cleat and push it further so that the felt pads pass over each other without pulling each other off. Measure the gap between the clock and the wall. Apply a beat of clear caulking in the corner of the rabbet for the glass and press the glass in place. Installed the waist door and close. waist and base hinges. Mount the movement on the movement seat board.Final assembly and placing Mount the compartment board in the base. You may want to put the hood and base/waist on their side first to do one side at a time and let the caulking set. (pictures 130 to 131) Trim four 1/32" thick felt pads to approximate 3/4"x7/16". pendulum and weights. Place the waist/base/back board assembly at its finally location. Hooked the base hatch door and close. Install the photo hooks on the back of the hood. Install the rare earth magnet parts. The felt pad trick allows the clock to be placed and used within a week after the last coat of varnishing. TIP: I placed the clock with its back against the baseboard of the house and the edge of the wainscot. making sure that side and front are plumb using the levellers to make adjustments. Remove the hood. Drill a countersunk hole in the top of the clock's backboard about 1/2" from the top. The steel washers in the stiles should stick out a wee bit too. Place the clock documentation and winding crank in the little compartment behind the base hatch door. You may have to shorten the floating pin of the hood hinges a bit to be able to hook the hood door onto the hinges. Slide the hood in place and turn the photo hooks over the back board. Secondly. making sure that there is an even gap around the doors. After the clock had "calmed down" for a few hours I walked past the clock and soon noticed that the chime tubes were swinging back to front. Tighten the movement seat board screws. Install the hood. but that can take more than a month. From here on follow the movement installation instructions for the tubes. Install the hood door and close. For the cutting I had to do that with the wide surface against the fence. A real devil as you start cutting from the left of the arch beginning with cross-grain to with-the-grain to against-the-grain to cross-grain again on the right. My hands/fingers were in a safe position far away from the 18. so the grandfather clock passed the final exam!!! In case you like to know Weight of hood Weight of waist + base Weight of complete case 15½ kg (34¼ lbs) 31½ kg (69½ lbs) 47 kg (103½ lbs) Weight of movement. I figure that for rabbets in the side back stiles all I had to do was move the fence from 3/4" width to 3/8" width. Never found them all though. I was cutting the frame edge on the inside arch of the hood door top stretcher. Don't ask me why. The distance between the weights and the bottom stretcher of the waist was between 3/8" and 1/2". As a result of feedback from Oakside Classic Clocks I got concerned about the proper measurements and made a test setup to verify all the measurements myself. This was clearly an effort I had not expected. One final moment of truth. The 3D drawings will eventually be updated too. First I thought that I would have to machine six new pieces. and realized only afterwards that I had screwed up. Select an appropriate long flat head screw and secure the backboard via the spacer piece to the drywall anchor. After I cut the rabbets on the front stiles. This resulted in several design changes.General comments and design criteria. but after some clear thinking I figured that I should cut some strips of wood and glue that into the grooves and once the glue was dry to machine the dado grooves again. but now correctly. Had to machine a new piece and it snagged at the right end again!!! This .000 rpm router bit. Lesson learned is to think twice before cutting once. See pictures 22 to see the pieces I picked up from across the workshop. not a big deal. but the wood piece slammed through my hands and left a cut on a finger and in the palm of my hand. see References . and only cut one piece and then verify by dry-fitting! Lost about 2 hours. Only a glue joints would be visible on the back side of the clock case. I cut all six dado grooves. After 7 days of running the weights had gone down to be next to the bottom stretcher of the waist and about 6" from the bottom in the base. After cutting my test piece I realized that due to the large opening in the table insert I had not enough support and needed to cut the dado with the wide surface on the table. pendulum. weights. Replace the hood. I also simplified the 2D drawings considerably. but for some reason I figure that I did not need to change any setting. chime tubes 29 kg (64 lbs) Total weight of grandfather clock 76 kg (167½ lbs) What went wrong y y y My original design was based on documentation only. I did use the start/guide pin and still lost the piece at the very end. but that may well be towards the end of the clock construction.drywall anchor. I know. And only after that trim the piece to the correct length. I was about to route the bottom two small edges of the top stretcher when I made an uncontrolled move resulting in a wild cut on one edge. Everything went fine. End of the day. After I was finished speaking sternly to myself I considered my options. First frame. although I could not see it properly as it was hidden by the jig. The first flute went okay. but for whatever reason the measurement 14-5/8" was in my mind and I marked the stiles as such. even the routing of the inside arch of the top stretcher using a sacrifice board. Yet another half hour down the drain. The third one I notice while looking through the gap caused the column to rotate a bit. a base side frame. see pictures 22a. but very hard to get a good grain match. Even worse. Marked the top stretcher and stiles of the hood door. When I rechecked one of the lines was rotated at 27. the first flute should have started about 5/32" from the paper joint. It took a few seconds before I reacted and switched off the router. Now I call it quits and I will have to live with the shame of it showing!!! Lost 4 hours though. went smooth.5°. and then cut the frame edge now having much more material to hold on to. The next flute seems to go okay too. As the arch was not perfect anyway I decided to make the whole hood door again. I agonized over that for more than an hour when I finally looked at the lines I had drawn on the insides of the jig. grabbed the handle and I accidentally pressed the ON button and the lock button. I could even hear it with my hearing protecting on. The bit was still loose as I was still measuring the maximum depth the bit could go. The router bit had come out of the chuck. What puzzled me was the fact that the four flutes were not evenly distributed over the column half. Needed to re-position the router. The rotating of the column is my fault too. Cut the stiles and arch with the band saw and when I put the door on the hood front frame to have a proud look I discovered that the stiles were to short. Lost less than 1 hour. but started almost at the paper joint. I believe that the problem is that you cannot hold on to the narrow end (too close to the router bit). I was halfway cutting the other base side frame when I realized that I was cutting away at the front edge. so I readjusted and used a clamp to prevent the column from rotating in the jig. The stile height should have been 15-1/4". So for the third time I cut the hood top stretcher and damaged it. my fault. Never. Lost another 2 to 3 hours!!! I had used one set of hinges to make the hinge recesses in the doors and stiles. The devil struck again. Ripping part of the stile off and gluing a longer piece of wood onto the door frame was an option. the bit was extended to its maximum length or more. Halfway during the routing of the forth flute there was a very bad sound. but after cooling down I noticed that I had enough material left of the front edge that I could machine and glue in the missing parts. but I had some time left and started cutting away the back edge of the frame edges with a 3/8" rabbet bit. When I installed the hardware after the varnishing I discovered that the screw holes of the other two sets of hinges were a wee bit off. change blades or bits in a tool or machine that has the power still connected. ever. There I had a router running at maximum speed with a rattling router bit. two screws are just not enough. cut out the inside arch and sand it. They should be space at 45° and rotated 22. Tricky as the bit was barely long enough.5° with respect to a paper joint. I started routing the flutes on the combined back column halves using my jig and the plunge router. but the extra clamp was the solution. I was putting the 31/64" plywood bit in the router for making the deepest cut for the hood's arched moulding. After I fixed that I discovered that waist door jammed on the opening . Therefore I recommend to machine the hood door top stretcher much longer than needed. ARRGGGHHHH!!! My first reaction was that I had to make the whole frame again.y y y y y time I was prepared and did not loose the board while the damage to the board was minimal and can be repaired with wood filler. My third error. ISBN 0-85442-053-3 (good details) The Complete Guide to Making Wooden Clocks.side. Fixed it by making the hinge recesses in the waist stile a wee bit wider to the outside. None impacted the ultimate result. grandmother or granddaughter clock. ISBN 0-8306-9053-0 (good second) Making Wooden Clock Cases. The stain has a tendency to become a little bit lighter after apply 3 coats of varnish. glued a sliver of red oak in the screw holes and pre-drilled new ones. Nelson. . other then that I wasted some 8-1/2 hours. hence a grandfather clock. Conclusion I am quite pleased with the result as I finally got my longtime wish fulfilled. All this can be solved by making the outside dimensions of the doors and hatch 1/8" larger all around. by John A. I used the same colour stain I have used for years. I was already well on my way staining when it came to me that I should have used Watco Golden Oak. by Tim and Peter Ashby. by John A. Lost 30 minutes or so. and I am quite happy with the end result. I wanted a tall one because we have high 9-foot ceilings in our house. The rabbet at the edge on the back of the doors/hatch should then be 1/2" wide and still 3/8" deep. It is much lighter and matches much better with the shiny brass colour of the movement. Nelson. or in other words make the door/hatch stretchers and stiles 1/4" longer. ISBN 978-1-56523-208-2 (having the above three this is overkill) Type of clock I wanted a floor clock and had basically three choices: grandfather. by Gary Williams. References Resources Besides doing most of my research on the internet. I also found that the window in the hood door is a bit too small as too much of the dial is obscured when the clock is viewed at an angle. I also bought several books on designing and constructing grandfather clocks. I management to hide the magnets with something of a kludge. That was caused by the other two sets of hinges being a bit higher. some type of medium oak. ISBN 0-498-02209-9 (my favourite) Build your own Grandfather Clock and Save. although it does not look too bad. Amazing how few of these books there are on the market: y y y y Designing and Building a Grandfather Clock. but I felt that I made too many mistakes along the way. but my main experience is in using red oak and that is what the clock case is made of. The two doors and removable hood fitted perfectly with the Winchester style and hence that was the basis of my design. I quickly realized that I don't like the narrow-waisted cases. The third company was Klockit in the USA that responded promptly to my questions.Type of case There is the wide sort of straight up and down rigid case. Cable driven weights I found attractive and I was absolutely taken by the movements with the nine chime tubes. They also offer access to a Clock Forum that looks very well managed and alive. and that offers a wealth of information. What movement Next was the decision on what movement. Kieninger was founded in 1912. I wanted to buy it from a dealer in North America in the hope to reduce transportation costs. Hermle was founded in 1922 and their movements are advertised as lasting somewhere between 19 to 30 years. No. and the Kieninger (Klockit stockno. The hood can be fixed or removable. it actually had the movement that I eventually selected. or a narrow-waisted case. You can compare the Hermle (Klockit stockno. 13088) for US$2. The two I liked most are the identical Hampshire and Winchester models. An old 1991/92 catalogue from Hobby Klok in the Netherlands got me looking in the right direction.00 for pendulum.950. 13000) which you can download for free. Then you can have it with one door or two doors. The Klockit web site offers quite a lot of useful extras such as the Kieninger movement dimensional specifications (Klockit stockno. dial and weight set. . 13055B) and a Mechanical Clock Movement Manual (Klockit stock no. In 1993. I like a wide case (no pun intended). You can judge for yourself on the Kieninger web site. These are Jan-2009 prices. That quickly narrowed the list down to two mechanical movement makers: Hermle and Kieninger.00 plus about US$400. Comparing their two movements I decided that the Kieninger HTU movement had the edge over the Hermle one. has a very good reputation in terms of the highest quality. The rods are mounted against the back of the case and thus use that as a sound board. or more precisely never get it to begin with. half hours and hours. that is a good way to loose my business. And I also wanted a dial with the moon phase. Of the three styles I like I found the narrow-waist Devon a little bit too narrow.000. but with a little bit of a waist. I wanted a movement with a large pendulum where every tick is a second. while the tubes hang loose inside the case where the case back might need an opening for the sound. Unfortunately they offer the Kieninger HTU with only one style pendulum and one style dial. but I found my inspiration on Oakside Classic Clocks. dial and weights. I also wanted one that played some melodies in addition to chiming the quarters. 13055) for about US$2. Where to buy the movement Next was where to buy the movement. they reminded me too much about fainting corseted women with wasp waists. but that comes at a price. I like a more modern style with little or no frills. And finally there are various ways of styling the case from antique to contemporary. Kieninger became part of the Howard Miller Group (USA). There are plenty of web sites that show the different grandfather clock styles. Two companies never replied when I asked them a few questions. I like their mahogany finish. The question is how do the chime tubes sound compared to the chime rods.00 that includes pendulum. 3/16" to the right versus the hand shaft.5 * dh) . The documentation gave as full weight drop from hand shaft to bottom of weight 58-1/4".e. Movement depth (measurement E) .(0. but the actual movement and chime tubes are asymmetrical. For 7 days C = 17-13/16 + 7 * 5-3/4 = 58-1/16" For 8 days C = 17-13/16 + 8 * 5-3/4 = 63-13/16" Hence I used 64" for measurement C. Inside case width (measurement B) . These are my measurements. that I realized that they sell Kieninger movements too with a selection of pendulums and dial faces.5 * 11) .Nowhere was it stated in the documentation.The specification states that from tip of handshaft to the back of the mounted chimes is 9-1/2". but yours might be different. I also measured that the weight drop in 24 hours is 5-3/4". dial.5 * 9-1/8) = 5-9/16" General comments and design criteria Weight drop (measurement C) . by that time I had bought my movement already. pendulum and weights. but I measured it to be 8-1/2" in my test setup! Quite a difference! Movement asymmetry .(0. th = total height of dial plus moon dial = 15-5/8" dh = dial height = 11" mdw = moon dial width = 9-1/8" The formula for the moon dial center above hand shaft center (mdc) is: mdc = th .Installing the Kieninger HTU movement.(0. To get perfect matching arches above the moon dial it is important to accurately determine the center point of the moon dial.It was only much later. Unfortunately. See also Construction .5 * mdw) or mdc = 15-5/8 . so with a 10-1/2" bob an inside case width of 16-1/2" is more than enough.(0. In other words. I found that 6" provides for adequate over-swing to activate the automatic beat adjustment.The test setup proved to be very useful indeed. I measured hand shaft to bottom of weight (including the nut) at 17-13/16" when the weights are at the highest point. the actual movement and chime tubes stick out beyond the dial on   etermine center of moon dial . i. after I got an e-mail from the owner of Oakside Classic Clocks.The specification says to add 6" to 8" to the bob width. The moon disk has 59 teeth and there is one advance every twenty-four hours.the left 1-3/8" and on the right 1-3/4". That means that together the three cables "travel" 1-1/4" over 8 days and hence the slot width should be 1-1/4" to prevent the cables from touching the movement seat board. Slot in movement seat board . That means that the slot in the movement seat board also needs to be 3/16" off-center to the right. or 12 hours in about 16 months. Just so you know. The only solution is to use 1/4" rare-earth magnets. It will be touch and go.5 days per complete moon phase. However. I measured the width of the cable drums being 15/16". and it will be 12 hours behind.My pure personal opinion is that lock and key with escutcheon is not as elegant as a smooth knob. Knobs or key locks . two for the waist door and one for the base hatch. . Moon dial logistics This tidbit of wisdom I can pass on to you thanks to Frank Redmile of Oakside Classic Clocks: "The general gearing of moon dials on clocks gives 29. At that point set the moon dial back one notch. 12 hours. The actual average of the real moon is 29 days. but I plan to use one magnet for the hood door. The overlap between the lip of the doors and the frame is only 5/16". the centre cable drum for the time keeping is offset to the front by 5/16". 44 minutes so the clock mechanism has a built in error.The documentation recommends a slot width of 1"." In other words. After 16 months the moon dial is 12 hours ahead. The next time the moon dial has to set back one notch is 32 months. every complete moon phase the moon dial is 44 minutes ahead. So start with an exactly set moon dial.