Cable Clock Progress Report #2

I kept very busy this week and I am excited to share the progress with you all. I mostly focused on the physical clock, so this article should be a little bit more palatable.

Design

So, going into this week, I was planning to create the first fully functioning prototype. With that, I clearly needed a design to base all of this off of. I started brainstorming how both the minute and hour could be displayed on the same clock without interacting. If they were on a flat face, they would collide with each other. After a while I came up with the design below.

With this design, I created a very rough model using the previous prototype that I would be replacing.

Creation

Now, I had the design smoothed out, and was ready to get working. I ran to the store, and got all the supplies I thought I needed (keyword: thought) and got straight to work! I began by cutting out the outer clock face, and sanding it up to 600 grit for a nice finish, I also did this to the base of the clock after cutting the 12×12 panel out.

I realized I didn’t have all the tools needed, and kept running into this issue. Each step seemed to require a new tool, so this delayed progress by quite a bit. While I was making these runs, I found some very fascinating antique mechanical gears. I found this perfect to help the style of the clock. I let the gears soak in a mixture of vinegar, salt, and hydrogen peroxide. This promotes oxidization of the gears, and gave them the patina look I wanted.

Now, with more equipment, I was able to start drilling out the inlays for the stepper motors to set in. To my surprise, this idea worked, I was certain I would end up drilling through and having to deal with blemishes on the front.

The furthest my progress got this week was left at the motor inlays. I have all the supplies I need (I’m hoping) and all the plans made. All that remains is connecting the dots and getting it done.

Thanks for checking in, and make sure to stay posted.