Tulip Clock

Tulip Clock Completed

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Press releases by Guild of Metalsmiths member, Pete Stanaitis

I see (below) that Susan has recently won 3 awards from the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors!
Susan is also a member of the Guild of Metalsmiths, a Minnesota based blacksmithing organization.
We were lucky enough to be able to see her Tulip Clock in operation at our annual conference last September.
So I was pleased to see this NAWCC November/December 2014 article.

Tulip Clock Award

Susan has been a great resource to our club freely giving technical advice as well as being a willing worker in several areas.
'Way to go, Susan!

Now I see that the Spring, 2015 "Newsletter of the Horological Tool Chapter of the NAWCC" contains an in-depth article about Susan's Tulip Clock:
PDF Version of Susan's Tulip Clock Article


Tulip Clock Inspiration begins Tulip Clock Inspiration

Inspiration and design begins November 2009



Experiments with flowers for tulip clock Experiments with flowers for Tulip Clock
First experiments with the flowers

Forging Tulip clock flower bulbs
Forging bulbs

Multiple tooth profiled wheel cutters
Two multiple tooth profiled wheel cutters and their form tools, module .9 and 1.0.
These were used to cut 1st, 2nd and 3rd wheels along with the hour wheel and its idler.

Cutting Wheel Teeth Cutting wheel teeth
Cutting wheel teeth

Crown Wheel Fabrication Crown Wheel Fabrication
Crown wheel fabrication

Cutting Crown Wheel Teeth with a Flycutter
Cutting crown wheel with a fly cutter

Wheel Train Complete
Wheel Train complete

Layout of escape pallets
Layout of escape pallets

Forging Clock Frame Assembling Forged Clock Frame
Forging and assembling clock frame

Tulip Clock Components Completed

January 2010 components completed
-------------------

April 2014 work begins again

Arbors and lantern Pinions Fabricated Arbors and Lantern Pinions Fabricated
Arbors and lantern pinions fabricated

Wheels and Pinions Staked to Arbors
Wheels and pinions staked to arbors

Forging Bridges Forging Bridges
Forging bridges

First Assembly of Tulip Clock mechansim between Plates
First assembly of wheel train between plates
Depthing Crown Wheel Testing Escfape Pallet Bridges
Depthing of crown wheel and testing escape pallet bridges

Tulip Clock, First Test Run
First test run

Work on Flowers Gets Refined Work on Flowers Gets Refined
Work on flowers gets refined

Overall Design Evolves
Overall design evolves

Welding Flowers to Frame Welding Flowers to Frame
Welding flowers to frame

Pickeling Before Patina
Pickeling before patina

Layout of Hands Cutting of Hands
Layout and cutting of hands

Left View of Completed Tulip Clock Tulip Clock right view

Clock complete June 2014

Clock Features

* Time only wheel train with hour and minute hands
* One week running with eight pound weight
* Crown wheel and verge escape with front mounted pendulum running at aproximately 5022 beats per hour
* Wheels of clockmakers brass cut using hand-made multiple tooth profiled cutters and sealed with a lacquer finish
* Crown wheel cut using a formed high speed steel fly cutter
* Arbors of W-1 drill rod, lantern pinions of brass end caps and music wire trundles
* Plates of mild steel with brass bushings
* Skeletin movement of forged mild steel
* Frame work embelished with mild steel tulip flowers that were formed with hammer and stakes using French repousse techniques
* Adjustable "bulb" feet made from black pipe formed with hammer and anvil
* Decorative elements attached using gas welding
* Patina created using heat, chemical treatments, and brass brushing then sealed with a lacquer finish


My Minneapolis, Minnesota phone number:
612-727-1300

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