Making Time

This blog has been inert for a while but only because I wanted to wait until I really had something special to post. And now I do. After a few industrious late nights and some DIY disasters that read like scenes from a crime novel - super glue in the eyes, sanding off my fingerprints - I have the first two prototypes of my cuckoo clocks ready for your enjoyment.


So here they are. My Meter Cuckoo Clock that uses a voltmeter to display the time and my Nixie Tube Cuckoo Clock that uses my old friend the nixie tubes to display the hours and minutes. The stylings are from the darkest, most gothic region of the Black the Forest - the mythical Wood of Kings.

The Nixie Cuckoo Clock

The Meter Cuckoo Clock

It's early days and there are still a few kinks to iron out but they're coming together nicely I feel.  Naturally there are a lot of people to thank who have got me this far.


Paul J. Jensen over at Tube Clock. Who has been a real inspiration and has shared his knowledge and has graciously re-purposed his own kits so I can get them to work with my cuckoo mechanisms. Mr Jensen is a true gentleman and a hands down genius.


Same shout out goes to the very clever Jared Boone over at ShareBrained Technology. As with Paul, Jared's excellent Chronulator serves as the real brains of my Meter Clock. In all honesty I should call it a Cuckoo Chronulator. Again Jared was also kind enough to adjust his kit to fit my designs.


Many thanks, you princes of men.


So thank you to both these smart men. And thanks also to my friend Rhys (wood worker extraordinaire) who knows more about wood than any human being I know. As to Andrew Beattie who in spite of being a terrible human being is very good with his hands - am I right ladies?


Thanks also to Martin Horspool a man who is nothing if not pure inspiration and a true artist. Check out his stuff at buggybot you'll be glad you did.


Also my fantastic sister who has let me turn her basement into a kick-ass workshop. Cheers Jeggie.


Last, but by know means least,  to my Dad who is a man who always has just the right tools and knows how to get the job done. Thanks Dad.


In building these projects I have spent the last year teaching myself the skills I've needed to get these projects to the level they are now. Woodworking, painting, mold making, electronics and design. It's been a wild ride and I must say there is a true joy to be had in making something with your hands and seeing it come to life. Yes their have been some spectacular failures along the way but when I see these clocks hanging on the wall my heart sings. They are one-of-a-kinds and I made them.


I can really recommend embarking on your own projects - satisfaction is guaranteed.


Right without too much more puffery here are some behind-the-scenes photos for your enjoyment.

Meter Clock Details

Nixie Clock Details

Insights into the Mold Making Process

Assembly and Design 

Electronics

In Conclusion 

Right I think that's enough of that nonsense. It's been a great experience and it's not over yet...


Here's some older posts here about the evolution of these projects and more. A history of obsession I guess you could call it.  Thanks for stopping in. I've missed you. 

Project History

Projects A-Go-Go


Flipping Cuckoo (this completed project is coming soon)


Tempus Cuckoo


Still Cuckoo


New Year New Clock


Nixie Cuckoo Clocks


The Cuckoo Chronulator




"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock. So long Holly." 

Broken Hill

If you’re walking in Broken Hill you might happen across a lone monument standing in the town park. 

You might expect to find a memorial to the town fathers or the mining community. But not here, instead they have decided to erect a monument to the band that played on the Titanic. 

Why? 

Is it because they respected the way they face death with such fortitude? Could be. Death is a constant companion out here in the wilds of outback and down in the depths of the mines. 

Maybe in an environment where water is such a valuable commodity the fact that someone could die by being immersed in it is somehow both romantic and also morbidly extravagant. 

This memorial speaks volumes about the people of Broken Hill. They exist away from the kind of thinking that would question such a strange addition to the town centre. When they make up their mind to do something out here they do it. They will accomplish it whether the rest of the world cares or not. 

It’s the same kind of thinking that has built an Olympic-sized swimming pool in a town that has just suffered through ten years of drought. Ask them what they will do with the pool when another drought hits and they will reply with a larconic smile and explain that they’ll just shut two of the lanes. 

In any other place ten years of drought might be cause for serious concern but out here they take it in their stride. Like the memorial to the Titanic’s band it’s something that outsiders will never truly understand. 

Dr Grordbort Presents: The Deadliest Game

Yes my fine friends here it is at last. The latest little film what I wrote. Directed by the very clever (and charming) James Cunningham and brought to life by his splendid team at MDS. Featuring the stiff upper lip of Lord Geoff Houtman, the can-do-attitude of Mr Simon McKinney and the undeniable charms of Missy Morgana Le Fay O'Reilly. Based in the fantastical world (and diseased mind) of Greg Broadmore.    Hold onto your plus fours it's going to be a wild ride...

The First Cut Is The Sweetest...

I literally don't know how to start telling you this but what I can say is that I'm extremely excited.

In my mad quest to learn how to build my clocks I'm always finding out something new and exciting. I've taught myself how to build, repair and design clocks. I've learnt a lot about the history of cuckoo clocks. I've also learnt how to make molds and build extremely complicated electronic projects. 

But recently I've branched out into a very exciting new on-line movement. 

I've joined Ponoko. 

The best way I can think how to describe these guys is that they're an on-line factory. You send them your designs - they fabricate them for you and send them back. What I'm about to show you is my first stumbling steps into constructing laser-cut acrylic sheets. 

I designed my test sheet in Inkscape; an open-source free application that allows you to do all sorts of fun stuff. Luckily I've had my genius cousin - Monkey - to lend a guiding hand and show me the wild and wonderful ways of Inkscape. Once you've got the hang of it I must say it's a very clever and highly addictive piece of software. 

Anyway I signed up for Ponoko and sent a project off to them. It was a fairly straight forward laser-cut piece of MDF. I'll say I was very impressed by the results. However that's a very top-secret project that I'm not ready to share with you yet.

The next project was a black acrylic sheet. I went crazy with it trying all manner of designs - from laser cut birds to the very first fledgling designs for boxes and a cuckoo clock shape. 

On the whole, these proved to be something of a failure but I have learnt a great deal about how to get it right next time! 

So here's the story of my test sheet. First off I downloaded my design to the Ponoko site. It took a few goes as my design kept being rejected, however, this was simply because I didn't read the instructions properly and hadn't formatted my design correctly. It's actually pretty straight-forward once you get the hang of it. Different coloured lines and fills will create different results - from a straight cut through the material to engraving. 

Once my design was downloaded the team were very helpful sending me emails to show me what I'd done wrong and how to fix it. They were a joy to deal this. Quick, to-the-point and extremely supportive.

Finally, after about four days, my designs arrived.

 

Yippee! You bet. The dents and scratches were courtesy of NZ Post (thanks guys) but thankfully Ponoko's carefully packaging meant everything inside was nice and safe.

I really wish I had taken a picture of it all still in place but I was so excited that I quickly started getting it all out and began fiddling with it. 

The bits are all held in place by a big sheet of sticky stuff that ensures nothing moves around while it's being shipped. The scorching you see is the result of the laser hard at work. Thankfully this is the paper covering that's burnt not the acrylic. The paper simply peels straight off and under it the lovely black acrylic is all beautiful, glossy, black perfection. 

  

Here I engraved the shape of the letters into the box to act as guide for mounting letters inside. As you can see here the little black "A" slots in nicely. Then a tiny pin-prick of super-glue ensures the letters sit tight. I must say I was impressed by how quickly and solidly the acrylic sets when bonded with super glue. Rock solid with just a few drops. Which leaves little room for error. Or clumsy fingers. 

This was one of the many theories I tested with this sheet and may I say it worked perfectly! The little box I built around this was less successful in it's design, but now I know how to do it better next time! Still it came out okay. Rather sweet in it's way. 

The same theory worked just as well with my clock shell design. I just slotted a little bird shape straight in.

The roof and floor of this turned out to be a terrible failure but still I learnt a lot. Mostly about measuring my lines more accurately. Now you'll probably notice the white "Wood of Kings" writing under the bird and the birds "X" eye. This effect was so easy to achieve thanks to the paper that covers the acrylic when it first arrives. The laser engraving burns away the paper leaving a perfect stencil around the engraved hole. I simply just painted over the hole and then, when the paint dried, I just pulled away the paper. A perfect fill every time. 

You'll see the old "Wood of Kings" turning up there in the corner again. I styled this after the iconic Holden "Kingswood" logo. which I again engraved and painted in. 

As I said just peel the paper away for a perfect result. 

I also cut out a whole series of little birds to test different cuts, size and levels of engraving. Individually they all turned out as charming little pieces that I might use elsewhere or give away to a few deserving chums. 

I'm so happy with these results and excited about what I'm going to do next. As always - watch this space.