Building a Tall Clock

After several months of dovetailing, turning, carving, sanding, and scraping, this wonderful experience of building a Newport Tall Clock is coming to a close. However, as with every leg on this adventure, the finishing process is sure not to disappoint.

As Jim mentioned in the previous post, Randy and Susie enlightened us with their formula and techniques for applying the finish, and more importantly, finishing the finish. After applying the required coats of dye, we moved on to a thinned-down shellac. We decided not to use an over-the-counter grain filler to fill the open pores of the mahogany. Instead we will apply about 27 coats of shellac.

25 coats and counting. Numerous coats of shellac bring out the luster in the wood and fill the pores.

The shellac process begins with about four or five coats applied with a brush. After that, we give it a light sanding. This has the effect of knocking down the high spots to bring everything flat and smooth. Patience is needed during this process because applying 20 or more coats takes time, lots of time. But my patience is paying off; with each new layer, the shellac is slowly bringing out the luster of the mahogany.

Once the pores are filled and the surface smooth, the next step of finishing the finish will begin.

- Dave Redlin

After a long break do to circumstances beyond my control I am back with a determination to follow  this Tall Clock project to the end. 

I am in the process of dying the clock in preparation for applying the final finish, which is shellac. The mixture we used for the dye is a closely guarded formula that Randy has worked up over the years.  I can tell you this though, it is a water based dye which gives you more time in applying it to the wood without leaving lap marks. 

The author's tall clock takes a rest as a water-based dye is applied in anticipation of its final shellac application.

The dye is applied in two applications. The first is diluted slightly. The second application goes on much more uniform and with much greater ease. I had to lightly sand the clock after the first application to knock down the raised grain.  The second did not raise the grain so I can now move on to applying the finish.

After applying a water-based dye, the hood takes on a rich, deep tone.

I hope to have some photos posted in the coming days of the process of applying the shellac. Until then, remember that it is our job as woodworkers to free the dust that is trapped in a piece of wood, what a rush!

Clock Works by David Lindow. Click either image for a larger view.

We had the great pleasure of having our Clockmaker, David Lindow, bring our clock works to a class meeting and explain the ins and outs of setting up and caring for the clocks.  Setting the pendulum to equalize the "Tick" and the "Tock" was an interesting procedure as was the information on how to oil and learning what you can and can't do safely to the clock.  I would like to personally thank David for bringing them to us and for informative and enjoyable day.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the dial was hand painted by Cathy Edwards one of the premier dial painters in the country, thanks Cathy for the fine job on what will become a family heirloom.

As you can see, having the dial in the dial frame makes all the difference in the world.  Not being a professional photographer the photos can't do the clock justice.  However, I hope that they can convey how massive this piece really is going to be.  I have just one fluted collinet sitting in place, which as you can see adds quite a lot to the mass of the hood.  At the time of this photo the other full collinet has been turned as have the two half collinets for the rear of the hood and are awaiting fluting. 

A tall clock, literally. This quick photo illustrates its scale.

The next major and just about the last thing to do is the molding around the pediment box.  This is a demanding process in that much of it has to be carved.  The curved molding can be partially formed by router but the cove parts need to be carved and the keystone has to be completely carved and fitted by hand.

The remaining work to be done is the fluting of the remaining collinets and mounting them, the cover for the top of the hood, the moldings, mounting the three finials and of course applying the finish. 

Until the next posting, which I hope to post soon, try something new, something different and something challenging, you'll love it.

Jim Roth

Click here for larger view of the assembled tall clock.

This week has been intense.  The hood has placed greater demands on our time and abilities.  Making patterns, cutting the arches in the scroll board and back, the half blind dovetails, turning the finials and collinetts, etc. have been intense.  To make a mistake now can and will cost a lot of time and increase our investment.  David Lindow will be here on Saturday August the 26 with our movements.  He is going to instruct us on how they were made and how to install and set them up.  This has created a desire bordering on obsession to have the hood done to the point where I can slide it into place once the clockworks are installed

The finials on this clock are very interesting.  I have done them in three (3) pieces.  The lower part being one and the cupcake being the second and the flame the third.  The reeds on the cupcake initially posed a problem because my lathe only has twelve stops on the indexing head.  however, by repositioning the piece and doing another twelve stops I ended up with the 24 reeds that I needed.  The reeds are in two layers with the lower tier being offset by one half of a reed.  This ends up giving you 48 reeds, a lot of carving.  The results give you a very interesting finial.  The flame has six flutes.  This seems like a lot of flutes for a relatively small flame.  It was not too bad though and turned out to be a lot easier than I had anticipated. 

The glue up of the sides, the "U" and the dial frame was intriguing in that I had to clamp it up from so many angles to hold it in place that when I had finished all you could see were clamps.  It was necessary to clamp the sides down into the mortises, the dial frame down onto the "U", the sides to the sides of the dial frame and then the dial frame into the dado in the sides.  The pediment box on the hood was interesting in that you have to build up the soffit with mahogany because it is exposed.  The front soffit turns out to be 2 7/8" thick.  

I have a feeling that if the last week has been intense the next week will be even more so. 

Jim Roth 

As the hood takes shape you really start to appreciate the skills of the Old Masters.  It is interesting how they developed their procedures for building this piece.  Even though the joinery is basic to their time the extent to which they went to make each piece unique is impressive.  You will see this more clearly when we do the moldings and finials. 

The hood is massive right from the start and does nothing but get bigger as you add the colums, molding and finials.  It measures approximately 32 inches in height.  This doesn't sound like much until you realize that the waist and pedestal are 62 inches tall.  It all starts with building what we call the "U".  It is the base of the  hood and will rest on the molding at the top of the waist.  It receives a molding that will act as the stop so that the hood will line up with the movement.   Next we have the sides that require a fair amount of attention because of the rabbit on the front edge, to allow for the dial frame, and the rabbit on the back to accept the back panel.  The front edge is rounded over to blend in with the door when it is attached.  The sides have an opening that has to be rounded over and rabbited.  This opening  will have antique glass that has an arch at the top. 

The dial frame is another interesting piece of the hood.  It is a simple rail and stile construction.  The test of nerves comes in dimensioning the opening.  You have to be right on the mark.  The opening will cover only 1/16th inch of the dial all the way around.  This does not leave you much leeway for measuring errors.

The door is built in much the same manner as the dial frame with the difference being in the rails going all the way across and the stiles tenoning into the rails.  The pediment box has halfblind dovetails visible from the side attaching them to the front scroll board and halfblind dovetails visible from the rear attaching the back to the sides

We will be receiving our works on August 26th and hopefully the hood will be completed by then.  I hope to have a photo of the clock case and the clock for you then.  I will still have the finishing to do but we will have a pretty good idea of what it will look like. 

Until then,

Jim Roth

BEFORE...                                                                ...AFTER

Finally the Pedestal and Waist are complete.  The process of building the door took as much time as the rest of the clock.  I found that fitting the shell to the block front to be the most difficult part of the task.  When I added the columns to the  waist I was amazed how different the clock looked.  It seemed to make the clock much more massive even though it did not increase the actual dimensions.   I was even more surprised at what adding the block front and shell did for the aesthetics of the piece.  You can actually see a clock taking form. 

We now move on to the hood.  I can already see that it will be even more challenging than the stages that have proceeded it.  I honestly believe that the hood will make up, at least, 50% of the project.  We have been advised that our Movements along with the hand painted dials should arrive on or about the 5th of August.  Time is flying and there is a lot of work ahead.  The excitement is increasing exponentially. 

I have taken several classes with Randy and I must say that I am envious of his talent.  Every time we meet he amazes me  with the intense focus he puts into everything he does.  You cannot be around him without becoming excited.  He is not only talented but his knowledge of period furniture is immense.  I am learning much more than just how to build a clock.   It goes without saying that I am looking forward to taking many more classes with him.

Until next time,

Jim Roth

Time marches on and we are drawing closer to tackling the next big part of the Tall Clock, the Hood.  However, before we can become preoccupied with it we have just a few, but very important, things to finish.

Fluted Columns and the door

I decided to use 5/16ths columns rather that the 1/4 columns that are found on some clocks.  The quarter columns would have been easier simply because you can turn both of them at the same time thereby making exact duplicates.   With the 5/16ths columns you have to turn each one individually making them a little more difficult as well as doubling the time to make them.  However, I believe that the extra time was worth it.  The additional wrap around created makes a very obvious difference in the appearance.  Fluting the columns was intimidating at first, but after carefully laying out their positions on the wood and using a Lie-Nielson  beading blade my confidence quickly grew to where fluting the second column was actually enjoyable.  The trickiest part was the transition point from the fluting to the stop fluting.  Working very deliberately and using much caution solved that problem.

Building and fitting the door frame was a very interesting and really tests your nerves.  Making the rails and styles slightly oversized require you to plan your layout well in advance so that when you cut the door down to size the mitered corners would leave  you a 3/16ths overlap.  Any miscalculation  will result in a door that is too short to cover the hole.  Cutting the arch, rounding over the edge, rabbiting the sides, relieving the roundover  for the hinges and cutting the mortise for the lock were all steps that could have caused you to go back to step one and build another door. 

The only things that remain to complete the pedestal and the waist are applying the pedestal cover, the block front and the shell on the door.  Probably the most important piece is the Newport Shell.  It is very important that the shell be very crisp and absolutely flawless.  In my opinion it is the focal point of the clock.  It grabs your attention even before the dial does.

One important thing that you learn when taking on a project such as this is that as you push yourself beyond the edge of your comfort zone you ease many of the frustrations that have plagued amateur woodworkers forever.

I feel that I must mention that the support that we have received from Randy and his wife Susie has made this a very pleasant experience.

Until next time

Jim Roth