The actual timekeeping device is an Arduino microcontroller and a rechargeable battery-backed real-time clock chip that is accurate to about 2 seconds per year. Veneers span the gamut from anegre to cherry, ebony, flamed maple, wenge to zebrawood. Other surfaces are either solid wood or veneered Baltic birch.
It’s important that the gears don’t swell with temperature or humidity and bind. Likewise, the frame structure is most often made of Baltic birch so any movement in the gears is reflected in and countered by the frame. Most of the gears in my clocks are made of Baltic birch, due to its excellent stability. Understandably the materials used to create clocks with such intricate details are the foundation of a successful product, so we asked Joe to share his go-to materials for the core parts of his clocks… (This mechanism is patent pending.)ĭid you find it hard to get your head around how that would work from the description of the movement like we did? Don’t worry you can take a look at Joe’s counter-rotating movement in action in a time-lapse video here: It works by having the hands at rest for most of the current time. To advance to the next minute, the minute hand runs counterclockwise for 59 minutes (equivalent to moving clockwise one minute). This repeats until the next hour wherein the hour hand also moves counterclockwise to the next hour. I came up with the idea of having the hands run counterclockwise, even though the face is numbered in the normal clockwise direction (if the design calls for markers instead of numbers, convention dictates they are clockwise). My work is inspired by the beautiful artistry of the great Swiss watchmakers.Īfter building several conventional clocks, I began thinking about adding visual interest in the gear rotation and hand movement. After all, most gears in conventional designs turn at an imperceptible rate. For my furniture builds, I use it to shape legs, cut mortises and engrave subtle designs in cabinetry fronts. On one occasion I used it to cut a set of tenons that would have been very difficult using traditional methods due to the compound angles involved.Īlthough I am an electrical engineer, I have always been fascinated by anything mechanical, particularly open works or “skeleton” watches. I started building clocks as a way to combine my woodworking interest and machinery. Given the number of clocks I now build, a CNC is an absolute necessity. In addition to the gears, I use it to cut clock faces, frame components, motor mounts, hands, etc.
After fully retiring, I’ve been devoting more of my time to woodworking and am honoured to have my work displayed by individuals, collectors and institutions. Over the last 6 years have focused much of my attention on making clocks, although I still make furniture.
I have a background in high-tech engineering and business management and have been a woodworker for over 30 years.