Rescue clock

Sometime in the mid 80's my brother purchased a Klockit schoolhouse regulator kit. Our dad had recently finished a bucket list item for himself, a grandfather clock kit that turned out quite well. I can't speak to the quality of the grandfather clock kit parts, but I can attest to my dad's skill. My brother, however, seems not to have the woodworking gene. He excels in musical ability, but woodworking, not so much.

So, way back in the late 80's he handed me the partially finished kit and asked me if I could "fix" it. After sitting on it for several years I packed it up and moved it from my then home in NJ to Idaho. There it took up space in my shop till my recent move to Michigan. Now, after being here a year, I think it is finally time I got to fixing his clock. Sorry Brent, you will need to send the 'Procrastinators Cup' to me in the mail.... whenever you get around to it.

First a few words about the quality of the kit itself, it sucks. Miters are not spot on, mitered joints are assembled with those corrugated staple things that I detest, and, this is a real shame, the sides of the carcass, which are only a bit over 3 1/2" wide, are made from glued up panels! Forget about any grain matching.




This is what passes for a M&T joint,


Combine low quality parts with less than craftsman level skills and you have a recipe for disaster.



I quickly gave up any hopes of fixing this thing and decided that it would be easier, and better looking, if I just built the whole thing from scratch.

The first order of business was to see it I could recreate the moldings. It took a little experimentation, a full day in the shop, and four different router bits, but I think I came pretty close.



Next on the list was to recreate the carcass from some fine air dried Michigan chocolate courtesy of my neighbor Tom Niemi.


In the next few days I'll glue up the case (using glue blocks instead of staples) and attach moulding.

Yeah, staart from scratch would have been my approach, too. It will be great to see it finished.

Looking good so far, Rennie!

Glued up the case today. Will work on the molding tomorrow.

This promises to be good...

So basically what you are doing is to toss away the wood parts and use only the clock movement. Your brother will be happy to have it as it will become a heirloom piece. An d I'll be happy to follow this thread. I have designed a grandfather's clock of modern style which will be the next project I'll do as soon as my arm heals. There are some technical issues to solve meantime.

Toni Ciuraneta said:

So basically what you are doing is to toss away the wood parts and use only the clock movement.

Click to expand...

Essentially. I will be using the octagon face as I do not have the tools to reproduce it and it was in good enough condition with just a few minor repairs. HOWEVER, that being said, I certainly would like to replace it. The grain match is horrible. I've been able to repair the gainers, but the wood is bad, bad, bad. I just don't have the tooling to recreate this large a moulding. Pity.

The woodworking part is nearly complete. Just a little hand sending the details and it will be ready for finish.

That looks a little better sitting on the new clock frame you built. I think it will be ok once completed

Finished sanding. Had to use the dental picks to remove a little squeeze out in the smaller moulding.

I'll be using my standard finish process. First coat is dewaxed shellac. I'll hand sand that back with some 320. I find this seals the wood and gives me a great base for the next step, rattlecan lacquer. I use Deft. Tried others, did not like them. Finally, after several coats of lacquer, sanded with 400 between coats, and after the finish has had a week or so to fully cure, I'll rub on a coat of Briwax.

You have the Midas touch.... turning a kit into an heirloom!

Ted Calver said:

You have the Midas touch.... turning a kit into an heirloom!

Click to expand...

Thank you - we shall see!
Still not really happy with the octagon. You would think they would make that out of one piece of wood. Instead it looks like it was made from whatever they had in the scrap bin. I just dont think I have the tools to recreate it. I'm going to noodle on it a bit and look at a few other examples to see if I can change it out.

Hey Tom, got any more chocolate?

Mis-matched wood or not, that still looks a lot better than it did. Kudos to you, Rennie.

In taking a closer look I'm thinking that this might not be as difficult as I once thought. The stock is 3/4" thick and about 3 1/2" wide. There is a cove that is a little less than 1/4" deep. There is also a 'V' groove and a rabbet.

I think this cove can be done with an auxiliary fence on the table saw. The rabbet and 'V' groove on the router table.

Maybe this is doable after all.

Yep that is completely do-able.

Needing more walnut you say??? Give me a call. It's looking good Rennie

In preparation for making the offset cove molding that makes up the octagon for the clock I made this parallelogram cove molding jig for the tablesaw. It is fashioned after one from the wood whisperer website. Should be able to give it a trial run tomorrow and see how well it works.

Fantastic restoration Rennie.

I managed to mill the walnut and try out the cove jig today. I was a little hesitant but took it step-by-step and things seem to have worked out well.

First my opportunity to use this little tool that I've had sitting in the drawer for many years. I believe I inherited it from my dad.



Then I transferred the profile to the stock




This is the set up on the table saw. I had initially tried to set it up according to the results of a cove calculator I found on the web. Some of the settings didn't make sense and I found it easier to first eyeball the contour over the blade and then run several test cuts.



And this is what it looked like after running across the saw about seven times taking very little bites



A couple of passes over the router table and I think I've come pretty close.



I ordered a gooseneck scraper and will try to smooth out the cove tomorrow. Then the fun starts! 16 cuts at exactly 22.5°.