Woodworker's Journal 1982-6-6, страница 27

scrap wood, I was able to get a good fit by holding the waist assembly to the drum.

The next problem was joining part C to the waist. This was solved with V*" x 3" long lag screws. I chose them because they're stronger than wood screws and can be tightened with a ratchet wrench. To determine part C's position, I drilled shallow V*" dia. holes into the tops of parts A and put V*" dowel centers into them. Once the holes were located on C, I drilled slightly enlarged holes (oversized holes will allow for better positioning so long as they aren't bigger than the heads of the bolts) for the lag bolts and continued the holes into parts C.

The next section to be tackled is the pendulum cabinet. Because of the weight of parts L and M, I chose dovetail joinery for the cabinet parts. First, dovetails are extremely strong; second, the cabinet sides will be veneered, so the dovetails won't take away from the clean lines of the clock.

Dovetails are not as difficult to make as they seem. And if you are not experienced and don't make them fit perfectly, wood filler will fill in the imperfections and the veneer will cover them.

In my scrap pile were pieces of old Vi inch African mahogany. I used this wood so I would have to veneer only the outside of the case. But another hardwood such as maple or poplar can be substituted.

Before gluing up the sides, parts H, and the top and bottom, parts G and I, you'll have to cut a hole into G for the pendulum rod. Into part 1 you should make countersunk holes for the 2V*" No. 8 flathead wood screws that will hold the lower shelf section that comprises parts L, M, N and O.

Part J, the back panel, is made after parts G, H, and I are joined and glued together. The groove for this '/«" thick piece of birch plywood is made with a V* inch rabbet bit in the back of the case with the corners squared with a chisel. The panel is held with V»" No. 3 brass flathead wood screws.

Part L is a V*" thick piece of solid mahogany. The front and side edges can be rounded with a Vt" beading bit. Part M can be made from any wood either solid or glued-up since it will be entirely veneered. A bandsaw can probably make all the curves, but since I used a hardwood, I ran the front over a table saw, making repeated passes over the blade and finished it up with a cove plane and sandpaper.

Part N is a piece of V»" thick mahogany. This can be ripped from the edge of a thick piece of mahogany. The front and side edges are rounded on a sanding disc.

Part 0 was made from two pieces of 5/4 mahogany glued together with newspaper between. After turning the block on a lathe with a 1-inch diameter tenon, I separated the pieces with a sharp chisel, clamped one half in a vise and cut a dovetail on the tenon with a dovetail saw. After M is veneered and N is glued to the bottom of M, the dovetail can be outlined on the back of M and N and cut out. Attach L to the top of M with four IV* inch No. 8 flathead wood screws countersunk into the wood. This entire shelf assembly is attached to the bottom of the pendulum case after the veneering is done, with 2V* inch No. 8 flathead wood screws countersunk into the bottom of part I.

Before carving the front, part F, I would veneer the sides, the pendulum cabinet, the mechanism case, the door and the shelf, part M. At a local lumber company I purchased matching striped mahogany veneer, a package that had five pieces, each measuring 5 inches by 36 inches. This was more than enough for the entire project.

The secret of veneering is a very smooth surface and lots of contact cement, Wellwood Cement being the best I've used. Start with the sides, parts A, and give at least two coats to both the wood and the veneer. When the surfaces have dried to the touch (at the very least, a half hour), put a newspaper between the wood and the veneer and slowly pull the newspaper out while pressing down on the veneer. I found a length of IVt" dia. dowel served well as a veneer roller. The veneer should overlap the edges of the wood being veneered since it can easily be trimmed with a razor knife. For the case, part C, I began the veneer at the exact bottom and rolled the case over a length of veneer that was a little over 24 inches long. The veneer will stop adhering

when it reaches its beginning. Ail I needed to do was trim the overlap with the knife.

Part M can be veneered on all sides, even over the sharp horizontal edges. The veneer should be glued with the grain running horizontally, and where it must fold over the sharp edges it will crack but won't separate. The veneer can then be trimmed and sanded flush.

Once the pendulum cabinet is veneered, you can put together the shelf assembly with glue and screws and cut out for the dovetailed lower finial, part 0. The pendulum cabinet is then attached to the waist with V* inch by 2 inch lag bolts. Dowel centers will help position these two sections.

At this stage I built a stand out of 5/4 lumber to stand the clock upright while 1 worked on the door and fitted the mechanism.

The door of the pendulum cabinet (K) is the next part to be constructed. The one on my clock was also Vi" African mahogany. But if you choose another wood it should be fairly stable and warp free. This you can tell by the end grain. If the growth rings are seen as arcs on the edge of the board, it's more likely to warp than a board on which the rings appear as lines that run up and down from top to bottom.

(Continued on page 28)

With the pendulum cabinet door open, the opening in the top of the cabinet can be seen. Note also the lag screws joining the cabinet to the upper case assembly.

Photo shows back of clock case with cover removed. Note the 2x2 inch cut-out for the pendulum shaft and the four lag screws joining the lower case.