In my previous post I finished cleaning my junker clock, ending up with a jumble of gears and other parts. You may recall that when I disassembled this clock, parts sort of fell out willy-nilly, leaving me a bit fuzzy about what gears go where. In this post, I figure out which gears are part of the Going (time) Train (gear set), and as a bonus I calculate the length of pendulum this clock requires.
Continue reading Clock Repair 101: Making sense of the Time Gears
In my previous post I showed the early results of my cleaning of my junker clock by hand. In this post I show why cleaning by hand isn’t really very effective at removing old oil and dirt.
Continue reading Clock Repair 101: I finished “Cleaning” the clock
In my previous post, I disassembled my junker, practice clock. In this post, I begin to clean it. The pro’s use an ultrasonic cleaner, but I’m on a budget, so I’m doing it by hand.
Continue reading Clock Repair 101: Cleaning (or something approaching it)
In my previous post I covered the dangers of mainsprings, and bought the minimum of tools required to safely handle mainsprings. In this post I disassemble my junker clock.
Using my new mainspring clamps and Let Down key, I “let down” (unwound) the chime mainspring and time mainspring, following the process I’d seen in the videos: Continue reading Clock Repair 101: Disassembly / Destruction
In my previous post I explained how I got started on this strange path to clock repair. In this post I talk about the dangers, some videos, and my first clock repair tools. Continue reading Clock Repair 101: A time bomb waiting to go off
The Dark Arts of clock repair open before me. I feel the need to wear flannel. …to create a basement workshop. …and to live where it snows most of the year. What brought this malady on? A clock.
Continue reading Clock Repair 101: “Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate”
(first published on Needhamia.com in 2007)
I find the rose windows of Gothic cathedrals awe-inspiring. From the rigid formalism of Chartres to the flamboyant explosion of Tours, their marriage of geometry, philosophy, and aesthetics with stone and glass is awesome. Built at a time when science and spirit weren’t as divided as today, each window is a statement of the beauty, order, and harmony in the world. Using only a pair of compasses (dividers) and a straight-edge (an unmarked ruler), the Gothic architects created myriad lace-like designs, making stone hang in the air and glass sing.
Continue reading Geometry, Gothic Architecture, Rose Windows, and Christmas Ornaments
Today’s post is a How-To for a project I recently completed: a temperature-only Weather Underground Personal Weather Station made from an ESP8266, a MAX31820 temperature sensor, and a few miscellaneous parts. The whole project fits inside a 3D printed project box for mounting on an exterior wall that is sheltered from the weather.
The open source project files are in my MAX31820WeatherStation Github repository.
Continue reading Build a minimal Weather Underground station
After obsessing like a Lotus Eater for a week, I’ve finished my newly-invented (I hope) 25 Lotus Flowers puzzle!
The open source 3D Printer files are on Thingiverse; I’ve also written a How To sheet, with instructions and challenges. I modestly ;-) hope it’s as mathematically interesting as the famous 15 Puzzle… we’ll see!
In my previous post, I replaced the electronics of my several-year-old lunar clock design with modern parts. In this post, I’ve replaced the laser cut parts with 3D printed parts, with particular attention to the clip that holds the photo interrupter in place.
