metal working - Clock winding keys: source or DIY howtos?

Bought me a very nice deal on a clock which chimes the hours and the halves. (You count the chimes, and know what time it is.). Works fine, except that it seems to have wound down in the ride home (laying on its back, with out the pendulum "tickity-tock! tickety-tock!") and now I find it is missing the key for winding.

So, any one know of possible sources for said keys, or should I just get a bit of stick and make one to fit round an 1/8 square shaft?

one more thing to do soon before things get hectic.

tschus pyotr

-- pyotr filipivich. Discussing the decline in the US's tech edge, James Niccol once wrote "It used to be that the USA was pretty good at producing stuff teenaged boys could lose a finger or two playing with."

Reply to
pyotr filipivich
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Maybe:

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You might have to open it up and see if there is a name on the movement. There are several special suppliers for Horology parts but I suspect Amazon or Ebay would be the way to go...

Reply to
Leon Fisk

Aftr a few practice runs I had good luck broaching hexagonal holes for small Allen wrenches on my lathe. I cut each groove separately, shaving off off one to a few thousandths per pass. The spindle had to be indexed securely, a hand-held degree wheel didn't resist cutting pressure well enough.

-jsw

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

I've cut many hex holes using sections of quality Allen key in a holder and found that worked well for even stainless steel. I would select an Allen key near top tolerance and a driver near bottom and that worked well, a single pass cut. I would drill a hole at the AF size and cut the hex with the Allen key section in the holder in my fly press. I've also made a number of single cutting edge broaches for cutting serrations and the like for tap handles (faucets US) in brass out of O1 hardened and they worked well. Not large numbers of each maybe a few dozen.

Reply to
David Billington

Leon Fisk on Fri, 15 Dec 2017 14:26:35 -0400 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

Probably.

OTOH, "House of Clocks" is still in business.

-- pyotr filipivich "With Age comes Wisdom. Although far too often, Age travels alone."

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

Hmm - sounds like something for me to keep in mind.

-- pyotr filipivich "With Age comes Wisdom. Although far too often, Age travels alone."

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

I tried broaching a round hole square in one pass to make a boring bar with a 1/8" HSS lathe bit that shattered into sharp flying fragments, likely because too much of the bit wasn't supported and my Enco arbor press ram had a little side play.

-jsw

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

Well ... here in town is a clock shop which sells both tall clocks (grandfather clocks) and mantelpiece clocks, both of which wind with keys.

The keys have a square hole, and the shaft they slide onto is tapered, so measure the square at the big end and the small end, and go into the shop with the measurements (what I did), or if the clock is not too heavy, carry it into the shop and let them find the one which fits.

A lot easier than trying to broach a square hole to fit.

Enjoy, DoN.

Reply to
DoN. Nichols

Easier still - wrap a bit of brass sheet to make a square that fits the shaft; silver-solder the seam and you have a square tube; get a round brass tube that the square one just fits into and set them on end in a shallow hole drilled in a bit of wood (makes a dam) and fill the gap between the square and the round with soft solder. Attach a handle of your choosing.

Reply to
unk

"Jim Wilkins" on Fri, 15 Dec 2017 15:09:13

-0500 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

How's that work on square shafts?

-- pyotr filipivich "With Age comes Wisdom. Although far too often, Age travels alone."

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

I think the size is a Number 4. (aprox .125 inch side to side.)

I'm thinking to get a bit of brass/steel sheet, and bash it round an 1/8 square piece.

Assuming I can't find one at a store.

-- pyotr filipivich "With Age comes Wisdom. Although far too often, Age travels alone."

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

We have a mid 1970's triple chime mantel clock. Think it's an 8 day movement. One winder/spring for the quarter hour, hour and time. That's three springs to wind once a week. The hour spring turns the hardest and farthest. Usually around 8 cranks which is around 4 revolutions. The quarter and time are usually around 6 cranks. My Mom used to wind it every week till she was over 90. She would stand on a small ladder the last few years to get enough leverage at the optimum height.

I'm a really tight, cheap screw, good at making things and I would just procure a steel key if I needed another...

Reply to
Leon Fisk

The difference is that I had a good selection of hex keys to choose the largest, stiffest size that fit in the round starting hole. Grinding the end sharp doesn't ruin them.

It would be more work to grind off 3 corners of a 1/8" HSS blank and fixture it at a 45 degree angle so both cutting edges take indentical chips.

Another possibility is to mill vees with 0.125" sides in two pieces of bar stock, tape them together over a 1/8" bit to hold alignment, chuck them in a 4-jaw and turn the OD small enough to force into brass tubing or brake line. If the unturned end of the bar stock was large enough you could cross-drill it for the handle to ensure that the assembly doesn't slip.

A vee block turned on its side will hold square stock at a 45 degree angle in the mill vise. You can scribe the center line of the cut face, touch a corner of the end mill to the line, then advance 0.063" both ways into the stock.

-jsw

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

Is it close enough to use one of those Robertson square drive screws?

Reply to
Michael A Terrell

easier to start with an annealed copper tube and squeaze it down to size over a steel key as a core. use a vice or hammer and anvil to make it fit. Then slit the other end of the tube and solder a washer or piece of stock in the end to use as a "handle"

Reply to
Clare Snyder

work hardened copper should be plenty hard enough to wind a clock

Reply to
Clare Snyder

Was going to suggest S Larose but just discovered they went out of business 11 years ago :-(

Dad used to fool with clocks and ordered from them many times back in the 70s.

Reply to
William Bagwell

Michael A Terrell on Sat, 16 Dec 2017

13:37:45 -0500 typed >>

Hhhmmmm - I'll take a look.

But I'm afraid a Robinson drive screw will be too shallow.

-- pyotr filipivich "With Age comes Wisdom. Although far too often, Age travels alone."

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

William Bagwell on Sat, 16 Dec 2017

22:46:59 -0500 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

One of the other clocks in the store had a "sold by" tag for House of Clocks. Looked them up on the Internet - yep, still there.

They're retiring Friday the 23rd.

Maybe if I hurry.

tschus pyotr

-- pyotr filipivich "With Age comes Wisdom. Although far too often, Age travels alone."

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

My #3 Robertson bit measures 0.129" square and a screw is about that deep. If you use a machine screw, you can make a nice handle for it out of metal, plastic or wood.

Reply to
Michael A Terrell

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