Choice of wood

Have you considered Walnut or Cherry?

Can't comment as to whether Oak would affect the metal merely by being in contact with it, or whether a there might be a build-up of corrosive gas under the cover - but a wax or varnish finish would probably solve that problem.

Regards,

It's true that the tannic acid in oak will cause a blue stain when in contact with steel, which is why brass screws should always be used, but I have never heard of corrosion of either brass or steel solely by vapour action.

Cliff Coggin

I'd be very surprised if there were enough tanin in any vapour to cause a problem and I can't imagine it wouldn't be sorted by varnishing or waxing the oak. Make sure you do that before fixing anything metal to the oak, especially anything ferrous which will create a blue/black stain. I don't recall any staining problems with steamed oak (boat ribs) in contact with copper (rivets) so I expect brass will be fine. Ash is a pretty close alternative to oak from an aesthetic perspective, much more white and less pink than beech. Another close visual match to oak is chesnut a little browner than the ash and a far inferior wood to either from most structural perspectives. I'm assuming you're not going to stain the wood, one of my own personal hates - if you're going to dawb it black you may as well use a bit of deal.

Richard

I don't think oak would cause any problem but it would not be my choice for a display base because of the open grain. Cherry & sycamore will easily take a fine finish, and both are good to work with. Beech is a bit dull, and prone to rather a lot of movement in service. Walnut?

I suggest you do not want a showy figure as you want people to look at the clock, not the base. Try to get a piece that is quarter-sawn, it will be more stable and the grain will be quieter (unless you do go for oak).

You could use a piece of oak faced chipboard for the base and hide th

edges with some oak beading to match. I did something similar i mahogany for a beam engine I made.One advantage is that the chipboar is fairly stable.

Alla

-- Allan Waterfal

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My one experience of sycamore was building our staircase from it, I found it blunted tools much faster than any of the 'harder' timbers I had been used to!

Tim

Well, look at the timeframe that this clock would have been current to.

Think "The sun never sets on the Empire!"

Pick what looks best to your eye and have at. A coat of finish is going to seal off any vapours that may come off the wood anyway, so I would suggest that that is one of the things lower on the priorities to consider.

Cheers Trevor Jones

Well, thanks to all of you who replied. It sounds as though there will be less of a problem than I feared. Off now to look at some samples of Cherry and Walnut before I make my mind up. Thanks again.

Mike D