2019-01-17T14-55-03

Trying out the movements for a Shaker Wall Clock project that picked my curiosity. #HandToolsOnly #Clock #Woodworking

2019-04-12T13-43-29

As soon as I saw the photo of Isaac Newton Youngs’ no. 21 wall clock in Christian Becksvoort’s Shaker Inspiration book, I knew I wanted to build one like it; after some research, I found a measured drawing of that very clock in John Kassay’s The Book of Shaker Furniture. The original clock was made of Black Walnut and it so happen I have a half a board of 8/4” Black Walnut in my stash! I spent some time looking over the board for knots, grain direction, and figure and prepared my rough layout. I am so looking forward to building this clock! #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #Woodworking

2020-03-23T13-38-35

The clock movements I had temporarily mounted on a scrap piece of wood and hung on the wall have been ticking for over a year; now, I am finally working on the Shaker Wall Clock that was intended to host them. I am starting by dimensioning the top and bottom and discovering how pleasant it is to work with Walnut. I was worried that the grain completely reversed from one side of the piece to the other, but the face is planing super easily and I am not seeing any tearing. #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-24T10-08-52

Planing a quarter round on the ends of the top and bottom pieces of the Shaker wall clock. I found that planing a 45° bevel at the shooting board (tangent to my quarter circle pencil outline) gives me a really good start and it is very easy then to get a uniform quarter round with a block plane. #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-24T12-25-57

Here are the finished quarter rounds; I used the “card” scraper to remove the facets left by the block plane and a bit of 240-grit sandpaper to finish. There are still a few marks and scratches, but I’ll wait until after the joinery before spending more time on this. #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-25T15-46-23

I decided to use stopped sliding (bare face) dovetails to join the sides to the top and bottom of the Shaker wall clock and thought it was a good time to try the stopped dado technique where you chop a hole on the far end of the dado so you can saw the sides of the dado. I tried three different saws against my guide block and decided the Azebiki worked the best for me; in fact, it would have worked with a much smaller slot than the 1” one I chopped. I also decided to saw a sliver away from my knife line and finish with a chisel. #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-25T16-08-44

Here is the finished stopped, bare face, sliding dovetail housing after removing the waste with a small chisel, chopping into the knife lines with a larger chisel, and cleaning the bottom with a router plane. You may notice I overshot the depth a little bit when chopping the starting recess at the back, but it does not really matter. I really enjoyed doing this. #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-26T16-22-36

Today I cut the rebates for the back panel in the top and bottom of the wall clock. Once again, I enjoyed using the Azebiki saw to cut the wall of the rebate, then I chopped out most of the waste with a chisel and finished off with the router plane. #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-27T12-59-59

The top and bottom for the Shaker clock are ready. The notch in the top allows the rounded part of the back panel to go through. The rabbet in the bottom piece is flush with the dovetail housings; the rabbet in the top piece is much shallower because it will rest on the shoulders of the back panel and support the weight of the whole cabinet when hung on the wall. #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-30T13-20-42

Time to work on the sides of the Shaker wall clock. My boards are wider than I need so I am ripping them to size and taking advantage of the extra width to get rid of sapwood and better align the grain with my pieces. #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-31T11-46-17

In the end, making sliding dovetails is not too hard, even without a dedicated dovetails plane. Using a guide block helped keep the correct angle and thickness; the farther the block from the piece, the deeper the cut. I glued some sandpaper under the block so it stays put while I work across the joint. #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-03-31T13-49-28

The sliding dovetails are ready; the notch at the front hides the stopped end of the housing; I broke all the sharp edges to make the glue-up easier. The fit is a bit tight at the moment, but that will give me a chance to do a final pass with the smoothing plane on the interior surfaces before glueing everything up. #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-04-01T15-17-22

This project is turning into a sliding dovetail fest! While at it, I have decided to use also sliding dovetails to attach the front doors divider to the sides of the Shaker wall clock. #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-04-02T13-30-15

To round the front of the divider piece, I thought I would try using the chamfer guide add-on for my block plane; using that, I planed two 45° bevels on my piece, stopping tangent to the circle. Then, I removed the guide and finished the half round free hand; it only took a few minutes and was totally stress-free. #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-04-03T15-52-21

How many coats of Shellac? I lost count early on, but they must be about ten or so. I finished the interior before glueing everything up. I am planning to use Danish oil on the outside. #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-04-06T14-10-40

The carcass of the Shaker wall clock is finally in the clamps; next in: the divider piece at the front. During the the glue-up, I spilled the container of warm water that I use to warm the glue all over the bench and in the following “frenzy”, the clock ended up upside-down in the clamps :-) #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-04-06T14-11-10

The carcass of the Shaker wall clock is finally in the clamps; next in: the divider piece at the front. During the the glue-up, I spilled the container of warm water that I use to warm the glue all over the bench and in the following “frenzy”, the clock ended up upside-down in the clamps :-) #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-04-06T14-11-24

The carcass of the Shaker wall clock is finally in the clamps; next in: the divider piece at the front. During the the glue-up, I spilled the container of warm water that I use to warm the glue all over the bench and in the following “frenzy”, the clock ended up upside-down in the clamps :-) #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-04-06T14-14-40

For the detail-oriented, here is a closeup of the hidden sliding dovetails that join the front divider to the sides of the cabinet. #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-04-07T11-08-18

I had not worked with White Pine in a while and had almost forgotten how pleasant it is to plane! #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #WhitePine #Pine #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-04-07T16-25-56

Here is the completed back panel mounted onto the carcass of the Shaker Wall Clock. My understanding is that the 1840 original I am approximating also had a Pine back panel that was stained to go with the rest of the clock (Walnut). #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #WhitePine #Pine #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-04-07T17-29-40

Argh! I was tightening the last screw on the last fitting test of the back panel of the wall clock and I felt a snap. What about using steel screws for testing? I did not have any. Luckily, I did have a 1/8” chisel and using that and a hand drill, I was able to dig the broken Brass screw out of there and patch the hole with a plug. #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #BlackWalnut #Walnut #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-04-09T14-09-01

This is the contraption I came up with to hold the clock movements inside the cabinet. I wanted it to be simple, to be self-aligning (the spacers at the top and sides center it exactly where it must be), and easy to remove (only two screws through the back of the cabinet). #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #WhitePine #Pine #MadeByHand #Woodworking

2020-04-10T12-30-05

In interior of the 1840 Shaker wall clock I am sort of reproducing was bright yellow; so, yellow it is! Three thin coats of milk paint; I like the way the figure of the wood is showing through the paint. #ShakerWallClock #ShakerClock #Shaker #WallClock #HandToolsOnly #WhitePine #Pine #MadeByHand #Woodworking