WOODENTIMES QUARTUS User manual

QUARTUS

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Copyright Notice
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. These Plans contain material protected under
International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unau-
thorized reprint or use of this material for commercial purposes
is prohibited. Except for the personal, non-commercial use of the
retail purchaser no parts of these plans may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechani-
cal, including photocopying, or by any information storage and
retrieval system without express written permission from the au-
thor / publisher.
©David Atkinson 2011

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Thank you very much for buying the Quartus clock kit. A lot
of thought and design have gone into the Quartus, and I hope you
enjoy building it. If you have any questions, suggestions or even
criticism please get in touch, per e-mail , I will respond as
soon as possible.
Remember the old adage “Do in haste, repent at leisure”. Your
clock will last a life time, which will give you more than enough
time to look at a botch job because you could not wait to finish
the clock. So please take your time and give the best you can, it
is more than worth it.
Happy building!
Yours David Atkinson

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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 5
THE FRAME 8
DRIVE ARBOR 11
MINUTE ARBOR 16
INTERMEDIATE ARBOR 1 18
INTERMEDIATE ARBOR 2 19
ESCAPEMENT ARBOR 20
TESTING 21
HOUR TRAIN 22
ANCHOR ARBOR 24
PENDULUM 26
GET TICKING 29
PLAN & SHEET PLANS

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INTRODUCTION
Before you start building the Quartus I recommend you read the
complete instructions, and just familiarise yourself with the
building process.
You should in any case watch the tutorial video, that you can
find on my web site.
http://www.woodentimes.com/tutorials.html
It contains lots of tips and tricks, and is an integral part of
these instructions.
Part Notation
All parts have a suffix which correspond to the numbers on the
plywood sheet plans found at the back of these instructions.
For example if you need the minute hand which has the suffix 31B
you will find it on sheet B number 31.
Only break out the piece you require as you need it.
Before You Start
What You Need
Wood Glue
There are many types of wood glue on the market, but I have al-
ways had good results with a standard PVA wood glue (white glue).
Before it dries it can be removed with a damp cloth and dries
transparent.
Epoxy Resin
I use a 2 component quick drying epoxy resin.
Sand Paper
Shop around for good quality sand paper, the sheets you mostly
get at the local hardware store are of such bad quality that af-
ter one or two uses the grit has become unstuck and you are just
left with some expensive paper. The best kind is cloth backed, a
good source for this are the belts used for belt sanders.
Drill Press
If you have a dedicated drill press all the better, but of course
a drill stand and electric drill does the job just as well.

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INTRODUCTION
Spring Clamps
You need a minimum of 2, just make sure they have jaws long
enough to span 6cm-2¼.
Screw driver
Standard slot-head medium screw driver.
Needle Files
Not an absolute must, but will be required if you do not have a
belt or disc sander.
Lead Shot
Your lead shot should be of smaller diameter, if the diameter is
too large you will not be able to pack in enough.
Treating
Obviously the treating of your clock is very much a question of
personal preference, you could even make your finish match your
curtains/drapes. You may even have a pet finish, which is why I
will just mention the finished I used.
I used an acrylic, teak coloured, water based varnish, with a
matte finish. The advantages of acrylic are its quick drying time
(hand dry within 5 mins), lack of fumes and the brush can be
cleaned with water.
I sanded all the parts smooth with 180 grade sandpaper, then ap-
plied the first coat. As water will raise the grain, I pretty
much sanded all the varnish off until I got a smooth surface.
Then repeated the process, it will take about 2-3 coats before
the surface remains smooth. It took about 6 layers until I got a
deep lustre with even colouring. And you would have to look
closely to see that it is not solid wood.
I treated just the frame, pendulum bob and hands. Be wary of
treating the cogs as a varnish on the teeth connecting surfaces
will eventually wear off and literally clog the works, if you
want to varnish, mask off the teeth surfaces with masking tape,
and remove any “creeped” in varnish. I never treat the cogs, as I
think they look best untreated and with birch the yellowing is
minimal.
If you do decide to treat the frame, remember to remove the fin-
ish from the inside of frame arbor holes, as this could stop your
clock from working. You could use the supplied ⌀4.2mm drill bit.

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INTRODUCTION
Quantity Item
3 Plywood parts sheets
1 Frame back and front
2 ⌀20mm dowel spacers
1 ⌀30mm dowel winding barrel
1 ⌀8mm/12.5cm-5” dowel
2 50cm-20” lengths of ⌀4mm brass rod *
1 72mm-2.835” length of ⌀6mm brass rod
4 ⌀3.5mm/20mm brass screw
6 ⌀3mm/10mm brass screw
1 Brass washer
1 ⌀2mm/30mm brass rod
6 Couplings **
2 Stop rings **
1 ⌀4mm/10mm grub screw
1 ⌀45mm-1¾” washer
1 2m length of weight string
1 1.5mm allen key
1 2mm allen key
1 ⌀4.2mm drill bit
1 Weight shell (optional)
List Of Materials
* Use one length of the rod for the pendulum and the other for
the arbors. The total length needed for the arbors is 32cm-12.6”
so you will have 18cm-7” spare in case you need to remake an ar-
bor.
** Be careful when tightening/loosening the set screws you really
only need a half turn, too many turns and it could fall out and
land on the floor, and believe me once they have hit the deck
they mysteriously become transparent and can not be found :-)

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THE FRAME
Firstly fit the pendulum ful-
crum 36C into the top of the
frame front. Because a round
bit does not cut square holes,
you will have to round off the
corners of the fulcrum.
The fit should be tight enough
to hold the fulcrum in place,
but not so tight as to prevent
removal. Here you can see the
frame inside showing the te-
non´s rounded off corners.
Do not glue in the fulcrum yet,
as this would hinder the treat-
ing of the frame.

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THE FRAME
Glue the spacers 37C and 38C
onto the back frame rear side.
Make sure frame and spacer
holes align.
Insert both ⌀20mm dowels into
the frame recesses. If the fit
is too tight sand the ends
slightly thinner.
Predrill the holes for the
⌀3mm/20mm brass screws. Use a 2
- 2.5mm (5/64”-3/32) bit.
Counter sink the screw heads,
to prevent tear out put your
drill into reverse. It will re-
quire more force but will give
you a smoother sink.
Also counter sink the 2 wall
mounting screw holes.

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THE FRAME
Screw in all four screws, but
be careful as brass screws can
break if the torque is too
much, if the hole is too tight
re-drill wiggling the drill
slightly.
That is the frame finished , you can assemble the whole clock and
treat your frame at a later stage, or you could do so now.

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DRIVE ARBOR

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DRIVE ARBOR
Glue spacer 1B to the back of cog 2C. When the glue has set make
sure the cog can turn on the arbor, because when the clock is
wound only the winding barrel and arbor turn and the cog and
clicks are stationary
Using the ⌀3mm/10mm brass
screws, screw all 3 clicks 3C
onto the drive cog front.
Screw the screw tight then
loosen until the click can hang
down loosely when the cog is
held vertically. Repeat for the
other 2 clicks
Glue click wheel 4C the ⌀30mm
winding barrel and rim 5A to-
gether, pay attention to the
click wheel orientation.

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DRIVE ARBOR
To make the prongs so the wind-
ing key has grip use the ⌀2mm
brass wire, tap it into the
hole, if the fit is too loose
flatten the bar slightly with a
hammer (see photo), until you
get a tight fit.
Trim the rod and file the ends
straight and bevel.
The Arbor
Before the glue sets remove
from the arbor. When the glue
has set, check that the winding
barrel slips easily over the
arbor. If this is not the case,
use the rotating arbor to widen
the barrel hole, slide up and
down. This will slightly widen
the hole, making the clock as-
sembly easier.

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DRIVE ARBOR
Winding Key
Glue together 47C,46C and 45C.
The side with the thinner di-
ameter hole of 46C should be
glued to 47C. Once the glue has
dried test that the arbor fits
easily into the key if not,
with a small round file, widen
the hole.
Sands flats on the end of the
dowel to allow the glue to get
a better purchase

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DRIVE ARBOR
Before you glue on the handle,
clamp the key in a drill press
and with the drill rotating
sand the key barrel smooth.
Here you can see the finished
key.
Screw the grub screw ⌀4mm/10m
into the pre tapped winding
barrel hole, tighten onto the
arbor and then loosen a turn or
2.

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MINUTE ARBOR

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MINUTE ARBOR
Glue Spacer 6B, Pinion 7C,
Spacer 8C, Spacer 9C and Cog
10A together. Before the glue
sets remove from the arbor. The
whole should turn freely on the
arbor, as with the winding bar-
rel, use the drill press and
arbor to widen the hole.
Screw the Clutch 11C onto the
top of Cog 10A. The Clutch
grips the arbor allowing the
hands to turn, but is loose
enough to allow you to adjust
the time by just turning the
minute hand. Next add the stop
ring.

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INTERMEDIATE ARBOR 1
Thread Cog 12B onto the arbor,
the back of the cog should be
15.5 mm-0.6102” from the arbor
end. Now glue on spacer and Pin-
ion.

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INTERMEDIATE ARBOR 2
Thread Pinion 15C onto the ar-
bor, the back of the pinion
should be 14.5 mm-0.5709””
from the arbor end. Now glue
on the spacers and cog.

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ESCAPEMENT ARBOR
Thread the Escapement Wheel
onto the arbor, the back of
the wheel should be 23.5 mm-
0.9252” from the arbor end.
Now glue on spacer and Pinion.
Pay attention to the escape-
ment wheel orientation.