Bearings in clocks

[Mooselake]

The start of a new service, the Gerotic Delivery Net?  I didn't think of it this time, but if they drag me off on another expedition.  The youngest girl (the one I owe an international trip to) is starting to hint about South America.

I can't be the only one who's wife wants to turn into a global traveler; perhaps we need a pending international request and delivery list.  Likely slower than Kickstarter but less likely to fail :)

Kirk

[John T]

I’ve just completed David Atkinson’s Sextus design and it is the first clock that I installed steel bearings. Although David has bearings in several locations I only installed them on the pendula. Since the escapement is a grasshopper type it is highly sensitive to the drive weight to regulate the time, I found that sufficient weight to maintain the running of the clock meant that the clock was being overdriven. By installing the bearings in the pendula I was able to use a much more acceptable drive weight, and thus more overall time accuracy.
Here is a picture of the finished clock.

[ArtF]

Hi John:

Awesome work. I agree totally with you, a bearing can do wonders for almost any work, and I
really advise using them when one can. Merry XMas and thx for showing us your work.

Art

[Hessel Oosten]

Really wonderful clock John !

Once I did read that bearings give a 70 % reduction in resistance, in comparison to fine polished (e.g. steel in bronze in clocks) pivots.

Hessel

[kit]

That's a nice example of the Sextus. It's a very hypnotic design to watch!

I was surprised at how much difference there is between ball and plain bearings. Soaking them in solvent to remove any manufacturer-installed grease apparently helps as well. At the speeds we run these bearings, grease and oil simply add drag.