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Bettesworth Construction
brass machining

How Clickspring Made a Working Brass Skeleton Clock

Clickspring’s John Wilding large-wheel skeleton clock turns raw brass and a series of shop operations into a working open-frame mechanism.

By Bettesworth Construction Team 2 min read
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Clickspring’s clock project is a John Wilding large-wheel skeleton clock built component by component from raw brass stock, with some of the tools needed for later work made along the way. The result is a working, open-frame mechanical clock—not a decorative shell—and the build shows how a home machine shop can turn stock into a complete mechanism through a sequence of precise operations.

What is Clickspring’s clock project?

Make: identifies the design as a John Wilding large-wheel skeleton clock. Its open frame leaves much of the mechanism visible, while the clock’s function depends on the accurate fit and interaction of its individual parts. Make:’s December 17, 2016 Weekend Watch feature describes it as a working skeleton clock made from raw brass stock. A separate Make: project overview lists frames, pillars, pinions and crossed-out wheels among the construction topics.

How does the build progress from stock to clock?

The work is organized around individual components rather than a single all-at-once assembly. Clickspring’s episodes focus on making a part, and at times on making a tool that enables a later operation. That sequence makes the project a demonstration of cumulative shop work: each finished component becomes part of the next stage of the clock.

Hackaday’s December 6, 2016 report describes the build process as including CAD prints used as templates on brass plates for scroll-saw frame work; turning bar stock; threading and knurling; cutting gear teeth; making custom screws; heat-treating and polishing parts; and final assembly. These are the operations Hackaday highlighted in its 2016 summary, not a complete specification of every step or tool.

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  • DIY clock supplies: the complete clock movement kit is suitable for repairing or making a clock, serving as good replacements for large and thick clock frames.
  • Warm notice: when you install them, please keep the hour hand and minute hand parallel; And please do not use too much pressure to avoid bending them.

Which materials and techniques stand out?

Brass components

Raw brass is central to the project, particularly for the visible clock structure and machined parts. The available coverage does not give a complete bill of materials, metal grades, dimensions or tolerances, so it is not enough to reproduce the clock from specifications alone.

Custom steel screws

Hackaday also reports custom-made steel screws that were heat-treated and blued. The screws are a reminder that the build is not simply a brass-only project: small supporting parts require their own fabrication and finishing.

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Hand-operated shop work

The process summary includes scroll-saw cutting, lathe work, threading, knurling, gear-tooth cutting, heat treatment and polishing. It illustrates the range of operations involved in making a precision mechanical object, but the coverage does not provide a complete equipment list or detailed operating instructions for those processes.

How many episodes are in the clock build?

Hackaday called it a 23-episode playlist in its December 6, 2016 report, which also said the clock was complete. That figure is a count reported at the time; it should not be treated as a verified count of the playlist today.

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What does the project suggest about getting started?

Clickspring’s About page says a Sieg mini lathe and mill, along with decent Sutton cutting tools, can provide a good start. That is Clickspring’s advice, not an independently tested recommendation or a complete buying list. The clock project itself spans a broader workflow—including frame cutting, gear work, finishing and purpose-made tools—so a minimal starting setup should not be confused with everything required to reproduce the full build. No complete equipment list, beginner budget or cost estimate is established by the cited coverage.

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