Author Archives: Jon Long Sr

Having completed the quarter ball magazine, it was time to move on to the bell and striking mechanism. When the balls exit the magazine the drop straight down onto a track that takes them to the level that will use … Continue reading →

With the quarter ball magazine completed it was time to tie it to the feelers for the quarter hour flips. Rods were attached to the adjustable hubs on each of the feelers. This way I could adjust the amount of … Continue reading →

Now that I have a source for balls to replenish the quarter strike magazine, it is time to make it. Balls coming through the excess ball diverter make a sharp left turn into the magazine. The idea behind the magazine is … Continue reading →

The last post was for the hour ball. The second lift delivers a ball to the top about 10 seconds after the minute ball exits.  Running on different paths the second lift provides balls for the striking section.  Also one … Continue reading →

 In the last post I had built the detectors (feelers) for the quarter, half & three quarter hour ball transitions. When the balls for the full hour travels down the counter, it stays on the high track all the way … Continue reading →

When I first started out building the clock, I knew I wanted to be able to strike the quarter, half and three quarter hour.  When making the counter section, the last three flips were dedicated to this function. The idea … Continue reading →

To utilize the aux power shaft, I had to be able to control when the reset of the flips occurred. There had to be some sort of a clutch to engage the reset cam on the shaft.  This is getting … Continue reading →

Not everything on a project like this can go as planned it seems, especially when you make things up as you go along;  I have had to remake a few pieces that didn’t quite work out the way I had … Continue reading →

After completing the reset shafts for the track flips, it became obvious that I needed extra power to drive the reset shafts. When making the main drive train I left an extra shaft available on the top of the gear … Continue reading →

Up to this point I only had the balls that traveled around the counter just route to the racks without really doing anything.  Once all of the flips have created a track around and back to the front it would … Continue reading →