Astro-skeleton overview montage, Oct, 2022 

Thanks. It was both rewarding and challenging.

Hi David, I was the commissioner and gave the builder my specifications for the design. We worked through it together over the years to fill in the details. It really was a collaboration over fifteen years. The case is quite dust tight, but not in a vacuum. Thinking about it, if the case could sustain a vacuum, it'd be dustproof without the need for a vacuum. The fact is there are holes in the glass for winding, adjusting and demonstration purposes. These holes have dust shutters. Otherwise one would have to remove the glass to do these things. Each pane of glass is removable for servicing.

Merci!

Thanks!

Thank you. I am honored to be noticed all the way from your country.

Thanks. Couldn't have said it better.

Thanks for sticking with the project all these years. Hope you enjoyed it. You can see the delivery and the way it was moved into my home as well as my reassembly here: www.my-time-machines.net/my_current_project5.htm. By the way I was in your country a few months ago! I wish I had made the connection with you.

So far I am still working through a few minor bugs, so I have not yet begun to adjust it. But it looses about 5 minutes a day, however, it is a steady rate, so it should be able to be rated to a better accuracy. However, I doubt it would get better than a few minutes a week. Accuracy was never the point of this machine. As you know, the best clocks for accuracy would never have all these complications!

It is a one of a kind commission. You can see the entire story behind this as well as see it being made in words, photos and videos on my website: www.my-time-machines.net. This is month by month since 2003.

The propellers are air-brake governors that mediate the remontoire. These are pieces of machinery that move up and down alternatively and are what drive the escapements and pendulums. They are similar to the fly fans (propellers) that are activated when the machine rings the bells every quarter hour. You can see the machine at www.my-time-machines.net.

No blog or forum, but there is a website dedicated to the entire project from its first inception in 2003 through its delivery to me in July 2022. This link is to a month by month info on the construction with thousands of photos and videos, the index is here: www.my-time-machines.net/astro_index.htm . It has been published in several horological magazines here: www.my-time-machines.net/papers_and_presentations.htm .

@@MarkFrankclocks An "event log on the web", also known as "weblog", is the full name of "blog". :-)

They are all hand wounding cranks. The clock runs on motor (constant force) springs. What you see here is the case with the glass panes off. When the case has the front glass in there are ten holes with dust shutters in the front pane with two on the right side so that all the functions and winding can be done without removing the glass.

@@MarkFrankclocks They don’t all look like cranks. I’m aware they all wind different parts of the clock?

@@arpsichord7474 No not all cranks. There is an adjustment knob that operates on a winding square for the time, equation and strike control. It could have been a crank but the adjustment knob was more appropriate. Then there is a hook the can be used to pull down the repeat chain. Here is a photo of the tools in their drawer beneath the clock: www.my-time-machines.net/Astro_08-22_14.jpg.

@@MarkFrankclocks Could you make like a demo video on how all of them work? My tiny brain can't visualize it.