Clayton Boyer Clock Designs |
"Celestial Mechanical Calendar and Orrery"
The Celestial Mechanical Calendar shows the day of the week, day of the month and the month. In addition, she indicates the Zodiac Sun Sign and New Moon Ascension sign, has a MoonPhase Ball that indicates a nearly exact reflection of what the actual moon is doing in the night sky. She also has a Full Moon Ascension Window, and an Orrery showing the synodic rotations of the three closest planets, Mercury, Venus and Mars and indicates when they go into retrograde. The Celestial Mechanical Calendar also knows if the month has 28, 30 or 31 days and advances herself automatically. All of this with just the throw of a lever each day! It's exciting to see her go through her gyrations, spinning and sliding first to the right, and then back to the left, advancing the settings as she goes. The Celestial Mechanical Calendar measures 42" in width and 26" in height, and operates for seven days on a wind. Looks daunting? Actually, it’s not. The plans come with an 11 page set of Explanations and Instructions that walk you through the process, page-by-page. All of the parts for this calendar are full-sized patterns so there is no measuring. The exception being the frame which is shown as a measured drawing, but included in the plans are Exact Centers Measuring Strips to get perfect alignment of all the parts. The only measuring that is required is 17 3/16” (43.7cm) over, and 1 3/8” (3.5mm) up on the frame’s base, and the rest of the measurements are contained in the Drilling Guides and Exact Centers Measuring Strips. The Instructions break the building process down into four easy-to-follow sections. First we create and drill the frame, then we make the calendar’s wheels. The third part of the build is the motive clockworks that powers the calendar, and finally we add the levers and arms that link all the parts together. The calendar is easy to get into adjustment, and operating correctly because of its wider tolerances. There are also instructions on which dates are best to use to test out the various functions of your calendar, and the best dates to use to set the Orrery. Also explained is the movement of the Earth, its moon and the three closest planets and how that relates to what you will be seeing on the calendar throughout the year. The variance in the accuracy of the moon and planets on this calendar is usually within hours per year. |
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"Hawaiian Time" Clock - Koa and Lava. See Richard Hank's video of this clock in action at You Tube by clicking this link: Hawaiian Time Clock
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"Model T" She sounds beautiful and has a fascinating escapement to watch. This one is a real delight. See her in action on my You Tube video by clicking here: Model T
To purchase plans for "Model T" by credit card (on my wife's secure credit card site CC Now), click this link: (To view cart and checkout, see below.)
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"Electra" has been a long time coming. She has been swinging away on my workbench for over a year, keeping nearly perfect time. She's my first wooden electric clock and has a lot to watch going on inside. You can watch Electra ticking away on my You Tube video here: Electra Legal Note: Electricity is involved, so you can build this clock, but just don't plug it in. Don't run with scissors, either.
To purchase plans for "Electra" by credit card (on my wife's secure credit card site CC Now), click this link: (To view cart and checkout, see below.)
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I call this clock "Number Six" I like the movement of this clock, but I think it would look better dressed in Koa. All of the wheels are approximately 8 inches in diameter for symmetry, and the movement of that big escape wheel, in full view, is very eye-catching. See Philip Brutz's Number Six in action at You Tube: Number Six
To purchase plans for "Number Six" by credit card (on my wife's secure credit card site CC Now), click this link: (To view cart and checkout, see below.) |
A "Kauai Time" clock using local Koa and lava river stones. My friend Adrian Iredale built his own unique version of this clock; Adrian's "Kauai Time" actually runs backward! See his You Tube video here: Kauai Time
To purchase plans for "Kauai Time" by credit card (on my secure credit card site CC Now), click here: Add to CCNow Cart |
The Moon Phase Clock shows the seconds, minutes, hours, day, date and phases of the moon, all operating with levers and pulleys and without the use of any gears. |
This beautiful red colored wood is eucalyptus robusta. There used to be three stumps lined up here. Inside of the third stump was this torsion clock. All I had to do was chip away everything that didn't look like a clock. This "Torsion Tree Clock" will run for 34 hours on a winding and is nearly silent - a very calming movement. As the small lantern swings from side to side, it is mesmerizing to watch.
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Close up of the workings of "Torsion Tree Clock."
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"Inclination" is a solid maple mantle, or table top clock. She stands 41" tall and runs for 32 hours on a winding. Check out my friend Adrian Iredale's "Inclination" here: Inclination
To purchase plans for Inclination by credit card (on my wife's secure credit card site CC Now), click this link: (To view cart and checkout, see below.)
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"Inclination's" bob. |
"Inclination" close-up. |
"Inclination's" drive weights, view from the bottom. |
My version of a Mission style Arts and Crafts clock. Plans available for purchase; see below. |
"Mission's" mechanism also chimes the hour. In this picture, it's almost ready to strike two o'clock. The solid oak escapement has a wonderfully deep resonant tone. Plans available for purchase; see below. |
"Mission" has solid oak gears and pinions.
To purchase plans for Mission by credit card (on my wife's secure credit card site CC Now), click here: Add to CCNow Cart
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This is "Vortex." See Adrian Iredale's "Vortex" in action at You Tube: Vortex Plans are available; see below for ordering instructions.. |
"Vortex" measures approximately 9 inches wide and 28 inches high. This 5415 bph mechansim allows for a much shorter pendulum.
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Vortex, close up. |
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I had no name for this one while building it, but once it was finished it reminded me so much of a lollipop that I've nicknamed her "Lolli" She has a solid wood, 7200bph movement, which means she ticks twice a second, and runs for 36 hours on a winding. She stands only 29 inches high (Inclination is 41") and sits atop the bookcase in my office, and keeps amazingly accurate time. My friend Adrian liked this one so much that he built it twice! See both in action at You Tube: Lolli and Lolli V.2 |
Here is her beautiful face. Her hands are fully adjustable, synchronously, by turning the wheel that's just visible under the minute hand and behind the dial ring. |
This top view shows the arrangement of Lolli's solid wood gears. Her mechanism is based roughly on clockworks designed by early American clockmakers around the time of the American Revolution. |
Here's a silly little novelty clock in which the bob is the clockworks. Unlike a regular pendulum clock, this UpSide Down clock moves very little from side to side. She has a full swing of about 3/16" and is very interesting to watch as she swings a little and wiggles a little and then swings some more in the other direction. She has a 5400 beats per hour mechanism, and is quite a delight to watch. You can see "Upsy", built by my friend Adrian Iredale, at You Tube Video: Upsy |
Upsy is a solid wood clockworks. Her gears, and the dark band on her face are made of rescued Eucalyptus robusta, the same wood as the Torsion Tree Clock above. The rest of her framework is made of Juniper - also rescued from a neighbor's campfire. Her hands can be synchronously set by turning the Intermediate wheel. The Intermediate wheel is the one with the ring of metal pins, visible inside her framework to the upper left. Upsy is spring driven, and yet, keeps remarkably good time. |
I call this one the "Floating Wheel" clock because it has no front framework, and the wheels appear to be floating in space. This clock has solid wood wheels made of a local hardwood called Kamani. Kamani is a dream to work with and has a warm, deep luminescent quality. The plans show how to make these solid wood wheels, however, Baltic Birch ply can be substituted. The Floating Wheel clockworks measures 10 inches high and 11 inches wide. Overall, with the pendulum, it is 24 inches high. She has a 5415 beat per hour mechanism and will run a couple days on a winding. Sorry, no video on this one. My friend Adrian calls it "a pile of wheels" and won't build it. To purchase plans for Floating Wheel by credit card, click here: Add to CCNow Cart
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This is Swoopy. She's a bit unique in that she operates silently. There is no "Tick, tock." Her "walking" escapement steps from one tooth to the next with only a whisper of a sound. She is a 3600bph movement and will run 30 hours on a wind. These pictures show her dressed in a beautiful local Hawaiian wood called Milo. With its large escapement and exposed escape wheel, the movement throughout this clock is captivating. Adrian Iredale built this one too. His video of "Swoppy" in action: Swoopy To purchase plans for Swoopy by credit card, click here: Add to CCNow Cart |
This is the Bird of Paradise. Like Swoopy above, she has a nearly silent Grasshopper escapement and her "bird" is in constant motion as she runs. Her frame floats just beyond the wall allowing her pendulum space to swing freely side to side. She has a floral motif running throughout her design, and the escape wheel that protrudes out the front of the frame keeps all the motion well within view.
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 This is the Flying Pendulum. I hesitate to call it a clock because, historically, flying pendulum "clocks" have always been notoriously inaccurate time keepers. But she is guaranteed to bring a smile to the people's faces. And here's the guarantee...If your clock fails to make people smile, send it back to me and I guarantee I'll find someone to laugh at it. Flying Pendulum is unique in that she has no hands, and the dial is moved by a gear on the inside of the dial ring.. Interestingly, the drive pinion and the dial ring turn in the same direction - counterclockwise. This is always one of the first clocks that people notice when they come into my shop. This one really moves. That ball dances all over, winding and unwinding itself around the uprights. It's easy, interesting, fun and quite unique, and it really does make people smile. See Adrian Iredale's video of his unique version of "Flying Pendulum" at You Tube: Flying Pendulum The plans for this design include two variations, a wall mount, gravity driven 30 hour clock, and a desk top spring driven clock that runs about 3 or 4 hours on a wind...plenty long enough to elicit that smile.
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This design I call the Nautilus. This beautiful clock beats about 90 times a minute, and "tinkles" the hour by lifting, and then dropping the curved, horizontal arm, thus causing the chimes to sound. I wanted to create a striking clock that didn't intrude upon ones conciousness, where the hourly strike is more of a happy afterthought. See Adrian Iredale's exquisite "Nautilus" in action at You Tube: Nautilus
To purchase plans for Nautilus by credit card (on my secure credit card site CC Now), click here: Add to CCNow Cart |
This is "Simplicity". As her name indicates she is the easiest clock I've ever designed. The clock on the right is the original Simplicity. I started her one Saturday morning and by Saturday night she was ticking. By Sunday night she was compplete. The dark hardwood version on the left has a key rewind system, and took me a bit longer. Both versions are included in the plans. You can see "Simplicity" in action at You Tube Video here: Simplicity
To purchase plans for Simplicity by credit card (on my secure credit card site CC Now), click here: Add to CCNow Cart
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Solaris.
Her large, nearly 14” diameter wheel and unique escapement make Solaris the focal point of the room. Her unusual, and very forgiving escapement releases every two seconds with a sound quite unlike anything else. It is not your usual “Tick Tock." Ten leaf pinions used throughout make for an extremely smooth mechanism.
This beautiful Solaris was built from my plans by my friend, amazing
craftsman Adrian Iredale. You can see her in action at You Tube Video:
Solaris
To purchase plans for Solaris by credit card (on my secure credit card site CC Now), click here: Add to CCNow Cart |
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If you prefer to purchase clock plans by mail, send $35 U.S. in check/money order to: Clayton Boyer, 6277 Kahuna Road Suite A, Kapaa, HI, 96746, U.S.A.
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New! Frequently Asked Questions
These are my favorite wooden clock links:
