I’m always here to answer your well-thought out questions, however, most of the questions I reply to already have answers that appear in the Frequently Asked Questions section of my site. Please check the link here first to see if I’ve already answered your particular question. Hopefully you’ll find the information you need, and maybe a chuckle or two along the way. Here's the link: Frequently Asked Questions Page

Many interesting questions posed by builders are answered here on my blog: Clayton Boyer Tocks

Making a wooden geared mechanism for the first time? Or need some expert pointers to fine tune your mechanism? A few of my builders have created some totally wonderful how-to videos that contain lots of tips, tricks and fantastic information that can help anyone build a better wooden mechanism.

Adrian Iredale's "So You Want to Build a Wooden Clock

The Wooden Loon's Tutorials are filmed using the Number Six Clock parts, but the techniques apply to all wooden geared mechanisms:

Making The #6 Part 1. A Wooden Gear Clock

Making The #6 Part 2. A Wooden Gear Clock

Making The #6 Part 3. A Wooden Gear Clock

Making The #6 Part 4. A Wooden Gear Clock

Not a video, but some excellent tips: John Hilgenberg's Tips

Question about your order? If you have a question about your order, please email me directly at moalanikai@yahoo.com and I will solve it. If you would prefer to write, you may write to Clayton Boyer, P.O. Box 451, Kenwood, CA, 95452, U.S.A. Our customer service phone number is 707-843-9805, however, all customer service is handled by email response. Please make sure your correct email is on your order and on your return email and on any correspondence you email to moalanikai@yahoo.com. Also be sure that we are on your "safe sender" list. Since we live in the Pacific Time zone, we answer email queries promptly throughout the day mainly during those hours.

"How long will my plans take to arrive?"

If you've ordered an electronic dxf plan, I strive to send your order to you via email attachment within 24 hours. Please be aware that I must be awake in order to do this, so give the sun time to come up in my time zone. At this time, I do not offer automatic downloads.

I try my best to turn around all the orders, paper and electronic, within 24 hours, excluding weekends and holidays. I send all my orders out USPS First Class. Domestic orders containing three or more plans usually go out USPS Priority Mail. Here is the schedule my post office says to allow for delivery of my plans:

West Coast of United States - 2 to 3 weeks.

East Coast of United States - 3 to 4 weeks

Canada and Mexico - 3 to 4 weeks

Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan - 3 to 4 weeks

South America, Africa - 4 to 6 weeks

Europe - 4 to 6 weeks, excluding Italy

Italy - 6 weeks to 4 years

HOWEVER, I find that my packages usually arrive in about half of the time listed above.

"Which is the best clock design for beginners?"

I always used to recommend my Number Six as the best clock for the beginner to learn about building wooden clockworks. It is a true clock with front and rear plates (frames), and her large wheels are not only pleasant to look at but are also very forgiving for the first time clock builder. Her large escape wheel, right out front, is also quite mesmerizing. I love my Number Six. Mine has been running over seven years and still she has never even given me a lick of problems or needed a cleaning!

Later I created my Simplicity...and as the name implies, she is even easier than the Number Six because of her "uni-frame" construction, and fewer wheels to cut. The song of my Simplicity is the first thing to greet me in the morning as I enter my shop. Yes! - she is still operating out in my shop where she has to contend with mounds of sawdust. Once the sawdust gets to thick on her and she stops, I simply take my compressed air and blow her off and she's ready to go out dancing again.

My simplest clock design is the Genesis. Genesis is probably the best beginner's clock to start your clockmaking journey. It is not only a simple build, but has the very best, most complete step-by-step set of instructions that I have ever written.

Kauai Time is also a wonderful design that is easy for the first timer to build. Kauai Time is a simple three wheel design with a large escapement and is very forgiving of the first time builder.

If you want to build an even simpler mechanism (notice I'm not calling it a clock) you could look at my Horologium. If you want some semblance of correct time, build one of the above, but if you just want a lot of movement and an approximation of time, the Horologium is about as simple as you can get. If you look up John Hilgenberg's Horologium on my Flicker link (on my main page) he says his keeps nearly perfect time. His is made of acrylic and is quite beautiful.

So, there you go, four choices depending upon what you'd like, but remember, all of my designs are "build-able". It is just that some take more time and tenacity than others.

If you have checked these resources THOROUGHLY and still have a question, you may contact me by using the following email link (or right click and copy the email address if the link is not supported by your browser settings):

Email Clayton

Aloha. Clayton