This is Celebration: a tabletop, spring-driven, rolling ball clock with a compound balance pendulum and parallelogram grasshopper escapement. This is a nearly silent clockworks that releases a steel ball every five minutes, but on the hour, as the balls are returned below, it's a Celebration! As the minutes race tilts and spills its eleven extra balls into the serpentine race, it then falls back to hit the large bell with a "CLANG!" One ball from the minutes race enters the hour race, and then the remainder of the eleven minutes balls are let down into the collection area by a drop wheel that also dings a little bell for each ball dropped. Of course the bells are optional, and the dropping balls can be silenced with a felt pad...but then it would not be a celebration! (However, your partner might be less reluctant to allow it into the house. Ha)

See (and hear!) Celebration in action on the video player below, or click here: Celebration on YouTube

Here you can see the Celebration just a few seconds before 8:55. See the ball above about to enter the races? The individual minutes are shown on the frame as the ball progresses up toward the exit hole. On the far left of this picture you can also see the "Flapper" that gives even more movement as the hour balls smack into it before heading for the "U-Turn" race and into the collection area.

Here you can see both the Minute and Hour Serpentine races that direct the balls back down into the collection area. In back you can also see the constant force spring that drives the Celebration for about 40 hours on a wind.

The method that I created for constructing these races is extremely simple, and then each part fits easily onto the front frame.

This is the unique parallelogram, push-push grasshopper escapement. It is exceedingly easy to build, easy to adjust, very dependable, and almost totally silent, and best of all, it is absolutely full of grasshopper movement!

Below are pictures of Jeff Hecht's beautiful interpretation of the Celebration! Jeff has created an exceptionally spectacular clockworks. Notice, as you can peruse the pictures of his magnificent build, that his clock is showing 6:32. Jeff has also added a second "Flapper" onto the top race for even more movement in his clock. The details that Jeff has added to his build make all the difference!

Celebration Clock Woodworking Plans $42

Complete instructions and plans included in both pdf and dxf formats.

Choose between our TWO delivery options below:

Instant Download

OR: