This may seem like an odd question. Could you not simply make the clock run 2X slower (thereby completing 1 revolution in a day (24 or 10 metric hours)) and modifying the face? I notice you have no 100th hand, so would this not create the same effect?
@cjdavis18 Normally the hour hand makes two revolutions per day. If we make the clock run 2X slower as you suggest, the hour hand would make one revolution per day, put a 10 hour face on it and we have a metric clock (with respect to the hour hand) I like your idea, especially since primitive clocks didn't have minute hands. So, with your clock the hour hand makes one revolution per day, but how many revolutions does the minute hand make per day? Thank you for your comment!
@cjdavis18 It would be a straight forward process for a professional clockmaker- who can calculate gear ratios and build gears the size of my fingernail. My experience is with full size mills and lathes so learning to make gears using the tiny lathe shown in the end of the video was really difficult for me.
I would love to see a write up on what you had to do to modify an existing 12 (24?) hour mechanism to accomplish this. An entry on Instructables would be equally awesome!
@NeonZebra Thank you for your comment, I'm glad you saw my clock! There were two main issues involved: re-gear the hour and minute hand to have a 10:1 ratio, not 12:1. Then re-gear the clock so it would run slower by a factor of 2.4. That was the hardest part of this project, making the minute hand do 10 revolutions per day, not 24.
How would one obtain a true decimal clock/watch? The only ones I know of are either not truly decimal (20 hour day), simply a 10 hour dial printed on a regular clock (cafepress) or is this one designer watch (Nienaber Bunde) in the realm of $4000.
@ImperiumAmericanum For years I looked for a mechanical decimal clock, with no success. When I bought the miniature lathe I realized I could make my own decimal clock. Since these clocks were used 220 years ago in France, I assume they would exist in French museums. And that Nienaber Bunde watch is awesome! Thank you for your comment.
Congrats! I'm trying to make a digital one on my desktop (coded in python), but i'm having trouble dividing the values for %H (the hour) etc - they're strings not integers/floats so i can't seem to solve it :( There must be a free/linux program somewhere, this can't be hard to do with a little programming!
@sephirothsoul999 You might be interested in my analog version at drostie [dot] org [forward slash] time , where you can view the Javascript code. But I make a couple of choices which clapperbells does not -- namely, I shift the day to start at around 6:00 am local time ("around" because time zones are chosen to be multiples of +50). Also I need to write in the leap second that's going to happen this June, because I haven't yet defined the relevant time zones.
Damn! I have wanted a metric wall clock forever, but I have not the skill to build one. I would love an analog and wish someone would make and market one. Hell,a digital would be fine too. It does not seem to me that it would be too very difficult for someone to add that function to a gearless chip-driven digital movement. Swatch puts out "beat" watches after all.
@Anselcat1952 Thank you, you made my day ! It took me one year to figure out how, and implement the changes necessary to make this clock metric.
Concerning a digital Metric Clock, the "metric clock project" appears to be an effort to do just that. I followed it to their facebook page, they are making PC boards, so apparently they are working on an electronic metric clock. I don't know them, but I hope they do well.
This may seem like an odd question. Could you not simply make the clock run 2X slower (thereby completing 1 revolution in a day (24 or 10 metric hours)) and modifying the face? I notice you have no 100th hand, so would this not create the same effect?
cjdavis18 1 day ago
@cjdavis18 Normally the hour hand makes two revolutions per day. If we make the clock run 2X slower as you suggest, the hour hand would make one revolution per day, put a 10 hour face on it and we have a metric clock (with respect to the hour hand) I like your idea, especially since primitive clocks didn't have minute hands. So, with your clock the hour hand makes one revolution per day, but how many revolutions does the minute hand make per day? Thank you for your comment!
clapperbells 1 day ago
@clapperbells That's the problem! I get it now. So you really do have to re-gear the clock....is this a straight forward process?
cjdavis18 22 hours ago
@cjdavis18 It would be a straight forward process for a professional clockmaker- who can calculate gear ratios and build gears the size of my fingernail. My experience is with full size mills and lathes so learning to make gears using the tiny lathe shown in the end of the video was really difficult for me.
clapperbells 13 hours ago
I would love to see a write up on what you had to do to modify an existing 12 (24?) hour mechanism to accomplish this. An entry on Instructables would be equally awesome!
NeonZebra 1 week ago
@NeonZebra Thank you for your comment, I'm glad you saw my clock! There were two main issues involved: re-gear the hour and minute hand to have a 10:1 ratio, not 12:1. Then re-gear the clock so it would run slower by a factor of 2.4. That was the hardest part of this project, making the minute hand do 10 revolutions per day, not 24.
clapperbells 1 week ago
How would one obtain a true decimal clock/watch? The only ones I know of are either not truly decimal (20 hour day), simply a 10 hour dial printed on a regular clock (cafepress) or is this one designer watch (Nienaber Bunde) in the realm of $4000.
ImperiumAmericanum 1 month ago
@ImperiumAmericanum For years I looked for a mechanical decimal clock, with no success. When I bought the miniature lathe I realized I could make my own decimal clock. Since these clocks were used 220 years ago in France, I assume they would exist in French museums. And that Nienaber Bunde watch is awesome! Thank you for your comment.
clapperbells 1 month ago
Congrats! I'm trying to make a digital one on my desktop (coded in python), but i'm having trouble dividing the values for %H (the hour) etc - they're strings not integers/floats so i can't seem to solve it :( There must be a free/linux program somewhere, this can't be hard to do with a little programming!
sephirothsoul999 4 months ago
@sephirothsoul999 You might be interested in my analog version at drostie [dot] org [forward slash] time , where you can view the Javascript code. But I make a couple of choices which clapperbells does not -- namely, I shift the day to start at around 6:00 am local time ("around" because time zones are chosen to be multiples of +50). Also I need to write in the leap second that's going to happen this June, because I haven't yet defined the relevant time zones.
Drostie 1 month ago
Damn! I have wanted a metric wall clock forever, but I have not the skill to build one. I would love an analog and wish someone would make and market one. Hell,a digital would be fine too. It does not seem to me that it would be too very difficult for someone to add that function to a gearless chip-driven digital movement. Swatch puts out "beat" watches after all.
Anselcat1952 5 months ago
@Anselcat1952 Thank you, you made my day ! It took me one year to figure out how, and implement the changes necessary to make this clock metric.
Concerning a digital Metric Clock, the "metric clock project" appears to be an effort to do just that. I followed it to their facebook page, they are making PC boards, so apparently they are working on an electronic metric clock. I don't know them, but I hope they do well.
clapperbells 5 months ago
@clapperbells You've just motivated me to purchase a Decimal numerical Clock!!
n64wilbert 3 months ago
@n64wilbert
Awesome! I'm glad you saw my video!
clapperbells 3 months ago
Great video. Now I want a metric clock for my coffee table!
evelynm4039 5 months ago