Things have been going well recently thanks to an e-mail five months ago from artist
Art Donovan. He invited me to exhibit my work at a steampunk show in the Hamptons, and since then, has done immeasurable amounts of promoting and networking on my behalf. One of the many opportunities he gave me, was an appearance in the November 2008 issue of the prestigious
Robb Report. This article features all of the artists that participated in the Hamptons show, including my clocks, and the gorgeous steampunk lights of Art Donovan. In this short blog posting, rather than excessively gloat, I'd like to say THANK YOU! Thanks to Erika Heet from the Robb Report for writing the article, and including us in the magazine. Most of all, I'd like to thank Art and Leslie Donovan for all of the positive blog comments, a great job curating the show, and for getting my work printed for the first time!
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This little mechanism allows the hands to be adjusted, without slipping when they're not supposed to. Normally this is done with some kind of friction fitting, but the small click ratchet gives it a nicer feel when you're moving the hand. This is a lot of work just for effect, but it's worth it. There's 60 teeth on the ratchet, so it clicks into place on each minute of the hour. The minute hand will be mounted to the outside sleeve of the mechanism, which is part of the lantern pinion. The piece in the center gets permanently fixed to the center arbor of the clock with a setscrew. 
54 hours invested so far, and I'm half way there. That of course puts me at 100 plus hours for the chain alone; what can I say, I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. This is ten six inch segments that will eventually be attached end to end. I'm not sure, but the next post may be of something other than a finished chain. I could wrap it up, but I'm anxious to make the weight so I can start testing the clock, and make sure it ticks healthy for extended periods of time.
And so it begins. For weeks to come, I will become a chain making garage hermit, as this is without question the biggest task for this clock. If you look at the first and last link on this segment of chain, you'll notice that they're the same. This six inch piece repeats 20 times.
A lot has been made since I posted the gears and frame a couple weeks ago. Most noticeable is the decorative piece of frame that's been added to the lower left side. With this piece the shape of the clock seen in the drawing is starting to emerge. Also complete, is the pendulum, hanger, escape pallets, and arbor for the great wheel. The whole train is set now. If I hang the clock on the wall, I can swing the pendulum, gently push on the first wheel of the train, and keep the clock ticking!