Customer Reviews

How to Build 35 Great Clocks: Complete with Working Plans, Drawings, and Instructions

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Mr. Daniele has a reputation as a true craftsman and historian, he wrote for Early American Life in addition to all those books. This book includes patterns for the beginner as well as the more experienced wood worker. Interesting comments on design throughout. I have all of Daniele's books, his knowledge as a teacher and historian make each a delight to work with, I use them extensively in my classroom.

Maybe I'm crazy, but I've always considered a clock to be the inner workings - springs, pendulums, and such. This book doesn't tell you how to build those - it is merely a woodworking book that talks about the design of the cabinets that house clocks. Not for a horologist.

Offers the inexperienced woodworker simple designs with more advanced designs for the experienced woodworker. Especially interesting for those who admire the American colonial period.

I have this book and was looking for other books by Mr. Daniele since I had him as a teacher years ago at Ludlow. One of the best classes I've ever taken. He is a master craftsman with wood and metal, and certainly respected and admired the colonial period. He conveyed this respect to his classes,and through his books, I am able to convey it to my sons. The drawings and instructions are clear and easily used by all levels of woodworker. Lots of photos of finished peices. Ideal for the home hobbiest.

The book was rather disappointing in the sense that it does not give any information at all about building clocks. It tells you how to build CLOCK-CASES from wood. Withing these restrictions, the book indeed gives 35 nice examples for people who have a 'naked' clockmovement and who want to give this a house to live in. The drawings are clear. The parts-lists are very helpfull. The measures are imperial, so the normal (metric) part of the world will have to convert all sizes. Not a really difficult thing to do, but time-consuming. A conversion table from inches into centimeters, in an appendix, would have been helpfull. The price is moderate, for a book with so many drawings and figures (black and white). So once you are aware of the somewhat misleading title, is is still good value for money.

Woodworking is my hobby and I really like this book. I find it well written, easy to understand and fun to work from. It is written specifically for the hobbyist woodworker who doesn't have an unlimited budget for expensive tools. The thorough introduction gives a bit of history and then discusses the components needed to make a clock, including movements, hands, faces, and other supplies. It also covers joinery and assembly options. The plans begin with simple plaque style clocks and become more involved with each chapter. The drawings are professionally done, detailed without being "fussy". The instructions are concise and easy to follow. A little bonus is the final chapter on weather stations which gives plans for cases to house barometers and such.
I would also like to make some final comments on the few poor reviews that this book has received. As a buyer, if you are unable to choose a book appropriate to your interests, level of expertise or personal tastes; and you are not capable of comprehending the nature of the book before purchasing; and you prefer not to actually read the book, be fair, recognize your own limitations and don't take it out on the book or the author.

if your looking for just general feel of the great clocks of old then it is ok, but I did not find any of the designs to be historically accurate. Even though he would show a picture along side the plans of a true Antique. I think this may be because the book was written in the early 80's as most of these plans seem to be coping. mainly the shaped edges. they were not traditional shapes but more the 80's rounded off corners. Also the joinery was sup par. For a beginner it is fine, but if your experienced pass on this dated work.

This book provides a good history of clocks, but that is the nicest thing I can say about it.

The pictures are of very poor quality, the plans are incomplete - ignoring details obvious on the original shown. The author seems to think nails and butt-joints are a good method of joinery. The author shows no knowledge of wood movement in the designs. Most of the clocks allow no method for accessing the quartz movement after construction - so it is impossible to change batteries.

This is a good book to browse at the library, but when it comes to actually building clocks, keep looking.

Mr. Daniele gives the beginner and the advanced wood worker designs to choose from in this beautifully done book. His drawings, as always are well done. His other books, now out of print, are well priced collectors items. This book is also destined to become a sought after collectable. Lets hope a new book is forth coming.

This book was written close to 30 years ago and the time has really taken its toll. Nothing is up to the standards of a similar book being published today.

The photos are grainy b&w snapshots. His constructions methods leave much to be desired. For example, he rounds over interior door frame edges with a router after the door frames have been assembled (look closely at the clock on the front cover). A much better looking door frame would be made with cope and stick joinery (which is much easier to accomplish in 2010 with dedicated router bits as compared to 1982).

Would I buy this again? For $12 it's an OK deal. It will certainly give you the proportions and overall dimensions that you need. But it won't give the details necessary for a well-constructed clock. You'll need to adapt and improvise.