Digital 'Flip Clock'

[Yorkie]

I mentioned recently that my son had been after one of those digital clocks of yesteryear, which use numerals that flip over to keep the time, driven by a small synchronous motor. I'd seen such bare clock movements in Birkett's shop in Lincoln, so when I saw John Birkett on a stand at the NVCF back in May, I asked if he still had any. He said he did - £2.00 each. They were originally made for electric cookers and I guess they became surplus due to the advent of fluorescent digital displays.

My son asked if I could box one up for him in a dark oak box with a dark front panel - black or gunmetal. I've just finished it, and thought the attached pics might be of passing interest. The case is 6" long x 4" deep x 3.5" high, on feet 1/2" high. The front and back panels are scrap PCB material, and the wood was from scrap oak flooring cut to thickness on a bandsaw the comb-jointed on my home-brew jig. It's the 'war baby' 'make do and mend' coming to the surface again - total cost: £2.00 for the movement - a cheap 'stocking filler'! It has a neon to light up the display, which it's as dim as a Toc H lamp - but hey, at two quid, whose grumbling - not me!

We used to make our own amusement when we were your age...

[Joe]

Very nice indeed.

- Joe

[Retired]

Hi,

David has kept me updated on progress of this clock by email; it's been very interesting watching the project unfold and the clock has turned out well. David has got the comb jointing off to a fine art using his home made router jig; the joints are perfect and the clock looks "aged". Well done David on to the next project.

Kind regards, Col

[Yorkie]

Thanks for your comments guys. Our younger son and his wife live in a stone built house in the Derbyshire Dales and like old oak furniture, so he wanted the clock to be in keeping with that.

[Bushbaby]

Well done David,

Regards

Rob

[Nick]

Very nice David!

Floorboard offcuts are often a great source of quality timber - only slight downside is that all the ones I have ribbing on the back to minimise movement in the timber - a run through the planer removes that! I'm still using the remains of stuff that we laid down 6 years ago...

[Radio Fixer]

Nice woodwork and joints David but...

I do hope that this is not becoming one of those sycophantic Forums so excuse me if I offer a little negative. For me the case is too heavy and bulky for the mechanism. Its just an alternative view and you may like the chunky wood look. So please dont get offended .

To illustrate a different approach here's a couple of pics of a digi clock I made using a module over 30 years ago. My aim was that the frontal area should be not much bigger than the display. It is made from veneered MDF (I think but it could be hardboard) with just a few tiny internal blocks and epoxy (no nails or screws). In retrospect the alarm off button is a little big but it seemed a good idea to not have to fumble with something dinkie.

   

   

Are there any more of those Flip mechanisms around David as I would like a couple?

Thanks Gary

[Joe]

This is as close to a web-site as Brickett's get: http://www.zyra.org.uk/birkett.htm

At least it gives 'conventional' contact details.

- Joe

[Yorkie]

Thanks for your observations Gary, which I accept of course in the spirit that they're intended.

As to the dimensions, I made the case as small as I could, or the display (2.5" long x 1" high) would have looked 'lost'. But if you look at the clock mechanism in the first picture you'll see that the motor and gearing (1.5" wide), are to the left hand side, so the digits aren't central in the mechanism. Thus, the minimum width of case internally that could be made, with the mechanism hard up against the LH side of the case (as it is) and the digits centralised, is five and a half inches. (1.5” either side of the 2.5” wide display). Hence, with the wood 1/4" thick, that makes the overall width of the case 6 inches. That meant that there needed to be 1.5" either side of the aperture for the digits, and I thought that it would look a little odd if the space above and below the slot was less than the 1" that I made it. The case could have been a little less deep, but not much as there needs to be 1" clearance at the front of the digits to allow them to flip over.

Hence, to a large extent, the size of the case was dictated by the mechanism, Personally, if I'd made it for myself I would have had stained it light oak - not dark, and had a white front panel, as I think the dark panel makes it look a bit cheerless and dull. Based on the old adage that 'the customer is always right' I made it to my son's wishes - not my own.

What I didn’t say is that initially I made the case 7” long as I thought it would look a bit more ‘slimline’ but when I’d made it, I thought the display looked lost and a bit 'slitty eyed', like a ‘gun-slit’. I therefore cut 1” off the length of the case on the bandsaw, and made another end to the case, which was rather tricky as the two parts of a comb joint have to be made together before the joint is assembled. It would have been much less hassle had I decided that the case was too long before I glued it and trued it!

I had to make a brass sleeve to slide over the clock spindle which adjusts the dgits as it was only 3mm diam, and as I fitted a small brown Bakelite radio knob which need a 1/4" diam shaft, I used a short length of 1/4" diam brass, drilled out to 3mm diam on the lathe and fitted to the clock shaft with 6mm grub screws.

All good clean fun!

As to your query about whether there are any more about Gary, John Birkett said at the time (early June when I visited) that he had quite a few left. As I recall, I bought about four, but can I heck find where I've put them. You can contact Birkett's on 01522 520767. I'ts a fascinating shop and he has literally tons of junk. It's located at 22 The Strait Lincoln, LN2 1JD. His web address is: www.zyra.org.uk/birkett.htm but it's not a lot of use as you can't order or even send an e-mail and there's no on-line catalogue, so really, you need to ring up. Just say that you understand he has cooker clock modules with flip digits for sale - does he still have some left? He's had then for at least 25 years so he hasn't had a run on them! I'm not sure he opens every day as he's in his eighties now, and not in the best of health.

Meanwhile, I'm on a mission to try to track down the ones that I have (had?) and if they surface, you'd be welcome to a couple Gary, but don't hold your breath!!

[Radio Fixer]

Thanks David

What a great place Birkits looks: few like that left.

Gary