@MarkFrankclocks

4 years ago

That’s a query I have had many times. Mechanically one would avoid this type of scenario. To make it work we must not only practice good engineering design and fabrication methods, but exceed them by magnitudes. Akin to making the space shuttle that has over a million parts (we have only 7000). But the principal is the same. All wheels that rotate less than once per hour and are lightly loaded run in oil-free jeweled bearings, not unlike what Atmos has done successfully in their clocks. I have one my Father bought when I was 10 years old, and it sits now on my mantle still running continuously without attention for the past 53 years. For wheels that run faster or are moderately to heavily loaded we use ball bearings. For all those bearings located in hard to service areas we use ceramic, oil-free bearings. For serviceable areas (yes there are some!), we use stainless bearings that have light lubrication. All ball bearings within the main trains are covered on both sides with a plastic ring to mimic a jewel bearing, but also serve the purpose of keeping out contaminates. The escapement, of course being a Harrison grasshopper, requires no lubrication. You see where I am going here, I avoided oil wherever possible. As you know oil is the main reason clocks have service problems, from drying out, thickening or becoming a grinding paste from contamination. As Breguet is alleged to have said, “Give me the perfect oil and I will give you the perfect watch.” The perfect oil, of course does not exist, but the best alternative is none. All I can tell you at this point is that the power requirements we need to run the machine are far less than anticipated, we are very pleased with the performance. Also remember that the majority of the wheels you see are used in the complications which all run very slowly and are lightly loaded.

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