Grandfather Clock
Winner of Canada-wide* Woodworking Compeitition sponsored by Windsor Plywood
This Lord Nelson grandfather clock was crafted by Elmer Higgins from solid East Indian Rosewood. (The botanical name is Dalbergia Latifolia.) The wood was purchased dry over a period of twenty years and conditioned during this time for ten years in a heated shop, then milled to size and left for two more years. The wood is scarce and costs about $46,000 per thousand board feet.
The columns were turned and fluted to the same proportions as the base of a Roman column seen in the Louvre in Paris.
The Hermle movement is solid brass, including the nine hanging 1" diameter chime rods of lengths between 3' and 5'. The triple chimes sound Westminster, Whittington or St. Michael's tunes. The dial is of the lace design, so that the movement is visible from the front.
All hinges and door pulls are solid cast brass. The case components are all fastened by either glued biscuit joints or wood screws. There are 18 dozen steel brass screws throughout the clock case, all of which were positioned in drilled holes, some holes requiring as many as three different drill sizes.
The 4 feet are each fitted with a jack-screw mounted in a roller bearing for each of leveling the case. These are accessed from inside the case and are operated with an Allen wrench. A circular level mounted in a turned brasse case incicates the degree to which the case is plumb.
The rose flower and leaf pattern on the beveled plate glass side panels were sand etched on the inside by a friend on Vancouver Island, using a pattern from a leather working pattern book.
It took over sixty-five full days of work to build the case. The clock was given to Andrew Higgins as a graduation present (Masters Degree in Environmental Science, University of Calgary.)
The turning and fitting was not done to a 10 thousandth of an inch--it was done exactly!!!.
Please click images to see more images of the clock.
Elmer Higgins
September 3, 2001
* Competition was Canada-wide except for Quebec