Merlin band clock

Merlin band clock ( # 4 )

click the image to enlarge it

We are so used to see along the roads people with roller skates at their feet that we probably think these locomotion means exist since a long time.

This is not the true! Roller skates had been invented by Joseph Merlin, who was in 1768 also the inventor of the celebrated "Merlin Band Clock" which, as an enthusiast clockmaker, I have copied.

The Merlin Band Clock has definitely a very original design and was classified, though not very properly, a skeleton clock by both Fedric Jaguar in his "Biggest clocks of the world" and by Royer-Collard in his "Skeleton Clocks".

The major difficulty in the reproduction of this clock consists in transferring to sketches the mechanisms, due to the high number of movement planes intersecting each other.

Only recently, with the aid of pictures to see the correlation between the individual components,it was possible to reproduce copies of this clock and to my knowledge there is no other copy than mine in Italy.

The clock appears like an orrery, due to the presence of an "equatorial" ring and of two other rings (after which it takes the name: Band Clock), which show the hours and the minutes.

The duration of winding is eight days with the rope which unwinds from the fusee to balance the strength of the main spring.

Even if it is not an ambition of this clock to be a regulator, Merlin has not neglected the presence of the maintaining power, the device which allows the mechanism to operate during winding.

Another definitely unusual characteristic of this clock is the reduction of power between the wheel and the endless screw.

Consider the theoretical unlikelihood of such a reduction as the energy is transmitted from the wheel to the endless-screw (with such a degree of reduction it is easy to verify that it is almost impossible to turn the endless-screw conferring energy to the wheel.

Energy is always transferred on the contrary).Coaxial to the endless screw stands the wheel of the escapement counting 60 teeth. This latter carries a ring where the band of seconds is engraved.

The escapement is also innovative, being of the dead beat verge type. It doesn't result to me that it has present on other clocks before. As described before the reading of the hours and minutes is made on two rings through a double window, fixed on the "equatorial." ring.

My picture has been taken at 17h 01'31".Indescribable, but simply delicious, the way by which the minutes ring moves the hours ring.

This movement, in order to avoid confusion in the reading, have to last only a couple of minutes. On one side of the structure (the one in evidence in the picture) stands .

Symmetrically to it stands a normal dial with the hands of hours and minutes (possibly Merlin thought that if somebody couldn't read the hours on the rings, he could apply for this more conventional reading).

The winding key has the characteristic to make its function only if turned properly; if not it doesn't work. The clock keeps satisfactorily time - it has an error of a couple of minutes per week, a fairly good result for a clocks with a pendulum which has neither thermometric nor barometric compensation and with circular error which should be very great due to its ample oscillation.

Perspective clockmakers:

Iron Endless screw : I have one and I sell it at a price of 22.00 US$ + 15 p&p (registered mail)

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click the image to enlarge it	We are so used to see along the roads people with roller skates at their feet that we probably think these locomotion means exist since a long time. This is not the true! Roller skates had been invented by Joseph Merlin, who was in 1768 also the inventor of the celebrated "Merlin Band Clock" which, as an enthusiast clockmaker, I have copied. The Merlin Band Clock has definitely a very original design and was classified, though not very properly, a skeleton clock by both Fedric Jaguar in his "Biggest clocks of the world" and by Royer-Collard in his "Skeleton Clocks". The major difficulty in the reproduction of this clock consists in transferring to sketches the mechanisms, due to the high number of movement planes intersecting each other.
Only recently, with the aid of pictures to see the correlation between the individual components,it was possible to reproduce copies of this clock and to my knowledge there is no other copy than mine in Italy. The clock appears like an orrery, due to the presence of an "equatorial" ring and of two other rings (after which it takes the name: Band Clock), which show the hours and the minutes.
	The duration of winding is eight days with the rope which unwinds from the fusee to balance the strength of the main spring. Even if it is not an ambition of this clock to be a regulator, Merlin has not neglected the presence of the maintaining power, the device which allows the mechanism to operate during winding. Another definitely unusual characteristic of this clock is the reduction of power between the wheel and the endless screw.
Consider the theoretical unlikelihood of such a reduction as the energy is transmitted from the wheel to the endless-screw (with such a degree of reduction it is easy to verify that it is almost impossible to turn the endless-screw conferring energy to the wheel. Energy is always transferred on the contrary).Coaxial to the endless screw stands the wheel of the escapement counting 60 teeth. This latter carries a ring where the band of seconds is engraved.
	The escapement is also innovative, being of the dead beat verge type. It doesn't result to me that it has present on other clocks before. As described before the reading of the hours and minutes is made on two rings through a double window, fixed on the "equatorial." ring. My picture has been taken at 17h 01'31".Indescribable, but simply delicious, the way by which the minutes ring moves the hours ring. This movement, in order to avoid confusion in the reading, have to last only a couple of minutes. On one side of the structure (the one in evidence in the picture) stands .
Symmetrically to it stands a normal dial with the hands of hours and minutes (possibly Merlin thought that if somebody couldn't read the hours on the rings, he could apply for this more conventional reading). The winding key has the characteristic to make its function only if turned properly; if not it doesn't work. The clock keeps satisfactorily time - it has an error of a couple of minutes per week, a fairly good result for a clocks with a pendulum which has neither thermometric nor barometric compensation and with circular error which should be very great due to its ample oscillation. Perspective clockmakers: Iron Endless screw : I have one and I sell it at a price of 22.00 US$ + 15 p&p (registered mail)