REGULATOR CLOCK

Very Nice Vern! How nice this will look on a mantle or shelf. Where did you get the letters for the front? I like your clock…

Thanks for sharing

-- Chuck Emery, Michigan,

Maybe this is a total noob question, but is it a Regulator clock because it says “Regulator” on it, or does it actually act as a clock for some kind of regulator?

-- Make it, hack it, break it, fix it.

Nice clock Vern, I’ve always liked regulators. Are you putting a regulator movement in it?

Wombat—Regulator clocks were called reulators because you could ‘regulate’ how they ran (fast or slow) by a threaded adjustment that would shorten or lenghten the pendulum.

-- ♫♪♪♫♫ Saddletramp, saddletramp, I'm as free as the breeze and I ride where I please, saddletramp ♪♪♪♫♪ ...... Bob W....NW Michigan (Traverse City area)

Good start on making clock cases. How soon before you are making a Grandfather Clock?
It would appear you put a quartz battery movement in it. There are some of those type movements with swinging pendulums available that would complete the appearance of a real regulator.
Or, you might be able to find a traditional key wound mechanical movement that will fit. I’m a traditionalist and prefer the key wound movements but a lot of folks don’t want to be bothered winding them. There are some that only need to be wound once a month.

-- Les B, Oregon

Thanks for the comments. Chuck I got the decal from Wildwood designs. And the Quarts movement the same place.
Les I have a pendulum for it. Just need to get it the right length to keep it running. It didn’t come with any directions so trial and error.
The regulator clocks were used by the Rail Roads. Schools and Courthouses and such. They were famous for there accuracy.
The difference in the quarts movements$17 verses the mechanical ones $200 was what caused me to go cheap. If you can afford to be a purist. More power to you.
You can buy some on e-bay but I don’t know a thing about them. Don’t know if they are 100% there or how to clean them.

-- Earth first, we'll drill the rest of the planets later. Vern

It’s a very nice clock and you are to be congratulated on your accomplishment because you did a great job on it.

-- If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. Henry David Thoreau

In general, a regulator clock is one that is sufficiently accurate that it may be used as a standard to help in the regulation of less accurate timekeepers. These clocks typically are weight driven, have compensation for temperature changes and sometimes barometric pressure. However, there are so many different definitions for the term and a total absence of any true standards that it is not too meaningful. To muddy the waters even further, it has been used heavily as a marketing tool for ages, as a rule if the clock says Regulator anywhere on the case or dial, it isn’t.

One of the earlier uses of the term I have seen is on this dial from an early 19th century American tall case clock.

And to help keep on the theme of woodworking… the movement that went with the dial would have been very similar to this one. Definitely not a precision timekeeper.

-- Troy in Melrose, Florida

Nice work. I saw this plan for sale in Lee Vally catalog. I am going to build one too.

-- "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed", John 8:36