Clock Hand Material?

Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2011 11:35 pm     Post subject: Clock Hand Material?

Hello fellow clock enthusiasts and professionals. I'm curious as to the different materials used to make basic clock hands? Some sort of super thin aluminum of some kind?

How about for larger..long hands? 15-20" length range?

Does it come in sheet stock of some kind? Where to get it if anyone knows?

I have been buying supplies from klockit for over 20 years, but need to make my own hands on my next project.

Thank you in advance for any help on this.

Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 8:47 pm     Post subject:

I can certainly try to assist:

1.) Yes - hands are constructed out of light weight aluminum (although I have seen thin, light-weight wooden hands from a marketry company in IL.). The wood hands, however, did not work out so well in testing (a lot of hub breakage due to the material being so thin).

2.) Longer hands [7"+] are also aluminum (with a light-weight counter-balance on the back end of the hand - opposite the pointer. Note that this counter-balance is on the backside of the hand).

3.) Sourcing hands is a daunting task. Hands are primarily made in the Orient, and large minimum order requirements are usually necessary to purchase them. Hands come finished and ready for purchase.

4.) Feel free to try your hand at making your own hands (no pun intended). Purchase a movement or two and make certain to test your hands for a period. I would buy a standard movement and a high torque movement for testing purposes. Note that high torque movements can deliver more power for longer (heavier) hands. The longer you can test them, the better (as you can also gauge how long battery life will last).

Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 9:11 pm     Post subject:

Chris- thanks! It sounds hard.

I'm needing hands similar to the hands pictured below. Somewhere in the 15-20" range.

Do you know of anything that looks similar to these...in any size at all?

Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 10:49 pm     Post subject: Clock hands

I run a CNC machine shop in SW Florida and can make the hands you are looking for. Send me a PM and we can start a design.
http://www.woodenclockparts.com
Regards
Joe

Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 10:52 pm     Post subject:

maybe these
http://www.norkro.com/webpages/longhands.htm

Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 1:51 pm     Post subject:

We have a 17-1/2" hand which can be used with a high torque clock movement (#66764). See the link below and refer to style F.

http://www.klockit.com/products/sku-66255a.html

It may be possible to trim these hands into the shape which you desire (or a shape that more closely resembles that which you are looking for).

If Joe can custom make these hands, that may be another option as well. Note that you will still want to test any hands you fabricate to ensure that they will work properly (particularly check the hands moving up from the 6 to 12 o'clock positions).