Debug Hints

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SP14 report and question

Hi,

This is my first post and my first clock build:https://youtube.com/shorts/0S7IOCwYK3c?si=sIRYi_Ioy__q2pka

First of all, it was amazing to get it working. The ticking sound is fantastic. It’s been running for about 5 days now. It’s hard to measure precision exactly yet, but it’s definitely within single digit seconds per day.

A couple of things I did slightly differently from the manual:

I printed the frame back standoff in ABS, just to remove any concerns about sagging and PLA brittleness.
I also discovered “super-bearings.” They’re slightly more expensive, but given how many hours we spend on these projects, an extra $20 doesn’t seem excessive:

46 Views

Slava Kuznetsov

3 days ago

The moon is indeed moving, I just didnt have enough patience to measure day to day shifts. Overall everythins works great, weight is 7.7 lb, could probably reduce it but too lazy to touch it :) Probably an overkill for a first project, but worked out great. Thank you!

bernhard.pszola

7 days ago

SP14 - Assembly of Gear 9

Hi Steve,

I am about to build SP14 - the large moon phase clock.

When trying to set up gear 9, the M3x8mm screw in gear 9b_5 cannot be screwed in tightly enough to fasten gear 9_5 to the 1.5mm arbor. The thread in the gear is not stable enough. I printed gear 9b again with 7 perimeters and an infill of 40% (cubic), but that couldn't be fastened either.

Do you have any suggestion how to print gear 9b_5 so that the screw can be tightened sufficiently?

Kind regards from Germany

Bernhard

35 Views

Steve

6 days ago

The first question is why your screws are loose and mine fit as expected? I use the default extrusion settings for generic PLA in PrusaSlicer. There are parameters for filament diameter and the extrusion multiplier, but I have never adjusted them. The results have been working well for me with several different filament types.

Have you tried different filaments? Gear9b_5 is small enough that it should be quick to test with other filaments.

Other things to try would be to experiment with the extrusion multiplier or the XY Size Compensation parameter.

Another trick used by woodworkers is to add a drop of superglue to the hole, let it dry, then assemble the component. This adds a thin layer of glue to make the hole tighter. The arbor hole might need to be drilled out again for the proper fit.

btw: what printer, slicer, and filament brand are you using? Also, did you need to drill out the arbor holes? Or were the arbors already loose right after printing? My CAD files always start with slightly oversized holes, but the printed result is always undersized, and every hole needs to be drilled out for the proper fit.

sinayjd

19 days ago

SP4B Help

Hi Steve, I'm in the process of building the SP4B but am having some on going issues. I printed this as a 17 day clock, get about 8.5 min on the pendulum free swing test, and used about 7.5 lb of weight. All of my gears spin freely on the arbors and I'm using bearings everywhere I can which I cleaned out more than once with alcohol. When I first setup the clock it ran great but would stop about once per day randomly, it would re-start right away. Each day it ran less and less until it wouldn't run at all after a re-start During the trouble shooting for that I re-cleaned my bearings ( I used WD40 Dry Lube which seemed to gum up after a few days) but that did not solve the issue. I removed the escapement and let the weight free fall and in doing…

100 Views

Steve

Nov 30

If the escapement stops spinning between ticks, the clock will likely stop running. The escapement interfering with the pallet also sounds like the escapement is not spinning fast enough. A deadbeat escapement has a very short duration to impart energy to the pallet and pendulum. The escapement must start rotating instantly.

Things to check are listed in the debug section of the manual. The gears spin easily on the arbors. Make sure they also spin easily after mounting in the frame. There needs to be a small amount of end shake or side play. This is especially true for the central arbor and the escapement arbor in this clock.

It is also possible that some filament types are stickier than others. They can usually still get them to work by lubricating the pinion teeth with dry lube or even lithium grease. Only a tiny bit is needed. I usually apply grease using a toothpick and wipe most of it off so only a thin layer remains.

17 day mode with 7.5lbs is fairly aggressive for this clock. Reducing to a shorter duration might be needed as a last resort. This will give more energy to help the escapement spin faster.

Steve

October 16, 2025

SP5B Troubleshooting

This is a forum post by csn030696 made just before Wix shut off the forum. I copied it here to "Groups" since it may be relevant to other builders.

Steve

Hi Steve,

First, I’d like to thank you for these designs. I have been interested in clocks since I inherited a grandfather clock in middle school from my grandma and enjoyed tinkering with it to get it running again. I was thrilled to stumble upon your designs a few years ago.

Originally about a year and a half ago, I attempted to build your SP4 Large Easy Build Wall Clock. I got it setup and running for a few weeks until one day it slowed and stopped. After that point, I ran through your common troubleshooting steps to no avail. It hung on the wall untouched and not running until a few weeks ago when I decided to give it…