Another Ball Clock Working
Printed with a bunch of leftover colours to clean up the shelf.
It worked well right off the bat with no pen
dulum but refused to work with it, so, I did what all intrepid makers do ... broke down and read the instructions! Now it just needs some run in time and tweaking.
Cheers
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Great looking clock. It even matches the tablecloth.
Testing the clock without the pendulum is a good first check. It helps break in the components and gives you an indication of overall dynamic friction. Clocks are sensitive to static friction as well. This gets tested by the start/stop action of the escapement.
Add the pendulum and slowly move it from side to side. The escapement should start spinning instantly when the pallet tips clear the escapement. If the escapement is sluggish, then there could be high static friction somewhere. You could try lubricating the pinion teeth with a thin layer of grease to see if it improves.
Also the escapement should have equal action in both directions. Make sure the table is level. Add playing card shims under corners until a ball can rest in the lower tray without rolling. You may need to remove the tablecloth until you get the clock working. The side screws on the pendulum arm can be used to adjust the beat if needed. As Andrew mentions, they should start in the middle of the adjustment range on both sides.
Both of these issues are related to the escapement characteristics. A 10 second video showing a closeup of the escapement can often help pinpoint where to focus the next debug effort.