DAB's Clocks is a collection of hand made, one of a kind devices that each display time in unconventional and interesting ways. These time pieces are both functionally and aesthetically pleasing. I design and build some of my clocks without any assistance. For others I've collaborated with Guy Marsden and relied upon him for all the engineering and fabrication. In these situations I'll typically build a mock up to confirm feasibility and essential design features. Through an iterative process with Guy I'll ultimately create a 3D representation that Guy will reference during the build.
7-Day Circular Chart Clock
(circa 1950)
Designed to record temperature over either a 24 hr or 7day period (this one is 7 days) I thought, well this is actually a clock. The original wind-up mechanism was broken so I replaced it with a battery operated quartz mechanism. But because the old movement ran counterclockwise and the new movement ran clockwise I couldn't use the original charts that came with the Tempscribe. So I found an image of chart paper with the appropriate orientation and scaled it down until it fit. A red arrow placed at the bottom of the chart marks the time. As the chart rotates the arrow points to the time of day for the day that it is (days of week are visible around the periphery of the chart paper). Each day is broken up into 4 x 6hour periods. While the new clock movement has hands for days, hours, minutes and seconds, I am using only the second hand because its movement is in stark contrast to the imperceptible rotation of the chart (See video); I like irony. And, as far as I know, this is the first example of using a second hand as a battery level indicator.
