LEGO® Clocks
Ah LEGO®, Over the course of the years, it has been known that LEGO® bricks are one of the first toys that every child gets a hold of, whether it is the Duplo bricks which are larger and easier to handle by little hands, or the original LEGO® bricks, used to make several different imaginative pieces today, or the more complicated sets made for simple electronic machines that actually work, LEGO® has indeed outdone itself in the sense of its tag line, “just imagine” for indeed the people at LEGO® has indeed imagined and made up a fantastic array of toys for all ages.
Now that LEGO® has broken through to their image of satisfying children customers only with their introduction of LEGO® Technic, a few LEGO® enthusiasts were caught by surprise by the making of a real working LEGO® Clock, and this is not just a LEGO® clock, its is a LEGO® grandfather Clock. This gigantic LEGO® clock, almost as tall as a normal sized man, was made by Erick Harshbarger.
The LEGO® clock can be seen on Eric Harshbarger’s Website at http://www.ericharshbarger.org/lego/clock.html where you can also see pictures of the LEGO® clock that he has made. This LEGO® clock, took him a month to build, (talk about dedication) and a LOT of LEGO® bricks. LEGO® clocks have been a round long before Eric Harshbarger made one, and he admits to getting his ideas from previous makers of LEGO® clocks, which he duly recognizes in his website.
What is so special about these LEGO® clocks is that well, they’re made almost all out of LEGO®s, in this particular LEGO® clock that Eric made, everything except the weight and the mono-filament line that holds it. So what are the weights for eh? Essentially, these are the batteries of the clock. The clock needs no batteries and depends on a pendulum; the weights keep the clock moving, accurately mind you, for at most 13 hours, in the case of Eric’s LEGO® clock.
The basic LEGO® clock has a regulator, which is a device that makes the clock run constantly, in a slow pace, equivalent to that of a second. One way, to do this, which is the way Eric, made his LEGO® clock to work, is a pendulum escapement, which allows a single tooth of gear to pass with each swing of a pendulum. And since this clock isn’t battery operated, the second essential part is the weight, which counteracts each swing of the pendulum, thereby providing it with power. The friction in the gears are very important, it is essential to have just the right amount of weight to be able to power the clock for a long time, and at the same time, the weight must be light enough for the plastic LEGO® bricks to hold up, or else your masterpiece will fall apart.
Be reminded that there will come a time when the weight attached to a string, will touch the ground and will stop powering your battery-less LEGO® clock, after that, you’ll have to rewind it again. The good news is LEGO® clocks last about 12 hours before having to be rewound, some lasting more, some lasting less, depending on the weight.
For more information regarding Erick Harshberger’s Grandfather LEGO® Clock, and LEGO® clocks themselves, view http://popbubble.com/LEGO®/LEGO®Clocks/MyClocks.html, and http://www.ericharshbarger.org/lego/clock.html.
