UGEARS Tourbillon Table Clock - Sky Watcher 3D Wooden Puzzle Mechanical Kit - DIY Desk Clock for Adults and Kids

Interesting and challenging project. Great fun and educational at the same time.

Background: This is the second UGears model that I have assembled and just like the first one (Steam Locomotive U-460), the plywood quality felt very good and hefty and the engineering put into the model was very impressive. I purchased this clock thinking that all the lessons I learned from building the Steam Train would make getting this clock smoothly functioning in a jiffy. I was extremely wrong in this assumption. Assembly: My kit was missing the cardstock for the clock dials, but I contacted UGears's customer service and they mailed me the parts to me with no charge. Very nice! It took me 3 days to assemble since I spent the time to wax and sand for a soft finish on every surface (it is imperative that a 90 dollar kit should look and feel good). The build was very complex but satisfying to engage with. I however do recommend buying your own set of quality round toothpicks as I found the ones provided to be of quite low quality. Also, consider buying own your supply of paste wax as you will need a lot more wax than what the kit provides. The instructions for installing parts were clear, though I had to look online to understand some of what was happening when it came to the moving/calibration steps - the descriptions there were a bit lacking. Fortunately a QR code in the manual pointed me to videos that I found helpful. Tuning: It was daily process of fiddling with the tourbillon to figure out what needed sanding or further lubrication. After assembly without tuning, the clock would run for a minute at a time before seizing - which wasn't up to my standards. Learning how the mechanism works before fiddling with it and sanding down actual geometries is vital for not bricking this expensive puzzle. I did craft some parts myself, such as a cleaner pallet lever with lower friction gems and a longer guard pin essentially get near perfect performance. It runs as advertised now, keeping up power for 2ish hours before stopping. I am now extremely familiar with the Swiss lever escapement mechanism. If I had some final tips - it would be that friction is the enemy, and always know how things work before deciding to make permanent modifications. Conclusion: This is a very nice kit and the plywood is of good quality. Costumer Service was helpful in proving me with missing parts and had a fast response time. The toothpicks and wax provided are insufficient in quality and amount so it would be best to purchase your own. The Clock is unlikely to work well right after assembly and will require to be taken apart for further tuning. Perfecting the clock is time consuming process and requires a passing level of knowledge or mechanical intuition but doing so will result in a clock that runs as advertised. I recommend this to anyone with a passing interest in these sorts of things and the patience to back it up.

Il modello è di grande qualità, i pezzi sono realizzati al laser con estrema precisione. Le istruzioni per il montaggio sono molto precise, ma è essenziale NON AVERE FRETTA e seguire tutto passo-passo. Essenziale una buona lubrificazione dei pezzi in movimento: io ho usato un sottilissimo strato di grasso di silicone anziché la cera. E' anche estremamente importante il rodaggio: nei primi tentativi di funzionamento, il mio orologio si fermava dopo pochi secondi, ed era necessario rimetterlo in moto manualmente agendo sulla ruota del bilanciere. Dopo un po' di rodaggio, l'orologio ha cominciato a funzionare sempre meglio, ed ora funziona per oltre due ore con una sola carica !!!! Guardarlo è quasi ipnotico. In sostanze, un modello molto complicato e difficile da montare, ma fattibile con pazienza. E il risultato finale è spettacolare. Un grandissimo BRAVI!!! ai progettisti di UGEARS, dei veri geni....

Very nice piece of mechanical artwork, I finished it in 2 days, was difficult to make it work properly, but I was able to "break-in" sand-off the edges of the gears to reduce the friction and other form of movement restrictions. I've put some lithium based grease with paraffin wax and it work decently well. It looks cute !!! *You need to lightly sand the edges of the gears with a nail polishing file and properly lubricate them, to reduce the friction between the meshing teeth.

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Acheté pour l'anniversaire de mon compagnon, arrivé à la 7e page, il manque déjà une pièce... Un ressort qui nous paraît essentiel pour le système pourtant, serait il possible d'avoir contact pour obtenir une pièce de rechange ? À part ça, paraît d'une bonne qualité, le bois est bien épais, au point qu'il est presque difficile à détacher des plaques, une fois construite je pense que l'horloge ne bougera plus, ce qui est un bon point.