Grandpa's All-Wood Clock

by Austin

This may not appear to be a collectible clock to most of you. It has no face and doesn't look like much at first glance. It's not from some ancient era or famous clock company, and my story is more about the man than the clock.

But to me that clock is precious and priceless.

What you are seeing is my grandpa working on his last project- a functional all-wood clock. I generally don't include pictures of people in my writings, but I think seeing grandpa there gives the clock an element that you might otherwise not get.

You would have to understand my grandpa to fully appreciate this clock. He was beyond a perfectionist. He was a Master Perfectionist. A lifetime pipefitter, he also created some other amazing pieces that are now amongst family members.

This clock, like all his works, started out as a simple thing. But of course the finish had to be hand-rubbed just right. And it wasn't long till he decided to build a balancing rig to check each gear and cog as he carved them. If it wasn't perfectly balanced he tossed it on the scrap pile and started over.

I don't know for certain how long he worked on this, but proceeding in this fashion, I'm wanting to say it was off and on for over a year. I certainly remember visiting and having a pile of wood cogs to play with... wish we had kept those too.

Sadly, this was his last project like this. My grandfather passed away before ever fully completing the clock. It is now in the possession of my uncle, who has never had the heart to complete it. We leave it like it is. No one can match grandpa's standards, and it's fine just like it is.