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.

Todo bien. No es difícil de hacer y pasas un rato entretenido. La pena es que el reloj no funcione las 24 horas, si fuese así se acabarían desgastando las piezas

Great model to build. Works and keeps time. Only criticism would be around the spring to key hooking system. You can't fully wind before the spring hook spins around the wooden key loosing tension. I found packing with a couple of folded bits of the glass paper helps stop this a bit

木製レーザーカットで一部つながっている部分を切り取るには注意が必要だが 非常に精度が高いのでバリ取りさえしっかりしていればたぶん問題なく動くと思う。僕の場合は組み立てには十分時間を取った。でも組み終わって感じたのは 接触面以外にも木の表面を目の細かいサンドペーパーを使って磨いたほうが見栄えが良かったかなとちょっと後悔している。時間のある時にまた全バラシして直したい。 動作は85回クランクをまわしてだいたい3時間40分ほど動く。接触面のロウは余計なものはとったほうが抵抗が少なくて調子いいような気がする。動力ゼンマイを挟んでいる箱は表面を磨いていたほうがゼンマイが均等にほどけていいかもしれない。 時針ドラムが２コマ飛んでしまうことがあるがこれは何が原因なのか今のところわからない。 組み立てのコツとしては 留め具の接触面はロウを塗ったほうがいいと思う。はめやすくなるだけでなくバラすときにも楽になる。 説明書には動力用ゼンマイを固定した後ストッパーを外すように書かれているが これは大きい歯車を手で持ってゆっくり解放したほうがいい。自分の場合は何かの部品が飛んで行ったと思われるが それでもちゃんと動いたので気にしないことにした。 いろんな方のブログでも同じことが書かれているのでここは気を付けたほうがいい。 あとはテンプとアンクルの接触面の説明がちょっとわかりにくかったが 説明書の通りに組めば多分問題なく動くと思う。 ちょっと価格が高いのが残念だけど 腕時計だと4000万円くらいしそうなジャイロトゥールビヨンっぽい模型が目の前で動作するところが見れるのだし 「組み立てと動作」の両方を楽しめることを考えたら素晴らしいと思う。お勧めです。

Great product.not yet built.still in process of removing components fron plywood sheet!!