Pendulum crutch

thingiverse

This crutch serves a crucial function for the 3D printed Pendulum clock, providing relief from excessive friction caused by the pendulum's weight on the bearings. Initially, I encountered significant friction due to the pendulum's substantial mass bearing down on the escapement. To address this issue, I designed the crutch to decouple the pendulum's weight from the escapement, thereby eliminating unnecessary drag. By drilling holes in the top standoff and suspending the pendulum with fishing line, I achieved a significant reduction in friction. Additionally, I filed a flat surface on the escapement arbor to precisely fit within the crutch, ensuring seamless integration. To assemble the pendulum pieces, you'll need to join the top and bottom components using a dowel. I employed a piece of carbon fiber arrow as the dowel, which proved to be an effective solution. The escapement wheel should be carefully fitted onto the arbor, with minimal play between the two parts. For optimal performance, aim to align the escapement wheel and crutch as closely as possible to the beat position. A 3mm diameter pin is inserted into the adjust piece, which features an eccentric design allowing for fine-tuning of the beat. This pin then rides within a slot in the top pendulum piece, enabling precise control over the clock's timekeeping.