Project Information
This is my very first Greene and Greene project and I learned more than I could have imagined. The entire clock is made from African Mahogany with real Ebony plugs and splines.
The design is my own creation with inspiration from various clocks that I found on lumberjocks and around the internet. After I chiseled out the splines I decided they were a little heavy. I went with 3/8 when I should have used 1/4. The plugs are pretty good for my taste at 3/8 but they might look better at 1/4. If I were to design another I might change the way I mounted the tile but I am pretty happy with everything else.
For the finish I used Darrell Peart's recipe of 7 parts orange and 4 parts medium brown General finishes dye stain with a few coats of Arm-R-Seal. This was the first time using the General Finishes dye stain and I was quite happy with how easy it went on. I did discover that wetting the wood prior to applying the finish yielded much more consistent results.
I can't begin to list all of the things that I learned making plugs and splines. I am certain that I would never do it this way again. Unfortunately I waited until after this was finished to ready Darrell's Peart's books and learn the proper way to make the plugs. The splines were all individually shaped without the use of a jig. The next Greene and Greene project will be done using the jigs that Darrell and William Ng describe in the various videos, articles and books that have been published on the subject.
Before I start the next project I will certainly buy the Veritas square chisels that Darrell helped designed. I will also be building the jig that Darrell details in his first book to make the plugs on the disc sander. Unfortunately the disc sander is a new addition since I finished all of the plugs.
The design is my own creation with inspiration from various clocks that I found on lumberjocks and around the internet. After I chiseled out the splines I decided they were a little heavy. I went with 3/8 when I should have used 1/4. The plugs are pretty good for my taste at 3/8 but they might look better at 1/4. If I were to design another I might change the way I mounted the tile but I am pretty happy with everything else.
For the finish I used Darrell Peart's recipe of 7 parts orange and 4 parts medium brown General finishes dye stain with a few coats of Arm-R-Seal. This was the first time using the General Finishes dye stain and I was quite happy with how easy it went on. I did discover that wetting the wood prior to applying the finish yielded much more consistent results.
I can't begin to list all of the things that I learned making plugs and splines. I am certain that I would never do it this way again. Unfortunately I waited until after this was finished to ready Darrell's Peart's books and learn the proper way to make the plugs. The splines were all individually shaped without the use of a jig. The next Greene and Greene project will be done using the jigs that Darrell and William Ng describe in the various videos, articles and books that have been published on the subject.
Before I start the next project I will certainly buy the Veritas square chisels that Darrell helped designed. I will also be building the jig that Darrell details in his first book to make the plugs on the disc sander. Unfortunately the disc sander is a new addition since I finished all of the plugs.
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