David has finished the sidereal conversion train.  As you know this train is used to convert the mean solar time that we usually use, based on the position of the sun, to astronomical time, based on the position of the stars.  Following is David's description of the work.

For those of you who didn't see the earlier installments of this series, you can catch up by looking here:
    - Installment 1 – Introduction and Cutting out the plates
    - Installment 2 – Making the Barrel
    - Installment 3 – The Suspension
    - Installment 4 – Invar Pendulum Parts
    - Installment 5 – Making the Wheels
    - Installment 6 – Completing the Barrels, Cutting some Pinions
    - Installment 7 – The Escape Wheels
    - Installment 8 – The Mean/Solar Movement Main Train
    - Installment 9 – The Equation Wheel
    - Installment 10 - The Equation Movement is Finished
    - Installment 11 - Making a Cock
    - Installment 12 - The Support Plates
    - Installment 13 - Perpetual and more
    - Installment 14 - The Planisphere

"This has seen the culmination of several weeks planning and making, the Sidereal Conversion train is now fully in place. I have shaped and finished all 7 of the cocks, jewels and endstones have been fitted and set to height and I have shaped the lower plate to reflect the profiles of the two larger Sidereal Conversion wheels, even the screws have been given a preliminary polish and bluing.

I have re-arranged the layout and size of the cocks so the Sidereal Conversion train is now more visible and I think more pleasing to view.

Next I will be fitting the eight movement support pillars and the weight line posts to the back plate then mounting both large plates to a test board fitted to the wall. The pins need to be made and fitted to the escape wheel and the pallets made and we will be ready for a test run.

Setting the depth of two of the Sidereal Conversion wheels in the depthing tool.

Four of the cocks fitted in place and shaped, the initial pencil outline for the final shape of the lower plate can be seen .

The Sidereal Conversion train is fitted, three plates are in place with the Lapis Planisphere disc, the open space around the center arbor will be home to the Wandering Moon mechanism.

The train as see from above.

3 photos showing differing details of the Sidereal Conversion train.

This message has been edited by MTF on 2015-11-24 03:09:52