Author Archives: Jon Long Sr

Now that the ball clock can run and keep time, the next step is to work on the counter and get it reset at the appropriate times.  The concept of the counter is to have a ball flip another small … Continue reading →

Having completed an exit path for the balls on the time racks, the extra ball at one o’clock had to have a way to blend back into the lift.  There was not enough elevation left at this point for it to … Continue reading →

Having mounted the ball racks and able to cycle the balls through the various time configurations it is now necessary to provide a path for the balls to return to the lift.  Tight quarters dictated tight solutions. In any ball … Continue reading →

Having completed a path for the balls to arrive at the minute rack the trick was to come up with a way of doing it different than others I have seen. I started with the hour rack because it had … Continue reading →

Having completed the frame uprights the next task is to figure out how to count the balls so that I can strike the 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 hour.  The way most ball clock work is to rack the balls in … Continue reading →

In my last post I talked about the base plate for the clock. Having the base established, I was able to mount the motor and lift assemble in place.  From this I can create a structure to support the rest … Continue reading →

In my early years, my third real job after Putt Putt Golf & Trains & Planes toy store was with National Cash Register.  For you younger ones, it is now called NCR, as they moved into the electronic age, the … Continue reading →

My last post on the Ball Clock was about creating the spiral to lift the balls. The spiral works with a rail to hold the balls while moving up.   The hardest part was getting the transition into the lift so … Continue reading →

  I have seen a number of rolling ball sculptures using a vertical screw lift.  Because of the space requirements and the fact that it is kind of sexy, I decided to use that principle. Seems simple when you look … Continue reading →

Many years ago (1970s) when I was in living in Miamisburg, Ohio just outside of Dayton and attending the technical training center for NCR, I would go into Dayton and peruse the huge surplus store of Mendelsen’s.  Multi floors of all kinds … Continue reading →