Discover how much more there is to know about escapements with "Clock and Watch Escapement Mechanics." Other books treating escapement design specify the angles required in their design, but they do not explain how these angles and other measurements are obtained. This book gives you the theory behind escapement design and associated issues and will allow you to create your own escapement design, complete with schematic line-drawings, tables, charts and the formulas needed for setting up escapement design and testing from your computer (the menu below shows the results of this, in motion, although the results do not show the method, which is where the knowledge is learned!). Professional clock repairmen and amateurs can benefit from this theoretical treatment of the timepieces they are working on -- how they were designed and why. Regardless of what timepiece you are working on, ranging from an antique grandfather clock to a modern wristwatch, this insight can improve your ability to repair and adjust any mechanical timepiece that uses escapements.
You can now read the entire book online: Clock and Watch Escapement Mechanics.
You can download my book to read off line as a free EBOOK (pdf).

Here is the most exciting part of this website: computer simulations of the Watch and Clock Escapements in motion! I sure hope you will enjoy them because I spent an enormous number of hours creating each one, and even longer to create the animated files from each drawing. For example, I spent a total of about 25 hours on the Chronometer Escapement. The least amount of time spent creating an animated file was about 6 hours (for the Cylinder Escapement). The animations are intended to show viewers how each escapement is supposed to work, as this is designed to be a website for horological education! Knowing how each escapement is supposed to work would help you in designing or repairing timepieces, from antique clock repair to modern wristwatch design. Each animation may take a long couple of minutes to prepare itself, but seeing these complicated animated files in action is well worth the long wait. Be patient. If the animation does not work properly the first time, you may need to reload the page.

Daniel's Double Wheel Watch Escapement

Daniel's Coaxial Watch Escapement

Swiss Lever Watch Escapement

English Lever Watch Escapement

Cylinder Watch Escapement

Duplex Watch Escapement

Chronometer Clock (or Watch) Escapement

Graham Clock Escapement

Recoil Clock Escapement

Brocot Clock Escapement

Pin Wheel Clock Escapement

Gravity Clock Escapement

Grasshopper Clock Escapement

A Modified Clock Escapement

Another Modified Clock Escapement


Here is a history essay about escapements as presented in the April, 2002 issue of the IEEE Control Systems magazine, The Origin and Evolution of the Anchor Clock Escapement. You can download this magazine article to read off line as a free EBOOK (pdf).

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