Rocking Ship Clock - the Crutch Extension

A crutch extension is required to drive the mechanism. It is attached directly to the anchor arbor rather than extended from existing crutch because this position allows it to be directly under the mechanism instead of behind it.. It has a ladder structure which allows for the driving pins to engage each element without interfering with the other elements. It is made from aluminum bar and rod stock and pressed together.

You can see the planned location of the crutch location on the anchor arbor. The bell stand was bent towards the back to avoid interference of the bell with the crutch.

Here is the finished crutch extension. The holes help reduce the mass and additional load on the clock. The ladder style allowed for the ship and the waves to engage the pins without interfering with each other.