ball clock

TRX
07-03-2010

Not long after I moved out on my own I saw a nifty clock in some upscale store. It had balls that rolled down tilting ramps, lining up against numbered rails to tell the time. I wanted it bad. Let's see, in 1981 I was probably making somewhere around $2.25 an hour, and if I remember right, the clock cost $30-ish - and it was a kit I had to put together myself.

No problem. I carefully cut the parts off the trees, snapped the pieces together, balanced the rockers, etc. It turned out to be a big pain in the butt, because nothing fit quite right. When it was finally together things weren't much better - the clock motor that drove it just barely had enough oomph to work, and it was never even close to the right time; it probably lost several hours a day. But it was way cool, and people would gather round on the hour (which varied a lot) to watch it dump a rack of balls. That's when it didn't get wedged up somehow and just tip them over the side onto the stand.

After a while the noise, which was considerable, became annoying, and finally it just quit. I think the motor shaft stripped out in the drive arm. I don't think I ever considered trying to order parts. Then as now, companies seldom responded to mail, and a day-rate long distance call in the early '80s could be worth half a day's pay if I got stuck on hold very long. It sat on various shelves, and eventually I just threw the stupid thing away in disgust.

Today I found this: Idle-Tyme. The Original Rolling Ball Clock

Looking elsewhere, it looks like the clock I bought was a knock-off, since this site doesn't mention any clocks made from plastic. At $230 I'm not likely to buy one, and I'm sure the noise would be just as annoying as the one I had. But if you ever get a chance to see one, they're 'way cool to watch.

YouTube - Rolling Ball Clock Idle Tyme

YouTube - Novelty Rolling Ball Clock