fiddlin' away...

I spent a good part of last weekend working away on one of the most difficult parts for the Karakuri. A device that will stop the doll from shooting across the table at 20 mph!

My current design of the dolls escapement
It's going to no doubt change. 

It's called the escapement, an important timing device that is the core of every early timepiece in history. The early Chahakobi Ningyo were influences by western style clocks imported by the Portuguese into Japan perhaps around the early 1700s. These early clocks used a type of escapement called a verge escapement. You've probably seen these before in one of your grandparent's old see-through mantle clocks. There's a cylider with saw-tooth shaped teeth that is connected to the drive train of the clock. A post with two pallettes/tabs rotates back and forth to catch the teeth one at a time. The pallettes rotate vetically and the speed is controlled by a wieght attached on the top of the post holding the palletes. Usually this post needs as little friction to deal with as possible, so it could be hung with a wire or in the case of my Ningyo, more likely pivoted on a point. As the palettes engage and disengage the teeth, it controls the speed of the doll as it rolls across say the surface of a table, stopping the hot tea from the dolls cup launching into your guests face... That wouldn't bee too civilized, now would it?

I'm using the CAD to help figure out the spacing.
The teeth shape was wrong in this example.

Working from the photos I've made most of the parts I think correctly, though the angle between the palettes might be wrong. Reading some literature from old Muslim clock design, (which all western clocks are descended, not to mention our astronomy), it appears that they should be a little over 90 degrees. Perhaps 120 but that seems a bit much. I think in this case for the Karakuri it should be around 90 to 100 degrees. Until I make a mock-up of this and run it I can't be sure.
This is the most difficult set of parts by far. Time to fiddle some more!