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About Stanley Clockworks

RICK STANLEY

Owner / Designer

Rick Stanley has always been inquisitive. It got the best of him when he took apart a clock for the very first time. He wanted to know just what made it tick. Literally. He was four years old. And he’s been dissecting clocks and putting them back together ever since.

A graduate from the University of California, Rick received a degree in Mechanical Engineering. With that degree, he’s supported his family for the past 20 years as a technician in the power generating industry.

As an outlet for his creativity, Rick often resorted to his clocks, manifesting a “what if” attitude. What if the clock was stretched out laterally rather than circular? What if the mechanisms were displayed so that everyone could actually see the inner workings of the clock? What if we built a clock around a particular theme?

From these curiosities arose such designs as the Walking Clock (the pendulum actually “walks” from side to side, triggering particular points which maintains the accuracy of the timer), the Train Clock (which displays the front of a train, with a small model engine rotating out of it’s caboose every hour on the hour), the Fluid Clock (a resemblance to a very large chemistry tube-within-a-tube), the Timber Frame Clock (a 700-lb, 10-foot high wooden structure which uses large rocks to maintain its accuracy) and many more unusual yet fascinating designs.

Always the inventor, Rick has also designed and built machines that dispense medications, farm equipment which reduces time spent cultivating crops, and an operable electric motorcycle.

Recognition:

Channel 16 WNEP, interview with Mike Stevens, 2007
PBS 39 Tempo – Show 505 – Seg 4

1st Place

National Association of Watch and Clock 2000 Craft Competition for Horological Novelties (sponsored by the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, NAWCC)