Manufacturing process

The manufacturing process of an original black-forest cuckoo-clock requires a lot of talent and skills. Consisting of many individual parts, which are hand-made, a high quality clock originates after 4 steps:

Summarizing, the manufacture-process of a black-forest cuckoo clock can be divided into four steps:
(1)	The woodcarver carves the wooden surface
(2)	The clockmaker builds the mechanical movement
(3)	The joiner builds the wooden case
(4)	Woodcarving, movement and the wooden case are assembled and adjusted to a unique cuckoo-clock by the clockmaker

The woodcarving is the core of each clock. It is made of linden wood by using many different kinds of chisels. Linden wood is mostly used for woodcarvings, because it is not too hard and not too soft.

First, the layout is drawn on a prepared wooden board with a pencil. Then the shape of the carving is sawn out by using scroll saw. Now, the carving process is going to start. The piece of wood is attached to a wooden panel by nails. The carver works out the coarse structures in order to finish it by using smaller chissels. The first cut is the "stop cut". This is the one that requires a solid bench, a solid mallet, and a little violence. The "stop cut" outlines the object and it is cut straight down into the wood all the way around the perimeter of the design, about 0.2 inch deep. The next step is lowering. This means working all around the "stopped" design until it is outlined with a "lowering cut" at least 0.5 inch across. This procedure repeats itself until the shape of the carving corresponds to the picture which the woodcarver has got in his mind.

The apprenticeship to become a woodcarver takes 3 years. However, it takes a life time to become a Master Woodcarver like Rudi Fehrenbach.