I'm often asked about how to get started making clocks. First of all, of course, you need tools. The minimum is a small lathe, such as a Taig, Sherline, or Unimat. You can make a clock using a lathe only, (I've done that) but you'd be better off with a small mill in addition to a lathe. Don't forget that the same tools can be used to make other things, such as model engines. I just used my mill to make a mainspring winder.
I'm partial to the Taig Micromill. I do not like the Sherline mill -- it's not rigid enough to be of much use as a mill, although I made half a dozen clocks using one of them. I've also made a clock using a full-size Enco mill-drill.
You'll also need an indexing tool. My favorite is the Sherline rotary table, which you can use to index directly, or to make index plates. You can also get a small India-made rotary table from Harbor Freight. These tables are serviceable, but inferior to the Sherline product.
If you have a larger mill, you can index with one of the inexpensive 5C spin index fixtures available from most tool supply houses. However, they're a bit large for a micro mill, and they index whole degrees only, not fractions of a degree, which you'll encounter more often than you might think. If you have a large mill, you can use a dividing head, although I have found it to be really easy to make indexing mistakes using one of these.
You'll also need gear cutters. You can make them yourself (there's a how-to article on this website) or, if you can afford them, you can buy Thornton cutters. They're selling now for about $90 each, but you can get along with just one cutter to make the wheels. Use lantern pinions, so you won't need a pinion cutter.
That's the hardware, now for the "software", or what you'll need inside your head. The best way to learn is to do as I did, which is to read WR Smith and John Wilding workshop manuals, the more, the better. Smith has a link on my links page, and he also carries Wilding's books. Smith also has excellent videos, one of which includes directions on how to make an index plate. You can also borrow these books from the AWI or NAWCC libraries.
There is also a Yahoo! group devoted to building clocks, with lots of information as well as help:
Click here
If, as your first effort, you can make just one gear -- you'll find that the rest of it falls into place. It can be very frustrating to make a clock, and you can expect your first one to be difficult. But a friend says it's like having a baby -- a painful process at the time, but you'll forget the pain when your progeny is a part of the world.