Nigel,
Welcome to the forum! I had a look at your YouTube channel and you certainly know how to keep yourself busy! I was particularly interested in the wooden clock videos from a few years back. I have built a weight driven pendulum clock from wood but am currently working on an electrically driven design. I like you hybrid approach using a mixture of wood and metal.

CNC machines are ideal for this kind of work. I find the idea of accurately cutting out dozens of gear teeth by hand too monotonous for words but being able to produce a design, cut out the parts on my machine, see what works and what doesn't, redesign and cut some new parts, all within a sensible timescale is much more like fun.

Kit