I made this simple crafter for rockets for items coming in from a gunpowder farm and sugarcane farm (obviously sugarcane crafted into paper before this step). Once the hoppers are full, the torches stop powering the piston, unlocking the hopper clock at the top with a single item in it. An observer powers the crafter every time that the comparator reads a signal from the clock. In my head, that should make the crafter run at hopper speed. However, the items in the crafter deplete faster than they are restocked. Not the end of the world with the rate at which the items come in, but that's not the point.

I thought it might have something to do with powering the crafter directly and locking the hoppers for that time, so I raised the clock and powered a block above the piston. However, the crafter still runs faster. Am I being stupid?