Do you have time on your hands?
If you are looking for a great project, think about making a clock. Seriously, you can create a useful and aesthetically pleasing clock with inexpensive materials, basic tools and a little creativity.
You can turn just about anything into a clock. Drill a hole in an interesting piece of wood, add a movement and presto! You have a clock. Being a woodworker, I naturally tend to think in terms of wood, but actually any material will do: an old CD, a metal sculpture, a favorite plate. If you can drill a hole in it, it will work.
This makes clock building an ideal project to pursue with the kids. Help them with that hole drilling part and then stand back and let their creativity take over. Even a paper plate can turn in to a special gift. And don’t worry if the numbers don’t end up in exactly the right places – you may have a budding Salvador Dali on your hands.
Clock movements and supplies are available in craft stores, woodworking stores and on-line. There are several types of clock movements you should be aware of:
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Quartz movements with push-on hands.
Easy to use, you can customize your clock with a variety of hand styles. The movement mounts on the back of your clock face so you will need to choose a movement that matches the thickness of the piece you are mounting it to. You can add a ready-made face or numbers or go with the minimalist look depending on the artistic effect you want to achieve.
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Pendulums and chimes.
Quartz movements can also be obtained with pendulums and chiming mechanisms to add character and interest to your clock project.
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Inserts.
These are small self-contained clocks designed to be inserted into the front face of your piece. They range in size from less than 1 inch to 8 or more inches in diameter. Inserts feature a wide variety of clock faces, with silver or gold bezels.
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Mechanical movements.
These are the ‘old school’ weight driven or wind-up mechanisms. They range from mantle and wall clock movements to grandfather clocks and require precisely built cabinets. There are kits available that include the movement with detailed plans and the option to include the hardware, glass and even pre-cut wooden parts.
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Weather instruments.
You can create your own weather station complete with thermometer, hygrometer and barometer. They usually will have a matching clock insert.
Or, how about building the whole clock from scratch? There are a number of plans for clocks with wooden gears available and some even will provide pre-cut gears. A word of warning though – I have one in my shop that looks wonderful but still won’t run more than 2-3 minutes. I know I can get it though – it’s just a matter of time…
With the holidays coming it would be hard to beat a unique, handmade clock as a gift.
