Cell phones have effectively replaced wristwatches as people’s time telling tools of choice, but the addition of a clock in a well-traveled room of the house serves several important purposes. It's functional, it offers convenience and a clock DIY project provides the crafter with a prime opportunity to get creative. A small clockworks kit enables the maker to fashion a clock out of nearly anything, from a dinner plate to a bicycle wheel.
This project results in a picture frame clock, and the material choices are as unlimited as the array of wood, glass and metal frames available at retail stores. Many frames now have inspirational sayings or evocative words like “family” or “friendship” on them, and those frames will make the piece downright gift-worthy. Don’t let the few common woodworking tools required for this project prevent the creative spirit from taking hold. This frame will jazz up a wall or shelf and can be customized right down to color, decorative influence and theme, from rustic to luxe.
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Materials
- Precut unfinished plywood disc, about 1/8th of an inch thick
- T-square
- Pencil
- Wood clamp
- Electric or cordless drill
- A peel-off sheet of numerals or symbols
- Ink pad in color of choice
- Mini-clockworks kit with AA battery
- Picture frame
- Craft glue
- Precut unfinished plywood disc, about 1/8th of an inch thick
- T-square
- Pencil
- Wood clamp
- Electric or cordless drill
- A peel-off sheet of numerals or symbols
- Ink pad in color of choice
- Mini-clockworks kit with AA battery
- Picture frame
- Craft glue
DIY Everywhere
Instructions
1. Place the wooden disc on the work table and mark the center of the disc with a pencil dot. Find the center by using the T-square.
1. Place the wooden disc on the work table and mark the center of the disc with a pencil dot. Find the center by using the T-square.
2. Clamp the disc to the work table with the wood clamp, ensuring that 2/3 of the disc is hanging off the edge of the work surface.
3. Drill a hole through the center of the disc with the drill.
4. Peel off the numbers to be used for pressing into the ink pad. They can be 1 through 12, or simply 12, 3, 6 and 9 for the respective hours that they will signify. You can also use decorative symbols.
5. Take a digit and press it into the ink pad.
6. Press the ink-covered digit onto the appropriate place on the wooden disc to stamp it.
7. Repeat steps 5-6 until all the number stamps are stamped on the disc that will serve as the clock face.
8. Place the primary, square piece of the clockworks on the backside of the disc and put the rod that will hold the minute and second hands through the hole in the center of the disc. Make sure a small AA battery is in the clockworks so that the clock can run.
9. Secure this placement by screwing the hardware pieces of the kit onto the front side of the clock's center.
10. Place the two minute hands and the second hand on the piece of clockworks kit hardware that is through the center of the clock and spin to tighten. Set the correct time.
11. Take the back piece off of the picture frame.
12. Ring the round area that surrounds the opening where the photo would be placed with craft glue.
13. Place the frame backside with glue applied to it onto the front of the wooden disc, making certain that the numbers of the hours are correctly placed.
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14. Allow the glue to dry.
15. The clock is now ready for display.
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