Clock Making Workshop
Clocks are easy to make and what a better way
than to recycle stuff you already have lying around?
For this project I’ve decided to do something with an old rusty frying pan that was hanging in the Home Economics room when we moved into the school. It’s a great way to preserve some of the history of the place… in a functional way. The utensils were donated to the cause from an old auction box of kitchenware. I’m guessing that they have their own history as well!
You can make a clock out of a variety of things and get as elaborate as you like, but I wanted to make something simple for this workshop to get you started thinking.
Getting Prepared
We’ll need to find a few things before we can begin. For this particular clock project we’ll need to find a frying pan or sauce pan to use as you base. You can get creative and use a variety of things that you would find in your pots and pans cabinet, our find something at a thrift store. It doesn’t matter what condition it’s in. The one that I chose was chipped and rusty, so I painted it with a cheap can of flat black spray paint. Also, you want a fairly flat bottom, some wok style pans will not work because of the curve, the clock works will not fit through the hole that you are going to drill.
Next you’ll need to find 4 sets of flatware to use as the time markers. You’ll need 12 in total. You can mix and match these as you see fit. For instance, 4 knives for the quarter hours and 8 spoons for the others, or 4 forks and 4 spoons, etc. One thing to watch out for is the thickness of the handle… they should be fairly thin as not to obstruct the hands of the clock works. You can use all the same pattern or mix it up as I did here.
If you have an old clock that works… that you don’t like it or maybe it’s broken, you can steal the parts from it and use them or buy new clock works from your local craft store or online.
The only tools that you will need, will be a drill and metal bit for drilling a hole into the frying pan for the clock works to come through from the back. Clock parts are pretty much the same so you will probably need a 5/16” or 3/8” bit, though you should double check that. You might need to do some testing, but I used super glue gel to attach the flatware for a strong bond.
OK, Let’s get started…
We’ll first drill the hole in the center of the bottom of the pan. It’s easier to do this from the bottom or what we will be using as the front of the clock. Place a piece of masking tape in the middle of the base. Measure across the space to find the center, put a small mark. Now rotate the ruler about 90 degrees, find the center and make another little mark. Where the marks intersect will be your center and where you drill your hole. The masking tape will help keep the drill bit from slipping.
After your hole is drilled, place the clock motor through it from the back and tighten the screw. Attached the hands on the face and set all of the hands to what will be 12 o’clock. Now using the adjustment wheel on the motor housing, turn the hands to 1 o’clock. Mark a line on the base, this is where you will put your marker. Mark the rest of the marks in the same way. If you are concerned that the handles might be too thick, now would be good time to test them. Make sure that they fit under the hour hand and that it can move smoothly over it. You can just hold the flatware in place. If it is too thick, you will need to attach it to the pan/base closer to the edge so that the hand doesn’t hit it.
You can take the hands off now that you know they will not be obstructed. Set them safely aside, you don’t want them to get bent. Decided which flatware goes where because it’s time to glue them down. I used Super Glue Gel… not much wants to stick to Teflon, definitely not hot glue. And I don’t like to wait for things to dry, so I used something with a quick-setting time. It is easier to place the flatware so that the handles are well on the base, they glue easier. If you put them towards the edge, so that just the tips are being glued, the weight will make it difficult keep them steady long enough for the glue to set…though it can be done by propping them in place and walking away until they are set.
You can put the hands back on now and called it finished or add other things to it.
Either way, you now have a simple kitchen clock to check what time you put the roast in.
Things to Keep in Mind…
·Safety precautions should be taken when drilling holes into metal, use safety gear!
·When drilling a hole in the pan, put a piece of masking tape over the spot that you want to drill the hole, this will help keep the drill bit from slipping.
·Use the right glue, a solid bond is important; you don’t want to bump it and have to continually fix it.
·If the handles on the flatware are too thick, the clock hands will be obstructed.
Clock Making Links-I do a lot of shopping through Ebay. You can find a variety of objects for both reasonable and unreasonable prices. Shop carefully; shipping can add up and not all sellers are equal.
Klockit.com They have a large collection of a variety of parts and kits.
clockparts.com These guys even have those really big clocks that you can put on the wall.
norkro.com Wholesale Prices… AND TO THE PUBLIC!
RepairHome.com Other ideas for making clocks.
wikihow.com Make yourself a cool melted Dali Clock to hang on your mantle.
www.instructables.com A fun idea using a photo for the clock hands.
You can find any of this in a variety of places. I like to cruise the thrift stores or yard sales, once a week and have a large collection of “parts” for projects on my “to do list”.
The Center of Creativity has a list of Amazon books and links to many other useful things, as well as an updated workshop schedule with online payment and other “How To” information. (While there, don’t forget to click on the sponsor ads)
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