Wall Clock Build

If you are using cnc than don’t forget to use dust mask and eye protection.

Material used

1. ½” and ¼”MDF and Ply. (I don’t have ¼” mdf so I use ply instead of that)

2. Double sided tap

3. Paint

4. Paint brushes

5. Clear coat

6. CA glue

7. Thinner

8. Clock mechanism

9. Clock hands

Tool Used

1. CNC router

2. Paint sprayer

3. Brush

4. Paper Cutter (for cutting tabs)

5. Sand paper (for removing burrs) 220 grit.

Gathering images of different type of gears which suits me best. For that I use google there I found bunch of gears which suits me best than with the help of CAD I carefully traced those gears. For the bottom which is the main base of my clock I gather all the gears and join them all of them intersecting each other and trim the all portion which is inside that portion. Than you have a gear outline remaining. If you don’t want to make this design I definitely recommend you that watch some geared clock designs and using your imagination make a design. I am sure you definitely make a better design than what I made. Good luck if you try something new. After making the base of the clock next thing you have to do is to give it more 3d look by making some more gears and placed those gear over the bottom surface. If you didn’t understand than by following this project you can understood what I mean.

After satisfying with the design it’s time to choose what dimension you need. The dimension of my clock is height X width is 400 X 380 respectively. If you want bigger or smaller you can adjust that as well but I definitely recommend you to make a bigger design if you are using cnc. Less the diameter of milling bit more will be the detailing you get. For the choice of material, I choose MDF. I think it’s a good material to work with and paint finish also comes very nicely. Now choose the outer boundary of the clock and begin the cutting work. Don’t forget to add tabs while you make your program. The major thing to remember in cnc cutting is that Do your work from inside to outside Because when you cut outer portion first than it become difficult to cut inner parts accurately because when you do that you have to inserts screw in your project and I never want to do that. For cutting small part like gears you can use scrap piece. As far as thickness concern I suggest you to use different thickness of material that will make it more realistic. I don’t have much of varying thickness material so I go with two thickness sizes ½” and ¼”. Now let the machine do its own work. Definitely use breather and vacuum cleaner to remove the dust.

When you make dial of the clock then make sure that keep same thickness material in that portion otherwise your clock hands got jammed.

If you are thinking of choosing thicker material and then machined all the inside portion of different heights than don’t choose that option that will take more time than this one. So, choose that option which makes your work easier and faster.

Now remove the tabs and get ready for painting process by sanding of those tabs. For the painting process I used spraying method rather than brushing. First I apply two coats of primer so that the paint will stick to the surface. After that I started painting all the parts. The color I choose are golden and silver to make it more premium. I think it works fantastic indeed. After painting these things, I apply two coats of clear coat. Clear coat brings a shining hard surface on the paint and definitely protect it from wear tear and also prevent paint fading.

After painting, everything it’s time to gluing all parts and make it a clock. During the gluing process, I made a mistake I didn’t configure the position of some parts due to that I have to cut down some parts a little. So before finalizing everything first make a dry layout and if you satisfy with that only than glued your project. For the gluing, down everything I use CA glue. Be careful with this glue don’t pour it on any visible paint surface otherwise it will burnt instantly, so be careful while using that glue. You can use other glue but for that you have to masking your project so that there have a surface remaining over which no paint is applied to that a regular glue works well. For me that was difficult so I use Ca glue. It has a very firm holding over the painted surface so there is no reason I find not to use Ca glue.

After doing everything it’s time to attach picture mounting brackets so that you can hang it on the wall. I don’t know any method to find the center point of the clock because of irregular shape so by trial and error I was able to find the center. If you have any method to find that let me know in the comment.

For mounting the mechanism into the clock, I find the center point by drilling a complete hole and then use that hole as reference and machined that area equal to the thickness of clock movement. Than Install the clock hand and filled the name with dark blue color and wiped down the excess color. If you liked my project than definitely vote for me.