Woodworking Craft Desk Clock

SUPPLIES Wood: cherry—one piece 3/4” x 1-3/8” x 15” (for an outside strip); red cedar—one piece 3/4” x 1-3/8” x 15” (for an outside strip); Colorwood®—one piece 1/8” x 7/8” x 15” (for an accent strip); red oak—one piece 1/8” x 7/8” x 15” (for an accent strip); sassafras—one piece 1/4” x 7/8” x 15” (for an accent strip) Tools: band saw; jointer; thickness planer; table saw with carbide tipped blade; miter box with carbide tipped blade; drill press with 1-3/8” Forstner bit; disc sander; random orbit sander; palm sander; vise; awl; grinder with buffing wheels with tripoli and white diamond compounds and Carnuba wax Sandpaper, assorted grits (including 120 and 150 grits) Superglue (optional - to fill any wood gaps) Titebond II Linseed oil/paint thinner mixture (2 to 1) Aerosol Deft No. 4/0 steel wool Flocking material* or adhesive backed felt** 36mm clock face *Available from: Woodcraft, 560 Airport Industrial Park, P.O. Box 1686, Parkersburg, WV 26102-1686; www.woodcraft.com. **Available from: Crafts Supplies, USA, 1287 E. 1120 S., Provo, UT 84606; www.woodturnerscatalog.com.

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1. Begin the process by deciding what species of wood you will use for the two primary strips. For the clock featured here, I chose cherry and red cedar, but there are many other combinations you could choose. Once you decide, square up the two pieces to 7/8” x 1-3/8” x 15”. In addition to the two larger outside pieces, you will need two smaller strips measuring 1/8” x 7/8” x 15” and one measuring 1/4” x 7/8” x 15”. These will become the accent strips on the clock. The 15” blank will yield four clocks.


Step 2. Once all of the pieces are cut to the correct sizes, check to make sure that the grain direction is going the same way in each component (this avoids tear out) and make a witness mark across the blank so you can be sure to have glued it together as planned. I use Titebond II to glue my blanks together.
After the glue cures overnight, remove the clamps and scrape off any excess glue that might have accumulated and dried under the clamps. Try to keep the stock as thick as possible, planing it down flat on both surfaces—be sure not to go below 3/4” thick, however.

Step 3. Select the “good face” of the stock—the one you want the clock face to go on—and mark it. This good face will go DOWN on the table of the saw— assuming, of course, that your blade tilts to the right, like mine.
The bottom edge of the clock must be beveled at about a 13 to 14 degree angle (15 degrees is just too steep—the clock becomes a little unstable and tends to tip over backward). This slight angle allows the clock face to be read easier while it’s sitting on a desktop. I like to sketch this angle on the blank so I won’t get confused when I make the cut.

Step 4. Tilt the blade on the table saw and set the rip fence so you just “kiss” the bottom edge of the blank. Don’t remove any more stock than is absolutely necessary to get a full bevel

Step 5. Match the jointer fence with the angle of the bevel and joint the edge just sawn to remove any saw marks.
Sand both surfaces of the blank before cutting it up into smaller pieces as it is easier and more efficient to sand one large piece than it is to chase four smaller pieces around the bench top. Use a random orbit sander with 120 grit abrasive paper for this. Just remember that this sander is very aggressive, so be careful— especially on the cedar!

Step 6.Because I produce so many of these clocks, I took the time to make a template out of Plexiglas. Plastic is a good choice here because it is durable and rigid. And, because it is transparent, I can see the grain under the template, permitting me to position the pattern to take advantage of the beauty of the wood. I even drilled a small 3/32”-Dia. hole in the template so I wouldn’t have to measure to locate the center hole in each clock face.
Starting from the left side of the blank, trace the template on the stock and mark the center hole with an awl. Flip the pattern over to the other edge and do the same thing, being sure to offset the template enough to avoid overlapping the previous tracing—you have more than enough wood for this.


Step 7. Begin cutting each clock to shape. The first cut is made at 30 degrees and I have found that a miter box saw works best for this. Cut the two angles marked, then retrace the template on the remaining piece and cut it to 30 degrees as well..

Step 8. When I made the prototype for this clock, I just wasn’t comfortable cutting that last angle freehand on my saw. There simply wasn’t enough space between the two fences to support the stock to make the cut safely, so I made a jig to hold the stock in position.
It’s a simple jig. I made it from a piece of scrap plywood and attached a cleat cut at an angle to mate with the bevel on the base of the clock. The jig holds the blank in the proper position, supports the underside of the stock to help prevent splintering, and best of all, allows me to make the cut safer than if I attempted it without the jig.
The top angle on the clock is 90 degrees. Readjust the miter saw to 0 degrees, position the jig as shown on the table of the saw, and make the cut.

Step 9. I use a 36mm clock face which fits securely in a 1-3/8”-Dia. hole drilled 5/16” deep with a Forstner drill bit. A Forstner drill bit works best to drill this large hole because it drills a clean, flat bottomed hole with little chance of any tear out around the perimeter.

Step 10.  Even though I use a carbide tipped blade, the miter saw often leaves coarse mill marks on the wood. They are very difficult to remove while still preserving the sharp, smooth, straight edges required for this project. Therefore, I like to use a disc sander to eliminate the deep scratches and to make the final sanding a little more accurate and a whole lot easier. Just be certain to maintain the original angle and sand down only to the line.

 

Step 11. Use 150 grit abrasive paper and a random orbit sander to do the final sanding on the edges. It’s fast and it does an excellent job with a minimal amount of effort. Again, keep in mind just how aggressive this sander can be and be careful not to oversand.

Step 12. Even though I sanded the surfaces of the blank after planing it down to 3/4”, I take the time to re-sand both surfaces with a small palm sander fitted with 150 grit abrasive paper. Doing so will eliminate any defects, such as pencil marks, scratches or small chips, that might have appeared during the manufacture and prepares the clock for finishing.
When this is completed, use a small piece of 120 grit paper to “break all sharp edges” on the project. Hold the abrasive paper at a slight angle to each edge on the project and make one or two light passes by hand along each sharp edge. This slight rounding over of all edges makes the clock more comfortable to hold.

Finishing Begin the finishing process in the usual manner. Apply a liberal coat of boiled linseed oil thinned 2 to 1 with paint thinner. Let this mixture set for about 15 minutes and then wipe it off thoroughly with a dry cloth. Permit this coat to dry overnight, then apply a couple coats of an aerosol lacquer based finish, such as Deft. I use spray finish on small projects because it’s faster, easier, and does a much better job than I could do with a brush. After the Deft has dried for an hour, rub down the finish with No. 4/0 steel wool.
Finally, buff the clock using three separate wheels charged with three different compounds. The first wheel is loaded with a tripoli compound. It is slightly abrasive and eliminates any tiny scratches that might remain. It also smoothes the wood. A white diamond compound is applied to the second wheel. This removes any excess tripoli and begins the polishing process. The third wheel is charged with Carnuba wax, producing a protective coating while providing the wood with a glossy finish.
The bottom edge of the clock should be covered with some type of scratch preventive coating to protect the surface of the desk or table that the clock will rest on. Besides, it looks a little more professional than if just left bare wood!
I use a flocking material called “Suede-Tex” made by Donjer company. Application is fairly simple. An adhesive undercoating specifically formulated for the product is applied with a small brush and then small fibers of flocking are sprayed over the wet surface with a special applicator gun. The system is quite expensive —especially if you are not going to make a large number of clocks. In this case, I would recommend that you use adhesive backed felt material instead. You simply cut a piece of the felt material larger than the base of the clock, apply it to the base, and then trim it to the exact size with a razor knife.
All that’s left to do to complete the project is to install the clock face. Be very careful when you do so to make sure that the vertical line between the six and twelve on the clock face stays vertical when it is inserted into the hole in the project.
These clocks make excellent gifts for the student going away to college, the office, friends and family, or anyplace else where a little splash of color would brighten the decor.