Opening the boxes of works sent to the competition, we discovered something in one of them that immediately aroused admiration, and we are sure that many will want to repeat this project. It is distinguished by its uniqueness, careful thought of all elements and, undoubtedly, attractiveness. With the permission of the author of the project, we only slightly changed its proportions and design to make its production accessible to most of our readers, and asked our craftsmen to make another sample. Now that all the intricacies of this work have become known, you can repeat it according to our descriptions.
Make blanks for the body walls
By cutting all the side walls and arch parts from one long board, you can be sure of the continuity of the texture pattern and the color match on the parts of the finished body.
Note. To make the texture pattern on the side walls and top curve look continuous, we sawed all the parts sequentially from one board (see “Cutting diagram”). Onphoto A shows the side walls and top parts aligned before gluing after making bevels at an angle of 22.5° at their ends.
1. Take a 1050mm long board (we chose mahogany), edge it to a thickness of 29mm, lining both sides, and then saw it to a width of 127mm.
2. Having sawed one end of the board exactly at a right angle, saw off one side wall A. Mark its lower end with the number “1” and draw an arrow that will point inside the finished body. Using cross cuts, separate four 81 mm long pieces for the top rounding parts IN, numbering them sequentially with numbers on the inside. File the second side wall A to its final length and mark its lower end with the number “2” and an arrow pointing inside the future body.
3. Make four copies of the top piece template IN. Using spray adhesive, attach them to the front edge of each of the four pieces.
4. To do on the details IN Bevels at an angle of 22.5°, using a miter saw, securing the stop, cut the bevels on the same ends of each piece. After repositioning the stopper, make bevels on the other end of the four pieces.
Mill the lamella socket in the middle of the end of the arch parts.
5. Adjust the router's stop to 22.5° so that the #20 slat seat is centered on the final thickness of the top pieces. B (photo B).(This position is marked by a line on the edges of the template.) Make sure that the nests will be made exactly in the middle of the width, and rout them into the bevels of each piece.
6. Use a thickness planer to process both side walls. A to a thickness of 19 mm, removing material from both sides. Set the lamella router to this thickness and make a #20 lamella slot in the top end of both walls in the middle of the thickness and width of the pieces.
Glue the blanks for the top and add the side walls
When gluing an arch from several parts, arrange the clamps symmetrically and do not tighten them too much. It is only enough for the joints to close.
1. Make a fixture from MDF or plywood (Fig. 2). Dry assemble the rounded top parts to ensure that they fit together tightly (photo C). Apply glue, insert the slats into the slots and connect the workpieces, aligning their edges. Do not tighten the clamps too much - just make sure there are no gaps in the joints.
2. Using a bandsaw, remove excess material from both sides of the glue by cutting close to the line. We used a new 6mm wide saw blade and set the machine table at an exact 90° angle to it.
3. Then, using 80 grit abrasive, sand the arch down to the contour lines until its thickness is 19mm. You can sand the arch by hand, but we recommend making the simple equipment described in the article "Extra Long Sanding Drum".
A pair of strap clamps hold the body parts together. The parallelism of the side walls is ensured by two temporary spacers.
4. Dry connect the side walls A with glued arch IN. From the scraps, cut two spacers measuring 127x165 mm, which will ensure parallelism of the rear walls while you install the strap clamps (photoD). When the glue is completely dry, use sanding to smooth out the transitions from the arch to the side walls.
Look at what is shown in (Fig. 3) The position of the tongues on the inner surface of the manufactured part of the body is one at a distance of 10 mm from the front edge of the parts, and the second at a distance of 6 mm from the rear edge. Select these tongues with a 6mm slotted bit set in the router table. At our cutter
Using a slotted cutter, the grooves on the inside of the finished part of the body should be removed in a counterclockwise direction.
5. Consider what is shown in (Fig. 3) The position of the tongues on the inner surface of the manufactured part of the body is one at a distance of 10 mm from the front edge of the parts, and the second at a distance of 6 mm from the rear edge. Select these tongues with a 6mm slotted bit set in the router table. In our cutter, the bearing, which limits the depth of milling, is located below the cutting elements (photo E).
6. Now replace the spline cutter with a rebate cutter and make a 3mm, 6mm deep rebate around the front of the side walls and the top of the cabinet.
To complete the body, add the bottom, front and back walls
When using a ballerina ring cutter in a drilling machine, reduce the speed and use stops to fix the workpiece.
1. From a 19 mm board, cut a blank measuring 171x178 mm for the front wall WITH. Mark according to rice. 4 top rounding and hole with a diameter of 83 mm for the clock mechanism. Make a hole in the front wall using a ballerina cutter on a drill press (photoF). Use a band saw to file the top of the workpiece along the radius and smooth the edges of the part.
Note. If the clock mechanism has different dimensions, change the diameter of the hole in the front frame accordingly.
2. Place a rebate bit in the router table and make a 12mm rebate 6mm deep (Fig. 4).
3. Cut out the blank for the front trim D. Mill a 3mm radius fillet along the top and bottom edges of the workpiece, creating the profile shown in rice. 3. Glue the front trim to the bottom edge of the front wall, lining up the back sides of the pieces.
4. Cut out the back wall E made of 6 mm plywood (“List of materials”, rice. 1). Insert it into the tongue of the finished body part A/B and make sure the bottom edge of the piece is flush with the bottom of the side walls A. Do not glue the back wall to the body yet.
5. Insert the front wall with the pad glued C/D into the tongue of the assembled part of the body. Cut out thin slats-liners F and glue them in place (Fig. 3).
6. Saw out the bottom G. Rout 3mm radius fillets along both ends and the leading edge at the top and bottom. To avoid chipping, first process the ends of the part with a milling cutter.
7. Drill in the bottom G mounting holes with a diameter of 4 mm and countersink them (Fig. 1). Place the body on the workbench and press the bottom against it, aligning it in the center. Through the mounting holes in the bottom, drill 2.8×13 mm guide holes in the lower ends of the side walls A. Attach the bottom to the cabinet using 4.5x32 countersunk screws.
8. Cut out the guide rails N for drawers. For safe operation we used an anti-splinter liner and a pusher.
A simple device made from a piece of MDF with grooves allows you to glue four runners to the inside of the body in one go, aligning them perfectly.
9. Make the mounting template shown in (Fig. 5.) Mark both edges with arrows pointing up to prevent accidental overturning while installing the runners. Insert four runners into the grooves of the template N (photoG) and lightly coat their open edge with glue. Insert the template with runners into the housing close to the bottom G and press it with clamps to the side wall A. Let the glue dry for a few hours and then glue the runners to the other wall.
10. Saw out the legs I. To safely process their ends and edges, set the milling table to a minimum clearance around the cutter. To do this, secure a semicircular cutter with a diameter of 12 mm in a collet and lift it above the surface of the milling table. Then position the rip fence so that it lightly touches the cutter blades (Fig. 6). Lower the cutter below the surface of the table and place a square piece of 6mm hardboard measuring 300x300mm on top of it, securing it with strips of double-sided tape. Turn on the router and slowly lift the rotating bit through the hardboard until it protrudes 2 mm from above (Fig. 6). Mill semi-circular grooves along the ends and edges of each leg I.
11. Sand to soften the sharp edges on the legs. (Fig. 3). Glue the legs to the bottom G, placing them flush with the rear edge of the bottom and retreating 6 mm from the front edge and corners.
Start making boxes
1. Cut out the front/back J and lateral TO walls of drawers. Install a 10 mm thick mortise disc into the saw machine and secure a wooden plate to the longitudinal stop. Move the stop close to the disc and secure it. Adjust the blade offset and cut on the front and rear walls J folds 5 mm deep (Fig. 7).
2. Now install a 6 mm thick groove disk into the saw machine, rearrange the longitudinal stop and cut out tongues on the inside of the front, rear and side walls J, K at the bottom edge (Fig. 7).
3. Cut out the bottom L drawers. Dry assemble the drawers to check the fit of all parts. Then glue the boxes together, securing them with clamps, and make sure they are square and free of distortions.
4. To make partial tongues in the side walls of drawers, install a straight groove cutter with a diameter of 6 mm in the collet of a router mounted in the table and set the routing depth to 6 mm. Position the router table rip fence so that the cutter is exactly in the middle of the width of the side wall K. Check the settings on a piece of trim that is the same width as the side walls. Attach a stopper to the longitudinal stop to the left of the cutter to limit the length of the milled tongue to 84 mm (photo N). After making a tongue on one side wall, turn the box over and rout the same tongue on the other side.
Align the bit exactly with the middle of the side wall and rout the tongues on both sides of the drawers without changing the settings.
5. Try all the drawers one by one against the body opening and ensure their smooth movement by carefully grinding the guide rails. Drill in the center of each front wall J mounting hole for handle-button.
Finishing won't take long
1. If you want, you can stain the mahogany wood to make it a little darker. (We used General Finishes Antique Cherry stain.)
2. When the stain is completely dry, spray apply two coats of semi-matte varnish. (We used Deft Clear Wood Finish.) Once dry, lightly sand the first coat with 220-grit sandpaper and thoroughly remove any dust.
3. After drying the varnish, install the button handles. Lightly rub paraffin on the slides in the body to make the drawers move more smoothly. Install the battery into the clock mechanism and insert it into place.
Contrary to prevailing stereotypes, wooden wall clocks are most often not only a boring timepiece, but also an unusually fashionable and stylish piece of furniture. However, in order to become the owner of such a popular thing today, it is not necessary to frantically run around all kinds of stores in search of it, and if you are lucky, buy it for crazy money. You can easily make beautiful DIY wooden wall clock that will match the modern spirit of your home atmosphere. It’s not for nothing that I said “easy” and not “without difficulty”, because you still have to work a little, but the result is worth it.
Today, the cottage style is extremely popular, where everything should be kept compact, in minimalism, while natural materials are used to the maximum. Therefore, we will make a watch from an untreated tree trunk - a watch in the so-called eco style.
So, take a carefully polished cut from the trunk directly with the bark, it will be even more interesting. The clock mechanism can be used from an old clock, or you can buy a cheap wall clock and disassemble it.
We will mark the dial using wood burning. This watch model only has a central “12”. If you wish, you can burn the entire dial or break it into quarters.
Drill a hole in the center of the barrel for the arrows. If you have the strength and desire, you can make a cut at the back of the cut for a clock mechanism using a chisel or a router. Install a clock mechanism with hands. You can pre-coat the cut with varnish.
The sawn wood clock is ready – feel free to hang it on the wall!
But here is a very simple, but very original version - a dial with buttons instead of numbers.
You definitely won’t find such an interesting and modern watch design in a store. Simple design made from readily available materials. If your guests see this watch at your place, they will definitely pay attention to it, and they certainly won’t tell you that they saw the same one in a nearby store.
Materials I took for the watch:
- Wooden board 35 x 35 cm, 18 mm thick (hardware store).
- A piece of plywood 3 mm thick (hardware store).
- Nails 13 mm long or self-tapping screws.
- Clock mechanism (can be taken from a boring watch).
- Yellow paint.
- Black marker.
- Hand saw.
- Screwdriver-drill.
- Hammer.
- Pliers.
- Ruler.
- Right angle ruler.
- Bit.
- Sandpaper.
We are sawing a board.
We take our board and decide on the dimensions of the future watch. We outline and saw off the base with a hacksaw or handsaw. An 18 mm board is easy to saw and it is advisable to use a saw with fine teeth so that the edges are smooth and minimal mechanical processing is required after sawing.
Making squares
Next, on one of the corners of the base, I drew 10 x 5 cm rectangles. We cut them out in steps. Then I cut these rectangles into 5 x 5 cm squares.Now you need to sand all the squares, removing burrs and making the surface smooth.
Let's start milling the hole for the clock mechanism.
We take the clock mechanism and apply it to the center of our base. We trace with a pencil. Next we mill the recess. I used a wood router bit mounted in a screwdriver. You can use a chisel and make a hole with it.
While working, we try on the recess for the mechanism. If everything is fine, we drill a hole in the tram for the shaft to come out, on which the arrows will be placed. After all the work has been completed, sand the base so that it becomes smooth.
Watch assembly
Before you begin directly assembling the watch, you first need to prepare 18 small jumpers - connectors. Let's take a piece of plywood and use a hacksaw to cut 18 jumpers 0.7 x 4 cm.We place the base, lay out our squares in an almost chaotic order. It is necessary to arrange the squares so that the plywood jumpers are practically invisible. On the reverse side, accordingly, we connect everything with jumpers and nails.
Painting a watch
For painting I used spray paint from a can. Hold the can at a distance of 20 cm and spray on the watch on one side. After a little while, and the paint dries very quickly, we turn the clock over and spray paint on the other side. That's it, the base is almost ready.
Drawing numbers
I took a black permanent marker and just drew the numbers. There is another option - print the numbers on the computer, cut and paste. So you can do that too if you want.
Watch hanger
I screwed in 2 screws so that I had something to hang the clock on. And I tied a string to the screws so that I could hang it on a nail in the wall or a self-tapping screw.All photos from the article
The topic of this article is wooden wall clocks. We will get acquainted with the history of the creation of all-wood mechanisms in our country and find out who and in what years created the most remarkable designs. In addition, we will get acquainted with the methods of making watches with our own hands - both based on a ready-made quartz watch mechanism, and from scratch, with all the mechanics made from.
Bronnikov watches
Whom did Herzen wake up?
Here are two facts that seem completely unrelated to each other:
- The writer Alexander Herzen, a comrade of the Decembrists and one of the theorists of the Russian revolution, was convicted back in 1834 “for singing libelous songs” and soon after that, in May 1835, he was exiled to the city of Vyatka;
- On March 31, 2001, a wooden watch by the Russian master Bronnikov was sold at the Geneva antique auction. The transaction price was a record for a watch movement - 34,500 Swedish francs. What is unusual about this fact is that the mechanism of the watch (fully working, despite being a century and a half old) was made entirely of wood.
What do these two events have in common?
The very concept of exile during Herzen’s life meant only that the disgraced nobleman was removed from the capital, while maintaining his civil privileges and status. Soon after moving to Vyatka, Alexander Ivanovich organized an exhibition of industrial products there.
Note: the official status of the enterprise organized by the exiled revolutionary was confirmed by the fact that the co-founder of the fair was the Zemskaya Uprava of the city (by today's standards - the municipality).
Herzen invited the most famous artisans of the city to exhibit their own goods in order to stimulate trade between the city's industrialists and neighboring cities and regions of the empire. One of those who responded was sixty-year-old wood turner Ivan Tikhonovich Bronnikov; His son, Semyon Ivanovich, helped him in his work.
The passage of time, very significant compared to human life, has erased many details of events and their sequence. Much of what happened in the 19th century leaves us guessing about its reasons.
Here is a scattering of facts and their retellings from that time related to the history of the wooden clock from Vyatka:
- Before that very exhibition organized by Herzen, father and son Bronnikov specialized in making boxes and caskets. Their calling card was wooden hinges made from birch burl - a special growth on the birch trunk, characterized by exceptional strength, resistance to moisture and shock loads;
It’s curious: a twenty-pound (just under 10 kg) birch burl was then sold for 50 rubles. For comparison, for the same money at an agricultural exhibition you could buy a purebred stud bull or several cows.
- One day Semyon Bronnikov was shown the mechanism of a pocket watch. They say that he was so shocked by its complexity that he immediately wanted to make his own version, but from the material familiar to the master - wood;
- Over the next few months, the master, whose products were in considerable demand, practically abandoned the work that brought him income and spent all his free time turning gears. Needless to say, the family was... let's say, not very happy with this development of events;
- His manic passion for watch mechanics gave a logical result: Bronnikov Sr. was committed to a psychiatric hospital by his relatives. Of course, for his own good;
- A year later, after leaving the hospital, he secretly continued to work on the clock and after some time showed the public a working copy. The watch case had a diameter of three centimeters and did not contain metal parts.
Any home interior can be incredibly transformed by a brand new wall clock. At the same time, it is not at all necessary to travel all over the city in search of a new masterpiece that will become a wonderful update.
Wall clocks in the interior will look great if you make them yourself! For example, you can decorate an old clock you have. You can also make new ones using various materials, which are also easily accessible.
In addition, they will be an excellent gift, especially for family, friends and friends who are not known for their punctuality.
How to make a wall clock with your own hands
Taking the most ordinary embroidery hoop, you can get quite interesting wall clocks. You will also need decorative buttons for this. The base can be chosen from a fabric that goes well with the texture and color scheme of your interior.
You can also use any buttons (preferably a collection) that are completely idle. They can be of different shapes, colors, sizes.
For a new watch you need to prepare: an old watch or find hands with a mechanism, a hoop, fabric with buttons, braid/ribbon, and if you wish, a thin board/cardboard.
It shouldn’t be a pain to disassemble a clock mechanism/old clock in order to remake it for a new decor. The arrows should be removed along with the nuts that hold them together. It is important to know in this case in what sequence they are connected. The fabric is attached between the hoops, cut off the unnecessary edges, then sew on the buttons. Place the latter in accordance with the numbers on the dial.
Next, the watch mechanism itself is attached. You need to make a small hole right in the center of the dial, and on the other side you need to attach a mechanism so that the mount for the hands is right in the center of the dial of your watch. To secure the mechanism, cut a circle from a cardboard sheet or wood. Its diameter should be the same as the hoop. The mechanism is glued to it. You can also simply hang it on a ribbon that is attached to the hoop. We recommend making a loop so that you can hang the accessory on the wall. All that remains is to screw the arrows and voila! See options for similar items in our photos of DIY wall clocks.
Option No. 2
A clock can also be made from old unwanted magazines/newspapers.
To do this you need to prepare: 24 pages of equal size; pencil, scissors, transparent adhesive tape, long needle, silk thread intended for embroidery/floss, transparent plastic disks (2 pcs.), a cardboard circle with a hole right in the center, a clock mechanism with arrows.
So, first you need to take a pencil that is wrapped in newspaper. The tubes need to be made accordingly, 24 pieces. Their ends should be secured with adhesive tape, then they naturally will not unwind. Approximately the third part needs to be moved back from the end of the tube, then bent in half here.
You need to insert a silk/floss thread into the needle, then thread it through the same bent tip of the paper tube. Pull the needle through and tie a knot at the end of the thread. Other tubes are sewn in the same way. They should be placed around your watch.
Place a prepared transparent disk on top of the tubes. This must be done so that the hole remains in the center of the circle, which was created thanks to the tubes. Then the mechanism is applied, taking into account that the place where your hands are fastened coincides with the hole in the disk. Then you need to turn the clock over and put in a second disk of the same type. Cardboard is placed on top of it, and the clock mechanism is attached using a nut. At the end, all you have to do is screw on the hour hands and voila!
We invite you to look through photos of ideas on how to decorate a wall clock, as a result of which you will succeed!
Photo of a handmade wall clock in the interior
