Art Deco Clock

I found a photograph online of an art deco style clock that gave me the idea to make one from wood. As a self taught woodworker it was a bit daunting but I thought I'd give it a try. I chose 1x6 fir mainly because it's easy to work with but also the pattern of the grain. The challenge would be duplicating the layered construction of the clock, I decided to use my table saw with a taper guide.

Supplies

1 x 6 fir (or the wood of your choice) Battery operated clock mechanism. Hook to hang the clock on the wall.

Step 1: Draw It Out

I drew the shapes I would need actual size on the material after cutting the pieces to length on my table saw. The centre triangular piece would be the easiest one to cut, this I did on my bandsaw and sanded the edges smooth.

Step 2: Using the Taper Guide

The remaining 4 pieces would be tricky as I would have to make cuts half way through the depth of the material while keeping it at the correct angle. I set my table saw blade depth at 3/8", approximately half of the thickness of the material. There are two lines on the piece, one is the outer edge and the other is the angle of the dado to cut it to the 3/8" depth. Here is where I needed a dado head as it would have saved me from making the series of cuts shown in the photo as well as a bunch of chisel work afterward but no matter, a dado head is on my wish list. In the 3rd photo above you can see the material to be removed and the line that will be the outer edge. To cut the opposite sides I had to move my saw fence to the opposite side of the blade and reverse the taper guide. Tricky but it turned out well.

Step 3: Dry Fitting & Mechanism Installation

After cutting the dados in the four pieces I once again used my bandsaw to cut the pieces to their final shape, sanding afterward. This is where I would find out how accurate my cuts were as I started to dry fit the pieces. I also had to figure out where the clock mechanism would go so I could make the cutouts for it to sit into. I drilled a 5/16" hole through the 3 pieces stacked together (sorry no photo) and then measured from this hole on the 2nd and 3rd layers where my cutout would be, I cut these on my bandsaw. The last photo shows all of the pieces with the cutouts for the clock mechanism.

Step 4: Aesthetics

This is something I tried very hard to achieve, tight fitting joints and the 'layered' look to give it the art deco style I wanted. Some time with wood chisels and sandpaper helped me get this result and I'm quite happy with it.

Step 5: Ouch!

Because the four pieces that make up the 2nd and 3rd layer were butt joints I wanted to be sure everything would be tight and hold together. the 2nd layer was no problem as it was sandwiched between the other two. The back needed something to tie it together so I got brave and tried a bowtie joint. As you can see my results were less than perfect, this is something I need to practice. The only good thing is that it's on the back of the clock so only I'll know it's there. In spite of this it did allow for some extra glue surface to tie the pieces together.

Step 6: Sanding and Assembly

Before I glued the pieces together I sanded everything down to 220, sanding this after assembly would have been awkward. Assembly was straightforward using PVA glue and clamping it all together. Before applying the finish I assembled everything to make sure it all went together properly, I tweaked the hook on the back so it was parallel to the back, this would let it hang properly on the wall.

Step 7: Finishing

Finally, I applied the finish to the clock. I chose to use a cutting board oil called Walrus Oil mainly because I liked the way it went on when applied and the final finish. I've used tung oil for other projects but I like this much better. Tung oil can be a fire hazard as well if not used and disposed of properly and this product is not. Other than my attempt at the bowtie joint I'm pleased with how this turned out, considering my limited experience with woodworking. Any suggestions or constructive critiques are welcome, this is still a learning process for me.