Clock With Steel Helmet Logo

Always wanted to make a clock nobody else has. It can be done by using your own logo.


Two years ago I was in the board of my study association. When we moved to another location about half a year ago within our building the clock we had didn't fit in the new interior. They bought another clock which I didn't like. So there was only one thing to do. Make my own with the logo of my sub association(some kind of fraternity).

Materials:
- white paint
- old clock
- steel strips/steel plate
- silicon coalk

Tools:
- angle grinder
  + grinding disk
  + sanding disk
- MIG welder
- wood saw
- metal file(rounded)
- wrenches(depending on your clock)
- wood-drill
- Japanese chisel(optional)

Before I began making the clock I had no idea what to make. The two things I knew were that I wanted to make the sub associations logo out of steel and that I didn't want to spend any money.

In the study associations workshop were lots of steel strips so I wanted to use them. The new room was decorated in a modern style and there was a stroke of concrete visible where I thought the clock would look good. At this point I made a design in photoshop were I would work with. After creating the first metal parts I adjusted the design to the design below.

I printed the logo at the correct size. As you can see I only had small paper(A4) so I used two pieces for the logo. The logo can be devided into several parts, in this case 4. This is used during the alligning of the strips.

In order to look good, I arranged the strips in such a way they sort of alligned with the specific part of the logo. At this point everything was made roughly to the correct shape. Later on I added several small strips to reinforce or for better looks. All strips, from one part of the logo, were 'spot' welded together.

After spot welding all parts, the parts had to be made to the correct shape. This was done using an angle grinder for shaping the bigger lengths. For the trickier parts a rounded metal file was used.


Advice:
Use a dremel or something like it for the small parts. Saves you a lot of time and frustration.

When the shaping is finished the metal needs to be sanded for a nice looking surface. First I grinded the welds using the thicker grinding disks, in order to equal the thickness to the thickness of the strips. Some welds broke entirely which required minor repairing.

After the grinding the sanding disks can be used to smoothen the surfuce. I liked the acquired brushed looks. After the sanding I coated the metal with transparent metal coating in order to prevent it from rusting. 

Advice:
Dont forget to clean your metal before painting/coating.

Saw your wooden plate to the desired dimensions. In my case I just guessed the space I needed in order for my hands to stay on the wood while turning.

When the plate is the correct size, drill a hole where the center of the clock should be. When you're clock mechanism is to deep, you can choose to sink the mechanism in the wood. I did it using a chisel.
Another way to solve the thick clock mechanism is by mounting two pieces of wood near the edge. These pieces should be thicker then the clock mechanism.

Sand and clean the piece of wood before painting. A friend of my painted it for me because they have a paint shop. 

Insert your clock mechanism into the wood. I mounted it using the nut of my clock mechanism.
Other clocks could use other methods for mounting. Think of screws or glue.

When the mechanism is in place, the metal logo can be alligned correctly. I attached it to the wood using a silicon coark called polymax(of the brand Bison).

After the assembly I added three screws in the back in order to place the clock. Two at the sides and one at the center of gravity. This way it has two options for hanging.

After many hours of work I could finaly present the clock to my study association. 

I'm not yet happy the way it's hanging. The wires are white an can be seen on the concrete. I probably paint them grey so I can't see them anymore.