Dino Clock!

Raaawwwrrr!!!! Looks like we've traveled back in time millions of years ago to the Cretaceous Period and to blend in the natives, lets make a Dino Clock.  Using some wood and laser cutter at your local TechShop, you can create a beautiful custom dino clock ready for your wall!

In order to build your Dino Clock, you must first have the appropriate materials.


Paduk Wood Materials
6 x 10 x 0.75 in (1 board)
6 x 9 x 0.75 in (1 board)
3 x 7 x 0.75 in (2 boards)

Maple Wood Materials
8 x 8 x 0.75 in board
2 x 10 x 0.15 in strip (used to make the eyes and teeth)

Misc
Clock kit
Glue
Clear Shellac
Band Saw
Laser Cutter
Custom Dino Vector Files

Note: the dino vector files can be created using the attached dino black and white image


We will use these materials, to glue together our wood, laser mark our dino clock, band saw the clock and finish up the final product.

We will use the below illustrator images as a template for what we will laser cut into our dino clock. Import the two pictures provided in the materials into Illustrator and then use the Draw/Make Object commands to turn the images into vectors.

Now glue the paduk (red) wood together so that the dinosaur body can fit completely on to the wood.

Use the vector files to laser cut the dinosaur piece and then the clock piece.  

Because the pieces of wood are possibly too thick ~3/4" the laser will not cut through, however it will create nice black outlines where all the lines are in the vector art.


Now isolate the eyes and teeth in illustrator and cut those out of the thin 1/8" thick piece of maple.  After this you should have:
 
Lasered Dinosaur Piece (Padauk Wood)
Lasered Clock Piece (Maple Wood)
2 Eye Pieces (Maple Wood, thin)
Set of Teeth (Maple Wood, thin)


Now use wood glue to adhere the eyes and dinosaur teeth to the appropriate parts of the dinosaur wood.  Let this dry before you go onto the next step

Once both pieces are lasered, you will likely need to band saw cut out the outline of the dino and the clock because the laser wasn't able to fully cut through.


Use a thin, low-width bandsaw blade to slowly cut out the outlines of the dino padauk wood (red) and the clock from the maple (white).

Then use a power sander or rasp to smooth out the edges.

At this point we have our two clock pieces cut out.  Now we need to drill a hole in the center of the clock where the clock kit's tube will come through.

Use a 3/8" drill bit and drill directly through he center of the clock piece.

Base on the laser cutting and band saw the cutting the clock part should fit perfectly into the dino parts hand.  If this is not the case, use a rasp to make the fit good enough.

Now use glue and possibly wood filler to glue the clock to the hand and to the tail where the clock naturally touches the tail.

Once this dries you can insert the clock kit into the clock hole and put your clock together!

Now you have and amazing prehistoric clock!