Music CD + CD Cover - CLOCK ALARM

Here's something i was working on this days... (i made one for a "friend" of mine... and after that i tryed to make a second one with one of my most beloved CDs)
The general idea was to create a clock with a CD as background circle... but then i was thinking for a solution to make it stand up, and i came out with the cover of the same :D

Here's a Guide Step-by-step to create it (it's my first tutorial, so don't blame me if it's kinda messy, also, english is not my mother lenguage... so...)

This is a summary, you'll find the various steps moving on with the tutorial
STEP1 = You'll need a CD, his cover, an empty can, a knife, some glue, the mechanism of an alarm clock, something to heat, a ruler, a pen...
STEP2 = Take your CD and sign 12 points on it for the 12 hours
STEP3 = Take the cover and the Mechanism, get the exact position of the mechanism (so that the hands will be attached in the middle) and cut with the knife the shape of the mechanism on the Cover, cut also the paper on the back (the one with the track list)
Take the glue and attach themechanism into the hold you just cut, then take the piece of rear cover you and glue it on the mechanism (with a little hole in it) then glue the CD in his original position.
STEP4 = Take the can, cut the head and the bottom and take the middle section, so that you'll have a plane surface to work on.
Take a ruler and with a pen draw the shape of the hands of the clock, first make an hole in the right place and then with the knife cut the shape you just draw
STEP5 = Put the hands in their places and a battery on the back and you're done ^^
(EXTRA STEP6 = Why this could be a nice gift for someone and how)

You'll need a bounch of materials that i hope to be very common in your houses (except maybe for one or two of them)

Essential:
- a CD with his cover (take an old one, a new one, it's up to you, i took one of my favourite for example)
- a clock mechanism (you can take it directly from an old clock, you'll have also the clock hands in that case)

Additional:
- an empty can (i put this as additional 'cause you can use the hands of the mechanism or you can cut yours)
- something to draw the numbers (i used some Polystyrene, a needle and some black paint, also a marker is ok, you can leave the CD clean too)

Tools:
- a knife
- a ruler
- some glue
- something to heat (this is optional too, but you may find it handy!!)

Take a look at the photo here... it's out of focus my digital cam sucks...
Anyway... put your CD in the middle of a Paper, draw his inline and outline and take record of the center of the 2 circles you just draw.

1) With the ruler measure the Radius (R) of the outline circle... the easiest way to get the position of the other hours is to draw vertical and orizontal lines around the clock (drawing a square) and sign projection of the center of the square to the 4 sides of the square, from that points draw a segment of R/2 (the half part of the radius) to the left and to the right... and project that point on the circle.
These are the 12 hours on the outer circle

2) You've to print somehow the numbers on the CD, nothing easier, but here's what i did to draw them:
Take a piece of polystyrene (with a flat side) and a needle, attack the needle with adhesive tape on a pen and take a lighter...
Then carve the numbers on the polystyrene... once you do this take some print and use the numbers you just carved as stamp on the CD to print the numbers

this is the most tricky part, 'cause the risk here is to ruin the cover...

1) take the mechanism and get his position on the cover: open the cover and set the mechanism down in the center of the CD's place, then sign his position with a pen or a pencil

2) take a cutter and a lighter (i used the kitchen range instead of the lighter...) and heat the cutter... then cut the shape you've signed on the cover (it will be much easier to cut the cover with an heated blade.
Do the same operation on the rear of the cover and cut the paper (make a little hole in this one so that you can glue it on the front of the clock mechanism

3) take some glue, the cutted cover, the piece of paper you take out from the rear, the mechanism and the CD
Put some glue on the front of the mechanism and attach the piece of paper on it.
Put other glue on the hole in the cover and attach the mechanism.
Now take the CD and glue it in his original position.

Now the center of the mechanism (where you'll put the hands) is in the center of the CD placed in his cover.

Now, here's where the empty can comes in handy (thanks to rickharris for the idea: https://www.instructables.com/member/rickharris/)

1) Take the can, cut the head and the bottom and a vertical line with the cutter, now you've an alluminium foil
With a ruler and a pen sign the length of the hands, the position for the hole (that allows you to block the hands in the mechanism) and draw a shape...

2) First of all make the hole!! it will be nearly impossible to make it after you've cut out the hand.
i used the rounded point of a soldering iron but you can come up with other ideas to cut the hole in the middle, just be sure to make it perfect rounded (tought it depends on the mechanism you're using)...
Just... take a memo of the shape you need for the hole to block the hands on the mechanism and cut it.

3) after you've cut the hole with a cutter or a schissors cut the shape of the hands.

4) one last tip, take the adhesive tape and a pen, take your hands and attach the hands on the pen, this will give them a better shape (they'll be rounded) and 'cause of their new shape they'll be more resistant

Here we are on the final step.

1) take the hands of the clock and block them on the mechanism (you won't need to glue them probably, or if so take caution)

2) Turn the cover on his back and put a battery in his place.

The clock is ready to work!! Set the time and the alarm (if you've the alarm test it, be sure that the hour hand and the alarm hand are in the same spot when the alarm is ringing: put the alarm hand on the 12 o'clock, put it ON and start to rotate the time gear, when the allarm start to ring put the hours and minutes hands vertically and you're done).

Thanks to you that read this guide... i hope someone will try to make this clock and that he'll likes it :)

For the "holiday gifts contest" i want to add something...

This is how this can be a nice gift for someone (this is what i actually did for the other one i made as a gift):
Take some paper, carboard, polystyrene, boxes (of the right size, otherwise make one on your own).

1) Create a box with the base of the same size of the CD (maybe 2 or 3 millimeters bigger)...
2) Put some cardboard or polystyrene on the inside so that the CD (closed) will reach the top of the box and the mechanism behind it won't touch the bottom of the box (you may ruin it)...
The final result should looks like the classic iPad package, when you open it you instantly see the iPad perfectly fitting the box on the inside.
3) Just gift wrap it and you're done.

The reaction of the one who open it should be as follow...
Your friend will open the box and will see the CD, the classic gift, a music CD, ordinary, boring, impersonal (even better if it's a CD that he/she won't like, still with a nice graphic)... after the first reaction he/she will open the cover and will see that something is out of place, he/she will take out the CD from the box and will see that it's not an ordnary music CD but an alarm clock instead...
This should be enough to make him/her smile and laugh with you granting you lots of satisfaction and him/her lots of joy!! ^^