MCM Clock

This is my second Instructable. It is still a bit rough and maybe missing some details, but you may find a few steps useful for other projects. I enjoy coming up with ways of doing things when you don't have a shop full of big specialized tools.

Materials:
1" thick wood, minimum of 9.5" wide. This one is made with Black Limba.
1/8" diameter brass rod
Plastic plate (see details later)
#4 x 3/8" wood screws
Quartz clock movement with hands, Seiko 44505

Tools:
Drill press
Sheet sander
Drum sander kit
3" Forstner bit
Adjustable hole cutter
oscillating multi tool, with right angle drill attachment
Router with 1/4" radius roundover bit

Print out your pattern and tape in place.

Use the 3" Forstner bit to cut the recess for the clock movement. The vast majority of this type of movement will fit nicely into this size. The depth of the recess is critical, at least for this movement, which has a very short shaft. This step is also difficult to do. My drill press is pretty cheap and barely able to handle this bit. This is also an inexpensive bit. The reviews for it say it will do the job, but not for very long. You need to heed the warning to not exceed for maximum RPM. Even then it vibrated quite a bit and I was relieved to get this step done without destroying the piece.

The bit I used is on Amazon as:
Steelex D1024 3" Forstner Bit

Next, use an adjustable hole cutter to cut out the center piece. This is also scary. I didn't cut all the way through, then used a jigsaw to cut the remainder.

Use a jigsaw to cut the rest. A bandsaw would be much better.

Using a jigsaw produces cuts that need a lot of straightening. The proper tools for this would be a disc sander and oscillating spindle sander. I came up with some workarounds. The pictures are pretty self explanatory.

The drum sander I used is not bad. Most of the reviews I saw for these little sanders are very bad. They wear out quickly. But this one worked nice and still has plenty of life left.

This is where my experience building the Inverse Solar System came in handy. I needed to drill the holes for the brass rods as accurately as possible. I made a purpose-made bushing from the cut out piece of wood.

Affix a template for the rod locations to your piece.

Use a 1/8" drill bit in an oscillating multi tool with right angle drilling attachment. This step was satisfying.

Use a router with a 1/4" radius roundover bit on edges as shown

I wanted to put a round tip on the rods. Use a file or very coarse sandpaper to get started, and then use a few more grits to smooth. The last grit is 220. Use that to put a satin finish along the entire length of the rods. Fun.

Press the rods into place. Prepare and print a template to aid in inserting them to the proper depth. You can also slightly bend them to adjust for any inaccuracies in your holes.

I forgot to add a prior step, applying finish to the wood. Use whatever you are used to. I used Watco Danish Oil. I used 2 coats before inserting the rods. Then I applied one more including the rods to (maybe) prevent them from tarnishing.

I considered lots of options for this. A clear plastic sheet that would make it appear that the center section was floating, a contrasting type of wood, a painted piece.

I went to Fred Meyer and looked around at everything round, in a size that would fit. I found a child's plate that had a nice round bottom and a depth that would work. Funny thing, the one I found had a Minecraft "Build Explore Create" design.

Cut a 3" hole in the plate. Careful! It is brittle.

I had to sand off most of the edge so it would fit on the back of the wood better. Actaully optional.

Drill holes for #4 wood screws.

Put everything together.

If you look closely at the back, you'll see that I got impatient and didn't wait for the paint to dry.

Choosing clock parts is difficult because there are many different spindle lengths, and different types of hand attachment. I had another vintage clock that needed a new movement. It required a particular German sized spindle for the existing hands. I first made this with a movement that uses "press on" hands. Movements
with "I shaft" hands are a bit higher quality. I exchanged the original movement for one of these.

Hands are really cheap. Order several to help you decide. I used long ones and cut them down to the shape I wanted.

You can experiment with using other colors for the backing piece. I tried several colors before settling on the color of the wall that it is on

Drawings are attached.

Thanks for looking this over!

I updated the pictures of the final product. I changed to 3D printed hands, and added the dimples for 12, 3, 6, and 9