Sun Burst Clock

In this Instructable I show how I make a Sun burst clock. It's a throwback to the 40s,50s & 60s when they were most popular. This is quite a large clock with the diameter of the clock 38.5 inches or 980mm but it could easily be scaled up or down to suit your needs. I first made this clock a number of years ago and it has been hanging in my house ever since. If you would like to give it a go check out below.

Materials:

Wood old or new around 30mm thick

9 mm Wood dowels

Glue (wood & super)

Battery clock mechanism & hands (Amazon)

Self adhesive numerals (Amazon)

Wood stain

Varnish & white paint

Tools:

Circular saw

Drill + 9mm drill bit to match dowel width

Router with 6 or 12mm straight cutting bit

Pliers ( to tighten clock mechanism nut)

Rubber mallet

Electric sander

Have a look at the video above.

To start I marked out a sun ray on a piece of cardboard to use as a template to mark the 32 rays needed. A ray measures 205mm long , 40mm widest end and x7 mm on the narrow end.

The wood I used was recycled wood which had come from an old school bench which was being discarded. The wood in question was 30mm thick. When marking the rays onto the wood I left a 3mm spacing between them. this was to allow for the thickness of my circular blade which was 3mm thick.

To carefully and safely cut out the rays I clamped the wood to my work bench with some quick clamps. When all 32 were cut out I then clamped my belt sander to my bench to begin the long & boring task of sanding them on all sides. Having a belt sander does speed up the process though.

After all that sanding was done I turned to the clock face I did not have wood the correct width so I had to glue two pieces together using wood glue and clamps and set aside to cure. one cured I released the clamps and sanded it smooth with the belt sander. The diameter of the face is 260mm.

To make it easier to mark all the holes to be drilled I created a printable template. It is divided into 16 inner and 16 outer rays. I marked the centre on the back of the clock face and set the template on top and marked all the positions. Using a ruler I connected each corresponding mark through the centre point. I then used a compass to mark the diameter of the face and cut it out using a jigsaw and sanded it smooth with the belt sander.

For more accurate, safe and consistent drilled holes I clamped a drill with a 9mm drill bit to my work bench. This did take a bit of adjusting get right. It is easier to push the rays and face to the drill bit rather than trying to do them free hand.

I wanted the clock to sit flush to the wall when up so I had to router a recess into the back of the face. I marked an area slightly bigger than the mechanism and just freehanded it out. To hang it on the wall I used some brass escutcheon plate which also had to be recessed in.

I wanted to wood to be darker to match wood I had in my house so I stained it using some Rosewood dye and once dry finished it with a few coats of spray on clear lacquer.

For the 9mm dowels I painted them with a gloss white wood paint.

There are 2 lengths of dowels 16 for the inner ray and 16 for the outer rays. These measure 190mm and 75mm total length allowing 25mm to be glued on each end. I cut them using a mitre saw but this could easily be done with a hand or Tenon saw instead.

You could use wood glue but I went with super glue as it is quicker. I started by gluing in all the dowels into the face and the all the rays. I did this on a flat surface to ensure that none of the rays were ticking up o down. Once all was dried I stuck on the numbers of the clock. These were some I purchased online. They were 20mm in height, self adhesive and just needed a little pressure to ensure good contact and adhesion. The clock mechanism is easily fitted with just with one nut and washer and the hands push into place.

And here is the finished Sun burst clock!!. It has been hanging in my house now for 7 years. Let me know what you think of it and what if anything you would change or do differently. If I have not covered all the details on the build let me know and I will update them. Thanks for looking. If you would like to see more projects from me you can visit my Youtube channel here. Eamon Walsh DIY

Thanks again.

Eamon