Miniature Mantle Clock.pdf

Miniature Mantle Clock

ometimes, when I am sitting alone in my workshop,

Itake up one or more pieces of choice wood and feast

my eyeson thevarious colors that makeupthe character

of thegrain.Tohold thewoodup to the lightand see the

way thegrainshimmers andglows, to seehow twopieces

of wood lookwhen they are held side by side—and then

to imagine how the wood might be used for a special

project—these are unique quality-time experiences that

should not be missed.

This project draws its inspiration from one of my alone -

inthe workshop musings.The problem was how to bring

together three relatively small pieces of choice exotic

wood—ascrap of ebony salvaged from an old long-gone

piece of furniture, a sliver of silver sycamore veneer left

overfrom a marquetryproject, and a short lengthofdark

woodthat I've been usingto prop openthe door. Anyway,

I tossed all sorts of ideas around in my head—a small

piece of laminated jewelry? a turning? a handle for a knife?

a drawer pull? And thenitcametome . . . why not make

asmall clock case!

MAKING THE CLOCK CASE

First things first. Before you do anything else, you need

tosearchout a miniaturewatch-clock and a Forstnerdrill

bit sized to fit. For example, as my clock (described in

the catalog asa "watch-clock miniature suitableforblock

and drilled recess mounting") measures slightly under

1 5/16" diameter across the span of the back and about

1/4" in depth, I reckoned that I needed a drill size of 1

3/8".

When youhave obtained the clock-watch and thedrill

size to suit, take your chosen pieces of wood and plane

andsandthe mating faces down toa true finish. This

done, smear white PVA glue on the mating faces and

clamp up.

Having waited for the glue to cure, set the compassto

a radius of 1 1/4", spike it on the center veneer at a point

about 1 3/8" down fromtop-center, and then strike off a

2 1/2"-diameter half-circle. When you are happy with

the way the lines of the design are set out on the wood,

move to the band saw and cut out the curve that makes

the top of thecase.

Use a square to mark out the baseline, double-check

that it is absolutely true, and then cutoffthewastewith

a small-toothed backsaw. It's important that the baseline

is square to the center line of the block, so spend time

getting it right.

Whenyou are sure thatthe block sits square and true,

move to the drill press and bore out the recess for the

clock. Bore down to a depth of about 3/8".

Having bored out the recess, take a scrap of sandpaper

and rub down the inside of the recess, so that the clock-

watch is a tight pushfit.Ifnecessary, use a straightgouge

to cut a little scoop for the hand-setting knob that sticks

out at the side of clock case. When you have achieved a

good fit of the clock-watch in the recess, rub the whole

block down on a sheet of fine-grade abrasive paper. Fi-

nally, burnish the block with beeswax, slide the clock-

watch mechanismin place, and the project is finished.

SPECIAL TIP: LAPPING

The best way of rubbing the faces of the block down to

a smooth, true finishistouse a technique known as lap-

ping. Allyou doismount a sheet ofmedium-gradeabra-

sivepaper to a slabof1/2" - thick plywood sothatthe grit

side is uppermost. Then clamp the slab in place on the

bench, In use, the workpiece is rubbed in the direction

of the grain, backwards and forwards. The procedure is

rerunwithfinerand finer gradesof paper.

STEP-BY-STEP STAGES

1 . pass radius to 1 1/4 " and strike off the arc that

makes the top of the case. Make sure that you spike the

compasspoint on the middle of thefine black laminate.

3. Having selected a Forstnerbitsized to fit the diame-

terof your clock, sink a recess to the appropriate

depth.The success of the project hinges on the hole being

perfectly placed, so spend time getting it right.

2. laving cut the curve on the band saw, run the faces of

the block down on a series of lapping boards. Work

through the grit sizes, from a medium-fine through a

super-line flour grade. Only work in the direction of

the grain, and be careful that you don't blur the sharp

corners.

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