Rock around the clock - Brief Article

Sunset, August, 2000 by Peter O. Whiteley

* Call it a garden timepiece: It's a clock designed for patio or porch. Slate creates the natural face. Rich in color and textural interest, slate exhibits all the beauty and enduring elegance of an impressionist painting, but unlike a Monet, it's a bargain: You can buy a 12-inch-square slate tile at most home centers or tile shops for less than $4. We turned one into a clock using little more than a drill and a few items from craft and hardware stores.

TIME: Less than two hours

COST: About $20

MATERIALS

* 10-inch-diameter metal cake or pie pan

* 1 foot of heavy-duty picture-hanging wire

* Matte black spray paint

* 12-inch-square slate tile

* 18-inch square of flat scrap wood

* Four 1 1/2-inch-long, 3/8-inch carriage bolts with washers and nuts

* Battery-operated clock mechanism with 11/16-inch-diameter stem and hands (available at most craft stores for less than $10, or from Meisel Hardware Specialties; 800/441-9870).

* AA battery

TOOLS

* Pencil

* Electric drill and all-purpose bits

* Ruler

* 1/2-inch masonry bit

* Wrench

DIRECTIONS

1. Mark a point on the rim of the cake pan. Consider it the 12 o'clock point, then mark what would be the 10 and 2 o'clock positions just below the rim on the outside of the pan. At both the 10 and the 2 marks, drill a pair of 1/8 inch holes, spaced 1/2 inch apart. Run picture wire through these holes and twist taut. Spray pan's outside black.

2. On the more attractive side of the tile, find and mark the center point. Next, find the midpoint of each edge, then measure in 1 1/2 inches and mark those points for the 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock positions.

3. Place tile face up on scrap wood, and using the drill and masonry bit, drill holes through the five marked points.

4. Place the cake pan upside down and mark its center. Center the tile over the pan, aligning the center and 12 o'clock points on both, then mark the 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock points on the pan bottom.

5. Using a 1/2-inch all-purpose bit, drill holes through pan at the marked points.

6. Lay tile on pan and run carriage bolts through both to make hour markers. Add washers and nuts and tighten. Attach clock mechanism from behind, using the washer, nut, and bolt provided in the kit. Add hour and minute hands.

7. Install battery; hang clock on a wall or fence.