A gift well timed - innovative clock designs

Sunset, Dec, 1993 by Peter O. Whiteley

Start with a clear plastic frame, a clockwork, and your imagination

JUST ADD TIME AND you can turn a framed piece of art into a functional wall clock. It's a simple, inexpensive project that creates a one-of-a-kind gift that will be seen and enjoyed for years.

First, choose a background for the clock face. It can be a favorite photograph, a child's drawing, a collection of dried flowers--almost anything that might be displayed in a standard picture frame.

(Or paint directly on the inside surface of the frame.)

Next, purchase a clear plastic frame--a so-called frameless frame--about 1 1/2 inches deep and sized to the clock face. You'll find a variety of sizes at most art supply shops or drugstores. (An 8- by 10-inch frame costs about $4.)

The frame becomes the housing for a battery-operated clockwork--the type sold at most craft and clock stores. These lightweight mechanisms ($7 to $13) are available with differing shaft lengths, to run through varying thicknesses of materials; select the shortest shaft length for this project. Clock hands may come separately but are available where the mechanisms are sold.

Most plastic box frames have cardboard inserts that fit snugly to hold the art piece in place. Remove this insert and place the clock in the frame. Turn the frame face up, and determine where on the image you want to position the clock hands. They needn't be in the middle, but try to keep the arc of the longest hand over the frame.

Once you've determined where you want to center the clock hands, mark that point on the plastic surface. Remove the cardboard insert and clock face, then turn the frame face down on a wooden work surface. To make a hole through the plastic, you'll need an electric drill with a bit slightly wider than the mechanism shaft. To prevent cracking, work slowly and don't press too hard.

Replace the clock-face art and the insert; make a mark on the art by inserting a sharp pencil through the hole. Remove the art, reposition the insert, and repeat the step on the insert. Use a pointed craft knife to cut the holes for the clockwork.

Most cardboard inserts have a smooth face that backs the art and a back with pre-punched holes to help hang the frame. To insert the clock mechanism, you must cut a flap door into the insert's back side behind the clock. Cut the flap larger than the mechanism so that you can easily add batteries.

Assemble the clock by adding the clock face, the insert, and the mechanism to the back. A threaded washer goes over the protruding shaft to hold all these parts firmly to the frame. Add the clock hands according to directions.

CLOCK-FACE VARIATIONS

You also can create a clock face by painting on the inside of the frame and/or by adding objects on the outside. When you paint on the inside, it leaves the exterior surface smooth and glossy. If you try this, remember that you must paint surface details first, backgrounds last. You can trace an existing drawing this way, but it will be reversed when viewed from the front.

To texture the surface of the box, glue on small objects like shells, beans, pieces of bark, glass, or colored plastic.