Here is my take on the clock featured in the November 2010 issue of Wood magazine. It's not even remotely the same look but I'm happy with the outcome. There were 2 problems with this project. 1) A lack of clear instructions. 2) Cutting small parts on machinery designed for larger material was at times, very uncomfortable.
I ordered the parts from the suggested source in the article. While I wouldn't call it speedy, the shipment arrived about 2 weeks later and was nicely packed to prevent damage during shipment. I chose the hammered copper tile as I thought the color would blend nicely with the material I intended to use.
This project required material of thicknesses varying from 1 1/4" down to 1/4" thick causing an enormous waste of material. When working with the lengths required, the need to have the piece long enough to go through the planer after resawing added to the problem. I started with a piece of hard maple about 6'x7"x2" since I already had it laying around. The accents are made of bloodwood that I purchased a while back to use for contrasting color and accents on small projects. FYI, bloodwood makes a huge mess and the sawdust is very irritating, at least to me.
I didn't like the way the glass, clock face and tile were mounted on the inside so I created a channel for each to slide into (top right picture). If there is ever a need to remove anything for repair it can be done by removing the top with a phillips screwdriver and simply sliding the movement up and out of the assembly. Neither could I bring myself to "coloring" the accent pieces with a "permanent marker". I think the Greene brothers would be rolling over in their grave at the notion of using a magic marker to color those pieces. While I'm not going to claim to be holier than thou, at least mine is natural colored wood.
The only thing left to finish is the back. The difficulty of working with 1/4" thickness wood without warping has been trying at best. Resawing lumber seems to release the natural tension in the wood causing it to warp almost as quickly as you finish cutting it. I now have a few pieces that have been resawed and clamped together with spacers hoping that they will remain flat when the clamps are removed. I'll check on them in a month or so and see what happens.
