mantel clock

2012 August Home Publishing Co.

Youd expect a large project to attract a lot of attention. But sometimes, a small weekend project, like this mantel clock, can surprise you.

Mantel Clock

heres no doubt about it what grabs your attention right away is the wood. Its curly maple. This figured wood is so dramatic that you might be inclined to think the wood makes the clock. But while I appreciate the beauty of the curly maple, there are a couple of other reasons why I like this mantel clock as much as I do. DESIGN. First of all, theres the design. This clock has a traditional look. Its clean lines and simple moldings at the top and bottom would look great no matter what wood you used. CONSTRUCTION. The other reason I like this clock isnt so easy to see. In fact, you might miss it altogether
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if you werent looking for it. In spite of its elegance, theres nothing very difficult about building this project. Everything is held together with simple joinery, and it houses a quartz movement, which is readily available and easy to install. Quarter-Round Molding. The clock face is protected by a framed piece of glass. To hold the glass in place inside the frame, I used small strips of quarter-round. And even though theyre small, I came up with an easy way to make them with a router table and the table saw. (See the Shop Tip on page 5.) Wood. As I mentioned earlier, I used a piece of curly maple to make
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the clock case. If youve never stained figured maple, youre in for a bit of a surprise. Unlike regular maple where you want to apply an even stain, figured maple requires an uneven stain. The goal is to bring out the waves not hide them. (See the Finishing Tip on page 6.) Theres no doubt youll end up with a beautiful piece for your home, office, or any other space that could use a refined piece such as this clock.
2012 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.

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Exploded View Details

OVERALL DIMENSIONS: 1214"H x 10"W x 4"D
NOTE: COVE MOLDING GIVES THE CLOCK AN ELEGANT LOOK
COVE MOLDING TOP SUPPORT FRONT BACK

FRAME PIECES

GLASS STOP QUARTZ MOVEMENT SIDE CLOCK HANDS CLOCK FACE SUPPORT SIDE

NOTE: UPPER STOP POSITIONS THE CLOCK FACE AND FACE FRAME NOTE: DRAWER FRONT DADOES ARE INSET SO SIDES FIT INSIDE THE CLOCK
DRAWER FRONT

DIVIDER STOP

DRAWER SIDE

DRAWER GUIDE COVE MOLDING

NOTE: CLOCK FACE AND MOVEMENT ARE ATTACHED TO SUPPORT THAT SLIDES IN BACK

BOTTOM DRAWER BACK DRAWER BOTTOM

MATERIALS LIST
wood A Sides (2) B Stops (2) C Drawer Guides (2) D Divider (1) E Cove Molding (2) F Top/Bottom (2) G Frame Pieces (4) H Glass Stop Blanks (2) I Support Front (1) J Support Sides (2) K Back (1) L Drawer Front (1) M Drawer Sides (2) N Drawer Back (1) O Drawer Bottom (1)
1/ x 31/ - 93/ 2 4 4 x 3/8 - 10 rough 1/ x 21/ -13/ 4 4 4 1/ x 3 - 71/ 2 2 3/ x 37/ - 93/ 4 8 4 1/ x 4 - 10 2 1/ x 7/ - 8 rough 2 8 3/ x 2 - 7 rough 4 1/ ply - 71/ x 71/ 4 2 2 1/ x 2 - 71/ 2 2 1/ ply - 71/ x 93/ 4 2 4 1/ x 13/ - 71/ 2 4 2 1/ x 13/ - 23/ 4 4 4 1/ x 13/ - 61/ 4 4 2 1/ ply - 21/ x 63/ 4 2 4

1/ 2

!/2"-DIA. STUDDED BRASS KNOB

cutting diagram
!/2 x 4!/2 - 48 MAPLE (1.5 Sq. Ft.) F F G J G J A

!/2 x 4!/2 - 48 MAPLE (1.5 Sq. Ft.) A D L M M N C C

#/4 x 4!/2 - 36 MAPLE (1 Bd. Ft.) E E H H ALSO NEED: ONE 12" x 24" PIECE OF !/4"-THICK PLYWOOD FOR PARTS I, K, AND O

Hardware Supplies (8) No. 6 x 11/4" Fh Woodscrews (1) 1/8"-thick Glass (61/8" x 61/8") (1) Quartz Clock Movement (1) 71/2" x 71/2" Clock Face (1 pr.) 23/4"-long Terry Clock Hands (4) Brass Turn Buttons w/ Screws (1) 1/2"-dia. Studded Brass Knob (4) 3/4"-dia. Felt Pads

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2012 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.

Clock BODY
The body of this clock is quite simple. It starts out as an H-shaped frame thats sandwiched between a layer of molding and a top and bottom. SIDES. I began by cutting the two sides to size from 1/2"-thick stock. Next I cut a 3/8"- wide groove, 1/4" deep in each side. Then, in each groove, I glued two stops (Figure 1). The lower stop is for a drawer. The upper stop will position the clock face and face frame. Theres a 1/2"-wide gap between the upper and lower stops (Figure 1b). This is for a divider thats added later. One easy way to create this gap is to use a 1/2"-thick scrap piece as a temporary spacer between the stops. The last step for the sides is to glue a drawer guide behind each lower stop. These guides fit flush with the outside face of the lower stop and should stop 1/ " short of the back edges of the 4 sides to allow for a plywood back. DIVIDERS. Next, to create the H-shaped frame, I connected the two sides with a divider, as in Figure 2. This piece is sized so its flush with the sides in front and the drawer guides in back (Figure 2a). The trick to gluing the divider and sides is to keep the assembly square. So I used a spacer that matched the length of the divider. TOP & BOTTOM. With these pieces assembled, I added a layer of molding to each end, and the top and bottom pieces. I cut two cove molding pieces to size from 3/4"-thick stock. These pieces are sized to create a 1/8" lip at the sides and front, as in Figure 5a on page 4. (Mine were 37/8" x 93/4".) To shape the molding, I routed the ends and front with a 1/2" cove bit (Figures 4 and 4a, page 4). Then I screwed them to the sides, flush with the back. Now, with the cove molding in place, I added the top and bottom pieces (Figure 2). They overhang the cove molding 1/8" on the front and sides (Figure 6a, page 4). But there is no profile routed on their edges and theyre simply glued in place.

STOP B

a.
END VIEW #/8 !/2 !/4
A SIDE

SIDE A 7!/2

!/2
B STOP

#/8

!/4 9#/4

SIDE A
B STOP

b.
!/4

1#/4 2!/4
C DRAWER GUIDE

3!/4

NOTE: SIDE AND STOP PIECES MADE FROM !/2"-THICK STOCK

DRAWER GUIDE C NOTE: SIZE DRAWER GUIDE TO ALLOW !/4"-WIDE GAP FOR BACK

holds the glass (Figure 7, page 4). Its a simple mitered frame that fits the opening above the divider and stands a little proud of the sides (1/8"). Frame pieces. To begin, I ripped the frame pieces to width from

1/ "-thick stock. But before mitering the 2 frame pieces to final length, theres a little decorative shaping that needs to be done to them on the router table. First, to soften the edges on the front of the frame pieces, I routed a 18" roundover

2
!/2 TOP F #/4

10

a.
CROSS SECTION
F E

9#/4

3&/8

E COVE MOLDING

NOTE: DIVIDER IS FLUSH WITH FRONT OF SIDES AND BACK OF DRAWER GUIDES

DIVIDER (!/2" THICK) D SIDE A 3

7!/2
!/4" DIVIDER D

COVE MOLDING E

DRAWER GUIDE COVE MOLDING E

BOTTOM F

Frame
With the basic body complete, I turned my attention to the frame that
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BOTTOM F

2012 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.

3
DIVIDER D

NOTE: ROUT ENDS FIRST USING BACKING BOARD BACKING BOARD

a.
NOTE: ROUT FRONT ENDS AND EDGES ONLY

USE SPACER TO KEEP ASSEMBLY SQUARE

!/2" COVE BIT

E COVE MOLDING

!/2" COVE BIT

5
COVE MOLDING E

10

TOP F

a.
CROSS SECTION
E

a.

!/8

NOTE: COVE MOLDINGS ARE FLUSH WITH BACK EDGE OF SIDES

USE BRADS TO ALIGN TOP AND BOTTOM

#/4
&/8

#6 x 1!/4" Fh WOODSCREW

!/8" SHOULDER

along both outside edges of each frame piece (Figure 7a). Next, to hold the 1/8"-thick piece of glass and the 1/ "-thick glass stops, I routed a rabbet 4 along the inside edge of each frame piece, as in Figure 7b. Note: Because this rabbet is 3/8" deep, Id recommend routing it in two passes. When the rabbet is routed, the frame pieces can be mitered to length (Figure 7). You want a snug fit, so after mitering one end of each, I cut each piece to length so it fit the opening exactly. ASSEMBLY. Now the frame can be glued together. But dont glue it into the body just yet. Its easier to make and fit the glass stops before the frame is in place. GLASS STOPS. The glass stops are just 1/4"-thick quarter-round strips. But making them can be dangerous. Because theyre so small, they can get hung up in the insert plate on the table saw, and theres potential for kickback. So start with oversize blanks and use a zero-clearance insert in the table saw. Now you can miter the stops to fit the rabbet. But stain the clock before you glue the frame or tack in the stops.
4

GLASS STOP H

NOTE: GLASS AND STOPS ARE ADDED AFTER STAINING IS COMPLETE

&/8 GLASS (!/8" THICK 6!/8" x 6!/8") FRAME PIECES G

7!/2

NOTE: MITER FRAME PIECES FROM EXTRA-LONG !/2"-THICK BLANKS 7!/2

NOTE: SEE THE SHOP TIP ON PAGE 5 FOR MORE ON CUTTING GLASS STOP

!/2

a. ROUTER FENCE

&/8
G

!/2

b.

FRAME PIECE G !/4 #/8

ROUTER FENCE

!/8" ROUNDOVER BIT

!/2" STRAIGHT BIT

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2012 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.

8
SUPPORT SIDE (!/2" THICK) J

9
J

NOTE: BACK IS CUT FROM !/4" PLYWOOD FINGER HOLE

BRASS TURN BUTTON

2 7!/2
QUARTZ MOVEMENT

C L C L
7!/2 7!/2

9#/4 BACK K #4 x !/2" Fh WOODSCREW

%/16"-DIA. HOLE

I SUPPORT FRONT (!/4" PLYWOOD)

NOTE: CENTER HOLE FOR CLOCK MOVEMENT

#/4"-DIA. FELT PAD

NOTE: MOVEMENT, TURN BUTTONS, AND FELT PADS ARE ADDED AFTER FINISHING IS COMPLETE

7!/2

Movement support
I used a slightly unusual method for mounting the movement and back. The clock face and quartz movement are attached to a support that slides into the opening in the back (Figure 8). This way, if you ever need to get at the hands in front, all you have to do is slide the movement support out through the back of the clock body. FRONT. To make this part, I cut a support front from 1/4"-thick plywood.

The size of this piece depends on the opening inside the clock. I cut my front to fit the opening exactly (71/2" x 71/2"), and then trimmed it slightly so it would slide in without too much trouble. The only thing that needs to be done to this front piece is to drill a 5/ "-dia. hole in the center. This is for 16 mounting the quartz movement. SIDES. Next, cut two support sides to match the height of the front. Cut them to width so theyre flush with the back of the divider when the support

is slid inside the clock, as shown in Figure 9. (Mine were 2" wide. This may vary depending on the thickness of your clock face.) With the sides glued to the front, the support is complete. But wait to add the quartz movement until after the clock has been finished. At that point, adding the movement is just a matter of feeding its post through the front and the clock face and securing them with a nut. Then the hands can be attached to the post.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Quarter-Round Molding
To hold a piece of glass in a frame, I often use small strips of quarter-round (see photo below). But routing and ripping thin strips can be dangerous, so I use oversize blanks. First, I cut a 3/4"-thick blank roughly 2" wide. Then to create the quarterround profile, I rout two edges with a 1/4" roundover bit (Figure 1). Now, cutting the strips from the blank is a simple, two-step process. First, 3/8"-deep kerfs are cut 1/4" from the rounded edges (Figure 2). (To be safe, use a zeroclearance insert plate in your table saw.) Next, the blank can be stood on edge, and the quarter-round molding strips can be cut away. Just make sure that the strips fall to the waste side of the blade (Figure 3).

1
BLANK FOR GLASS STOPS ROUTER FENCE #/4

2
RIP FENCE !/4

NOTE: USE ZERO-CLEARANCE INSERT PLATE

3
!/4 GLASS STOP H

#/8

!/4" ROUNDOVER BIT

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2012 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.

10

a.
TOP VIEW !/4 !/4 !/4
L DRAWER FRONT

c.
M N
!/8"-DEEP GROOVE

BACK VIEW DADO !/4"-WIDE STOPPED GROOVE FOR SIDE

!/4

L DRAWER FRONT

NOTE: DRAWER FRONT IS !/2"-THICK HARDWOOD, SIDES AND BACK ARE !/4"-THICK HARDWOOD

!/2

SIDE M

BOTTOM (!/4" PLYWOOD) O

6!/2

b.

!/8 DRAWER BOTTOM !/4 !/4

N BACK
1#/4

!/8
7!/2 6#/4 2!/2 1#/4 !/2"-DIA. STUDDED BRASS KNOB FRONT L 2#/4 1#/4

FELT PAD

!/8

M SIDE

CROSS SECTION

Back. The last piece of the body is the back. This 1/4" plywood piece is cut to fit the opening in back. To make it easy to remove, drill a finger hole. To hold the back in place, turn buttons are screwed to the back of the sides.

this, I built the drawer to fit the opening exactly. Then I sanded it down until it slid in smoothly. FRONT. Start by cutting the 1/2"thick front to fit the opening. Next,
to hold the sides, I cut two 1/4"-deep dadoes on the back face of the front (Figure 10a), which are inset so the sides fit inside the clock. After the dadoes were cut, I routed a 1/8" roundover on the fronts outside edges. SIDES & BACK. Now, the 1/4"-thick stock used for the drawer sides and back can be cut to size (Figure 10).

Drawer
Now the only thing left to add is a small drawer. It also stands 1/8" proud of the front (Figure 10b). Note: This drawer

is shallow, so there wont be much binding as its slid in. Because of

To hold the bottom, I added a 1/8"deep groove in all the pieces. But you dont want this groove visible on the ends of the drawer front, so rout a stopped groove between the dadoes, as shown in Figure 10c. Now the drawer bottom can be cut to size, and the drawer can be glued together. The back simply butts between the sides. FINISH. I highlighted the curly maple with a water-based aniline dye and applied a wipe-on finish. Now, just add a 1/2"-dia. brass knob to the drawer and four felt pads to the case bottom.

FINISHING TIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . Staining Figured Maple

If youve ever stained regular maple, then the first thing to know about figured maple is that its a completely different ball game. With regular maple, you want an even stain, which is hard because maples grain is so wavy. With figured maple, you want an uneven stain. This may sound disastrous, but the goal is to highlight the waves not hide them. This increases the depth and contrast and brings out the figure (see photo). To stain figured maple, I use an aniline dye. (An offthe-shelf pigment stain tends to hide the figure.) And I typically choose water-based dyes because theyre the easiest to work with and the most lightfast. (For sources, see page 7.) But the water will raise the grain. So I wet the wood and then lightly sand off the whiskers before applying the stain. Then, I keep a wet edge. If the stain dries before youre finished, it could leave lap marks. Aniline dyes look great when theyre wet, but flat 7 mantel clock and dull when dry. Dont worry. Applying a top coat brings back the bright look.

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2012 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.

MAIL ORDER SOURCES

Woodsmith Store 800-444-7527 Klockit 800-556-2548 klockit.com Woodcraft 800-225-1153 woodcraft.com Woodworker's Supply 800-645-9292 woodworker.com

Project Sources
To build the mantel clock, youll need a common quartz movement with at least a 38"-long post (10082) and a 712"-square clock face with a 512"-diameter time ring. (26882). Both of these items can be found at Klockit. And you can find the clock hands (7938X) at Woodcraft. To stain the clock, we used Mosers water-based aniline dye called Golden Amber Maple.This particular dye is available from Woodworkers Supply.

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2012 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.

WoodsmithPlans.com

WS10828

2012 August Home Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.