MetaChat - So I'm making a big clock.

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13 June 2007

So I'm making a big clock. →[More:]
I've got the movement and hands from ebay. The minute hand is a foot long. Now I need to make the face.

I was thinking of getting a big sheet of foam core, making the face design myself, printing it out at a copy-shop that can do large format, affixing it to a 2 foot foam-core circle and 'antiquing' it.

Thoughts? Other approaches?

post by: Capn at: 11:10 | 11 comments

Masonite? Might be more durable, but still easy to cut and adhere to.

posted by Miko 13 June | 11:33

Plexiglas? Do something funky with the numbers and put something interesting behind the face inside the clock.

posted by edgeways 13 June | 11:45

Brushed aluminum? Plywood? Friends of mine have a huge flat-looking clock on the wall in their dining room, and I love it. They made it from plywood, inspired by a wall clock they saw in Target. They printed out numbers from a font they liked and traced them onto the face and painted them and then antiqued it and then applied a crackle finish.

Is this for something temporary or permanent?

posted by iconomy 13 June | 11:56

Fairly permanent. The plywood idea is neat, but I don't know if I have the tools, I guess my trusty Dremel would work.

posted by Capn 13 June | 12:12

You could shop that part out and have a local carpenter cut the circle for you if you like the idea of wood.

posted by iconomy 13 June | 12:14

Clocks are big - machines are heavy.

posted by Smart Dalek 13 June | 12:38

No Dremel! You can buy a jigsaw for $30. You should get a special blade for plywood to ensure a clean cut. To make a circle, you place a screw in the center of the circle, tie a string to it (length equals the radius of the circle), and tie the string to the guide on the jigsaw. If I can do it, you can too.

posted by mudpuppie 13 June | 12:55

For some reason all I could hear was senator Ted Stevens saying "It's, it's not a big clock..."

posted by CitrusFreak12 13 June | 13:01

Another vote for plywood. Foam core won't last at all. Heed the 'pup.

posted by Specklet 13 June | 13:17

Glass face with etched numbers, or cut numbers out of a tinted glass and attach.
Sand glued into a pizza plate. You could make a whole beach scene.
Faceless clock - spokes hold the numbers in place.

Actually, a sufficiently large, round sheet pan (like for making pizza) would fit your needs, and you could decorate it however you like.

posted by backseatpilot 13 June | 13:21

Gatorboard is way more stronger than foam core. It's about $20 a sheet as opposed to $6, but it doesn't warp or dent like foam core. Foamcore is pretty sensitive to humidity, and you can dent it with a firm touch of the finger. It's called gatorboard because it bites: if you score and snap it the edge can be knife-like.

posted by StickyCarpet 13 June | 15:11

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