Modern Wall Clock - first veneering project

Three goals for this project:
1. Replace a clock that had gone bad.
2. Fill a large wall with something that was “catchy”.
3. Practice veneering for the first time.

My wife had bought me some lacewood veneer from Woodcraft two Christmas’ ago. She hadn’t asked about it, but I knew the questions would be coming, “Why did you put that on your Christmas list if you will never use it?” And this would have been a totally justified question. So after having to throw away a broken atomic clock , I decided I would build a large wall clock that we could hang on the largest wall in our house. I wanted something “catchy”, yet simple. So I went and searched on “clocks” on Target’s website. They had many “catchy” designs. So I consulted my interior decorator for her input. She (my wife) picked a couple she liked and that was all I needed to get started!

I ordered a $8 high torque battery operated clock movement online from Klockit. I also bought some really long 17.5” hands and ended up trimming over half of their length. The face is a 17 ½” circle that I veneered birds eye maple to using ½” MDF as my substrate. I don’t have a vacuum press, so I used contact cement. We’ll see how that holds up over time. I was having problems getting the veneer edges flush with a knife. But thanks to Lumberjocks forums, I was able to discover the trim router bit technique which worked great. The other part of the clock is made from lacewood veneer on ¾” MDF. I painted the edges black to help tie in the clock hands and circles. Many coats of clear Minwax wipe on poly (gloss) was the finish with steel wool sanding in between the coats.

For the numbers, I was pleased to find some wooden circles at a local supply store. I thought the circles would be nifty, so I painted them black and used CA glue (and some accelerator) to mount them to the clock face. I am looking forward to seeing my wife’s face when she gets home from work today and she sees it hanging on the wall. Hopefully she gets home on time.

-- Jeff, North Carolina