Mantel Clock Case for Chronulator (Meter Clock)

This mantel clock case was designed and built to house my MSP430 based Chronulator. A Chronulator is a retro clock that uses electrical panel meters to display hours and minutes.

See:
     http://www.instructables.com/id/MSP430-Based-Chronulator-using-Launchpad-chip

I was looking for a style that would be appropriate for the old panel meters I used in my clock. So after some thought, I drew out the design you see below.  I think it invokes a 30's to 50's look.

As with any woodworking project I always learn a lot, especially how to recover from mistakes. It was a very enjoyable project, which came out well.

Step 1 Materials and Tools

The 1950's cartoonist Morris Brickman drew a cartoon where a hobbyist woodworker is on a psychologist's couch while the therapist is listening. The woodworker is saying "... then I said, "So if one inch board is only 3/4 inch what size do I want if I REALLY want one inch?" And he said ..."

My case was built using a board from a small lumber mill that handles furniture quality wood. Lumber from this type of source is often thicker than "standard" and also comes in unusual widths. I will list both the dimensions that I used, as well as, what the dimensions would be from wood purchased at a store like Home Depot.


List of Materials:

     1.  Board (either 9 inches wide by 3 feet long or 8 inches wide by 4 feet long)
          note: Standard lumber sizes: 10 inch lumber is 9 1/4 inches and  8 inch lumber is
          really 7 1/4 inches wide - either will work, see next step. 
     2.  Wood glue
     3.  Minwax wood finish (I used cherry) 
     4.  Minwax  wipe-on poly  (I used clear satin)
     5.  Sandpaper - 80, 120, 220 grit
          (If you get wood from a Home Depot type store you might not need the 80 grit.) 
     6.  Minerial spirits
     7.  Steel wool
     8.  Disposable gloves
     9.  Rags (they should be as lint free as possible)
   10.  Furniture wax (optional)


Tools Required: 

   These are the tools that I used. With woodworking there are a million ways to do something,
    use the tools you have.

     1. Table saw
     2.  Router and router table
     3.  Router bits - 3/8" straight, 3/8" cove, 1/8" and 1/2" roundover with bearing
          (I got these bits in a set of router bits from Harbor Freight.) 
     4.  Sander
     5.  Drill Press   (used to make holes for meters) 
     6.  Adjustable hole saw (Harbor Freight $4.99)
     7.  Square and ruler
     8.  Eye and hearing safety protection  
     9.  Small hand saw 
  

Comments

[Re-design]

Very nice work. I like the woodwork AND the meters for clock faces.