Nixie Clock Housing

Introduction
A lot of instructables about Nixie tubes are concerned with the electronics. I was lazy and bought mine. It was a fraction of the price of the tubes anyway.

Therefor this instructable is not so much a how to, but more a process of the aesthetic part of creating a Nixie clock. I still tried hard to make general instructions out of it and not just tell you what I did. In addition to the instructions I also added my experience in Italic.

I hope you will get inspired to create a unique looking clock.

Parts I used:
- IN18 Nixie clock board from Kosbo
- 6 IN18 Nixie 1991 tubes New Old Stock from Ukrain through eBay.
- Phillips B2X80U Tube Radio from online ads
- Hole saw and drill kit from local home improvement store
- DPDT momentary switch from eBay

Background
The moment I first came across Nixie tubes and the modern implementation of them in clocks I was in love. This is something I wanted to have. However a lot of the housings available for sale didn't complement the technological beauty of the Nixie tubes at all.

Wanting to give this a personal twist I was set to at least make the housing myself.

Step 1 Picking and Getting a Housing

Picking
Decide what your housing is going to be. Pick something original. This can range from an radio, telephone, typewriter, humidor to a jewelry box, you name it. Pick something to match the style of the Nixie tubes. In this guide I proceed with my instructions for a housing made out of Bakelite. Bakelite is an early form of plastic and goes hand in hand with the retro look of Nixie.

If you aren't sure what to get I strongly recommend strolling a flea market with just the housing in mind. 

Just make there is enough space inside the housing to fit your project. 

 For Nixie clock examples check out the gallery by Mike .

Being Dutch and thus loving Phillips I settled on an old 1953 tube radio. Owing a lot to the hobbyist collectors that represent a very live community with lots of information I settled on a Phillips B2X80U. The size is perfect. Very simple design, round dial and slightly rounded corners. I scouted the on-line ads for a while.

Obtaining a Housing
Once you know what it is you want there are many places to get your housing from.

- Flea markets
- Second-hand recycle shops
- Grandparents
- Attics
- On-line ads

Comments

[kholt42]

Great looking project. Does the radio work? Thanks for sharing it.

[magnific0]

Hi, thanks for the complement. Unfortunately the radio only works when the clock is off. The nixue clock greatly interferes with the reception. I might try in the future to add an external antenna and see if that works out.

[tzq33tdq]

would it be posible to use numitron tubes

[magnific0]

Sure, numitron tubes look great. What kind of tubes you use is not really the issue here. I'd say, find a good instructable on how to build such a bare clock (only tubes and controller board) or buy it and then follow this through to make a housing.

[hg341]

wow you really made it look nice
i have a old tube amp that im trying to clean up though i dont think i can do it the same way you did

[magnific0]

Thanks for your complements. A tube amp is really cool too. Send some results when you get them.