This is my first instructable and I chose to make a grandfather clock out of cardboard. I decided on a clock because currently time is different given the pandemic of Covid-19. I have a grandfather clock at my house and the following project is a close replica. One could always adjust the measurements to make a smaller or larger clock. Have fun!

Supplies

* cardboard

* cardboard tubes

* string

* plastic wrap

* razor blade/exacto knife

* scissors

* ruler

* right angle

* hot glue gun

* tape

* foam board

* brass paper fastener

* number stencils

Step 1: Building the Base

You'll need a piece of cardboard 15" x 8 3/4" for the base. To have the clock dimensional I found that five stacked pieces of cardboard for the feet looked good. The feet are 3" on the outside and 2" on the inside and 1" wide. You'll need to cut 20 of these out. Glue the feet into stacks of five. Now you'll glue each foot to the corners of the base with an over hang of 1/4".

Step 2: Building the Bottom Section

You'll need two pieces of cardboard that measure 14 1/2" x 15" for the front and back. For the sides you'll need two pieces of cardboard 8 1/2" x 15". Lastly, for the top of the bottom section you'll need one piece of 15 1/2" x 9" cardboard. Glue the front and back and sides together to form a box. Glue top piece on and then glue the box (bottom section) to the base.

Step 3: Building the Middle Section

For the middle section you will need two pieces of cardboard that measure 6 3/4" x 27 1/2" for the sides. For the front and back; two pieces of cardboard that are 11" x 27 1/2". Two pieces of 11" x 6 3/4" cardboard are for the top and bottom of the middle section. Before gluing together cut a pattern of your liking out of one piece of the 11" x 27 1/2" for the door. Glue the back and sides together. Stretch a piece of plastic wrap over the opening of the door and tape to the cardboard. Make three hinges from cardboard that are 2" x 1 3/4", fold in half. Attach hinges with glue to edge of door and then to side of middle section.

Step 4: Building the Top Section

For the front and back of the top section you will need two pieces of cardboard 14" x 14 1/4". For the sides you will need two pieces of 8" x 14 1/4". You'll need two pieces of cardboard that are 15" x 9" for the top and bottom, this allows for some over hang and depth. For this top section a piece of cardboard that measures 14 1/4" x 13 1/2" is needed to inset about 2" from the front to attach the clock face. Just like the middle section before gluing cut a pattern to your liking out of the front piece (14" x 14 1/4") for the door. Glue the sides to the back piece and glue the clock face board 2" in from the edge. Just like the middle section for the door make two hinges (2" x 1 3/4"), glue the hinges in place, attach plastic wrap with tape and glue door to top section.

Step 5: Area Between the Sections

To make the area between the bottom and middle sections you'll need one piece of cardboard 15" x 2 1/2" and two pieces that are 8 3/4" X 2 1/2". For the area between the middle and top sections you'll need one piece of cardboard that is 15" x 2 1/2" and two pieces that are 9" x 2 1/2". Angles were cut to make the corners for both sections (see photo). Glue a piece of foam that is 1 1/2" thick to the top of the bottom section and then glue the middle section to the foam. Now you can glue the angled pieces of cardboard. Now you're ready to glue a piece of foam to the top of the middle section and then glue the top section onto the foam piece. Finally glue the angled pieces of cardboard.

Step 6: Pendulum and Weights

To make the three weights you'll need cardboard tubes cut to a length of 9 1/2" each. Then you'll trace the ends of the tubes to make 6 circles; poke a small hole in 3 of the circles and attach a piece of string to each; next you'll glue the circles to the ends of each tube. For the pendulum make two circles with a diameter of 4 1/2" and glue them together. Cut a piece of cardboard 27" x 1" for the pendulum arm. Glue the pendulum arm to the pendulum circle. I attached a piece of string to the pendulum arm and glued to top of middle section and I glued the three weights in next.

Step 7: Clock Face

Cut a circle from cardboard that is 8" in diameter. Use a stencil to trace the numbers of the clock face. Then using a razor blade only cut the first layer of cardboard and pull back first layer exposing the "bumpy" layer of cardboard for each number. Make a minute and hour hand out of cardboard, choose a design for the hands of your liking. Poke a hole through the clock face, the minute and hour hand. Attach the hands to the clock face using a brass paper fastener. Glue the clock face to the top section.

Step 8: Door Handles

You can make any style of handle you'd like. I made the handle out of cardboard circles. To make these I cut 2 small circles, 3 medium circles and 4 large circles. The largest circle will be the widest point of your handle. Glue together from bottom to top in the following order: medium, small, medium, medium, large, large, large, large, small. Glue a handle to each door.