Make a Tetris Clock Out of Cassette Tapes!

What better way to make an 80's game clock than out of 80's materials?! 

So I've got a serious surplus of old cassette tapes and they just don't get listened to anymore. I don't want to throw them away, so I'll just use them up on various projects like this one!

This is a fun little Saturday afternoon project, and it really only takes about an hour to make.

Tools:

-Glue gun
-Drill
-Hobby knife

Supplies:

-10 cassette tapes (or more or less depending on your clock design)
-A clock kit (Michaels sells these for cheap)
-Various spray paints (I used green, red and blue)

Ready?

Step 1: Get Your Design Figured Out

I found the best way to do this was to gather my tapes and lay them out on a table and then arrange them how I wanted them. Then, once I had my configuration sorted out, I used my hot glue gun and glued the individual brick shapes together (2 tapes for the 'L', two for the 'square' etc). Don't glue the shapes together yet.

Step 2: Make Your Cutout for Your Clock

Pick one of the tapes that will be near the middle of the clock and take the cassette out of the case. You won't be putting this one back in. Draw a rough outline the size of your clock on the back side of the cassette case and cut that area out with a hobby knife. Then on the front side of the case, mark a centre point with a marker and drill out a hole the size of the threaded part of your clock (where the hands attach to). Don't mount your clock yet.

Step 3: Paint Your Tapes

Now you can paint your individual cassette tape Tetris blocks. I chose to paint a very light coat on each without using primer because I thought it would be neat to be able to see the cassette tapes through the paint.

After the paint dries, you can then glue your coloured blocks together with the hot glue gun.

Then, simply slide your clock in through the back.

Step 4: Put on the Clock Hands and Finishing Touches

Now, just put the hands on. I decided to not put any numbers on my clock to keep it simple. In the future, I may add 4 small LEDs at the 12. 3, 6 and 9 positions. For now, I like it though.

Then just hang it up somewhere and admire your work!

Hope you enjoyed it! Please post pics of your individual projects! I would love to see them!