Vinyl Record Clock Art

Intro: Vinyl Record Clock Art

This is a concept I saw online and wanted to make for my father's birthday that was coming up.

STEP 1: Buy the Records

First thing is to get the supplies so you know what you are working towards. I went to Ebay and bought 25 records (for about $1 each). They had a rating of "for craft" due to scratches or some other imperfection that did not let it play properly.

STEP 2: FIND AND PREP ARTWORK

I went online and found a silhouette images for the records that I bought. As these were "craft" records, I was not certain exactly what albums I would receive. Thankfully the seller on Ebay was willing to work with me and put in some great albums that my parents are fans of.

Note: on the prepping, I was using a red and blue lines. This is for "vector cut" and "etching". Red is cutting and for the blue, I turned it off but instead used it to help place the album where I wanted in the laser bed.

It was important to make sure that the red and blue lines were exactly where I wanted them so no unnecessary cutting occurred. You can see on the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac test I did above, the entire top is cut off, but nothing needs to be cut off the bottom. So, I put a blue line on the bottom half that connects with the red line (where I want it to cut).

The Fleetwood Mac image is on the computer, where I can see the lines to be cut and then I copied and filled in with black so I can see a preview of what it will look like in the end.

On the Eagles photo, this is a real record and I used it for some testing to make sure that my laser would actually cut through the records with no issues.

So, one of the albums I got was an Aerosmith Album. I found the image I wanted and created the lines needed for cutting out.

STEP 3: LASERING

This step was easy, as all was prepped, I first cut out a template so that I could get the exact placing in the laser bed. Once I lined it up in my laser cutter, I just pushed play.

I then cleaned off any burn marks and it was ready for the clock parts.

STEP 4: FINISH UP WITH THE CLOCK PARTS

Next came time to put the clock mechanism together with the record.

First problem was that the shaft of the clock was a little bigger than the hole in the middle of the record. I used a drill bit to make this a little bigger to allow the clock to fit. I then assembled all the clock parts and put the battery in.

It turned out amazing! I love it. I sent it to my father for his birthday and he was very happy with it.

Comments

[MrErdreich]

This is really awesome, but as many mentioned I'd fear from toxic off-gas in the material. While it's not as cool, you could make fake records from black acrylic with the same idea as this is such an awesome project! Thanks for sharing, be safe!

[NortonCreations]

Yep, you are totally right. One could use 1/16 black acrylic and make the lines (so it looks like a record) and then print off artwork to put in the middle of the clock. Then you'd have the same look and it would be great! Thanks!

[Nano_Burger]

Did this create chlorine gas?

[NortonCreations]

I did not notice any. I did not realize this would come from the record. Fortunately The laser time was only about 30-45 seconds and I do have a very good exhaust system. I did not smell any foul smell when I opened the laser bed. I have used it since then for cutting wood items and all seems well. Thanks for bringing to my attention though.

[dhaykus0418]

Doesn't laser cutting PVC release toxic compounds (chlorine compounds) that are dangerous to breath and corrosive to the inside of the laser? I saw a laser that they only did it once in and they almost weren't able to save it.