Wood & Epoxy Wall Clock

This is a project of wood, pine cones, and epoxy. I've always wanted to make a clock and have been working with wood and epoxy for a couple of years.

Supplies

For this project you will need the following:

• A Form - a circular form of wood (plywood base + non-stick polypropylene edge)
• Tape to cover the wood form to keep the epoxy from sticking (packing tape or resin tape)
• Some silicon sealant - white
• Hot Glue Gun
• Acrylic spray (optional but very helpful)
• Polypropylene bender board from a big box store to form the circle (4-5" in height)
• Epoxy - I like Superclear DeepPour epoxy
• Mixing bucket of appropriate volume
• Mixing sticks or a paddle wheel attached to a cordless drill
• Pinecones or other interest items (optional)
• Color pigment to add color to your epoxy
• Various woodworking tools to shape, cut, sand, and finish the project
• Heat gun to get out bubbles in the epoxy
• Putty knife
• Sander
• Router (optional)
• Release spray - optional but makes taking the final product out of the form easier
• Clock mechanism - source from a hobby shop or that big giant store in the sky that starts with Amaz
• Personal Protective Gear - disposable gloves, eye protection,
• Patience - it takes about 5-7 days for the epoxy to cure

Step 1: Wood Form

Select your wood form - in this case I had a circular piece of plywood I picked up at a local hardware store a couple of years ago. You want to sand off any rough edges and the top and tape over the wood with the tape - this can be packing tape or house wrap tape or resin tape. Apply the tape across the top of the wood to cover it all.

Step 2: Fasten the Poly Bender Board to the Wood

Measure the circumference and cut out a slightly larger piece of the poly bender board to form it around the circular piece of wood. Place a bead of silicon sealant around the edge of the board and attach the poly board to the wood with some screws, a nail gun, or major staples if that will work. Trim to fit and seal the edge with the hot glue gun.

Next, run a small bead of glue around the inside of the board to seal the board to the poly-bender board and keep the epoxy from leaking all over. Let things dry.

Step 3: Prep Your Pinecones

You need to clean your pinecones of debris. If you harvested them in the wild you may want to kill of any bugs or other organic material you don't want in your project. Soak in a mixture of water and bleach (10% mixture) for a couple of hours, then rinse and dry. You can let the pinecones air dry for several days or heat them in a low temp oven (200f) for an hour or so. This will also help kill off any organisms, open up the pinecones, and remove any sap. Cover baking sheets with foil to minimize clean-up. Let things cool off.

Depending on the size of your pinecones you may need to cut them to fit your project and/or leave them whole and sand them down after you've poured your epoxy to get them uniform and flat to finish.

Lightly spray the pine cones with acrylic spray to seal them and help reduce bubbles from coming out when they are covered with epoxy. Let these dry.

Step 4: Mix Your Epoxy

Epoxy is expensive stuff and will cause irritation to the skin and/or damage your eyes if it gets in your eyes by accident. Take appropriate care to protect yourself and work in a well-ventilated area. Use gloves, eye protection, a respirator, and the appropriate temperature, as recommended by the manufacturer.

Calculate the amount of epoxy you will need. Volume (V) = pi times radius squared times height. There are a number of calculators on the web. For example, a 16" diameter circle with a height of 2 inches will be 401.92 cubic inches - which is the volume needed to fill it without any pinecones or other objects added in.

Epoxy is commonly mixed 1:1 or 2:1 - read the directions for your product and use the appropriate type of epoxy. Tabletop epoxy can only be poured thinly. For depth, you will need deep-pour epoxy that can be poured greater than 1" at a time. These are generally mixed 2:1 of Part A and Part B (Base Resin and the hardener). There are many great brands out there. I like SuperClear epoxy.

Mix the appropriate amount of epoxy and add in pigment or colorant of your choosing at the recommended ratios, and mixing time.

Deep Pour epoxy has a long cure time, no need to rush things, so keep that in mind when you begin things. Bubbles may come out of the solution immediately and/or continue on for 5,6,7 hours and you will want to be there to use a heat gun to remove the bubbles that come to the surface.

Epoxy will find any voids and crevices and holes that were not properly sealed, taped over, or patched, and it will leak everywhere. Make sure you have sealed all joints, cracks, etc, well before pouring in the epoxy.

Step 5: Pour Epoxy Into Form

If you have time do this in two steps. Step 1) place a small amount of epoxy in the form to cover the bottom and let it start to set up. Once it is sticky you can place your wood, pinecones, or other items, into the form and then let them adhere to the existing epoxy. Pour the remaining or new batch of epoxy over the pinecones to fill up the form to your desired height. If the epoxy is sticky you can pour straight in. If the epoxy has hardened then scuff it up with sandpaper to allow the new epoxy to adhere to the old epoxy.

Use a heat gun or torch to pop the bubbles that will form.

Follow the manufacturer's recommendation for mixing, pouring, and cure time. Allow things to dry for about a week.

Step 6: Remove the Blank From the Form

Now that the epoxy has cured and is hard you can remove the epoxy blank from the form. Remove the screws or whatever you used to secure the poly-bender board to the plywood circle. Cut the bender board and pull away from the epoxy, and use a putty knife to pry the blank off of the form. If you used the tape and release spray it should come off somewhat easily. If not you will have to work at it and perhaps do some sanding and shaping to get it to your desired state.

It is a good idea to wear gloves! The epoxy forms a razor sharp edge against the form and will cut your hand. Trust me. The release spray and tape make this very easy to remove from the form.

Step 7: Prep the Epoxy Blank

You may need to burnish or lightly sand the edge to remove razor-sharp edges that will cut skin. Sand the outside edges to get a nice uniform circle, and sand the back to make that uniform. At this point you can sand, sand, sand, and sand some more - if necessary and/or you can buff out the epoxy with a polisher - like you would a car. You can get a glass clear finish.

Find the center of the circle and drill a hole that will allow the clock mechanism to fit. Trace the mechanism on the back and use a router to remove some of the epoxy if you want to counter-set the mechanism. This is optional but will allow the clock to sit flush with the wall. Once this is done you have a couple of options on how to finish your clock.

Step 8: Finish the Clock

You can sand sand sand and sand some more and then finish with some fine auto-grade rubbing compound to get the epoxy to a matt or high gloss finish. Or, you can get it all ready and lightly sand the front and sides of the clock and pour a tabletop epoxy over it. This will provide a great-looking gloss finish. Either choice will work.

Step 9: Install Clock Hardware

Now that your clock is finished to your needs you can complete your clock. Take out the hardware kit and install the case in the recessed back of the clock. Follow the directions to install and secure appropriately, add the hands, and install the batteries. Your clock is finished. Hang on the wall and enjoy!