Shaker Wall Clock
Timmy2Hands Jun 13, 2016
This clock is based on Isaac Youngs 1840 design with a few changes.
It has a pendulum which the original design did not and glass replaces the door panel to allow the pendulum to be shown. The original design has the classic half moon at the top to allow it to be hung on a Shaker peg, but pendulum clocks tend to rock back and forth when hanging from a peg, so this design does away with that all together and hangs from a French cleat instead.
This project, like all my others, was done with hand tools only.
The wood used is Sepele.
The hinges are from Horton Brasses. http://www.horton-brasses.com/PB-405.asp
The clock mechanism, face, and dials are from Clockparts.com http://www.clockparts.com/
Overall dimensions are: 31 1/2" Tall, 11 1/2" wide, and 4 3/4" deep
Plans for the original design can be found in this book, Popular Woodworking's Shaker Furniture Projects: Step-by-Step Plans for 31 Traditional Projects by Popular Woodworking Editors. https://www.amazon.com/Popular-Woodworkings-Shaker-Furniture-Projects/dp/1440335311/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465822183&sr=8-1&keywords=Shaker+furniture+projects
I built this project exactly as Bill Schenher did on his YouTube channel "Billy's Little Bench". Here is a link to his Shaker Wall Clock playlist for this build. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSFFFTaqUK6RHob9LlGWJc74EfR7yr0of
I don't think the Shakers used Sepele for their clocks, but I'm going to.
The top and bottom stretchers are glued and nailed into rabbets that are cut into the side rails. Later on the top and bottom caps will hide the nails.
The division rail is rough cut at this point and fits into housing dados in the side rails.
Here I'm getting the panels fit into the frame and sizing the top and bottom caps.
I don't need a 3hp router and a box full of bits to get a nice roundover detail.
A sharp block plane gets the job done in no time and can be any radius I need.
Here I'm checking the fit with a spacer piece that represents the width of the door frame.
Speaking of the door frame, it's time to cut the rabbet around each of the frame pieces
I have a fenced rabbet plane for this type of cut, but these pieces are just too narrow and the grain changes direction too much to use it effectively. So I decided to go old school with it and use a hammer and chisel to remove the bulk of the waste.
I then used my medium shoulder plane to clean up the rabbet.
I'm very happy witht the results here.
Glue up.
This is the same finish that I use a lot.
Three to four coats of Watco Danish Oil (natural). Sanding between coats with 400 grit.
To really bring out the luster I burnish the piece with 3M synthetic 0000 steel wool and then apply paste wax and buff it out with a shoe shine brush.
Amazing work, Tim. I have one of these on my list to build soon. Great looking piece.
Really nice, Thanks for linking where you got the clock movement and hinges.
Sure, you can submit it. It will be up to the guest judge, but we can let @TheWoodKnight make the ultimate decision while he's voting, but no harm in submitting it! Good luck!
@Timmy2Hands said: