Starting with a hunk of walnut, this clock is 50mm thick and nine inches round and finished to a mirror polish.
The Walnut was cut from a slab, still with bark on the edges, but just big enough to cut the circle without any of the lighter sap wood remaining. The wood might look a little plain in it’s rough form, but I already knew it was going to look spectacular when completed.
Once rough cut and turned on the lathe, it was time to carve out the back to hold the clock mechanism, sound box and speaker. It was necessary to go deep for the mechanism so that the spindle for the hands went through to the front of the clock, shallower for the sound box, and then a circular indent for the speaker with a deeper recess for the back of the speaker.
Then it was time to install everything and solder up the wiring to complete the back of the clock and while a tight fit, everything slotted in perfectly.
The reason for the sound box, is that the clock is a 4×4 Westminster Chime which means it peals on each quarter hour with a full peel and then chimes at the top of the hour.
Then it was time for sanding and polishing with until there was a mirror finish, and a final keyhole cut to enable hanging on the wall with a screw. All that was left was to attach the glass and face, pop the hands on and synchronise with the chime, and the clock was complete!