DIY Classic Hour Glass

In this Instructable I am going to show you how to make a Classic Hour Glass clock from a bunch of reclaimed material.

The clock is made up of a bunch of scrap wood, some aluminium pipe and a pair of bulbs. The main body is made out of a pair of bulbs and the frame is made out of two wooden blocks that are joined together by using four aluminium pipes.

The end results are outstanding and this clock looks super elegant on my desktop table. The whole project took less than a few hour to complete and the results are great.

For more information and description please visit my youtube video for making this beautiful clock.

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DIY King

The aim is to built a classic hour glass clock so I decided to go with some classic wood and thus end up getting an old wooden piece that feel so dense and seem to be a great wooden piece.

First of I decided to cut of the excess wood and get some useful pieces out of this stained and scraped piece of wood. I cut out two square pieces and then trimmed down the other two sides as well.

These wooden blocks measures 95mm square while having a thickness of 20mm.

The wooden blocks are the further machined to get to the required shape.

For the wooden blocks to securely hold the glass body, I decided to make a hole in the centre of each block so it grips the glass easily. The hole is made using a 2 inch diameter hole saw.

Later four holes are drilled at the edges of the wooden block, each measuring 13mm in diameter. These holes are going to act as a holder for the aluminium pipe and need to be accurate. So first I drilled the holes using a 11.5mm drill bit and then carefully sanded it to fit the aluminium pipe tightly so that it wont come lose.

To give the wooden blocks an elegant look I decided to go with a more curved design. Each side of the wooden block is sut in circular shape using a 2 inch diameter hole saw. To accurately make cuts on each side I built up a temporary jig and clamp the block using a clamp and then made the cut on each side.

The edges of the wooden blocks are trimmed using a miter saw. Now the block is in its shape so we ended up sanding it using an orbital sander.

Since the wood is pretty dense so the finish on the surface is splendid.

To make the glass body of the clock, I have decided to use a pair of 100 watts bulbs that are dirt cheap and are available at any electric store.

I started by cutting of the metal holder by using a hand saw blade. I have to be very careful at this stage since the glass is so thin that it may break at any point. Then I break and remove the inner part that holds the filament.

The metal holder is then sanded using a sandpaper to make the edges flat.

The sand used in this clock is the one that is normally used in commercial construction. The sand is collected and heated on stove in order to remove any moisture. This leaves the sand with a bit darker shade that it usually in.

Later the sand is filtered using a perfboard which really make separating the bigger sand particles easier. It is really necessary to get a uniform particle size to get a smooth flow and it also helps to avoid any stuck.

The sand is then added to on of the glass bulb.

A filter is placed between the two glasses which controls the flow of sand and make it to flow uniformly over a delayed duration of time.

To make the filter I have cut out a circular piece out of the same perfboard sheet that is used to filter the sand in the previous step. A hole is drilled in the perfboard sheet measuring 3mm in diameter. Then using a cutter plier I have cut down a rough circular shape which is then sanded down using a sandpaper and a drill machine to make it a perfect circle.

The filter is then glued to both the glasses and then a thread is wounded on the junction of both bulbs to ensure that they wont come a part. Later I have also applied some super glued to strengthen the thread arround the junction. The black coloured thread also give the glass body an elegant look.

The wooden blocks are then polished using a varnish. This give the wood a protective shield against weather and most importantly it gives the wooden blocks an emerging look.

The finish is very well done after a couple of coats.

The aluminium pipe measures 13mm in diameter and its commonly available at hardware shops as a curtains holder.

This aluminium pipe has a nice finish to it. Four pieces are cut down each having a length of 7.5 inches using a hand saw blade. Both the end are then sanded using a sandpaper.

All the parts are made and are ready to assemble.

First I push fitted the aluminium pipes in one of the wooden block and then glass body is placed and then the other wooden block is inserted in place. Both the wooden blocks are then secured in place by using a 1/2 inch cut screw on each corner of both the wooden blocks.

As I started working on this project I felt that I am going to mess up with the finish and the design of the clock as I was not sure about the dimension and other stuff. But as I got evolved in the project , things got better and better and eventually the final results were breath taking.

Well believe it or not but this hour glass clock looks way more elegant than that in the pictures above. It has a nice amount of weight to it.

The best part is that the whole project is made out of reclaimed wood and those out dated energy wasting 100 watts bulbs that I don't use anymore so If you like this project then don't forget to vote me in the reclaimed contest.

For more upcoming projects visit my youtube channel and subscribe.

Regards.

DIY King.