Decorative Cardboard Wall Clock

My entry in to the Cardboard Challenge is a wall clock. A quick and easy project to make, utilizing very little money and few supplies.

Here is what you will need:

1. Cardboard - I used round shipping tubes. I have these things in abundance laying around my shop, and I finally got a chance to do something with them besides throwing them away.

2. Clock Mechanism - I picked up a wall clock at the Goodwill for $0.99 just to reuse the clock parts. (You can get these new from the craft store for about $8.00 but cheaper is always better.) The hands on the thrift store clock I purchased were a tad short for my liking, so I picked up some longer hands from my local craft store, as well as sticky back clock numbers. (In hindsight, I could have made the numbers out of cardboard as well and saved a few dollars.)

3. Hot glue gun and glue (Super glue will work just fine.)

4. Spray Paint - For this project I chose a matte black for the clock body, and a silver metallic for the clock hands and 1 inch clock numbers. (I already had the black spray paint on hand from another project and I picked the metallic paint up from my local hardware store.)

Using a band saw, I cut the cardboard tube into 1.25" pieces. Because I did not know what style clock I was going to make, I cut up two of the tubes into pieces to ensure I had enough pieces. (Note: I first tried cutting the tube on my Miter Saw since I was making a ton of repeatable cuts, but the edges of the cardboard came out extremely ragged. Using my table saw and table saw sled was a disaster too. The bandsaw gave me a super clean cut, but scissors and an Exacto knife would work just as well, just will take more time.

After getting your clock design sorted, you want to use the hot glue gun to glue each part that will touch one another together. Also because I will be highlighting the twelve, three, six, and nine o'clock positions, I will reuse a UPS shipping box to make a circle which I will glue on top of those four clock positions. You will need an additional circle for the center position, which will hold the clock mechanism and clock hands

For the center circle, we want to find the center and punch a hole dead center - this is the hole that the stem of the clock will stick through. Make sure you have enough clearance for the clock mechanism washer and nut, as well as space for the clock hands to move freely.

Once you have everything glued together and have tested the clock mechanism to ensure it fits, it is time to paint.

Gather your parts and prepare for painting. Make sure you follow the directions carefully for the paint you will be using, as well as ensuring that you are in a well ventilated area. I always set up outside. I painted the clock black, and the hands and the numbers metallic silver. My paint said that it would be dry to the touch in 20 minutes so after about an hour, I went out gathered all the parts and put the clock together.

Here is your finished clock. You place the clock mechanism in the center hole, then screw it down with the screws provided. Pop the hands on the clock shaft, add a battery and you have a working clock. The numbers were adhesive backed numbers so you just peel and stick where you want them and you are done!

Thanks for taking the time to looking at my Instructable, any questions please don't hesitate to ask.