Three Part Clock

A normal analog clock is an efficient way of piling three different bits of information on top of each other. The hours, minutes, and seconds can all be read with just one dial.

I like this system, but after a while I thought that each hand should get its own space. So for this I made the three part clock. Each hand has its own dial and reading the clock is just a matter of moving from left to right.

You can order clock movements and hands fairly cheaply online or, if you have an Ikea store nearby, you can buy three clocks for just $3 each.

Also needed, and not pictured, is a piece in which to put all the clocks. We had a scrap piece of wood 28"x10.5" so I just grabbed that. It's warped so this is just a prototype, but for a final version just get a better material and check the thickness so that the clock movements can stick through it.

The original clock faces were 7.5" wide so I planned to space them equally across the piece of wood and give a little extra margin on the left and right.

To prep for this, just find the right height and use your calculations from the last step to see how far left and right you need to mark the board.

Drill what? Drill the holes! On the dots!

A little bit of hot glue and the three movements are good and stuck to the board with their stems sticking out the front.

The first movement gets an hour hand. The second and third get the minute and second hands, respectively.

Below you can see the clock at 12:00, 3:30, and 10:08.

Add in the tick marks so it's easier to read the clock. These were done with two stencils. The same stencil was used for the minute and second hands.

Now add some varnish if you want or just put it up somewhere and wait for people to come by and try to see what it means.