How to Retrofit a Clock to The Steampunk Asthetic

Retrofiting an old mechanical clock to make it steampunk is a fun and easy afternoon project. Removing the face of the clock allows for the beautiful inner workings and hand crafted parts of the clock to be seen, while still allowing the clock to be functional.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• old mechanical alarm clock (can be found at some thrift stores or antique shops. Also available online on sites such as ebay)
• screwdriver

1. After finding a mechanical alarm clock, simply remove the casing screws (the ones that hold the body of the clock in its case. There is usually a metal casing on the back that covers the clock movement (the gears and works of the clock).

2. Safely set the screws aside, noting where they were originally so as to make reassembly easy. Remove the glass front piece carefully so as not to damage it or get cut on it (some of them have rough edges)

3. Gently pull on the hands of the clock from the center. These should slide off easily. Make sure not to grab the hands by the ends or they will bend.

4. Once the hands are removed, you should be able to easily lift up the face of the clock (the part with the numbers), to reveal the beautiful works beneath.

5. Now put the hands back on. It is best to put them both pointing to where the 12 would be (up to the top of the clock). This will make sure the time will be correctly lined up.

6. Next, put it all back together! Slide the glass plate back into place and fit the movement and back panel back together, then slide the final external piece into place and put the screws back in.

Tips & Warnings

• make sure to pay attention to which screws go where. some are different sizes for different parts.
• gloves might be good to wear if you are worried about getting cut on the glass, but if you are careful you shouldn't have any problems. Also, gloves might be a bit cumbersome at parts (unless they are you're ultra steampunk gloves!)
• Any real steampunk enthusiast will be sure to wear their protective safety goggles!

[PaulMcDaniel]

on 12/4/2008 Sounds like a fun project! Thanks!