Puzzle Clock Kit Driven by Pop-Can

How the clock puzzle came about: Some years ago I acquired a C N C machine to help me with some of the clock parts. When machining some intricate parts from M D F wood for a fellow craftsman, I was astonished by the hardness and density of the M D F. Most of us are familiar with the M D F being a flake board. But this particular board was made in Northern Ontario Canada from hardwood. I quickly made up some gears, testing them by dropping them from 3 feet onto a cement floor and found the damage much less than solid wood. I immediately began to design clocks from this material. One of which is the Clock Puzzle. My initial thought was a 3 D puzzle that required no tools to assemble. It has turned out to be a very interesting project for many people. The pop-can used as a weight to drive the mechanism has been very well received by some and the brass coated elegant steel weights by others. I am looking forward to show you more varieties of mechanical clocks in the near future. Especially since the mechanism of clock work escapements have not changed very much to my knowledge in the last three to four hundred years, until now. The finishing of manufactured wood such as M D F is very easy. One coat of stain or paint is often all it needs. You can achieve beautiful finishes by spray painting in a variety of colors. Many people have asked how to get the paint inside the numbers on the dial, which are machined to 1/32nd deep. I have found a simple method. Using craft paint in a dish approximately 1/8 inch deep, I dipped in a tooth pick or round flat object to transfer paint into the numbers and run it round inside creating a contrast.

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Bonus: We do not have an instructional VHS video of this clock, only a nicely made, step-by-step instructional DVD that is very easy to follow. The instructions are very concise for constructing this delightful and beautiful clock kit. Our instructional  DVD was made originally made for the Baltic Birch version of this clock, but the two kits are really the same, just made of different woods.