Wood-burned clock from Reclaimed Wood

A few months ago I was riding bikes with my girls, and saw a neighbor down the street taking out a huge fence in order to replace it with a new one.  After riding back and forth a few times I got up the courage to talk to the neighbor, and found out that he was taking down a fence made of cedar, and was willing to give me several pieces of fence board!

I was thrilled.  This wood has never been treated, and the colors and grooves and nail holes are all so pretty!  I ended up taking enough to use at a craft night with friends, where we made nativity scenes on some pieces of board.  A few pieces I saved to use for other projects, like this clock.

I started by cutting a piece of wood down so that side by side the boards formed a square.  I put a bit of wood glue between the boards to help hold them together, and on the back nailed some stir sticks over the seam to keep it together while I did the wood burning.  I also found the middle of the clock and drilled a hole where the clock mechanism would go.  The size of the hole depends on the clock workings you have.  

I really enjoy wood burning.  I did these wooden spoons recently, and have done many projects using an inexpensive wood burning tool from the craft store.
Wood burning really went well with the rustic look of the wood to make this clock.

On the computer, I made a circle shape the size that I wanted it.  Then, I evenly spaced lines to help me place the numbers in the correct positions for the clock face.  Then, I printed it out in order to trace it onto the wood.  

To line the paper up on the wood, I used a pencil to poke through the middle of the paper, through the hole I had drilled in the middle of the wood.  Then, I lined up the 12 and 6 lines with the seam in the wood.

A trick I use often for tracing: I rubbed pencil on the back of the paper where the numbers were, before placing the paper on the wood.  Then, when I traced over the numbers, it left a pencil mark indentation on the wood as a guide.  The lines are faint, but enough to see while wood burning. 

 
Once the wood burning was done, I cut thin pieces of cedar I had found at the salvage shop in order to make a border.  A miter box or miter saw really helps with this!

I used wood glue, and then nailed through the back of the clock to hold the border pieces in place.

Finally, I added the clock mechanism, and a saw tooth hanger, and the clock was finished!

I gave this as a gift for a family member to hang in their cabin.  I really love how it turned out!  This would be a great clock for a rustic or outdoor space, and you could easily make one!

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