Cutaway Clock

Decorative Paper Craft

Posted by GMC Group

About

Bring a bit of ornate beauty to every hour of the day with this striking papercut clock. This project is easier to make than you might at first think. You just need a little patience to work with the different materials, and the clock mechanism can be easily sourced from craft suppliers.

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You Will Need (13 things)

  • Templates
  • Scissors
  • Sticky Tape
  • 1⁄8in (3mm) Mdf board, 11 3⁄4 x 11 3⁄4in (30 x 30cm)
  • Sharp Scalpel , spare blades and cutting mat
  • Drill
  • Fine Sandpaper
  • Clock Mechanism
  • Wood-effect Sticky Back Plastic
  • 11 3⁄4 x 11 3⁄4in (30 x 30cm) Mount Board
  • Double Sided Sticky Tape
  • Screw and Screw Driver
  • Battery for the clock

Steps (5 steps, 180 minutes)

  1. 1

    Photocopy or scan and print out the templates then roughly cut them out. Sticky tape the back template around the edges onto the MDF board. Slowly and carefully cut the template out using a sharp scalpel. It’s a good idea to cut the little hole out in the middle first – you can do this bit with a drill if it is fiddly. It can take a while to cut the MDF board, so try to be patient – it will be worth it! You may also need to change your scalpel blade regularly for both the MDF and mount board cutting.

  2. 2

    Sand around the disk to make it nice and even, then check the middle hole fits your clock mechanism; this should be nice and snug – make the hole bigger if required. Stick the wood-effect sticky-back plastic onto the front of the MDF disk, making sure there are no air bubbles. Flip the disk over and cut all the excess plastic off, including the hole in the middle.

  3. 3

    Stick the front clock template onto the front of the mount board and carefully cut out all the grey areas and outer line with the scalpel, starting from the centre and working your way outwards. Once it is all cut out, check the centre hole fits the clock mechanism with space around it, because if it fits too snugly it will stop the clock from working. Make the hole bigger if required.

  4. 4

    Now add double-sided sticky tape to the back of the mount-board cutting, leaving the scalloped frame edge tape-free, as this doesn’t need to be sticky.

  5. 5

    Screw the clock back onto the clock mechanism then stick the clock front on top, making sure it is firmly stuck down centrally. Add the clock hands onto the mechanism, pop a battery in, hang the clock up and watch the time fly by!