…which is paper maché.

I’m quite pleased with the result but I think it needs [...]]]> Excuse the photography – not my strong point – but what do you think? The idea was to make a clock that looked like it was made from stone – or maybe concrete. Something much tougher than it’s actually made out of…

…which is paper maché.

I’m quite pleased with the result but I think it needs work on the coloring. I’m thinking perhaps getting a toothbrush and splattering it with a light gray, or maybe a couple of different grays.

So how was it made? I’ll draw up some reasonable clock plans as soon as I get a chance but a brief description goes like this:

I took some mdf for a base board (you could use ply) then glued some squares to it for the number positions. These don’t have to be incredibly accurate because it’s supposed to look a bit rough.

Then I covered the whole surface of my clock blank with plastic packing tape. This makes sure the paper maché releases. I tried food wrap but it kept coming off the board. I’ve also heard you can use Vaseline but I thought that might soak into the paper which would make it impossible to paint.

Anyway, then I started sticking down strips of paper torn into bits about half an inch wide and four inches long (12 x 100mm). It’s not important but the pieces don’t want to be too big. You need to get in nice and tight around the squares that make the clock numbers. I use enough paste so it’s soggy. You want to try and get all the air bubbles out so you need to squish it and push it around a bit. If anything tears just add more paper!

You can use flour and water for glue but I use the commercial wallpaper stuff. After about three layers you have to stop because it gets too wet. Leave the clock to dry for a day or two then add more layers. I do one layer going vertical, the next horizontal and the next at 45 degrees. That should make sure it all binds together and doesn’t de-laminate later.

I stopped at nine. The clock is fairly stiff although I’ve made another since and used wooden batons around the edge and that’s much better. Make a hole in the middle to take a cheap quartz digital clock movement and you are pretty much done. For texture on the clock I used several coats of exterior masonry paint that I had lying around. You could try adding sand to ordinary emulsion. As I said, this is an area of the clock for further experiments.

Well anyway, that’s how to make this particular paper maché clock. Sorry the details are a bit short but although I’m lucky enough to have a workshop it’s undergoing a bit of an overhaul so I didn’t have the chance to do in-progress pics. Next one I make I’ll do proper clock plans. If you want to know when they’re ready, sign up for my free newsletter and I’ll let you know.

Oh by the way, it might look a bit like stone but it’s no good outdoors – there’s nothing to protect the clock mechanism so it would just rust!
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