People love clocks! I read somewhere that every house has at least four. Now I don't know if that's true - but we certainly have - what about you?

The point to all this is that with a bit of forward planning it's really very easy to turn scrollsaw segmentation into clocks. Not only does it add interest, but if you're into craft shows or selling your work in other ways, it adds value - much more value than the cost of the parts or the work.

So how do you do turn a scrollsaw piece into a clock?

Basically there are two methods: quartz clock movements and quartz clock inserts. Let's do the clock movement first (you can go straight to the insert here if you prefer). Using the quartz clock movement we'll end up with something like the peregrine falcon clock shown on the right (pattern available in World Birds Volume 1).

A quartz clock movement, and it's method of mounting, are shown below.

A typical quartz clock movement is shown on the left and how it fixes is shown below right. The clock movement is in light blue and a representation of your scrollsaw segmentation piece is shown in brown. All you really need to do is drill a hole!

OK - maybe it's slightly more complicated, but not much.

First you need to select the correct shaft length to go through your work. It has to be long enough to pass through and get the hands on. Most suppliers quote the thickness of wood rather than the actual shaft length - which makes it easy for us to choose the right one.

There are a variety of shaft lengths from 1/4" to 3/4" so you should find one to suit. They're widely available from woodwork and craft suppliers with an excellent range here if you want to order online.

If your work is too thick for any of these you could perhaps recess the back but it's probably a better idea to make scrollsaw piece from thinner stock in the first place.

To turn your scrollsaw work into an attractive clock just follow these simple steps:

1. Choose where you want the centre and drill an appropriate sized hole.
2. Position the quartz clock movement on the back of your work and gently push the shaft through, fix in place using glue or screws.
3. Carefully fit the hands. These are quite fragile and can bend easily. If they're a bit long for what you want, they're also quite easy to cut or file down to your preferred size - but again, you need to be gentle with them. Personally, because they're quite cheap, I always order a few extra pairs in case I damage one.
4. Mark the front with the hour positions. There are lots of ways to do this: you can paint them on, use small studs, decorative nails or buy self adhesive numbers or small plastic or metal strips. Wherever you get your clock movements from should have a good selection.
5. Pop in 1 x AA battery - which will keep your clock running for about a year.
6. Stand back and admire!

Using an insert clock

Insert clocks come in a variety of sizes and faces with roman or latin numbers, edges in silver or gold, even square and oval ones - but to make life easier we're going to stick to the round ones - and it's even easier to make these than the quartz cock movement method shown above!

Seriously - all you have to do is choose your insert (widely available and again there's a huge range at Clockparts.com), drill the right size hole (a saw-tooth or forstner bit is best for a nice smooth edge) and pop in your insert - job done!

Apart from selecting the insert you want, the only consideration is the thickness of your piece and the thickness of the insert. Insert clocks are designed to fit in a flat bottomed hole - hence the use of a saw-tooth or forstner bit, which leaves a flat bottom, but if your insert is thicker than your work you might wish to cut a hole right through and have the clock protrude slightly from the back. The best thing to do is check all your measurements before you start, then you can either choose an insert to suit or make your segmentation to fit a particular insert.

Added interest and value?

I reckon for five or ten dollars you turn your scrollsaw segmentation into a clock that few people will ever have seen. How much value that adds is up to you - but it's got to be way more than the materials and time involved.