I am making a replica of the old Telechron 700 for my son-in-law. Art Deco style. The basic clock will be walnut and the clock dial face ring will be maple. Maple (birdseye) will be used for the ‘skyscraper window’ strips and some other trim. http://uv201.com/Clock_Pages/Telechron/electrolarm.htm He is very fussy. Even if my work is for free! He likes the old plastic ‘walnut colored’ one on the left. I do not intend to hide the grain no matter what he tells me. He is a really nice man BUT sometimes…. I have ‘common’ walnut, as not black walnut. It is very nice wood though. The clock will be scaled up in size for a mantle clock. Not sure how I will scale it. Working on that. With scaling, some of the parts may be to wide for the ‘stick’ width I have and I do not want the face of the clock made of edge glued boards. I will use a combination of face and edge grain for the ‘towers’ of the skyscraper. Now my real question! At the top, it will, most likely, be end grain. I was thinking of some glued on (hand sawn) walnut face veneer from the same ‘stick’… Now how to hide the edges of the veneer? AND what is the best finish for walnut? I usually use oil finish. I am NOT a finisher! I get by very well hacking up wood, but NOT for finishing. Thanks in advance…
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Replies
When you scale it up for a mantle clock, Will, are you thinking of making it wider? (A central "building" with another shorter "building" on either side?)
For the edging at the top, I was thinking of a bead detail around the edges, and then morticing out for the veneer panels, but with a multi-level top profile, that would be a bit of a pain. After the face and end grain was stained and sealed, I might stain the (unveneered) end grain at the top extra dark, and let it go at that.
I would think that this would be a good candidate for shellac as the finish. But, I'm not a real finisher, either.
My first thought was something about 8 inches wide by 10 inches tall. I 'think' the original was about. 6" wide, 3.5 inches wide by 7.5 inches high.. I was thinking of something like 8" wide by 10 inches tall.. Just to keep a standard 4 inch face dial to still sort of 'fit in'..
I called
http://www.clockprints.com/pages/contact.html
for the basic clock face.. I asked for no trade names on the face... Legal problems I would think? Not sure... I just loved the typeface! Now... onto to find some clock dials to match!
If you're having the dial
If you're having the dial face printed, I think it should say, "WillGeorge ~ 2010" (in a discreet matching font, of course).
I never mark any of my work.. I am just me as I am...
For the edging at the top, I was thinking of a bead detail around the edges, and then morticing out for the veneer panels, but with a multi-level top profile, that would be a bit of a pain. After the face and end grain was stained and sealed, I might stain the (unveneered) end grain at the top extra dark, and let it go at that.
I was wordering why anybody would stain walnut.. walnut! But I think you are onto something there!
Why not consider more extensive use of sawn veneer. At 1/16" thick you would be able to miter corners and still ease the edges.
Have you considered gold leaf for the verticals? Just a thought. The maple will make for interesting contrast in itself of course.
These are very cool Art Deco pieces, that I LOVE. In scaling up, I think you might just need to add one "insert" on each side, keeping the same width--if I understand it at all. Good luck.
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