Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Hubcap Clock

My favorite project that I did for Jared's bedroom was the hubcap clock. It was an easy enough project, but I had to make a tweak or two because of the shape of the "face."


I had a clock kit that I bought a couple years ago, but never used. I don't remember what I paid, but it was a Walnut Hollow kit.  I googled it and found them at Create for Less for 6.99.  You can buy them in several sizes (shaft length).   I had to adjust mine as you will see below.


The hubcap I found in the barn and hubby let me use it. You could probably find one pretty cheap at a car junk yard. I don't recommend taking one off your husbands car...just sayin.

The first thing I did was to shine it up with fine steel wool. There were some places where some black paint still lingered, but the steel wool took it right off. Then I marked the middle of the chevy emblem and drilled a large enough hole to insert the post of the clock works through.



Next I wrapped a plastic bag around it and taped around the emblem so I could easily paint it.  I didn't have red spray paint, so I just used the red paint I'd used for everything else in his room.  A couple of coats covered it.  



There were several little gold pieces that came with the clock works that I spray painted silver.  That was interesting.  They were so lightweight that the spray kept blowing them around.  I only needed to paint one side.


 I also painted the numbers that came with the kit.  I forgot to take a picture of that, but they came all attached together on a plastic piece, which made painting very easy. You can see what they looked like in the picture of the kit above.  After they dried, I cut them off the plastic holder, peeled off the backing and stuck them on the front of the hubcap.


Because I wasn't using a traditional wood clock face, the shaft on the clock motor was too long.  I needed something to use between the motor and the back of the clock, but it still had to stick out far enough for the hands to clear the raised lip around the middle of the hubcap.  I tried a piece of wood, but it was too thick.


I remembered a piece of dense styrofoam I'd saved. I've used pieces of it for different projects.


I shaved a small piece of it about 1/4 inch thick and sliced a hole in the middle for the shaft to go through.


Then it was just a matter of following the kit instructions to put it all together.  Easy peasy.  I used a nail with a larger head to hang it on the wall.  The rim on the back of the hubcap catches on nail head pretty well.  So far it's not fallen off!  I did hang it in a relatively "safe" corner of the room where it's not likely to get bumped.


Every time I see the Chevy emblem, I want to start singing, "Like a rock..."


Disclaimer:  In no way will the author of this blog bear responsibility for hubcaps missing from neighbor's cars nationwide.

Clock - (noun) A small mechanical device to wake up people without children.

22 comments:

  1. I just love it! You are so creative and clever and funny!!! The disclaimer was so cute, and true with all these bloggers! :)

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  2. I'm literally rubbbing my eyes with astonishment. You seem to have endless mechanical ideas up your sleeves.

    I'm close to muttering the G-word......Yes, I'll do it:

    GENIUS!!

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  3. Love this idea Deborah!! Once again- sooo much creativity over here!! Love it! :)

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  4. Your clock looks amazing! What a great idea for a boys room. That was a really cool hub cab you found and I really like how you highlighted it with red.
    Jane

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  5. I can see it now! Hundreds of cars driving around with one hubcap missing. lol The clock is amazing and what boy wouldn't love having one like that? I'm sure those would be a great selling item at craft shows.

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  6. Very nice!!

    Please stop by and link up to my Commercial Break at Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom! http://suzysartsycraftsysitcom.blogspot.com/2010/10/commercial-break-thursday-promote_21.html

    suzy

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  7. Love the clock! That's a cool project and well done, too!

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  8. My middle son is a car freak! He would go nuts for a clock like that. Very Cool! Great step by step instructions.

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  9. great job on the clock...so creative! my hubby would love a clock like that!!!

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  10. This looks terrific! I am sure any young man would love this!
    Kathy

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  11. I enjoyed your clock tutorial. I have a grandbaby that may need one some day. Your pictures and explanation are very good.

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  12. Very cool idea and great tutorial!

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  13. What a great clock, would be perfect in the man cave! Thanks for linking up to Beyond the Picket Fence.

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  14. Oh this clock is UBER cute! I love the whimsy of it....and what a FABULOUS, BRILLIANT idea. {definitely saving this in my copy-cat files}

    Thank you for coming over ot my little world and your wonderful words on my dresser. I hope to see more of you.

    Cheers~
    e

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  15. cool beans! I love clocks and yours rocks! Thanks for linking up and linking back.
    have a great weekend!
    gail

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  16. Cool clock! my son would love to have one! Great project and an entertaining funny post too!

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  17. You are one creative lady, Debbie! My husband would love a clock like that!
    Debbie@houseatthelake

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  18. WOW! great idea. come on over and link up to MMM :)

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  19. I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I linked to this post today from the Home & Garden channel at Craft Gossip. :)

    Your feature will appear in the main Craft Gossip RSS feed, on the main home page and can be found directly here
    http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/hubcap-clock/

    If you would like a "featured by" button, you can grab one here!
    http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/grab-a-craft-gossip-button/

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  20. That is so cool! Perfect my little guys room! :)
    http://embellishinglifeeveryday.blogspot.com/

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  21. This is a whole new take on the new Industrial look! Your project turned out so very, very cool. Congrats on it being featured, Deborah Lynn.
    :-) Sue

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