Tiger Maple Mantle Clock

[Stew Hagerty]

I made this for my son & daughter-in-law as a house warming present.

It's made from a single billet of tiger maple. The two sides are actually bookmatched. I based it on the design in the October 2012 Issue of Wood magazine, although I did tweek it a bit to make it my own.

My first step in finishing was to apply a soaking coat of 1 part BLO thinned 2 parts mineral spirits. That really soaked in and brought out the grain. I waited 24 hours then applied a coat of Behlen Pure Tung Oil. After 24 hours I buffed it lightly with a fine pad and removed any dust before applying another coat of Tung Oil. I repeated this until I had applied 5 coats of Tung Oil. Then I allowed the clock to sit for 2 full weeks to cure. And finally I applied 3 coats of Black Bison (natural color) paste wax, buffing each time with a waxing brush (both drill operated and manual).

These are in progress photos:

[Stew Hagerty]

Here are photos of the completed project:

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[Bruce Page]

Stew, that turned out great. I love the figure in the maple!

[Peter J Lee]

Nice project and pretty wood well executed.

[lowell holmes]

Creative design!!

[Gus Dundon]

The details turned out really great! I found it too simple but you did a great job on that.

[Stew Hagerty]

The details turned out really great! I found it too simple but you did a great job on that.

It's my first clock. Besides I needed it to be kind of neutral so that it will go with whatever decor my daughter-in-law has at any given time. She inherited a "redecorator gene" from her mother. So only things that can go with a wide variety of decors stand any chance for longevity.

[Jeff Monson]

Looks great Stew, figured maple is so much fun to do projects with. I like the bowties and the top is really nice! Did you bevel the top on the tablesaw?

[Mark Valsi]

Nice job, great wood !!

[Stew Hagerty]

Looks great Stew, figured maple is so much fun to do projects with. I like the bowties and the top is really nice! Did you bevel the top on the tablesaw?

I took off the bulk of the bevel using the table saw, but I finished it using a Veritas low angle block plane with a 50 degree blade which nets out to a 62 degree angle of attack. It's the first time I've had the opportunity to use the high angle blade and it really worked very well. Although, I certainly wouldn't want to use any plane larger than this with that high of an angle. I tell you... I love that plane with any blade. When I bought it, I went all the way. In addition to the 50 degree blade and the standard 25 degree blade, I also got the toothing blade as well as the large tote and knob. Next to my type 11 #4, I probably use it more than any other plane.

[Tom Giles]

Very nice job on the clock