Popular Woodworking Editors' Blog

The Stickley Mantle Clock in the December issue (#173) of Popular Woodworking magazine is a great project to build. I think you’ll see a large number of these clocks given as gifts during the holidays. For inspiration, click here and visit the Antiques Roadshow website to see an appraisal on an original Stickley Mantle Clock that was appraised near $4,000.

Fumed Finish
Once the clock is built, it would be a good thing to know how the piece was finished and where to find the art-glass insert used in the door.

To discuss the fumed finish, I’ve added an article to the Popular Woodworking web site. Here's a link to the article.

I found this fuming process to be so easy. I think you will as well. If you’ve done this finishing technique before and have any additional tips, please leave a comment below to let us know.

Clock Dial Cutout

The 12-side opening in the door adds a lot to the charm of this clock. To make it easy, we are providing a free pattern that you can print. The pattern is in Adobe PDF format, and you will need to have Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to open the file. Chances are you already have this software, but if you don't you can download it for free by clicking here. When you print, be sure to set your printer to "full size" or "no scaling". Line up the lines on the pattern with the top corners of your door and adhere it with spray adhesive. Make the cuts as detailed in the article.

CLICK HERE to download the full size pattern of the face cutout.

Art-glass Insert
The small art-glass window was a project I wanted to tackle. Stained glass and work such as this has always interested me. But, in order to meet my “Just-in-time” deadline, I passed on the project and went to a local shop for help.

Rick Stein at Artisans Custom Art Glass was gracious enough to build the piece for me as I shot photos to explain the steps. (My cost for the insert piece, and your cost should you wish to have Stein build your piece, is $25. Contact information is listed below.)

Stein began the insert by copying the exact opening from my door. Then he divided the area into six sections to determine the size of the glass pieces. Once the size was determined, he snipped the pieces from the glass I had selected (with his direction), making sure there was additional space for the lead that surrounds the glass. Of course, these glass pieces are so small I doubt any deformities or discolorations will be noticed.

Next, a perfect right angle was set with the use of a wooden square. The insert is built against that square. Stein cut small lengths of U-shaped lead that divide the glass pieces as well as wrap the outer frame of the insert. As the pieces were assembled, they were held in position with nails (the nails remind me of those used by blacksmiths when shoeing a horse).

With all the parts cut, fit and tacked in place, the next step was to add flux to each of the lead intersections. Flux cleans the joints and allows solder to flow over the joint. Stein then melted solder on the joints with a quick touch of a soldering iron.

Last step was to file away enough lead from the outside of the insert to guarantee a snug fit. That took him about a minute to do. To hold the insert in the door, I used a clear silicon sealant. Push the insert into the opening, then apply a thin bead of silicon straight from the tube. One bead around the outside and one bead around the inside will hold it secure.

For additional information contact:

Artisans Custom Art Glass
7218 Montgomery Road
Cincinnati, OH 45236
(513) 791-8684

About the Clock Face
When deciding on a face for this clock, I looked at a few ideas. The Stickley mantle clock featured a brass dial with the numbers and other characters incised into the brass and filled with black wax.

I looked into etching the brass then filling the characters with black wax as in the original, but found that to be bit more involved than I wanted. I asked a local trophy store for ideas, but was waylaid by the estimated costs.

At that point I turned to a trusted Popular Woodworking friend – Gay White at Clock Prints (clockprints.com). White had a sample back to me before I had sent all the information. After one session of tweaks, the face was ready to go. It turned out great. We were all very pleased with the results, as I know you will be too.

Click here to visit clockprints.com for the Stickley Mantle Clock - Model number: AC9 PWW ($14.99)

And if you haven’t found Popular Woodworking’s Google 3D Warehouse page, click here. It’s worth a visit. There you can find many projects from Popular Woodworking, including the Stickley Mantle Clock (click here for a direct link). If you would like a primer on how to use this page or are interested to find out exactly what is there and how to get your hands on it, click here for Robert W. Lang’s entry discussing the site and its benefits.

“You can never have enough clamps.” I’ll bet many of you know from whom that quote came (read below if you haven’t a clue). And I would also bet you think that is a sound woodworking statement.

Well last week was clamp week at Popular Woodworking. A few weeks back, literature came in from Lee Valley about a new German-built Aluminum Assembly Clamp that had me immediately contact the company for a sample to review.

The Aluminum Assembly Clamp is a type of bar clamp, but with this clamp there is no handle to twist to tighten like a K-body clamp. Also, this is not a standard squeeze clamp that requires you to pump the handle to tighten. Clamp action on this clamp is best described as similar to closing a set of locking pliers. And yes, as you can on locking pliers, you can adjust the amount of clamp pressure. While I don’t see the value of adjusting clamp pressure as it pertains to the project, I do see that not all us woodworkers have the same hand strength and this adjustability makes using these clamps as individual as are our projects.

What makes this clamp easy to use is the slide action of the movable jaw. Pull the jaw tight to your work, then squeeze the handle closed and the pressure is added. A simple dial of the thumbscrew on the movable jaw changes the pressure.  I don’t think these clamps would be your “go to” clamp for gluing panels, although they certainly would work if you have a proper fit to your boards and enough hand strength to close the clamps using higher pressure, I do see great use in the shop as quick clamps that hold things in position – think in place of F-style or wooden handscrews.

Aluminum Assembly Clamps are available in 6", 12", 18" and 24" lengths each with a throat depth of 3-1/4". These clamps cost from $21.50 - $28.50. Lee Valley has a special offer until October 26, 2008 – a set of four, two 18" and two 24" clamps for $108.

New samples from Bessey also arrived. The Bessey clamps include two versions of the VARIOCLIPPIX – a single sliding jaw that opens to 4" and a two-sliding-jaw design that opens to 6-1/2". (A 2-3/8" clamp is also available.)

When you first look at a VARIOCLIPPIX, you wonder how these clamps should be used. They are a step above regular handspring clamps due to the wider opening width, for sure. Regular small spring clamps open to 2". Larger spring clamps open to 3", and if you’ve used larger spring clamps, you know how difficult it could be to squeeze the clamp open to its full potential. VARIOCLIPPIX clamps are the size of small handspring clamps, but they open to clutch onto wider assemblies. The product is manufactured of glass-filled nylon for strength and features two component handles for an ergonomic grip.  

Using these clamps is interesting, too. Of course you could slide the jaws out to their fullest extent and use the clamps at that setting. But it makes more sense, and increases clamp strength, if you only open the clamps as wide as necessary. If you need 4", open the adjustable jaw to accept 4". If you need the maximum of 6-1/2", open them up and clamp down.

VARIOCLIPPIX clamps are available from $6.50 - $8.50 at Lee Valley (3" plastic spring clamps set you back about $3.40 each). Some VARIOCLIPPIX sizes are available at Amazon for slightly less. Where were these clamps when I built the Baltimore Card Table in the June 2005 Popular Woodworking (issue #148)? I could have used a 6-1/2" version to clamp and hold the top row of apron blocks as my glue dried.

Another Bessey clamp sent in for us to examine is the Step-over clamp (see the pictrue at top). This clamp is best described as an F-style clamp with a semi-circle head bend. The 3/16"-thick x 5/8"-wide plated steel bar is bent in a semi-circle design to form the fixed jaw. The sliding jaw is that of a standard F-style clamp.

The step-over idea is so you could reach over say a lip on a turned-edge tabletop or something along those lines. These clamps open to a maximum of 4" with a depth of 1-3/8". That won’t step over much. I’m not big on that application, but I do see how that is supposed to work. For me, I see these clamps being used as one would use F-style clamps – again, a way to quickly grip and hold stock or parts.

By the way, the quote from the beginning of this entry is something heard in many episodes of The New Yankee Workshop, said by Norm Abram.