Starburst Clock

Bertram Whitford > Portfolio > Motley > Starburst Clock

This clock was one of the first examples of what we now call ‘zero-waste woodworking’: a desire to use ‘off-cuts’ from other jobs and components that would normally be discarded.

… If you were to have looked behind our chop saw, you would not have thought the beginnings of a clock lay there beneath deep layers of sawdust.

Sometimes it takes time for a design to show itself, but I always knew that the offcuts from the rails of a set of dining chairs were destined for more than the wood-burning stove. In this case it took a couple of years.

The arrangement of the arms that throw out ambiguous signals to the time-teller were a much-ruminated-upon design, and even more hours went into the sanding of every elm piece to a gorgeous smooth finish.

The clock hands and the mechanism sit around a dyed-grey, poplar-veneered faceplate, which is set in place with magnets allowing for easy access to the battery and time setting.

About 800mm diameter.

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