Grandfather Clock

Marc Spagnuolo

The Grandfather Clock is a formidable time piece. Standing 76 7/8” tall, 28 1/8” wide, and 13 1/2” deep, this clock will be the showpiece of any room it resides in. Built from quartersawn white oak, it features Arts & Crafts styling with a touch of Stickley influence. The through tenon construction is beautiful and sturdy and the dark brown finish gives the project a warm and handsome appearance.

  • 19 lessons
  • 195 min
  • $79.00

What's included:

  • Detailed cut list and plans including a PDF and a SketchUp file (Metric and Imperial).
  • Hours of detailed video instruction (19 videos in total) showing every step of the build.
  • All videos and plans are digital and will be available for download upon purchase.

What you'll learn:

  • The Design Process
  • Wood Selection & Grain Considerations
  • Through Mortise & Tenon Construction
  • Cutting Tapered Legs
  • Frame & Panel Construction
  • Hinge Installation
  • Glass Installation
  • Aging Brass Hardware
  • Setting up a Clock Movement
  • Finishing with Dye and Lacquer

What you'll need:

Wood
  • Bell Forest Lumber Packages are available here (Guild members get 10% off with code).
Tools
  • Planer/Jointer (alternatives: purchase pre-milled lumber kits or use hand planes)
  • Tablesaw
  • Dado Stack (for making tenons)
  • Router
  • Festool Domino (although I used this tool you can substitute dowels, biscuits, pocket screws, or classic mortise and tenons which I demo in the video)
  • Bandsaw (alternative: Jigsaw)
  • Jigsaw
  • Drill
  • Miter Saw (alternatives: Cross-cut Sled or Miter Gauge at Table Saw)
  • Random Orbit Sander
  • Hand Tools – Chisels, Flush Trim Saw, Shoulder Plane, Card Scraper
Bits Stuff

About the Course

Please note: this project is designed around a specific clock movement (Hermle Movement) as well as some other components listed below. Unfortunately, the vendors of these products tend to be inconsistent in their offerings so if you buy this project, you’ll likely have some homework to do in order to find the parts that work with our plans and require no modifications. We try to keep the links updated but this has proven to be a constantly moving target. So I suggest doing this legwork before you purchase the project.

About Your Instructor:

Marc is a podcaster, video producer, woodworking enthusiast, and author of Hybrid Woodworking and Essential Joinery. He has contributed articles and video content to FineWoodworking.com, Popular Woodworking Magazine, WOOD Magazine, and Woodcraft Magazine. He is also the host of The Wood Whisperer, an instructional woodworking video series that’s been going strong since 2006. He is also one of the hosts of the Wood Talk podcast. He has taught classes at the William Ng School, Marc Adams School, Weekend with Wood, Fine Woodworking Live, as well as at various Rockler and Woodcraft stores. He also speaks periodically at woodworking events like AWFS and IWF.