Set the Clock

Set the Clock

This Sunday sees the official start of British Winter Time as the clocks go back. For a few weeks we’ll benefit from a little more light in the mornings, but we can expect to arrive home in the dark.

The joy of this annual event is that we gain an hour. Who doesn’t long for a bit of extra time in the day? This weekend we get it! Many people will be relishing the opportunity for an hour longer to snooze, but maybe we could look at doing something more constructive in the 60 minutes of bonus time.

You could dedicate an hour of quality time to your family (if you have young children there is no chance of a lie in any way!) You might volunteer an hour of your time to a worthy cause or to cracking on with a job that has been on your ‘to do’ list for too long. Alternatively, you might like to try something completely different.

Cardboard Time Pieces

To really mark the occasion, you could make your own clock. We’ve found a paper and cardboard clock kit called UNDECIMUS. The pieces of a traditional working mechanism have been carefully replicated and laser cut in cardboard. It is claimed that minimal time, workspace and tools are required to carefully assemble the pieces into a working clock. The final image certainly looks impressive.

The Peace Tower All Paper Clock Kit by Wrebbit is another option with 800 pieces to assemble, however the paper based time piece is said to require winding up every two hours to keep it operational, which isn’t so practical. Wrebbit have also produced a medieval cardboard clock kit, which has a longer running time.

For a more basic project, James Smith Rudolph has produced a cut out book with all the pieces needed to build a working clock and a downloadable paper clock is available from Fryer Kits. We’ve also heard that there is a method of producing an origami clock from a large, single sheet of paper, however it took a Japanese origami specialist 5 hours to create, so that might be a challenge too far.

We were surprised that there are so many cardboard clock construction projects out there, but if they’re not your ideal way to spend the extra hour, enjoy the lie in!