Chimney Insert Replacement Clock
Introduction: Chimney Insert Replacement Clock
We bought a house in 2020 and have been working hard to fix it all up. The previous owners had a wood stove installed that we had to remove (they are no longer allowed in our area due to air quality issues), and the old inserts to the chimney were sticking out of the wall. Sure, I could have just removed and added a sheetrock patch, but the texture of our wall is difficult to match. As I've stared at this eyesore for a few months, I got to thinking that it was the perfect size and location for a clock - and we needed one in the living room anyways! All it took was a little 3D printing, spray paint and some reused items to get it looking much better.
In this project I will describe how you can reuse/reclaim a chimney insert to make it into a clock and beautify your living room.
Supplies
This project didn't really require much in the way of tools or supplies. You'll need the following to do exactly like I did mine, but to be honest your insert will likely differ as mine is old and they are all different - as always, use what you have when possible!
* Old chimney insert vanity ring
* Scrap of flat metal - thin steel works best
* A clock mechanism - I highly recommend a "high torque" version for a clock of this size - I purchased this one and really like it
* 12 gauge bicycle spokes
* Numbers - I purchased and 3D printed these numbers from Cults 3D for an art deco look, there are many free 3D printed numbers out there or you can buy some pre-made ones too
* 3D printed clock hand attachments or large clock hands
* Spray paint
* Tin snips
* Drill and drill bits
* JB Weld or rivets
* E6000 or similar adhesive
* Hammer
* Center punch
* (Optional) hammer drill and Tapcon screws
* Scrap of insulation
Step 1: Remove Chimney Insert and Vanity Ring
I removed the ring first to kind of lay things out and get a feel for the scale and size of what I would need to print, purchase and make, then screwed it back on so I didn't have a gaping hole in my wall for weeks. When you are ready to commit you'll want to take out the sleeve insert and remove the ring from the wall. The sleeve on mine was lightly mortared into the concrete blocks of the chimney - some minor chisel and hammer work freed it right up to pull out, and the ring was just screwed into the wall with three screws and is a separate piece from the sleeve. There was a bit of insulation around the insert that I just took out and threw away as I was going to replace with a scrap of insulation from another project to fill the whole gap.
As you can see above, if you have a wood stove GET IT CLEANED REGULARLY! If we had tried to use this stove, it may have burned down the house - all elements of the pipe were almost completely clogged, and you can see some melting of the creosote where it almost caught fire. Holy cow this is dangerous.
Step 2: 3D Print Numbers and Clock Hand Adapters
If you are 3D printing numbers, you should get a feel for how big they need to be and what color will work best. 972
My wife and I couldn't agree on gold vs white so we made a compromise - I printed the 12, 3, 6 and 9 in gold and the rest in white - it turned out very nice! I paid for and downloaded these art deco numbers from Cults 3D - I like them a lot. You can print whatever number style matches your decor or preferences best. I used PLA and 0.2mm layer height.
For the clock hands, I could have found some that worked okay for the size of this clock, but it was difficult to find any that I liked or that matched the measurements of the clock diameter. I used to work in a bike shop and love bikes, so really wanted to use bicycle spokes as the hands. To do this, I designed the attached bits to fit around the hour hand shaft and minute hand shaft, and allow for some bicycle spokes to thread into the hole. Print at the highest resolution your printer will achieve, smaller layer heights are better. I printed in PLA, slightly warmed them with a hot air gun, and threaded the spokes right in - no glue needed.
These are meant for the specific clock mechanism I purchased - you may need to modify for your purposes, as they come in different sizes. They are designed for 12 gauge spokes. Clip the spokes down so that the bent end is removed and they are the length you desire for your clock's diameter. One will be short for the hour hand, the other longer for the minute hand. 276