Isaac Newton Young's Shaker Wall Clock Face

I've recently been working on a Shaker wall clock that had a face like Isaac Newton Young's clock hanging in the Hancock Shaker Village.  Based on the photos I've found on the web, this is pretty close; however, without good photos to work from, I'm sure there are a few slight inaccuracies which could be corrected.

It's hard to find a clock face like Isaac Young's.  Klockit sells one, but it's too small for a shaker clock built to the original's size.  It says it has a 7 1/2" diameter, but that's wrong.  The entire metal plate is 7 1/2" across, with the time ring being around 5 1/2" - plus, I think the lines are a bit too thick, and the vintage tan color is too dark.

Woodcraft used to sell them with a 7" ring, but their website says it's currently unavailable.  Plus, the image on their site has the year 1840 printed on it - something you may or may not want.  And like the Klockit face, I think the color (the tan vintage look) is much too dark for my tastes.

Clockprints sells various sizes in this style as well.  So far these are the most accurate ones out there, and you can purchase them printed in white, olive, or tan (again, very dark).  At the time of this writing, they cost about $15.35 for a 7" diameter paper printout.  If you want any custom printing such as the year/maker/location etc... added to the face, you'll have to scan it and edit it in an image program like Photoshop.

So, since I was unable to find a suitable face, I decided to spend some time creating my own.  I'm providing a link to an .svg file as well as a high-resolution .jpeg image so that you can edit it any way you'd like.  I've intended mine to be printed with a 7.5" ring so the outer edges come up to the edges of the upper door's face frame when looked from head-on.  You can always adjust this as needed.

If you've not accustomed to editing .svg files, check out the free .svg editor Inkscape.  It's a great program and doesn't take long to figure out how it works.  I used it to create the .svg file, and I really like it for this type of work - plus it's free.

You can download the .svg file here.  If you don't want to mess with converting the .sfg file to a .jpeg, you can download a high-resolution .jpeg here.

A Simple Shaker Bench

Now that we've moved into our house, I've been able to wrap up some woodworking projects that have been put on hold over the past.  We needed a bench where we could sit down and take off our boots and shoes when we walked in the door.  I found this nice little Shaker bench in the the book, Shop Drawings of Shaker Furniture & Woodenware Volumes 1, 2 & 3 by Ejner Handberg.  The original was made of pine; however, I happened to have several board feet of poplar that suites itself well to using a painted finish.  To be honest, I was a little skeptical of the design of the bench prior to building it - that being it seemed as though it'd rack from side-to-side.  Since it uses through tenons with wedges for the joinery, it ended up being considerably strong, with no flex whatsover.  Overall, I'm quite pleased with the design - simple, but effective.

For the finish, I used Old Fashioned Milk Paint in Barn Red.  If you've never used milk paint before, you're in for a treat.  It's easy to apply, and can be cleaned up easily with plain tap water.  Plus, it's environmentally safe.  The paint dries to a chalky consistency, so I'd recommend an overcoat of sealer to add more protection to the finish which I'll explain:

My method for applying milk paint is to mix it 50/50 with water, and apply 2 coats using a paint brush - sanding with 320 grit paper after the first coat.  Once the second coat dries (usually within an hour), I then apply boiled linseed oil using a paint brush prior to sanding.  While the oil is still wet I sand the surface with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper, and then wipe the oil off with a lint-free cotton cloth. I let that dry overnight, and repeat the process by adding a second linseed oil coat and sanding with 400 grit paper.  The result is a smooth, durable finish, with a satin luster.  If you want to take it a step further, you can brush or spray on a clear coat of oil-based polyurethane for additional protection.

My wife and I like the primitive look of painted furniture, so this style works well for us.  You can essentially build the majority of the furniture in your home in this manner - not unlike many American Yeomen did in the 18th century.  

For more examples of well-built, traditional country furniture that you can build for yourself and your home, I'd recommend the book American Country Furniture by Nick Engler & Mary Jane Favorite.  The book targets the woodworker with basic to intermediate woodworking skills, and covers just about every piece of furniture that you'd need for your home.  I've already built several examples in the book, and plan to build several more in the near future.  I'll most likely be posting additional furniture projects soon.