There are many options available for people who like to work with their hands and would welcome the challenge of building wooden clocks starting from scratch or building one from a kit. While some designs for wooden clocks have everything made from wood, including the gears, others offer designs of wood clocks using metal gears or a battery-operated clock mechanism that fits inside a unique wood design.

Building wooden clocks does more than create a collector piece for the family it also educates the builder on the workings of a complicated timepiece. Many are designed in a straight line design while others follow a more serpentine route for the chains from the pendulum as the continues to maintain the clock's accurate ability to keep time.

For those with the right tools and knowledge, wooden clocks can be constructed from scratch with the plans showing the types of wood to use and offering detailed drawing of how to cut the wood to make the gears and other parts to have the clock operating appropriately in whatever time frame the clock-maker determines. Many of the kits include clock faces to use as well as the housing, but leave open the option of designing individual clock casings to make each assembled unit unique.

Helping People Learn What Makes It Tick

For many people, looking at the inside of a complicated clock mechanism is simply confusion. The numbers gears in the train, especially in a pendulum-operated clock can be a daunting experience. Some may back away from the opportunity to build their own wooden clocks due to the complexity of the clock's designs. However, for those with a natural curiosity of how things work, it can be revealing learning experience.

Adjusting the clock so the time passes accurately is a delicate operation as well as making sure the parts are aligned perfectly so the hands rotate smoothly will offer a better respect for the first clock makers who had no pattern to follow. Wooden clocks built from kits are designed to teach how they work and the time spent will be appreciated when it is hanging on the wall. Some builders claim they would rather watch their wooden clocks operate than spend the time watching television.

Variations of wooden clocks, made of plastic are also available for young children with an interest in mechanics. By building their own clock they not only learn how they work, but also can learn to follow instructions to a positive result as well as working with their hands.