Monday, April 2, 2012

Cuckoo clock make-over


Cuckoo before


There’s a certain charm to cuckoo clocks, you know? I just love them and I was fortunate to find this one at a garage sale for 5 bucks. As darling as it was, I just couldn’t leave it alone.  So without further ado, here she is!
cuckoo after
Photography by Debi Campbell
I know!  I love it too!  Back when I painted my girls room I bought some of those Glidden sample bottles of paint in coordinating colors for any future projects I would do.  Let me tell you that they really come in handy!
Before I could dive into painting the clock I had to take it apart.  I wanted to replace the hands so I bought new parts and putting new hands on meant taking everything off the back.  Everything.  While I had it apart, I was able to paint the bird, paint the new hands, and paint the numbers as well.  I also replaced the ugly dark chains holding the acorns with white beads.  Now it’s much better!  This little cuckoo bird is singing a much prettier song!

4 comments:

  1. I love this! -jami

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awesome! I've got an old cuckoo clock similar to this that I'd like to redo as well. Did you replace the clock mechanism and keep the faceplate and hands? Does your cuckoo still work? Basically I'd love some details. The clock I have is very old and in very bad shape. I am considering having the entire insides taken out and having a new clock mechanism put in to run the faceplate and the bird won't work anymore. One of the clock hands is broken on the end so it would be nice to be able to find a new one if possible.

    Thanks for any information you might have.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome! I've got an old cuckoo clock similar to this that I'd like to redo as well. Did you replace the clock mechanism and keep the faceplate and hands? Does your cuckoo still work? Basically I'd love some details. The clock I have is very old and in very bad shape. I am considering having the entire insides taken out and having a new clock mechanism put in to run the faceplate and the bird won't work anymore. One of the clock hands is broken on the end so it would be nice to be able to find a new one if possible.

    Thanks for any information you might have.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello! Yes, I replaced the clock mechanism and the hands. The faceplate is part of the clock front, so I just painted the numbers and the circle. My bird only moves back and forth, it never was one that came out of the clock on the hour. It is powered by a pendulum. However, before I replaced the clock mechanism, it chimed every hour but since I put a new part in it no longer does. I couldn't find a part that could be wired to the chime.

      Don't be intimidated by it. Just work on taking it apart first so you can see how things are put together. If you feel like you can't put it back together to its original integrity, feel free to take detailed pictures of it and email it to me. I may be able to give you some insight.

      Good luck to you! And have fun!

      Delete

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