[AD] Making Special Handmade Gifts For Christmas With Bosch: Part 1

I’ve teamed up with Bosch Home and Garden this Christmas to show how easy and simple it is to make handmade gifts for Christmas. More often than not this can be done using materials that you already have in your home so why not make a special Christmas gift for someone special in your life, whether it be a family member or a special friend.

This is the first part of two blog posts where I will be showing you how to make a clock and in the second post I will be making a jewellery box.

Well let’s get on with our first project, the clock.

The materials I used to make the clock is some old skirting board that I found in my garage. It was perfect and it was a great way to recycle wood that may at some point have ended up on a landfill site.

The first thing to do was to measure and cut the four lengths of wood that make up the face of the clock. The four lengths of wood will need to be 24cm long, 6cm wide and 1.5cm depth. I used the Bosch Zamo laser measuring tool which I have to say has pinpoint accuracy, and was a dream to use.

The next job was to cut the wood to the required lengths. For this you could either use the Bosch cordless NanoBlade Saw or the Bosch Cordless Circular Saw. I opted for the NanoBlade which did the job very easily and was accurate. Once you have cut four lengths for the face of the clock, cut two extra lengths that will be used as battens to hold the clock together.

I sanded all the edges and surfaces with the Bosch Cordless Multi-Sander to give it a lovely smooth surface and prepare it for painting. I found the cordless multi-sander really easy to use. Before assembling the clock face I decided to paint the face and this was easily and very cheaply done by using tester paint pots. I painted two in red and two in blue, but of course if you are making it the choice of colours is entirely a personal choice.

Once the paint was dry it was time to assemble the clock by laying the four lengths of wood that make up the face of the clock down flat down on a bench. I placed the extra two lengths that I had cut on the back of the clock using the IXO Cordless Screwdriver. I screwed in four 25mm screws on both batons. Now the clock is ready for the final touches and adding a quartz clock mechanism.

I decided to add some numbers to the clock in gold to add a more personalised touch.

The final part was to drill a hole in the clock face where the quartz clock mechanism will go. I used the IXO cordless screwdriver and equipped it with the IXO drilling adapter. I measured the clock face to find the exact middle spot, then using a 4mm drill, I drilled a hole right through the clock face.

The final part was to fix the quartz mechanism on the back of the clock and then add the hands of the clock. Job finished and I have a handmade clock to give as a Christmas present this year. Now it’s time to work out who I will gift my handmade clock too!

If you are anything like myself, having a handmade present always has a special meaning and the fact somebody has taken the time to make something as a present for Christmas means so much more to me.

The making of a clock using wood was truly very easy and simple, but what made it so much easier was having the right tools, and Bosch have certainly got it spot on with their tools and especially the 18v lithium ion cordless tools. They are powerful and so easy to use. Changing the battery from the sander or saw was easy and quick to do and having no electric wires hanging around is very reassuring when you are using the saws. The total time to make the clock was approximately one and a half hours including waiting for the paint to dry.

If you would like to know about any of the tools I used in making this clock or if you’d like to purchase them, the links are all here: Zamo laser Measurer, cordless Nano Saw, Cordless circular saw, cordless multi-sander, the IXO screwdriver and the IXO drill adapter.

Have you used the cordless range of power tools from Bosch? If you have I would love to hear your experiences.

#BoschHomeandGarden #DIYwithBosch

This is a paid collaboration with Bosch. I was loaned all the tools required to complete both projects.