What we thought we needed.

What we actually needed.

Are you planning to make a paper clock?
(No, honestly, that's not the sound of us laughing
hysterically, nay, maniacally.)

Seriously though, here is a list of the tools we used in the project:

• X-acto knives (2)
• extra #11 blades (a bunch)
• cutting mat
• glue (we used Elmer's, although the book advises a latex based glue)
• good sharp scissors
• tweezers
• pliers (needle-nose is useful)
• pencils
• toothpicks (lots of these)
• thimble
• straight pins
• thumbtacks or push pins
• wire brads (different sizes to help in making holes)
• wire cutters
• rubber bands (to help hold things while gluing)
• clamps (to hold while gluing)
• weights (to hold down glued pieces)
• Highlighters (for coloring parts)
• small prep cups (to hold stuff)
• Metal rulers or straightedges

What you'll need for permanent placement in the clock:

• Axles (made of #1 knitting needles and stiff straight thin wire. Thin, 2-inch long straight pins might also do.)
• beads of different sizes (glass, wood or plastic)
• 8 feet of lightweight kite string
• thin 2-3 inch rubber band
• Cork (we used a wine cork)
• Plastic "dot" stickers (to cap the ends of axles)
• Weights (for the main counterweight -- pennies work well)
• cardboard (the back of a legal pad worked just fine)

Having done this twice now, I can say definitely that Mr. Rudolph is not a talkative man.  You don't get a whole lot of detail in the instructions. In fact -- as is the case with many items ordered from IKEA -- the most helpful part just might be the cryptic schematics (Page 1, and Page 2) that accompanied the main instructions.  Throughout the process, Rudolph insists that you assemble the pieces in strict numerical order, matching up the letters from one piece to another to see how they fit together.  The spatial visualization and logic puzzles on the GREs were easier to solve.

Not to take a discouraging tone, or anything. Hah.

We also discovered what we believe are several typos, so we'll be making additions and corrections to his instructions. I understand that there is more than one edition of this book -- for reference, the one we ordered appears to be a first edition, published in 1983.

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