How to Make Cuckoo Clocks

Cuckoo clocks are an age-old traditional design that has remained unchanged since the 1700s.  This is a pendulum design with a cuckoo birdcall played every hour.  The cuckoo bird idea has been used since the second century BCE.  You can make a cuckoo clock as simple or ornate as you wish.

• Consider purchasing a wall clock kit that comes with the wood, mirrors, chimes, bird, and all of the materials necessary to assemble a cuckoo clock.  Clock and timepiece making is a craft that many artisans work an entire lifetime to master.


• Obtain plans or create your own drafted plans for the dimension, size, and style of the cuckoo feature.  This clock has many moving parts so all of the gears have to be perfectly synchronized to operate properly.


• Purchase a clock movement, also called a timepiece mechanism.   The cuckoo clock kit comes with the pendulums, chains, weights, bird, and the motor.  Updated versions of the mechanism also contain digital sensors that turn the chimes off during bedtime.


• Read the instructions and note the placement of all of the parts.  Many kits come with plans for making a simple yet decorative wooden birdhouse to hold the mechanism.


• Draft your own plans or research plans in clock specialty books and Internet sites.  There are plans available the mimic antique styles that go back for centuries. 


• Gather the tools necessary to work with the material you choose for your clock.  Most are made from wood using a scroll saw to cut small delicate and precise pieces of wood.  Consider making and replacing the bird if you prefer.