This Piece of Machinist Art Is Actually a Clock

Quinn Dunki, AKA Blondihacks, once said that “the true deep-seated desire of every machinist is to make things pretty.” If you need proof, just take a look at this work of art called Starlight N001, which just happens to also be a clock.

I say this every time I write about a clock project, but I’m somehow always surprised that people are still able to come up with interesting new ways to display the time. You’d think we would have collectively run that well dry by now. But this piece from Urban Circles is definitely new and interesting.

Mechanically, it is actually pretty darn conventional. There is a regular old commodity analog clock mechanism inside the base. That is a high-torque model, but otherwise it is ordinary. The twist is that it has magnets at the ends of the arms. Those magnets drag steel bearing balls around on the face of the clock. The balls are the only timekeeping elements that you, the art admirer, get to see. They, of course, indicate the time.

However, the real appeal of Starlight N001 is the beautiful metal. The clock face is a brass plate machined on a Makera Carvera Air CNC mill. As every machinist knows, brass is the perfect material when you want to show off your ability to make things pretty. The face has engraved channels for the bearing balls to roll in, marks for the time, and stylized representations of the constellations in the night sky. And those are very stylish indeed, with gleaming edges that catch the light in a pleasing way.

If you like the design and want to make a Starlight N001 to enhance your own home décor, Urban Circles uploaded the files to their Patreon.