Cutlery Clock Clavier

Most everyone has had the experience of pushing their food around on the plate, not really hungry, and getting lost in the fascinating patterns and compositions that can be made - until someone (probably mom) scolds, "don't play with your food!". Well the LF:TK recipe book is all about doing just that, and here's my favourite way to play. The forks and spoons are comfortable in one's hands, the most natural tools for the job. I used the clock as a familiar dial; you turn it to a number by twisting the knob in the middle. It's also reminiscent of a dinner plate when laid on the table, and visually completes the "place setting" - the idea followed from an earlier clock recipe the clock, but this time it's an input device.

You can vary the number of spoons and forks depending on what type of object or parameters you want to control with it. The clock dial can be used to select between a number of different choices. The sensors are simple, reliable 10k linear potentiometers that can be connected to standard sensor interfaces such as the sensors-to-midi board. I designed the Cutlery Clock Clavier for our Amsterdam Winter Café menu, and Alex and Michelle made an assembly line to build about a dozen of them!

<Jeff

ingredients: potentiometer with plastic knob medium sized clock with plastic casing (from Blokker) washer and 30mm screw an assortment of screws and bolts ceramic cupboard knob (from Ikea) small coffee spoons small desert forks piece of steel with holes in it (for the lack of a better name...) self-adhestive velcro rounded L bracket

tools: drill screwdriver file exacto knife preparation time: 1-2 hours level: MEDIUM EASY city of origin: Amsterdam

Go find a medium sized clock, a potentiometer, washer and screw.



Remove the protective covering from the clock face.



Remove hands and clock mechanism.



Cut down the plastic knob of the potentiometer, leaving 7-8 mm length. File the sides until the clock's hands can fit over the potentiometer knob.



Drill a hole through the plastic knob matching the size to the width of the screw. Also drill a (smaller) hole into the back of the clock. This small hole will be used to anchor the potentiometer.

Note: You might have to use an exacto knife to make adjustments to the hole until the potentiometer sits properly.



Feed the potentiometer in through the back of the clock. Place the washer, then the nut that comes with the poteniometer and tighten. Now place the larger clock hand on top.



Screw the cupboard knob to the potentiometer. It should be tight enough so that when you turn the cupboard knob, the potentiometer and clock hand moves.



next step is connecting the cutlery to the clock

The clock and the cutlery are going to be mounted on a couple of steel bars connected to a piece of square steel using a few bolts and screws.



The clock is attached to this frame using self-adhesive velcro



Attach the potentiometer to one side of the L bracket as illustrated. Saw off a bit of the plastic potentiometer knob until it's about 2 cm long. Saw a bit into the potentiometer, enough to that you can wedge the fork or spoon into it. Attach the cutlery to the potentiometer and add enough epoxy cement to make it permanent. Screw the other end of the L bracket into the steel frame.



Attach the clock to the frame by lining up the velcro.