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Show HN: Carton Clock – A working pendulum clock made from empty drink cartons

Posted by r0r0 on Friday November 13, 2026 @07:00AM
from the show-hn dept.

https://www.niklasroy.com/carton-clock/

After my last trash clock (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49930439), I wanted to see how low I could go. My latest clock is built mainly from empty drink cartons, plus a few skewers, some paper straws, a piece of string, some nuts as weights, and lots of hot glue. It has a pendulum, an escapement, and hands for seconds, minutes, and hours, and runs for about an hour.The design of the...

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Re:Glashütte Trash Clock – A 30-minute pendulum clock made from trash on Friday October 09, 2026 @07:12AM (#50018881)
Done ;)
Re:Glashütte Trash Clock – A 30-minute pendulum clock made from trash on Thursday October 08, 2026 @03:05AM (#50002652)
I'm so glad you have discovered it! I was a bit worried that no reader of my website would recognize this little gimmick :)
Re:Glashütte Trash Clock – A 30-minute pendulum clock made from trash on Thursday October 08, 2026 @03:04AM (#50002648)
Here you go: https://www.zvab.com/buch-suchen/titel/mechanische-uhren/aut...
Re:Glashütte Trash Clock – A 30-minute pendulum clock made from trash on Thursday October 08, 2026 @03:03AM (#50002638)
Thanks! Getting the period right was quick, because the pendulum's length was easily adjustable.
Re:Glashütte Trash Clock – A 30-minute pendulum clock made from trash on Thursday October 08, 2026 @03:00AM (#50002611)
Yes, it was meant as a joke.
Re:Glashütte Trash Clock – A 30-minute pendulum clock made from trash on Thursday October 08, 2026 @03:00AM (#50002607)
You are correct. With "length of the pendulum" I meant the distance between fulcrum and center of gravity. Maybe I haven't written that clear enough in my text.
Re:Glashütte Trash Clock – A 30-minute pendulum clock made from trash on Friday October 02, 2026 @02:36AM (#49930459)
This is a functional 30-minute pendulum clock entirely from discarded materials—cardboard, zip ties, tape, a yardstick, and a paperclip escapement, built in the German Eldorado of precision watchmaking: Glashütte.

It also acts as a reference clock for GTC, a new satirical universal time standard.