Design | Cut | Build – Season 3, Episode 5 – Building a Custom Clock Trophy!
What’s better than getting a trophy for winning at something? Making a custom trophy for yourself! In this episode, we get to work building a one-of-a-kind trophy/clock for the legendary car show, Hot August Nights! Creating custom trophies for yourself, your loved ones, or a local event are innovative ways to show off your creativity and get rid of some scrap parts that are laying around and gathering dust. Since we were making a trophy for a car show, we wanted to integrate authentic car parts into the trophy. We started off with miscellaneous parts and decided to not create a conventional standing trophy. With some of the pieces being so heavy, we were worried about the overall weight for the award and we decided to design and fabricate a Trophy Clock for the event!
Design and Edit with Torchmate CAD
Creating parts and the mechanisms for a custom clock is extremely easy with the Torchmate CAD software. The design features like Fit to Text Arc and the Array Tool allows you to lay out bolt holes to the proper spacing and arcing your text with to fit perfectly together! By using a Torchmate 4400 cutting table, FlexCut 80 plasma cutter, and spare metal parts, you can turn 11 and 14 gauge mild steel into an incredible functional wall-mounted trophy.
Torchmate has a complete library of videos teaching you exactly how to use all of the functions within Torchmate CAD with Torchmate University, a step by step video guide to Torchmate CAD. The detailed videos walk you through all of the editing options the software provides.
The Best Things Take Time
To create a custom trophy clock, you’ll need to tig weld the parts and mechanisms for the clock to the flex plate or any car part you choose. In order to make the pieces look like a cohesive single piece, make sure that you’re using enough filler metal between the weld and base metals. It may take you a few times to successfully weld the pieces together, but it’s worth it in the end. For a smooth finish, grind the surface down. We took an extra step and sand blasted the flex plate to clean off any rust or debris and to give it a really polished look. After everything is welded together, you can paint and decorate the finished project.
If you’re ready to create your very own trophy clock, visit FabricationForum.com and download the design files for this project. When your prized possession is complete, share some photos of your creative designs and let us know how your build went!