Wanted to share a project I recently completed: a steampunk inspired potato nixie tube clock.

Today I completed a project as a gift for a friend that I've been working on for awhile and wanted to share. It's a (fake) potato nixie tube clock inspired by the steampunk aesthetic.

To start, I needed potato holders. I found these PVC fixtures at a local hardware store that perfectly fit the bill. I drilled holes for the potato holding screws, then spray painted them with a textured aged bronze - I think it looks good in the finished product, and hopefully others agree.

For the potatoes I ordered some realistic looking stage props from Amazon. I think they look great. They're styrofoam and slightly bigger than the PVC, so they form fit very well. For extra long-term stability I drilled brass wood screws into them.

Planning the final layout before starting work. The nixie tube assembly is from a wonderful person in Kyiv, Ukraine. Not affiliated with him in any way, but I highly recommend him. (I'll post a link to his store in the comments). The case is a cigar box that a local cigar shop was giving away (which is a great resource for template work, BTW).

Starting the first holes for the nixie tubes. I used a pencil over the back of the nixie tube board to get the impressions so I'd have a 1:1 diagram of where to drill.

Drilling the holes for the potato holders. Painters tape works really well for keeping the holes clean.

Pretty pleased with how it turned out

For the center circuit board I soldered old second hand components I got online to a breadboard that fit perfectly on the display (thanks, Adafruit!).

I like the aesthetic of the final circuit board. Trying to be as old school as possible, I like how it turned out.

For the electrodes I used heavy gauge solid core wire and wrapped it around a drill bit to form it. Then I connected it to a spacer and secured it with JB Weld to create the connector.

Drilling the hole for the barrel plug adapter

Back of the clock with the barrel plug adapter

The finished product. I'm happy with how it turned out and kinda proud of the finished result. (Any evidence of professionalism is strictly coindencental.)

Thanks for reading!