Craft a Clock and Make a Redstone Timer in Minecraft

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Tell the time of day and control devices with timed inputs
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In Minecraft, a clock is a device that displays the position of the sun and the moon in-game. Likewise, a redstone clock (or timer/oscillator) produces a consistent pulsing output signal. This is useful for powering many devices. This wikiHow article teaches you how to make a clock as well as redstone timers in Minecraft.

Making Clocks in Minecraft

In Minecraft, a clock is used to tell the current the sun and the moon's position in the day/night cycle. It is crafted from 4 gold ingots and 1 redstone dust using a crafting table. A redstone clock is a redstone circuit that produces a consistent on/off pulse output.

Method 1
Method 1 of 6:

Crafting a Clock

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  1. In order to craft a clock, you will need to mine at least four gold ore. You can find gold ore deep underground in Y-levels 32 through -64 in the overworld. Your best chances of finding gold are around Y-level -16. Gold ore blocks resemble stone blocks with yellow spots on them. Gold must be mined with an iron or diamond pickaxe . [1]
  2. 2
    Mine redstone dust. While you’re mining underground, keep an eye out for redstone blocks as well. You will need to mine at least one redstone block to get redstone to make a clock. Redstone blocks resemble stone blocks with red spots on them. Redstone blocks are found between Y-levels -64 to 16, with -63 to -32 being the most common layers to find Redstone ore. Redstone dust must be mined with an iron or diamond pickaxe . Each redstone block drops about 4 to 5 redstone dust when mined.
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  3. 3
    Smelt the gold ore into gold ingots. Smelting is needed to convert the gold ore into usable gold. You can smelt gold ore into gold ingots using a furnace. Open the furnace and place the gold ore in space above the flame icon. Place coal or wood in the space under the flame icon to be used as fuel. Wait for the furnace to finish smelting. Then collect the gold ingots from the furnace.
    • You can craft a furnace out of eight cobblestone blocks using a crafting table.
  4. 4
    Craft a clock. Once you have at least one redstone dust and 4 gold ingots, you can craft a clock using a crafting table . Open the crafting table and put one redstone dust in the center of the 3x3 grid. Then put one gold ingot in the top-center space, bottom-center space, and left and right-center spaces, surrounding the redstone dust. Drag the clock into your inventory. [2]
  5. 5
    Loot or trade for a clock. In addition to crafting a clock, you have about a 7% chance of finding a clock in a ruined portal chest or in a shipwreck map chest. Expert librarian villagers also have a chance of being able to trade 5 emeralds for a clock. Expert librarian villages have a 33% chance of carrying a clock in Bedrock Edition and a 50% chance in Java Edition.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 6:

Using a Clock

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  1. 1
    Check the time of day. A clock is made of two halves that spin. The daytime half is blue with a yellow sun, the nighttime half is black with a grey moon. Both halves spin to indicate the current daytime or nighttime cycle. With the yellow sun is in the center, it is noon in the game. When the moon is in the center, it is midnight in the game.
    • Clocks are useful for taking underground when you are mining. They can indicate the current day or night cycle in the game, since it’s easy to lose track of the time-of-day when you are underground, and traveling above ground at night can be dangerous.
    • Clocks do not work in the Nether or the End dimensions. There is no day or night cycle in these dimensions.
  2. 2
    Frame a clock. You can also use a clock as a decoration. To hang it on a wall, it will need to be mounted in a frame. Equip the frame and right-click (or left trigger button) to place the frame on a wall. Then equip a clock and right-click (or left trigger button) the frame to place the clock inside the frame.
    • An empty frame can be crafted from 8 sticks and one leather hide using a crafting table.
    • Try this. Place an observer placing up towards the sky with a bell hanging from the bottom. Place a bell on the bottom of the observer. Then places a framed clock on the front of the observer. Align the side with trap doors, and you have a grandfather clock that chimes.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 6:

Understanding Redstone Clocks

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  1. Sometimes they are called ‘oscillators’ or ‘timers.’ They can be connected to devices that require a regular on/off signal, such as pistons or rapid-fire dispensers . There are many different redstone clock designs that produce an output of varying speeds.
    • The simplest and fastest redstone clock you can make in an observer clock . They produce two output signals that pulse about once every 0.1 seconds.
    • Redstone repeater clocks are one of the most common clocks. At a minimum, they can produce a pulse about once every 0.2 seconds, but you can slow the pulse speed by increasing the tick count on the repeater or by adding more repeaters to the circuit.
    • The slowest and most complicated redstone clock is a hopper clock . Placing two hoppers next to each other causes them to move items back and forth. You can use redstone comparators to detect when one hopper is empty. Adding more items to the hopper increases the time between pulses.
Method 4
Method 4 of 6:

Making an Observer Clock

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  1. 1
    Craft two observers. An observer is a device that produces a signal when something walks in front of it. You can craft an observer from 6 cobblestone blocks, 2 redstone dust, and 1 Nether quartz. You’ll need to craft two observers.
  2. 2
    Place two observers in front of each other. This is the simplest redstone clock design. Place two observers next to each other so that their eyes are facing. Both observers will be ‘observing’ one another. Both observers will produce a pulse coming out the back.
    • If you use a sticky piston to pull one observer away from the other, and then put it back, this will double the output signal speed.
  3. 3
    Connect the observer clock. To connect the observer clock to a device, simply add a trail of redstone dust out of the back of one observer and into the device you want it to operate.
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Method 5
Method 5 of 6:

Making a Repeater Clock

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  1. 1
    Place a block with a redstone torch. You can use any solid block you want. Place it on the ground, and then place a redstone torch on the side of the block.
  2. 2
    Place a repeater coming out of the block. You can craft a redstone repeater out of 6 stone blocks, two redstone torches, and one redstone dust. Place it next to the block so that the immovable torch is next to the block.
  3. 3
    Creating a looping circuit with redstone dust. To do so, place one redstone dust coming out of the other end of the repeater. Then place another redstone dust next to it. Place another redstone dust next to the repeater so that a signal comes out of the torch and loops into the repeater. You should see the redstone trail and the torch start to flash.
  4. 4
    Increase the tick count to slow the repeater speed. If you want to slow the pulse speed, simply right-click (or left trigger button) the redstone repeater to increase the tick count. You can right-click it up to 3 times for a tick count of 4.
  5. 5
    Add more repeaters to slow the pulse even more (optional). If you want to slow the pulse even further, just add more repeaters. Just place one repeater after another. You can have one row or repeaters coming out of the block and another row or repeaters leading back to the torch. Connect both rows with redstone dust at the end.
    • Each repeater adds a 0.1 to 0.4 delay in the pulse speed, depending on the tick count you set for the repeater.
  6. 6
    Connect the clock to a device. To connect the repeater clock to a device, you can either create a trail of redstone dust coming from the torch or the redstone dust on the end of the circuit. Connect the trail of redstone dust to the device you want to operate. [3]
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Method 6
Method 6 of 6:

Making a Hopper Clock

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  1. To do so, place one hopper on the ground. Then shift-click to place another hopper next to it so it feeds into the first hopper. Then you’ll need to break the first hopper and shift-click to place it in the same place again, so that both hoppers feed into each other. If you put objects in one of the hoppers, they trade between one hopper to the next.
    • You can craft a hopper from one chest and 5 iron ingots using a crafting table.
  2. 2
    Place a redstone comparator on the end of each hopper. Place the comparator on the end of each hopper so that the two redstone torches are right up against the hopper. This will detect when the hopper is empty and produce an output signal.
    • Redstone comparators can be crafted from 3 stone blocks, 3 redstone torches, and a Nether quartz using a crafting table.
    • The easiest way to place the redstone comparators is to stand on top of the hopper and place the comparator on the ground next to the hopper.
  3. 3
    Place a block with redstone dust on the end of both comparators. After placing the comparators, place a solid block on the end of both comparators. It can be any type of solid block you want. Then place redstone dust on top of the block.
  4. 4
    Place two sticky pistons above the comparators. This can be a little tricky to place. You need to stand next to (or on) the hopper and place the piston in such a way that you place it above the comparator and facing the hopper. Do this on both sides.
    • A piston can be crafted from 3 wooden plank blocks, 4 cobblestone blocks, one iron ingot, and one redstone dust using a crafting cable. A sticky piston can be crafted from one piston and one slime ball using a crafting table.
  5. 5
    Place a redstone block over one of the hoppers. This will block items from leaving the hopper and also provide an output mechanism for the pulse signal.
    • A redstone block can be crafted from 9 redstone dust using a crafting table.
  6. 6
    Place items in the other hopper. A hopper has 5 spaces that can hold up to 64 items each. You can place any items in the hopper (including dirt blocks). When you place items in the hopper, it will start feeding them to the other hopper. When the hopper is empty, it will trigger the sticky piston, which will push the redstone block over the other hopper. This will repeat when each hopper is empty.
    • The time it takes the pistons to shift depends on how many items you place in the hopper. The hoppers will trade items at a rate of about 2.5 items per second. Putting 5 items in the hopper will cause it to shift once every 2 seconds. 25 items will cause it to shift once every 10 seconds. 150 items will cause it to shift once a minute. Filling each space with 64 items (320 items) will cause it to shift once every 2 minutes and 8 seconds.
  7. 7
    Place a block with redstone dust next to a hopper. You can use any solid block. Place some redstone dust on top of the block. It will light up when the redstone block is next to it.
  8. To connect a device, create a trail of redstone dust from the block next to the hopper to the device you want to connect. It will pulse on and stay on every time the redstone block shifts next to the block with redstone dust.
    • If you want the output signal to pulse quickly (instead of remaining on), place a piston facing up next to the block with redstone dust. Then place a block of sand on top of the piston. Place another block with a redstone repeater on the other side of the piston. Then connect your device to the repeater. This will cause the piston to extend and break the circuit after only being on for a quick second every time the redstone block shifts to the ‘On’ position.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://minecraft.wiki/w/Gold_Ore
      2. ↑ https://minecraft.wiki/w/Clock
      3. ↑ https://www.minecraft101.net/redstone/redstone-clocks.html

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