At the local dollar store I found a pedometer. A bouncing weighted switch note foot steps, so I removed the weighted switch and ran wires out for an external connection. It works okay on seconds or slower but isn't too good faster than that. You can't beat $1.00 for a display. Just add an oscillator for what ever you want to count. If you get one that runs on a 3 V battery you could also use it to power a CMOS oscillator.
How much accuracy do you need in the oscillator? Counting hours, an accuracy of 1/2 hour a day means an oscillator accuracy of about 2%. Easily attainable with a 7555 oscillator.

 

Interesting. On another thread recently, I told how to use a Dollar store calculator for a counter.
http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/t...h-think-for-winding-coils.122148/#post-980019

 

Interesting. On another thread recently, I told how to use a Dollar store calculator for a counter.
http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/t...h-think-for-winding-coils.122148/#post-980019

very creative

 

a real timer is just a couple dollars, with buttons and lcd read-out.

As to cheap calculators, they are a great source for inexpensive 8-10 digit LCD displays.