A guy did something like this with all transistors instead of an IC. I think it took about 200 transistors in order to accomplish a effective clock, nowadays you can simply get it in an IC. I don't know of any IC's out there that would do the trick, but If you google it I'm sure you could find it.
True, but then it would depend on his budget and also his preference. Would he like to afford a better clock with more accurate circuitry involved, or does he want to make do with parts he may already have?