Learn Finnish: Kelloseppä etsii sopivaa metallia kellotauluksi ja viisariksi. - The watchmaker is looking for suitable metal for the dial and the clock hand.

The translative case here expresses the intended purpose or future role of the material. The watchmaker wants the metal to become or to serve as the dial and hand. Using a postposition like varten (kellotaulua varten) would also be grammatically correct, but this "translative of purpose" is a very natural and compact way to express what a material will be used as.

Could I use the illative case here, like kellotauluun? What would that mean?

If you said kelloseppä etsii metallia kellotauluun, it would mean he is looking for metal to add into or onto an already existing dial. By using the translative kellotauluksi, it clearly specifies that the metal itself will be crafted to become the dial.

As a quick refresher, why is sopivaa metallia in the partitive case here?

The verb etsiä (to look for) is a partitive verb. In Finnish, verbs expressing actions that are ongoing, continuous, or don't result in an immediate completed change to the object, such as searching or waiting, require the object to be in the partitive case.

What is the literal meaning of the compound words kelloseppä and kellotaulu?