Waterbury Niagara Oak Calendar Shelf Clock, ca. 1911

This Waterbury “Niagara” shelf clock was made about 1911. The case is oak, and it has a calendar that shows the date. It strikes the hour and half-hour on a coil gong.

The case is larger than a typical “kitchen” shelf clock. It is 28 9/16 inches tall and 16 9/16 inches wide. The face includes day of the month numbers and is about 7 1/4 inches in diameter.

Setting the calendar: Move the calendar hand during the hours of  5 a.m. to 8 p.m. only. At other times, the hand may not move freely, as it engaged by the drive mechanism. Carefully push the long end of the calendar hand clockwise to the correct date.

The calendar will get behind after a month with fewer than 31 days. To correct it: the next day between 5 a.m. and 8 p.m. move the hand forward to the correct date.

IMG_5664 IMG_5662 IMG_5627

See more photos.

Years ago, this clock’s original painted dial was covered with a paper face. The replacement was in such bad condition that I installed a new one.

Repair job 6183. I did the following repairs,as well as cleaning and oiling:

  • Installed new wires in 4 pinions;
  • Reversed the wires in 2 pinions;
  • Replaced the count wheel retainer with an original old one (the original had been replaced with a very stiff one made from a clock mainspring);
  • Made new brass return springs for the strike hammer and count lever;
  • Replaced the original flat steel clicksprings with round steel springs, as the flat ones are likely to fail;
  • Smoothed the pallets;
  • Polished the pivots and installed 13 bushings.

The movement has the original, thin mainsprings:

Time: 3/4 inch wide  by 0.0155 inch thick

Strike: 3/4 inch wide by 0.0153 inch thick.


Share this post:

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.