Here’s another classic tambour mantel clock by Seth Thomas, this one in a dark mahogany case. The dial is a brass sheet with embossed numerals, lettering and time track that has been matte silver plated. The hands are the modern “ST” pattern (S on the minute hand and T on the hour hand).
The 8-day No. 89 movement strikes the hour and half-hour on a cathedral (heavy flat wire) gong.
The case is 9 3/16 inches tall and 16 3/4 inches wide. The dial’s minute track is 4 1/2 inches in diameter, and the minute hand is 2 5/16 inches long.
The American tambour mantel clock was very popular in the 1920s and 1930s. This example by Seth Thomas is a classic that uses the reliable No. 89 movement. It strikes the hour and half hour and is an 8-day clock (intended to be wound every 7 days, but will often run 14 days on a winding).
The case is 9 1/4 inches tall and 19 1/2 inches wide. The dial is aluminum with printed markings. The minute track is 4 5/8 inches diameter, and the minute hand is 2 5/16 inches long.
The pendulum bob is 45.3 mm diameter, and weighs 5.4 ounces.
This small round-top Seth Thomas mantel clock uses the no. 48-R round movement, 8-day time and strike with rack and snail striking (so it won’t get out of synchronization). The mahogany case is 10 3/8 inches tall and 7 3/16 inches wide. The white enamel dial has a 4 1/2 inch minute track, and the minute hand is 2 3/16 inches long.
The owners of this clock received it as a wedding gift in 1955, and were dismayed when the clock stopped working during a thunderstorm. It needed cleaning, pivot polishing and two bushings. The coil smelled burnt, and I was lucky to find a good used replacement. The fiber gear had several damaged teeth, so I replaced that as well.
The clock has a walnut case and is 5 1/8 inch tall, and 5 5/8 inches wide at the feet.
This wooden case time only wall clock is labeled “Plymouth” on the dial but was made by Seth Thomas. The time-only pendulum movement appears to use some parts from their no. 124 chiming clock movement. The case is 14 5/8 inches tall and 9 5/8 inches wide. The minute hand is 2 3/8 inches long, and the minute track on the dial is 3 3/4 inches diameter.
The pendulum weighs 3.2 ounces, and is 6 1/2 inches long overall. The pendulum cylinder (bob) is brass, 1 15/16 inches long and 5/8 inches diameter.
This Seth Thomas mantel clock from about 1910 – 1920 has an Adamantine (celluloid) wood-grain finish. The movement is marked “89″ and has bim-bam striking on the hour and a single tone strike (the high note only) on the half-hour. The case is 19 7/8 inches wide and 9 1/2 inches tall. The dial is silvered brass with printed numerals and a 4 7/16 inch diameter minute track. The minute hand is 2 3/8 inches long.
I cleaned the movement, polished the pivots, and installed 13 bushings. The pendulum rod and pendulum bob were previous replacements. The clock was losing time, so I shortened the pendulum rod by 3/8 inch.
I replaced the time mainspring because it was causing wear to the mainwheel teeth. I intended to keep the original strike mainspring, but it broke after cleaning and lubrication, as I was winding it into the clamp for re-assembly. The original mainsprings have the following measurements:
Time: 3/4 wide by 0.0185 inch thick (thicker than usual for a Seth Thomas No. 89 movement)
Strike: 3/4 inch by 0.017 to 0.0172 inch thick).
The replacement mainsprings are no. 280-19-003 from Colonial Clock Co., and have the following measurements:
Time: 3/4 inch wide by 0.0158 – 0.016 inch thick by 120 inches long
Strike: 3/4 inch wide by 0.0162 inch thick by 120 inches long.
The movement is a variation on the basic No. 89 having bim-bam strike. It was made before Seth Thomas started giving different model number to variations on the basic movement.
Here is a video showing the pendulum motion and the striking:
This Seth Thomas tambour mantel clock has a heavy brass dial that is engraved and silver plated. It was made around 1910 – 1920. The hands are the modern “ST” style, with the minute hand having an “S” at the base and the hour hand having a “T”. A different style of ST hands were used back in the 1860s.
The case is 19 1/2 inches wide and 9 1/4 inches tall. The minute hand is 2 5/16 inches long. The movement is the no. 89J. It is similar to the standard no. 89, with the addition of a two-piece back plate.
I did limited repair on the movement, cleaning it, polishing a few pivots and installing 3 bushings. Three screw-in bushings had been installed in the past, these are not good to use, but some repairers use them because they could be installed without dismantling the movement. The screw-in bushings are large and ugly.
The original mansprings are the following sizes:
Time: 3/4 x 0.0165 inch
Strike: 3/4 by 0.0161 inch
The pendulum bob is gold painted lead, 1 3/4 inch diameter, weight 5.4 ounces.
This Seth Thomas Adamantine mantel clock is dated June 1918 on the bottom of the case (date code 81F, where F represents the month, and 81 are the last two digits of the year reversed). I’ve seen many examples on earlier clocks where the date code has all 4 digits of the year, but this is the first time I’ve seen just 2 digits.
This later example of the Adamantine case has a simplified design with no pillars or Lion’s heads, and the dial is painted metal. See Seth Thomas Adele Adamantine Mantel Clock for an example of the earlier case design.
Case height 10 inches, width 12.5 inches, minute hand length 2 9/32 inches. The pendulum bob is lead with a brass cover on one side, weighs 5.4 ounces and is 45 mm in diameter.
The original mainsprings have the following measurements:
Job 5577. I did limited repair on the movement: cleaning, polished the worst pivots, installed 8 bushings (correcting 3 that were previously installed off-center), and tightened the strike click rivet.
