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This Waterbury tambour mantel clock was made around 1920. The movement plates are steel that have been given a thin brass plating. Brass bushings were inserted in the plates so that the pivots (steel gear shafts) can turn in brass holes as usual (steel on steel would cause severe wear).

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This clock strikes the hours and half-hours on a heavy coil gong. The case is 17 1/8 inches wide and 9 3/4 inches tall. The dial’s minute track is 4 3/8  inch diameter, and the minute hand is 2 1/4 inches from center to tip. The video below shows the clock striking:

When the clock arrived in my shop, the finish had been stripped from the case. I stained it with brown mahogany gel stain, and finished it with spray semi-gloss Deft lacquer.

This movement is a good example of an American clock movement with weak mainsprings. The springs are open (no barrel), 3/4 inch wide, 0.014 inch thick, and about 8 feet long. Many American movements have stronger springs (0.0165 – 0.018 inch thick). A 0.018 inch thick mainspring provides over twice the force of a 0.014 inch thick spring (because the force is proportional to the thickness cubed).

This movement has a strip deadbeat escapement with a very small escape arc (the minimum swing needed for the clock to tick). The running arc is over 3 times the escape arc, showing that the thin springs provide plenty of power for this movement. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find weak enough springs if replacements are necessary. Springs that are too strong will cause wear. The video below shows a closeup of the escapement, and shows the amount of pendulum swing, starting from the minimum:

Repair job 5675.

Related posts:

1. Waterbury Tambour Mantel Clock with Enamel Dial
2. Sessions “President No. 3″ Tambour Mantel Clock
3. Seth Thomas Tambour Mantel Clock
4. Sessions “Stratford” Tambour Mantel Clock
5. Sessions Tambour Mantel Clock, Made in 1938.

I recently repaired this Schatz 1000 day clock. It is dated 10 56 (October 1956) on the back of the movement, and the front of the base has a presentation plate dated February 8, 1959. The picture on the right, below, shows the gears and the mainspring barrel. Note how large the barrel is compared to the other gears!

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Repair job 5647. 0.0024 inch Horolovar suspension spring. Horolovar back plate no. 1010A.

Related posts:

1. Schatz 1000 Day Clock, 1954, Job 5167
2. Schatz 1000 Day Clock from 1956 with Original Instructions
3. Schatz 1000 Day Clock Made in March 1956
4. Schatz “London Coach” 400 Day Clock, March 1956
5. A 1954 Schatz 1000 Day Clock

This Schatz standard-sized 400 day clock with diamond-shaped dial is dated 7 53 (July 1953) on the back of the movement. This clock has a glass dome with a hole in the top that fits over the brass handle. The base has brass leveling discs. The movement has two jewels (bearings), an uncommon feature in Schatz standard 400 day clocks (but all the Schatz miniature clocks have two jewels). This movement also has an extra mainspring on gear T4 (the 4th wheel in the gear train). It is visible in the left photo below. This is a very weak mainspring, and was used on a relatively small number of clocks. They found that it gave no improvement in performance.

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Job 5650. Horolovar back plate 1287. 0.004 inch thick suspension spring.

Related posts:

1. Schatz Standard 400 Day Clock with “Holey” Dome
2. Schatz standard 400 day clock, diamond dial, made in 1953
3. Schatz Diamond Dial 400 Day Clock, 1953
4. Schatz Diamond Dial 400 Day Clock, Made in May 1960
5. Schatz Diamond Dial 400 Day Clock Made in 1952

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:

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Repair job 5640.

Related posts:

1. Two Seth Thomas “Plymouth” Tambour Mantel Clocks, 1938 and 1945
2. Seth Thomas Tambour Mantel Clock
3. Late Seth Thomas Adamantine Mantel Clock, 1918
4. Gilbert Tambour Mantel Clock with Bim-Bam Striking
5. Seth Thomas Mahogany Adamantine Mantel Clock

I just repaired this Ansonia “Queen Elizabeth” mahogany wall clock. The top piece to the case is not shown in the photo, but the catalog illustration below shows the complete clock. The overall height with the top is 37 inches, and the width is 13 5/8 inches. The dial in this example has a replacement paper face, and the minute hand is not original (but similar to the original).

The movement is the 5-pillar Ansonia 8 day time and strike, with plate dimensions 5 7/8 by 3 5/8 inches. Repairs included polishing the pivots and replacing improper bushings (3 Rathbun and 2 screw-in) with KWM-sized American system bushings. I replaced the strike click rivet.

I retained the original strike mainspring, which measured 3/4 x 0.0175 – 0.0185 inch. The original time spring was very thick (0.019 inch) and causing mainwheel tooth wear, so I replaced it with a 3/4 x 0.016 x 120 inch mainspring, part no. 280-19-003 from Colonial Clock Shop.

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Repair job 5634.

Related posts:

1. Ansonia “Queen Elizabeth” Wall Clock in Oak Case
2. Ansonia Queen Elizabeth Wall Clock
3. Ansonia Round Drop Wall Clock
4. Ansonia “Sharon” Cabinet Clock
5. Ansonia Walnut Kitchen (Shelf) Clock

This beautiful wall regulator has an oak case that is 37 1/2 inches tall and 18 5/8 inches wide. The painted dial has an oak bezel, and the minute track is 11 inches diameter. The minute hand is 5 11/16 inches from center to tip.

The movement has thick brass plates and hard steel pivots. The escapement is the Graham deadbeat, there is maintaining power to keep the clock going during winding, and stopworks to limit the amount of winding. The 7 pound weight is hangs on a pulley, and there is a pulley at the top right of the case so that the weight descends at the right side of the case. There is a tie-down at the bottom to secure the pendulum while the clock is being transported.

When the clock came in for repair, one pulley was missing. There was significant wear to the pivots and pivot holes. I believe that the clock was run for years with only the top right pulley, resulting in twice the driving force applied to the movement. This could explain the wear, which seemed abnormally high.

Having the weight hang on a pulley reduces the driving force by 50%. The pendulum has a lot of overswing (supplementary arc), and would probably run on 30% less weight and still have good overswing.

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Repair job 5281.

Related posts:

1. How Much Weight Does a 30 Hour O.G. Clock Need?
2. Birge, Peck & Co. Eight-Day Column and Cornice Weight Clock
3. A Waltham Mantel Clock with Two Sevens on the Dial!
4. Waterbury “Crane” store regulator in oak case
5. Gustav Becker 2 Weight Wall Clock Made in Tschechoslovakia (Czechoslovakia)

Here is a nice example of the Schatz “London Coach” 400 day clock. This one is dated 3 56 (March 1956) on the back of the movement.

I disassembled and cleaned the movement and polished the pivots. I replaced the suspension spring with a new Horolovar 0.0024 inch thick spring (note that I used a 0.0024, not a 0.0023, as discussed in “Suspension Springs for Schatz and Kundo Miniature 400 Day Clocks”

I polished and lacquered the brass case parts except for the back panel.

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Repair job 5638.

Related posts:

1. Some Schatz London Coach 400 Day Clocks Need A 0.0024 Inch Suspension Spring
2. Schatz “London Coach” 400 day clock made in September 1955
3. Schatz “London Coach” 400 Day (Anniversary) Clock
4. Kundo Miniature 400 Day Clock Similar to a Schatz London Coach
5. Schatz Miniature 400 Day Clock, March 1956

Here’s a Hermle 400 day clock form the 1950s that I repaired recently. Hermle 400 day clocks are not very common. I get many Schatz and Kundo 400 days, but see  a Hermle only every couple of years.

The dial has a 3 15/16 inch minute track, and the minute hand is 2 inches long from center to tip. The original instructions are with the clock.

The pivots were rough on this clock, and I think they left the factory this way. I polished them all.

Repair job 5589. Horolovar back plate number 1103. Suspension unit 25A, with fork raised to prevent fluttering (5.2 mm space bvetween upper block and fork). 0.0033 inch Horolovar suspension spring.

Related posts:

1. Koma standard 400 day clock, painted with flowers, 1950s.
2. DeBruce 400 Day Clock by Kundo, 1950s
3. Kundo Oval 400 Day Clock, 1950s
4. Kundo Nickel Plated 400 Day Clock, 1950s
5. Schatz Standard 400 Day Clocks – When in Doubt, Replace the Suspension Spring!