ClockInfo.com » 400 Day

Schatz 1000 Day Clock, 1956, with 1959 Presentation Plate

Bill Stoddard — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:49:36 +0000

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.

Schatz Diamond Dial 400 Day Clock with Hole in Dome

Bill Stoddard — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:14:19 +0000

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.

Schatz “London Coach” 400 Day Clock, March 1956

Bill Stoddard — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:51:20 +0000

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.

Hermle 1950s 400 Day Clock

Bill Stoddard — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 01:57:41 +0000

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.

Kundo Nickel Plated 400 Day Clock Made about 1950

Bill Stoddard — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:55:55 +0000

This Kundo standard-sized 400 day clock has a nickel plated finish instead of the common plain brass. It has a wide-plate movement so I believe it was made on the early 1950s. The back plate has no name, just the Kundo logo in a circle. It uses a 0.0032 inch thick suspension spring. I didn’t do a full repair on this clock – just replaced the suspension spring. The gears are not nickel plated.

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Repair job 5540.

Schatz Copper Plated 400 Day Clock

Bill Stoddard — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:39:45 +0000

This is the most unusal Schatz 400 day clock I’ve seen – it has a copper plated finish. It is the only one I’ve see in all my years of collecting and repairing clocks. When the clock came in for repair, the finish on the base had been damaged by attempted polishing. The movement and bezel still looked good!

I sent the following parts to Ken’s Clock Clinic for replating:

Pendulum parts: hook, 8 half-ball covers, 4 arms, regulator assembly, decorative washer and center assembly;
Case parts: 2 pillars, 4 pillar ends, platform, base cup, base cup screw, base, 3 finials.

The movement plates, suspension guard, guard washers, ratchet, ratchet cock, ratchet cock washer, bezel, saddle, saddle washer, saddle bridge, plate washers are copper plated. The hand nut, gear train and motion work are not copper plated.

This clock was made around 1940 or 1950. The dial has no maker’s name, and the pack plate says Jahresuhrenfabrik 49 Germany in a circle.

I didn’t clean the movment plates in cleaning fluid for fear of damaging the lacquer or the copper plating. I pegged and smooth broached the pivot holes to clean them. The movment is identified in the Horolovar 400 day clock book as plate no. 1278.

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I thank Ken of Ken’s Clock Clinic for taking on this plating project. The base was especially challenging to do.

Repair job 5073.

Kundo Standard 400 Day Clock

Bill Stoddard — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 15:16:03 +0000

This is one of the most often seen 400 day clocks: the Kundo standard with brass base, glass dome (5 1/2 by 11 inches) and enamel dial. The Kundo is a well-made clock and will last for many years. This one is about 56 years old and still going strong. In the repair process, I polish any pivots that aren’t smooth. The pivot holes in 400 day clocks don’t wear much, so bushings are not necessary. The original mainspring is usually powerful enough to run the clock, but should be replaced if it is “set’ (lost its elasticity).

I polished the base using my polishing machine, then lacquered it. I hand polished the columns and platform after removing the old lacquer. These brass bases sometimes develop stress cracks (see the close-up photo below for a crack in the rear of this base) but they can usually be polished successfully. Some Kundo bases from around 1950 develop long cracks along the edges and may fall apart during polishing.

This clock has a plastic suspension guard to protect the thin suspension spring during shipping. Earlier Kundo clocks have metal guards. This one looks spotted because someone applied solvent to it.

Repair job 5536. Horolovar back plate similar to no. 1407B but has an “L” on it. It uses a 0.032 inch thick suspension spring. There was a bent tooth on the center wheel because someone had tried to turn the gears with pliers!

Schatz Square Dial 400 Day Clock, 1953

Bill Stoddard — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 23:37:44 +0000

I recently repaired this square dial Schatz 400 day clock made in November 1953. I cleaned the movement, polished the pivots and the anchor pin, and replaced the suspension spring. These clocks use a 0.004 inch thick Horolovar suspension spring. I also polished and lacquered the base and pillars. The square dial clock is not as common as the round dial model.

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Repair job 5518.

Schatz Standard No Name 400 Day Clock, ca. 1949, with Instructions

Bill Stoddard — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 12:00:32 +0000

This Schatz (Jahresuhernfabrik) standard size 400 day clock was made around 1949 – 1950. It has some differences from those made around 1950 – 1951. The “early” features include:

No name on the dial;
short sliding tube on suspension guard;
the dial is secured with taper pins (instead of collars with screw);
the minute wheel is held by a cock instead of a screw, and the canon pinion is larger in diameter than the later style.

This clock has its original instruction sheets.

The single sheet appears to have been hand typed, and is signed “Devon Sales Company, Devon, Connecicut”

The 4 page instructions were printed in Germany and contain both German and English text. They contain the heading “Directions for setting up ORIGINAL SCHATZ 400 day lever clock” The instructions explain raising the sliding tube on the suspension guard, hanging and starting the pendulum, the purpose of the cup in the base, how to tell if the clock is out of beat, how to adjust the beat, and regulating the clock. The instructions don’t cover winding and setting the clock, perhaps they assumed that people already knew how to wind and set a clock (which was probably true in 1950!)

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Repair job 5494.

Kundo Miniature Painted 400 Day Clock

Bill Stoddard — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:00:07 +0000

This pretty little Kundo 400 day clock is 8 7/16 inches tall without the dome. The ivory color base and pillars have flowers painted on them. It was made in the 1950s.

The movement is Horolovar back plate no. 1381, and I installed a 0.0024 inch thick Horolovar suspension spring (the 0.0023 inch springs I have now are slightly thinner than 0.0023 inch and make the clock lose time).

Repair job 5492.