ClockInfo.com

This tambour mantel clock has the unusual feature of quarter-hour striking. It does bim-bam striking on the first, second and third quarters, and strikes one rod on the hour (see video below). The mahogany case is 9 1/4 inches tall and 19 inches wide. The dial is silver plated brass with applied bronze numerals. The minute track in 5 inches diameter, and the minute hand is 2 1/2 inches long.

The dial has no maker’s name, just “Made in U.S.A.” at the bottom. The label inside the back door says:

THE PLYMOUTH CLOCK
Thomaston, Conn.

Plymouth was a division of Seth Thomas, which marketed clocks made by Seth Thomas, but with the Plymouth name instead of Seth Thomas.

See more photos.

This clock uses the later type of Seth Thomas mantel clock movement (made in USA), as described in Plymouth (by Seth Thomas) 1940 Mantel clock, modified to strike quarters instead of just hour and half-hour. The model number 4601 is stamped on the back, as is the date code 11 39 (November 1939).

Repair job 5939. I polished the pivots and installed 20 bushings. There was lots of bearing wear due to the strong mainsprings that this movement uses. The time mainspring was replaced in the past, and I replaced it again with a thinner one (Empire 280-17-505 11/16 by 0.0163 by 96 inches, shortened by 13 inches). The strike mainspring is the original one measuring 11/16 by 0.018 inch.

This movement has rack and snail strike. To allow for quarter-hour striking, the following changes were made from the hour and half-hour strike movement:

• The lifting cam on the front of the center arbor has 4 lobes of equal length (instead of 2 lobes) to activate the strike every quarter-hour;
• There is a quarter-hour snail on the rear of the center arbor. This controls the number of quarter-hour strikes, from 1 to 3;
• There is another cam on the rear of the center arbor (between the quarter-hour snail and the back plate). It has one lobe that holds the rear hammer up on the hour so that it cannot strike. Thus, the hour strike is on only one rod, and the first, second and third quarters strike bim-bam on two rods);
• There is a lever on the rear strike hammer lifter lifted by the cam mentioned above;
• There is a rack tail on the rear of the hour rack arbor that bears on the quarter-hour snail to control the quarter-hour strike.

When assembling the movement, set the hour snail so that the front rack-tail can fall into the notch between  the 1:00 and 2:00 steps on the first, second and third quarters. If there is clicking when the rear hammer strikes, grease the rear end of its lifter.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

This one-day walnut shelf clock was made by Terry Clock Co., Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Terry Clock Co. was in Pittsfield from 1883 – 1888. The company was located in Waterbury, Connecticut from 1867 – 1880. In 1888 they became known as Russell & Jones Clock Co.

This clock is 20 3/16 inches tall and 12 13/16 inches wide. The minute track on the dial is 4 7/8 inches diameter, and the minute hand is 2 9/16 inches long.

See more photos.

Job 5909. If the time mainspring ever breaks, it should be replaced with a much thinner spring, as the pendulum swing is much larger than it needs to be! The mainspring sizes (both original) are:

• Time mainspring 5/8 by 0.0185 to 0.019 inches
• Strike mainspring 5/8 by 0.017 – 0.0175 inches

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

I wrote before about the Timesavers 15959 clock mainspring, specified as 3/4 by 0.0165 by 120 inches. My latest batch of these springs are different: they have a copper rivet and the loop is formed from the spring itself (i.e., not a separate piece). Also, the spring is thinner, the one I used is 0.0153 inch thick, which is plenty strong enough for many antique American clocks. I used it for the time mainspring in a Sessions black mantel clock.

Below are photos of variations on the 15959 mainspring I have received:

• Left: 0.0145 inch thick, labeled 37 on the loop;
• Center: 0.0165 inch thick, labeled 42 on the loop;
• Right: 0.0153 in thick (only one example measured so far), copper rivet.
• Bottom row: A Sessions black mantel clock in which I installed the 15959 mainspring with copper rivet. I installed the spring in the time train, and it provides plenty of power.

Repair job 5921. Installed 14 bushings, replaced the damaged time mainspring (Timesavers 15959 with copper rivet, 0.00153 inch thick), re-pinned one pinion, replaced the click on the time mainwheel. The original time mainspring was 0.0176 inch thick (but the replacement needs to be thinner). The original strike mainspring is 0.172 inch thick.

The clock is 10 7/16 inches tall and 18 inches wide. The minute hand is 2 1/8 inches long.

See more photos.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Many antique American clocks have mainsprings that are stronger than necessary. The most popular replacement mainsprings are even stronger than the originals. These strong replacement springs cause wear to the main wheel teeth and pivot holes. Thinner mainsprings are available, and should be used to replace old replacement springs that are too strong.

Here is an Ingraham oak kitchen clock made in 1903:

The oak case is 21 7/8 inches tall and 14 11/16 inches wide. The movement has a date stamp of 6 03 (June 1903). The label on the back of the clock gives the model name “Oneida”.

The owner had it repaired 30 years ago. After repair, the time side of the clock was hard to wind, but the repairman assured him that it was OK.

When I looked at the movement, I saw excessive wear in the front time second wheel pivot hole (the steel pivot should be centered in the hole):

The time mainspring is labeled ”Usibel France” and is extremely strong, making the clock hard to wind and causing wear. These springs can be identified by their logo and the shape of the loop end:

I took the movement apart and cleaned it. Here is the badly worn pivot hole (the hole was round when the clock was new):

For comparison, here is another pivot hole with a small amount of wear:

Here is how worn the time main wheel teeth are:

10 more years of use with this strong mainspring might have worn off the tips of the teeth!

The strike second wheel teeth have less wear:

Replacement mainsprings are available that are thinner than the original mainsprings. Many American antique clocks are over-powered, and can run on weaker mainsprings. I proposed installing thin mainsprings to my customer, and he agreed. The video below shows that the clock runs and strikes very well with these thinner mainsprings:

Here is the movement after I repaired it:

Technical data

Repair job 5905. This is a common Ingraham 8-day time and strike pendulum movement. It has an American-style strip recoil escapement.

The Usibel mainspring is 0.0185 inch thick. The original strike mainspring is 0.0172 inch thick. The mainsprings I installed are 3/4 inch wide, 120 inches long, and about 0.0145 inch thick. They are part number 15959 from Timesavers, but are the thin version (0.0145 inch thick, identified by “37″ stamped on the loop end instead of “42″) that were sent to me instead of the regular version (0.0165 inch thick). The actual thicknesses that I measured are:

• Time spring – 0.0140 inch;
• Strike spring – 0.0148 inch.

The time mainwheel teeth have about 50% wear, and the strike mainwheel teeth are about 20% worn. With these thin mainsprings, I expect little future wear to the mainwheel teeth. The movement runs fine with the worn teeth.

I installed new pins in 3 pinions (T3, T4 and T5), polished the pivots, and installed 16 bushings.

Mainspring Strength

The force a mainspring provides is proportional to its thickness cubed. Thus, the 0.0185 inch thick mainspring provided 2.3 times the force that the 0.0140 inch mainspring provides. (The 2.3 is approximate, because there are other variables such as the temper and composition of the metal).

Unfortunately, 0.0145 inch thick mainsprings (3/4 inches wide) aren’t as readily available as 0.0165 inch thick springs.

See my post Ansonia Walnut and Oak Kitchen (Shelf) Clocks for more about Usibel mainsprings.

Conclusion

The time mainspring that is too strong has been replaced with a spring thinner than the original. The original strike mainspring has been replaced with a thinner mainspring. The clock runs well and will not wear nearly as much in the future. It will be a family heirloom that can be enjoyed for many years.

See more photos.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

This is the Ansonia 5-pillar shelf clock movement. It strikes the hours, and is nominally an 8-day movement, although it will usually run close to 2 weeks on one winding. The plates of the movement are 5 3/4 inches tall and 3 5/16 inches wide. 5 steel pillars secure the front plate to the back plate.

See more photos.

Many Ansonia shelf clocks from the 1880s have this movement. In the late 1880s or early 1890s, the smaller 4-pillar movement superseded this 5-pillar movement.

The 5-pillar movement has a between the plates recoil escapement using an American-style strip verge (also called the anchor). It has the “count wheel” strike system that requires manual correction if the striking gets out of sync with the hands.

Correcting the Strike

Some clocks have a wire hanging below the dial, near the 7. Push up on the wire from the bottom and release it. The clock will strike the next hour. Do this until the striking is correct.

If there is no wire, use the following procedure:

• Move the minute hand (long hand) forward (clockwise), stopping about 5 minutes before the hour, when the clock makes a striking preparation noise called “warning”.
• Move the minute hand backward (counterclockwise) to 25 minutes before the hour. This will cause the clock to strike the hour.
• Repeat above two steps until the clock strikes one hour less than the hour that the hour hand points to.
• Move the minute hand forward, pausing at each hour for the clock to strike, and set the clock to the correct time.

There is also a “cheater’s method” for correcting the strike:

• Move the minute hand to the next hour (the clock will strike),
• Grasp the hour hand (short hand) near the center and move it around to the hour that the clock just struck. (if the hour hand get loose, push it onto its shaft, using your thumbnails to push in at the center). Note: if the hour hand is too tight to move easily, don’t use this method).
• Use the minute hand to set the clock to the correct time, pausing each hour for the clock to strike.

Mainsprings

The 5-pillar movement has 3/4 inch wide mainsprings with loop outer end. They are ”open” springs (they are out in the open and not contained in barrels). The original mainsprings are rougher than modern springs, and the loop ends are “rolled” instead of riveted. Note to repairers: The keep the original springs in the movement if they have no obvious damage.

If a mainspring needs replacing, I recommend a spring 0.0165 inch thick or less. Don’t use the so-called standard American clock mainspring of 0.0175 – 0.018 inch thick, it is too strong and will result in wear to the mainwheel teeth. I have had excellent results with a loop end mainspring 3/4 wide by 0.0165 inch thick by 120 inches long, such as the 77.303 from R & M Imports or the Timesavers 15959.

Example Clock

The clock illustrated above is the “La Mascotte” , made around 1883 according to the book “Ansonia Clocks” by Tran Duy Ly. I first repaired this example in 2002. I polished the pivots, installed 18 bushings, re-pinned 4 pinions and polished the verge faces. At that time it  had a non-original time mainspring 3/4 by 0.0178 inch thick, and had the original strike mainspring, a rough spring with rolled loop end, 0.0167 inch thick.

In 2012, the clock came into my shop again, with a broken strike mainspring. After cleaning, I observed that the time spring was causing wear to the mainwheel teeth, thus I decided to replace both springs. I selected two springs no. 77.303 from R & M Imports. These are specified as 3/4 by 0.0165 by 120 inches long. Actual measured thicknesses are 0.0157 inch for the time spring and 0.0163 inch for the strike spring. The clock runs very well with these springs, and even thinner springs could be used.

The pivots I had polished in 2002 had caused no wear to their bushings in the 10 years of operation. I hadn’t polished the front strike 3rd wheel pivot in 2002, and its bushing had worn. Thus I polished that pivot this time, and installed a new bushing. No other repair work was needed.

Repair job 5871.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

This beautiful Seth Thomas Adamantine mantel clock has a mahogany finish and two pillars on each side of the case. This clock has the 8-day movement with escapement in back, so it was made in 1901 or earlier. The case is 12 1/4 inches tall and 16 3/4 inches wide at the feet. The minute hand is 2 1/8 inches long.

Repair job 5861. I polished the pivots, installed 7 bushings, and tightened the clock rivets. The back escapement movement uses a strip recoil escapement requiring a small pendulum arc. The pendulum arc when running is much larger than the minimum arc (escape arc), so these clocks are very reliable even when slightly off-level. These movements have fairly thick mainsprings (around 0.018 inch) that are 11/16 inch wide and not the standard 3/4 inch wide. If a mainspring does need replacing (it is best to keep the original springs) it is important to not use a spring that is too strong.

See more photos.

This example’s original mainsprings are the following sizes:

Time: 11/16 by 0.0187 inch

Strike: 11/16 by 0.0185 inch.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

This Seth Thomas tambour mantel clock is very plain, yet is a great example of an old clock of classic design that will be reliable for many years. It has the No. 89 movement, very reliable and efficient, and one of their best movements, in my opinion. The clock is 17 inches wide, 9 1/8 inches tall. The minute hand is 2 5/16 inches long. The dial is silver-plated brass with printed numerals. The heavy wire gong (often called Cathedral gong) gives a very rich tone.

Tran Duy Ly’s book “Seth Thomas Clocks and Movements, Third Edition, Volume 3″ shows this clock is called “Tambour 12″, 1922 version.

See more photos.

Sold 7-26-12. Installed 11 bushings. It has the original mainsprings:

• Time mainspring: 3/4 by 0.0176 inches
• Strike mainspring: 3/4 by 0.0173 inches

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

I recently repaired this clock, and replaced the mainsprings with longer, thinner ones to make the clock keep better time and reduce mainwheel tooth wear.

The dial and hands are original, unfortunately, part of the top of the case is broken off. The clock was made around 1880 – 1890. The E. N. Welch Mfg. Co. became The Sessions Clock Company in 1903. This type of clock is often called a shelf or “kitchen” clock, and was popular around 1880 – 1920.

See more photos.

Repair job 5780. This movement had a lot of wear. I replaced the wires in 5 worn pinions, and reversed the wires in another. I polished the pivots and installed 14 bushings.

The new mainsprings are no. 77.303 from r & M Imports, having the following dimensions:

• Time: 3/4 x 0.0161 x 120 inches
• Strike: 3/4 x 0.0165 x 120 inches

Be Sociable, Share!

•