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I repaired this New Haven long drop octagon clock. Some of the pinions had worn wires, so I replaced the wires in one pinion and reversed the wires in three. I polished the pivots and installed 13 bushings.

The mainsprings appear to be original (they match in color and style and look old).

Time mainspring: 3/4 inch wide by 0.0172 inch thick. This spring provides sufficient power, as the escapement motion is excellent.

Strike mainspring: 3/4 inch wide by 0.0142 inches thick. This spring is very thin, yet the striking speed is fine.

I retained both original mainsprings in this clock. They were in good condition, operated smoothly, and provided enough operating power, so there was no reason to change them. A good old mainspring is no more likely to break than a new one. (Some repair shops install new mainsprings in every clock they repair, I disagree with this practice.)

The case is 33 inches tall, and the minute track diameter is 11 inches.

Repair job 4955.

Related posts:

1. Mainsprings in New Haven Long Drop Clock Movement
2. A Tale of Three Movements and a Clock (Ansonia Long Drop Regulator A)
3. Mainsprings for Seth Thomas Adamantine, 89C Movement
4. New Haven Oak Kitchen Clock
5. Replacing Mainsprings in American Antique Clocks

I recently overhauled this Sessions black mantel clock from around 1903 – 1910. It was a routine overhaul including polishing the pivots and installing bushings. A previous repairer had installed two screw-in bushings (a no-no!). I replaced these with KWM size 4 American bushings. The mainwheels were made with Gilbert-style clicks, which are more robust then the standard Sessions clicks.

The original mainsprings seemed too strong. The time spring was 0.0182 inch thick, and the strike spring was 0.0178 inch thick. I replaced both with thinner mainsprings, Merritt’s Antiques P-1956, 0.0165 inch thick, to reduce future wear to the mainwheel teeth. The escapement takes an excellent motion.

Repair job 4949.

Related posts:

1. Sessions Tambour Mantel Clock, Made in 1938.
2. Mainsprings for American 8 Day Clocks
3. Mainsprings for Seth Thomas Adamantine, 89C Movement
4. New Batch of Merritt’s Clock Mainsprings
5. Merritt’s Antiques P-1956 Mainsprings

This 1950s 400 day clock is labeled DeBruce on the dial and Royce Watch Co. on the back plate. It was made by Kundo and is the same as a Kundo standard 400 day clock except for the names. It has the Kundo logo on the back plate. Horolovar back plate no. 1499. It uses .0032 inch thick suspension spring.

Repair job 5009.

Related posts:

1. Kundo “Louvre” Style 400 Day Clock
2. Kundo Standard 400 Day Anniversary Clock
3. 400 Day Clock Suspension Spring Sizes
4. Kundo Miniature 400 Day Clock
5. Kundo Miniature 400 Day Clock (4810)

This 8 day time and strike Ansonia movement was probably made in the 1880s. It has 5 pillars, and the plates are 5 3/4 inches tall. The movement goes to an oak schoolhouse (drop octagon) case 25 inches tall with an 11 inch dial.

A previous repairer had very badly bushed the front time second wheel pivot hole, and mutilated the pivot and shortened the arbor in the process. I added on to the arbor to restore it its original form, and installed a good bushing.

The time and strike mainsprings were old replacements that were too strong (0.0184 inch thick) made by Usibel, France. I replaced them with Merritt’s P-1956 3/4 by 0.0165 by 96 inch mainsprings.

Here is a video showing the escapement. The motion is excellent, even with the thinner mainspring. The mainspring is unwound about 8 turns (8 days of running) in the video.

Job 4962.

Related posts:

1. Ansonia Walnut Kitchen Clock – Older, 5 Pillar Movement
2. Mainsprings in New Haven Long Drop Clock Movement
3. Ansonia Iron Case Mantel Clock with Small Round Movement
4. A Tale of Three Movements and a Clock (Ansonia Long Drop Regulator A)
5. Ansonia Walnut and Oak Shelf (Kitchen) Clocks

I repaired a Schatz standard 400 day clock made in August 1952. The next day, the hour hand did not align correctly with the minute hand. As I turned the minute hand forward, I saw that the hour hand was getting further and further behind. The hour hand was losing 1/4 hour every 12 hours, or one hour every 2 days!

I removed the hands and dial, and counted the number of teeth in the motion work gears. The minute wheel had 49 teeth instead of 48! I remembered reading about this problem years ago in the Horolovar 400 Day Clock Repair Guide (question 15 in the question and answer section). This is the first 400 day clock I’ve had with this problem. It probably baffled its owners, as it would seem to lose 1 hour every 2 days! I’m surprised that this problem wasn’t fixed years ago. The current owner bought it at a flea market and it wasn’t working, so he couldn’t observe the hour hand problem.

To correct the problem, I replaced the minute wheel with one having 48 teeth.

Repair job 4999. Horolovar back plate no. 1281. Dated 8 52.

Number teeth in Schatz standard motion works gears:

Cannon pinion 16

Minute wheel 48 and 12

Hour wheel 38

Related posts:

1. Gear Rotation Speed in the Schatz Standard 400 Day Clock
2. Setting Suspension Fork Height on Schatz and Kundo Standard 400 Day Clocks
3. Correcting the Hour Strike on Modern Clocks
4. Schatz Standard 400 Day Clock with Narrow Plates
5. Schatz Standard 400 Day Clock with Black and White Dial