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I thought it would be fun to show all the parts of this movement. In the first photo it has been disassembled and is ready for cleaning. You can tell it needs cleaning by the black deposits on the pivots (the ends of the gear shafts that turn in the holes in the brass movement plates). Many of the parts are strung on wires for convenience in cleaning. Parts such as the hands, chains and hammer heads are not put in the cleaning fluid.

This movement plays Westminster chimes on each quarter hour, and strikes the number of each hour after the hour chime. The time gear train is in the center, chiming on the right, and hour striking on the left. A clock that chimes has about twice as many parts as one with just hour and half-hour striking.

Many of the pivots needed polishing to remove wear, and I installed 19 bushings to correct for wear in the pivot holes.

The movement is labeled at the bottom:

Gravely Furn. Co. Inc.
Martinsville, VA USA
Made in Germany
No ()) Jewels
Unadjusted
PL 85 CM

This movement goes to a Ridgeway grandfather clock.

Repair job 4968.

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2. How Not to Clean a Clock Movement!
3. 1919 Westclox Parts and Repair Manual
4. 1950′s Regula Cuckoo Clock Movement
5. Another 1950′s Regula 8 Day Cuckoo Clock Movement

I repaired this Junghans W202 clock movement. It has the numbers 33 3 on the back which may be a date code of March, 1933; does anyone know if this is correct?

The biggest weakness of this movement is that the mainsprings are attached to their barrels by tongues cut out of the barrel wall itself. When I received the movement for repair, the time barrel tongue was broken and had been unsuccessfully repaired. The tongue on the strike mainspring barrel broke as I was winding the spring in after cleaning

I made new steel mainspring hooks, drilled a hole in each barrel, and riveted them in. The slideshow below shows the previous repair on the time mainspring and barrel, one new hook I made and installed, and general views of the movement and dial.

The strike second gear had a gear tooth that about to break off. I inserted a new tooth. The pivots needed polishing, and I also installed several bushings in worn pivot holes.

Repair job 4961.

I want to thank Clockmakers Newsletter for their article on repairing barrel hooks.

Related posts:

1. Mainsprings for Seth Thomas Adamantine, 89C Movement
2. Gear Rotation Speed in the Schatz Standard 400 Day Clock
3. 1950′s Regula Cuckoo Clock Movement

I recently overhauled a William Gilbert walnut shelf clock from the 1880s. The loop ends of the mainsprings were labeled:

W. Barnes Patented Nov. 27, 1866

The NAWCC Library & Research Center was able to give me the number of this patent: 59,943, issued to Wallace Barnes. Then I was able to find the patent on Google Patents.

Here are the mainspring ends:

The patent describes how the mainspring can be hardened, tempered and blued, then the loop end attached. The patent implies that this is the first use of a separate piece for the loop end, riveted on. Previously, the end of the spring was rolled to form the end.

Here is the text of the patent

IMPROVED METHOD OF TEMPERING CLOCK SPRINGS,
WALLACE BARNES, OF BRISTOL, CONNECTICUT.
Letters Patent No. 59,943, dated November 27, 1866.

SPECIFICATIONS

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, Wallace Barnes, of Bristol, county of Hartford, and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful improvements in the mode or process of manufacturing Clock Springs; and I do hereby declare that the same is described and represented in the following specification and drawings, so as to enable others skilled in the art to produce or make the same therefrom.

The nature of this improvement will be understood from the specification and drawings.

The object desired to be attained thereby, is to produce a spririg from a poorer quality of metal, and, at the same time, render a spring of given dimensions more effective for use, and more merchantable as an article of trade. And to effect this object, the springs are first hardened in the common way. Then, after the hardening process, they are placed between metal plates having their surfaces (one or both) corrugated or perforated, so as to allow the tempering fluid to flow freely between the coils of the spring and the plates, and immersed in molten lead or its equivalent, for the purpose of drawing the temper, or, in other words, for the purpose of producing the required temper to the spring, and also to produce a true, even position of the edge of the spring relative to all parts of the coil. The advantage of this operation, or result thereof, is to produce a greater amount of effective and prolonged action of a spring of equal dimensions, and to avoid the otherwise great amount of friction or obstruction to the mechanism of a clock, &c., when compared with those now in use. Then the spring is polished and blued in the ordinary way. After the above is accomplished, a clasp, a, having a sleeve formation, c, is rivetted to the outer end of the spring, d, instead of coiling the end thereof, as in the old way. The advantage gained by the use of this process will be apparent. The spring can be finished complete its entire length, hardened, tempered, polished, and blued, before the clasp is attached thereto. The clasp may be made of any desirable metal, and secured on each side of the end of the spring by rivets between the two parts of the clasp, thus protecting the end of the spring where it is liable to break or give way, and thereby provide a more perfect sleeve, by mean’s of which it (the spring) is held more perfectly in its desired place. It also produces a more merchantable article. I believe I have thus shown the nature and process whereby I produce this improvement.

What I claim, therefore, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is—

The mode or process in the manufacture of springs for clocks, &c., substantially as described.

WALLACE BARNES. [L. S.] ,

Witnesses:
E. M. BLiss,
Jeremy W. Bliss.

Related posts:

1. Replacing Mainsprings in American Antique Clocks
2. Mainsprings for American 8 Day Clocks
3. Kundo “Louvre” Style 400 Day Clock
4. Mainsprings for a Gilbert 1880s Parlor Clock
5. American Clock Cleaning

The owner of an old clock often asks, “How old is it?” Some clockmaking companies helped us answer this question by putting date codes on their products. (Actually, date coding was done for business reasons, including facilitating the ordering of spare parts.) Seth Thomas is one company that put date codes on many of their clocks.

Some Seth Thomas electric clocks from the late 1940s and early 1950s have a date code stamped into the rear of the case, below the power cord opening. The code is 4 digits, and I believe that the first two digits represent the year, and the last two digits give the month.

Shown below are two examples of the “Baxter” wooden case time only clock. This clock is 8 7/16 inches wide and 4 1/2 inches tall, with a convex glass over the two-tone silver color dial.

The first example illustrated below has the following date codes:

• Movement: 4712 (December 1947)
• Motor: 43 1 47 (may be January 1947)
• Outside case, beneath power cord on metal cover: 4712 (December 1947)

The second example has the following date codes:

• Movement: 3 48 (March 1948)
• Motor: 5001 (January 1950)
• Outside case, beneath power cord on wood: 5002 (February 1950)

I may not be interpreting the date code exactly right. One source said that the code gives year and quarter. This can’t always be right, as the examples above show a “12″, which cannot be a quarter! I recall seeing a “13″ for these digits once, so perhaps the second two digits represent a lunar month! Westclox used lunar months at one time for their bookkeeping, but I’m not sure about Seth Thomas.

Historical Note

On the first example above the metal rear cover is recessed into the wood, whereas on the second it is not.

Related posts:

1. Seth Thomas Manual Start Electric Clock, ca. 1930
2. Seth Thomas Sparta Adamantine Mantel Clock
3. Seth Thomas Mahogany Adamantine clock, 4830
4. Early Seth Thomas Brass Movement OG Clock
5. Seth Thomas Mahogany Adamantine Mantel Clock

400 day or “Anniversary” clocks were introduced in the 1880s in Germany. Their popularity had its ups and downs, reaching a peak in the 1950s, when many U.S. servicemen sent clocks home as gifts.

For years, most 400 day clocks did not have the maker’s name or country on the dial. Later (1920s?), “Made in Germany” started appearing on the bottom of dials. Finally, in the early 1950s, it became customary for the maker’s name (or an abbreviation) to appear on the dial. Examples:

• Heco: Henry Coehler & Co. (a U.S. importer, not a maker)
• Herr: Uhrehfabrik Herr
• Kern: Kern & Sohne
• Koma: Konrad Mauch
• Kundo: Kieninger & Obergfell (K und O)
• Schatz: Aug. Schatz & Sohne (also known as Jahreuhrenfabrik)

I just repaired a Schatz (Jahresuhrenfabrik) 400 day clock that made about 1949 or 1950. The movement has no date, and says Jahresuhrenfabrik (German for Year Clock Company) in the circle around the 49. The number 49 is supposed to represent the year (1949) that this model of movement was introduced, although very similar movements had been made by this company since around 1900 or earlier.

The dial on this clock does not say “Schatz”, and I have seen other made about the same time with no name on the dial. Judging from the examples I have seen, the name Schatz starting appearing on dials around 1950 or 1951. If you have any information about this, please leave a comment below.

Repair Work

This clock had one very rough pivot (front center wheel pivot) which probably caused excessive friction. I smoothed and burnished it, polished the other pivots, and smooth broached the pivot holes.

The movement is no. 1278 in the Horolovar 400 Day Clock Repair Guide. It uses a 0.004 inch thick suspension spring.

Repair job 5015.

Related posts:

1. Schatz Diamond Dial 400 Day Clock, Made in May 1960
2. Schatz Standard 400 Day Clock with Black and White Dial
3. Schatz Standard 400 Day Clock with Round Silver Dial, Dated November 1952
4. Schatz Standard 400 Day Clock, Cream Painted Dial
5. Schatz Diamond Dial 400 Day Clock Made in 1952

“Adamantine” was Seth Thomas’ trademarked name for a celluloid finish over wood. Besides the mahogany color shown here, it was made in black, white, green, brown, tan and other colors. These cases are durable, and can usually be polished to look very nice. Sometimes the colors fade with age. Adamantine clocks were made from about the 1880s to the 1920s.

This beautiful mahogany Adamantine clock came into my shop recently with a broken time mainspring. Nothing too exciting about that, but I think this clock is so nice looking that I decided to show it here. I had previously repaired it 11 years ago, overhauling the movement and polishing the case and bezel.

I replaced the broken time mainspring with a Merritt’s P-1956 3/4 by .0165 by 96 inches (the original spring was 0.0172 inch thick). The pendulum takes a superb motion (almost too good) and so an even thinner mainspring would work. During my previous overhaul, I replaced the way too strong strike mainspring (an incorrect replacement) with a spring about 0.016 inch thick.

Repair job 4981.

Related posts:

1. Seth Thomas Mahogany Adamantine clock, 4830
2. Seth Thomas Sparta Adamantine Mantel Clock
3. Mainsprings for Seth Thomas Adamantine, 89C Movement
4. Seth Thomas Adamantine Clock
5. Seth Thomas Adamantine

I just restored this Schatz standard size 400 day clock with diamond-shaped dial. The movement is dated 5 60 (May 1960) on the back. I think this is one of the most beautiful of 400 day clock designs. Made in the Black Forest of Germany.

The customer told me she had just taken it to a repair shop but that they were unable to repair it. After the movement was disassembled and cleaned, I found a few things that needed doing, in addition to pivot polishing:

• The front anchor pivot was bent and needed straightening (these pivots are thin and get bent easily);
• The rear center pivot was bent and needed straightening (this pivot much thicker than the anchor pivots and is not very easy to accidentally bent);
• Two bushings had been installed in the past (I don’t recommend installing bushings in 400 day clocks) and one was not quite upright and the hole was slightly too tight. I was able to upright the hole with a cutting broach, then I used a smoothing broach to polish it.

I replaced the broken suspension spring, and the clock ran properly. Below is a video:

Here are some photos:

The movement is Horolovar back plate no. 1014A. Suspension unit 6789 with .004 inch thick suspension spring. The base has plastic leveling discs. Repair job 5029.

Related posts:

1. Schatz Diamond Dial 400 Day Clock Made in 1952
2. Schatz Standard 400 Day Clock with Black and White Dial
3. Schatz Square Dial 400 Day Clock Made in 1953
4. Schatz Standard 400 Day Clock, Cream Painted Dial
5. Kern Standard 400 Day Clock with Diamond Dial

I just repaired this Koma (Konrad Mauch) miniature 400 day clock from the mid-1950s. The case is 8 1/2 inches tall (not including handle), and is 10 1/4 inches tall including handle. The dial’s diameter is 4 3/8 inches overall. The case has glass in the front and sides, and a hinged brass back door. There is a knob on the back of the movement which is pulled out and turned to set the time.

The movement is similar to Horolovar back plate Nos. 1395C, 1398, 1398A, 1399 and 1399A but says “W4″ in the upper left corner.  The Horolovar 400 Day Clock Repair Guide says that these movements need suspension unit 14A with a .0032 inch thick suspension spring. When I tried the .0032 inch spring, the clock ran too fast. A .0031 inch spring makes this clock regulate properly, with the pendulum’s regulator near the center of its range.

Below is a video of this clock:

Here is a slideshow of this clock:

Repair job 5025.

Related posts:

1. DeBruce 400 Day Clock by Kundo, 1950s
2. 400 Day Clock Suspension Spring Sizes
3. Kundo Miniature 400 Day Clock
4. Heco Miniature 400 Day Clock (Made by Kern)
5. Kundo “Louvre” Style 400 Day Clock