This Schatz 400 day clock came into my shop for repair. The customer told me that it had a broken mainspring. On disassembly, I found that the mainspring was broken in more than 15 pieces! (Normally, a mainspring has just one break). See photos below:
The broken mainspring still in the barrel
15 pieces of the broken mainspring
What caused the spring to break into multiple pieces?
The clock had been cleaned without being dismantled (there was debris in the gears from incomplete cleaning). The cleaning fluid could not be rinsed out of the mainspring. The fluid attacked the steel, causing stress cracks to form, followed by breakage.
Repair job 5176. Back plate number 1278, no date. Uses 0.004 inch suspension spring. When the mainspring broke, it bent the front second wheel pivot. I inserted a new pivot, and polished several other pivots.
This small shelf clock called the “Union” was made by Chauncey Jerome in New Haven, Connecticut in the 1850s. It is illustrated in Jerome’s 1852 and 1853 clock catalogs.
The one-day time and strike spring-driven movement is stamped “C. Jerome / New Haven Conn / USA”. The label on the rear of the case says “CHAUNCEY JEROME / MANUFACTURER OF / EIGHT AND ONE DAY / BRASS CLOCKS / TIMEPIECES AND MARINE LEVERS / New Haven, Conn. / AMERICA”
The case is 13 9/16 inches tall and 10 1/8 inches wide at the base. The dial time track is 5 inches in diameter. The minute hand is not original (but appears to be a very old replacement), the original was a small spade matching the hour hand.
The dial had been poorly touched up in the past, so I had it repainted as close to original as possible by The Dial House. I cleaned the movement, polished the pivots, installed 8 bushings, straightened 3 teeth and replaced one tooth in the strike second wheel, polished the pallets, and made a new verge retainer.
C. Jerome New Haven Conn USA
The movie below shows the movement of the clock and shows the hour striking in operation:
Below is a slide show of more photos:
I installed two new mainsprings, 5/16 x 0.0137 x 45 inches (part number PM-CS510 from The P.M. Company). These springs are thin to reduce wear in the movement, but will power the clock for 3 – 4 days on a winding. The movie below shows the escapement motion:
The movement plates are 1.9 mm thick. Later Connecticut clocks have thinner plates. For example, a Seth Thomas No. 89 movement I measured has 1.4 mm thick plates, and a 1920s Ingraham movement has 1.25 mm thick plates.
Here is a Seth Thomas “Adamantine” clock with black and green marbleized finish (Adamantine is Seth Thomas’ patented celluloid finish that was made in many colors to imitate wood and marble). It strikes the hours on two brass bells, and strikes the half hour on the higher pitched bell. The clock was sold on March 22, 1916 (22 March 1916 is written on the label on the back cover). My customer’s grandparents received this clock as a wedding gift from family members in June 1916.
The case is 18 1/8 inches wide at feet, 11 1/16 inches tall, with 4 1/4 inch time track on dial.
Below is a slideshow of more photos:
Here is a video of the clock striking:
Here is a movie of the escapement action, first run down 7 days, then fully wound:
Repair job 5094. No. 89T 8-day time and bim-bam strike movement.The time mainspring is a 3/4 x 0.0172 x 96 inch mainspring from R & M Imports (opened to 8 inches when unclamped. The time spring was original, but I replaced it because it had a squeaky and jerky action which sometimes indicates it will break soon. This movement needs a slightly stronger time mainspring than the regular No. 89, as the half-hour strike hammer is lifted through a great distance. The strike mainspring is the original (marked ST) 3/4 x 0.0165 inch spring. It opened out to only 6 inches in diameter when uncoiled, yet provides plenty of power to operate the striking for over 8 days.
This is a Schatz “London Coach” 400 day clock that was made in September 1955. These beautiful clocks were very popular in the 1950s and early 1960s, in fact my parents and grandparents each had one that my uncle sent back from Germany. Most of them (including this one) have plastic panels in the case.
This one needed a movement overhaul and new suspension spring. I also polished and lacquered the case.
Here is a slideshow of more photos:
Repair job 5113. The movement is the Schatz miniature “53″. Horolovar back plate no. 1013A. Date code 9 55. This model normally uses a 0.0023 inch thick suspension spring and suspension unit 10A. This example needed a 0.0024 inch thick spring to keep time properly, and it had to be about 1/8 inch longer than usual to make the pendulum locking device work.
This Schatz standard 400 day clock with diamond-shaped dial was made in January 1953 (date code 1 53 on the back of the movement). The numerals on the dial are printed, not engraved as on the round silver dials. This example retains the original lacquer on the bezel (brass dial surround) and the brass has darkened to a beautiful uniform metallic brownish blue. I recommend not polishing the bezel when it is this nice looking with an original but uniformly darkened finish. I polished and lacquered the base and pillars.
The movement is Horolovar back plate no. 1281, dated 1 53. It needed the usual cleaning, pivot polishing and suspension spring replacement. I polished the anchor pin. These Schatz standard clocks (movement with 49 in the circle on the back) use a 0.004 inch thick suspension spring.
This 400 day clock has a Koma standard movement, but the dial is labeled “Elbico”. Parts of the clock are finished in black paint, with hand painted flowers on the dial, pillars and pendulum.
The suspension guard on the rear has 2 “wings” which hinge down to protect the lower end of the suspension spring during shipping.
Repair job 5148. Horolovar back plate number 1393, 0.0035 inch thick suspension spring, suspension unit 13A.
This Schatz standard size 400 day clock has a beautiful engraved and silvered dial (not as common as the regular enamel dial). The movement is dated 5 64 (May 1964). The repairs included polishing the pivots, replacing the suspension spring, and tapping the hole for the click screw (the threads did not go all the way through the hole and so the screw could not be put in tight).
Job 5150. Movement is Horolovar back plate 1014C. Suspension spring 0.004 inch thick.
This Kern miniature 400 day clock has nickel-plated base, pendulum, pillars, platform and bezel. The suspension bracket and pendulum bracket are also nickel-plated, the movement plates are not. It is a newer clock (the owner remembers buying it in Germany around 1972 or 1973) and has a very thin base that warps easily. It is 7 1/4 inches tall without the dome.
I polished the pivots and replaced the suspension spring. It uses a .0023 inch thick suspension spring, unit 12F (but about 1/8 inch longer). Horolovar back plate no. 1406G.
