This beautiful wall clock called the “Queen Elizabeth” was made by the Ansonia Clock Company. It was introduced around the early 1880s and made until at least 1901. This model was available in black walnut, mahogany or oak; and had an 8-day time only or time and strike movement.
The clock pictured here has an oak case and 8-day time and strike movement. The paper dial is a replacement. Height 37 1/4 inches, width 13 1/2 inches, the minute track was about 7 inches in diameter on the original dial.
Job 5005. This clock has both original mainsprings.
Time: 3/4 wide by 0.0168 inch thick
Strike: 3/4 wide by 0.0175 inch thick
It has the larger, older type movement with 5 7/8 by 3 5/8 inch plates. The plates are 1.45 millimeters thick.
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.
I recently repaired this Ansonia mantel clock. The case is cast iron with black finish and enamel dial. It is 9 5/8 inches tall, and 11 inches wide at the feet.
The round 8 day movement is 3 1/4 inches in diameter with open mainsprings. It has rack and snail strike on the hour and half-hour. It has a strip recoil escapement.
I did not do a complete repair job on this movement, per customer request. I cleaned it and replaced the strike click, which had failed. I also replaced the time mainspring, as the existing one was providing at least twice the necessary torque (it was not original). It was 7/16 x 0.018 by 60 inches, and I replaced it with 3/8 x 0.014 by 60″. A longer and thinner spring would have been even better, but not readily available.
The original strike spring is only 0.0125″ thick and is 7/16 inch wide, and 8 feet long. The original time mainspring was probably similar.
Here are movies of the rack and snail strike mechanism and the escapement.
I recently overhauled this Ansonia walnut cased kitchen clock. The strong time mainspring of 0.018 inch thick, was causing wear to the mainwheel teeth, so I replaced the mainspring with a new one that is only 0.0155 inch thick (Merritt’s P-1496 in the orange and red box).
The first video below shows how good the escapement motion is with the thin time mainspring. It is run down 9 days in the video. The second video shows the entire movement in the case and then a closer view of the clock striking the hour and half-hour.
About 1880, a fine Ansonia Regulator A, time only with calendar, was purchased for an office. The clock was enjoyed by many descendants of the original owner. It was well maintained, and always gave good service. In the late 1990′s, the clock was taken to a repair shop, and the repairman said he could not fix it! So he installed a chiming battery operated movement! The clock was passed down one generation, and the present owner was horrified at the indignity inflicted upon the clock. She asked me if I could find an original movement to install. I said I would try, but that it would take some looking, as the clock needs an earlier type of movement than is commonly seen.
After searching eBay for four weeks, I saw the exact movement we needed. It even had the original brass calendar hand and the hour hand. I bought it, and found a source for a good reproduction pendulum. A colleague supplied an original type minute hand to me. We had the case touched up, and an old glass painted with “Regulator A”.
I installed a Merritt’s Antiques P-1956 mainspring, as described in this post. This spring is 3/4 inch wide, 0.0165 inch thick, and 96 inches long. It is of excellent quality, and provides the correct amount of power.
I just completed the overhaul of an Ansonia iron cased mantel clock (my job no. 4422). It has the common 4 pillar 8 day time and strike movement of dimensions 5 x 3-1/4 inches. In this clock, a previous repairer had replaced the srike mainspring with one that is 3/4 inches wide and .018 inches thick. The time spring was an original that is .0153 inches thick.
When assembling the movement, I put the original thin mainspring in the striking side, and for the time mainspring used a spring 3/4 inches wide x .0138 inches thick by 120 inches long (no. 77.303 from R & M Imports). This spring gives a good pendulum motion of just over twice the escape arc. It will run the clock reliably without causing excessive wear.
I just overhauled an Ansonia oak shelf (kitchen) clock (my job no. 4357). It has the 4 pillar 8 day time and strike movement of dimensions 5 x 3-1/4 inches. The original mainsprings in these clocks are 3/4 inch wide and typically about .0155 inch thick. The previous repairer had installed a time mainspring .0185 inch thick! The loop end of the spring is labeled “USIBEL FRANCE”. I replaced this spring with a new spring that is 3/4 inch wide, .014 inch thick and 108 inches long. The pendulum motion is great (running arc slightly more than twice the escape arc).
I have seen (and discarded) these thick USIBEL FRANCE mainsprings many times before. They were sold by clock parts suppliers such as S. LaRose as “mainsprings for 8 day American Clocks” and sometimes described as the finest mainsprings, made in France. I guess they were fine for many repairers, as they are so strong that they will make a clock work without being correctly repaired! I have measured some of these springs to be as thick as .019 inches! Just by winding the clock, you can feel that they are way too strong. If used for too long, they will cause severe wear to the mainwheel teeth.
The force that a mainspring provides is proportional to the cube of the thickness: .0185 cubed divided by .0155 cubed is 1.7, so the USIBEL spring is providing 1.7 times the force of the original spring (actually it is even worse, as modern steel is better than steel made 100 years ago. So the new .0185 inch thick spring is probably at least twice as strong as necessary.
I used a no. 77.303 from R & M Imports that is specified as 3/4 x .017 x 120 inches. The springs I received have an actual thickness slightly less than .014 inch, and I shortened a spring to 108 inches and re-attached the loop end. This spring seemed so weak when uncoiled that I wondered if it would have enough power! But it works great for the time train, as mentioned in the first paragraph. NOTE TO MYSELF: Next time, leave the spring 120 inches long – there appears to be plenty of room.
Note: R & M has a no. 77.301 mainspring that is specified as 3/4 x .014 x 108 inches that may be German made, and seems stronger than the spring discussed above. I like the 77.303 the best.
It is interesting to compare the force provided by the USIBEL spring to the force provided by the .014 inch thick spring: .0185 cubed divided by .014 cubed is 2.3. This mean that the USIBEL spring provides approximately 2.3 times the force of the .014 inch thick spring. A clock running with the thick spring will wear itself out prematurely!
If you have an heirloom antique American clock that you want to pass down to future generations, make sure your clock repairer does not (or did not) install mainsprings that are too thick. Original mainsprings should be kept in the clock, unless there is a good reason for replacement (broken, too strong, rusted or damaged).
