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Ansonia Queen Elizabeth Wall Clock

Bill Stoddard — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:45:29 +0000

I just repaired this Ansonia “Queen Elizabeth” mahogany wall clock. The top piece to the case is not shown in the photo, but the catalog illustration below shows the complete clock. The overall height with the top is 37 inches, and the width is 13 5/8 inches. The dial in this example has a replacement paper face, and the minute hand is not original (but similar to the original).

The movement is the 5-pillar Ansonia 8 day time and strike, with plate dimensions 5 7/8 by 3 5/8 inches. Repairs included polishing the pivots and replacing improper bushings (3 Rathbun and 2 screw-in) with KWM-sized American system bushings. I replaced the strike click rivet.

I retained the original strike mainspring, which measured 3/4 x 0.0175 – 0.0185 inch. The original time spring was very thick (0.019 inch) and causing mainwheel tooth wear, so I replaced it with a 3/4 x 0.016 x 120 inch mainspring, part no. 280-19-003 from Colonial Clock Shop.

See more photos.

Repair job 5634.

Ansonia Black Iron Mantel Clock

Bill Stoddard — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 10:00:00 +0000

This Ansonia mantel clock has a black enamled iron case, and was made around 1890 – 1910. It has Ansonia’s 4 pillar rectangular movement that uses thinner (weaker) mainsprings than most other American clocks. This reliable movement was used in many Ansonia mantel clocks.

The case is 10 7/8 inches tall, 11 1/2 inches wide, and the dial’s minute track is 4 1/4 inch outside diameter. The length of the minute hand is just under 2 1/8 inches.

This clock has its original, thin mainsprings: both are 3/4 inch wide and 0.0155 inch thick.

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Repair job 5545. Pivots polished, installed 11 bushings.

Ansonia Oak Kitchen or Shelf Clock

Bill Stoddard — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:00:18 +0000

This Ansonia oak cased shelf clock is called the “Bedford” according to the label on the back. The 8-day movement strikes the hour and half-hour on a heavy wire or Cathedral gong. The case is 22 1/2 inches tall and 14 7/16 inches wide. The dial has a 4 7/8 inch minute track (outside diameter). The minute hand is just over 2 3/8 inches long from center to tip.

I first repaired this clock in 2004. The time mainspring recently broke, so my customer brought the clock back to me. I disassembled and cleaned the movement, and replaced both mainsprings (the strike spring was not broken but had a rough action that could indicate breakage in the near future). These Ansonia clock movements use thin mainsprings, so don’t let your clock repairer install the typical strong mainspring (this could cause undue wear).

Dimensions of the original mainsprings: Both are 3/4 inch wide and 0.015 inch thick.

Replacement mainsprings:

Time: 3/4 by 0.0138 by 120 inches (Empire 280-19-009)
Strike: 3/4 by 0.0147 by 120 inches (Empire 280-19-009)

Note: Empire is out of business and I have only a few of these springs left. I need to find another spring suitable for these Ansonia movements.

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Repair job 5535.

Repair of Decrepit Ansonia Mantel Clock Movement

Bill Stoddard — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:01:46 +0000

This Ansonia mantel clock movement was sent to me for repair. After examining it, I thought it might be too far gone to be worth repairing. The customer really wanted it done, and sent me a down payment on the repair, so I proceeded. After lots of cleaning and repair work, it operates like new and looks great too!

The movement has the patent date of June 18, 1882 and says 4 1/2 on the right rear movement leg.

The pendulum is not original to the clock, but it is an old Ansonia pendulum of the correct style that is probably about an inch longer than the original.

I disassembled the movement, and let the parts run in the cleaning machine for most of the day. Every half hour or so, I scrubbed the parts with a fine brass bristle brush. (I don’t use a motor driven brush, because the resulting finish doesn’t look right.)

The mainsprings were rusty, so I replaced them. Here are the measurements of the original mainsprings:

Time: 3/4 by 0.0159 inch, Strike: 3/4 x 0.0156 inch. Notice that these are thinner spring than user in many antique American clocks. I replaced them with mainsprings from Empire Clock, part number 280-19-009, measuring as follows:

Time: 3/4 x 0.0142 x 120 inches, Strike: 3/4 x 0.0147 x 120 inches. Notice that these are even thinner than the original springs, but they provide plenty of power, as you can see in the video below. Unfortunately, Empire Clock is out of business, and I have only a few of these springs left in stock.

I made the following repairs to the movement:

Install a new crutch loop (the original had been cut off!);
Shape strike locking lever correctly (it had been badly bent);
Straighten and smooth strike warning lever;
True the escape wheel teeth;
Polish the pallets to remove wear, then adjust the escapement;
Install new pins in 5 pinions (the small gears with wires instead of teeth) and polish and reverse the wires in one pinion;
Replace the click rivets in the main wheel (they were loose);
Made new tension springs for the strike hammer and warning lever;
Straighten the center arbor (the shaft the minute hand goes on);
Replace the suspension rod (the rod that the pendulum hangs on);
New leather in strike hammer;
Polish the pivots;
Install 14 bushings.

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Repair job 5444.

Ansonia “Seneca” Oak Cabinet Clock

Bill Stoddard — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:00:23 +0000

This clock with a nice oak case came in for minor adjustments. I think it is a great looking clock! The label inside the back door identifies the model as “Seneca”. It was made around 1894. Tran Duy Ly’s book “Ansonia Clocks and Watches” illustrates a whole series of these cabinet clocks.

The case is 15 1/2 inches tall and 11 3/4 inches wide. The minute hand is 2 3/32 inches long center to tip. The paper dial has 4 1/4 inch time track (outside diameter). Movement has number 5 1/2.

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Ansonia Porcelain Cased Mantel Clock

Bill Stoddard — Sat, 28 May 2011 12:00:24 +0000

I recently repaired this pretty clock. The back of the case is labeled:

PORCELAIN
Dresden
8-Day Hour and Half Hour
Cathedral Bell Strike
Manufactured Expressly For
The American Wringer Co
No 99 Chambers Street
New York
No. D-. 363

The number 363 is hand written.

The movement is Ansonia’s efficient running 8 day time and strike with the original thin mainsprings.

Time Mainspring: 3/4 x 0.0157 inch loop end

Strike Mainspring: 3/4 x 0.0153 inch loop end

I polished the pivots, installed 11 bushings, replaced the click rivets (so the winding mechanism will be reliable), installed new wires in one pinion, and made and installed new return springs on the hammer and count lever.

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Repair job 5434.

Ansonia “Sharon” Cabinet Clock

Bill Stoddard — Mon, 23 May 2011 12:00:38 +0000

This Ansonia “Sharon” cabinet clock has an oak case, an enamel dial, and an 8-day time and strike movement. The case has a top piece that isn’t shown here. The height of the clock (as illustrated without the top piece) is 14 1/4 inches. It is 13 5/8 inches wide, and the enamel dial has a 4 1/4 inch minute track.

This clock is shown in the Ansonia 1894 catalog having a metal dial. The height is given as 17 inches. The list price was $7.50.

The movement is labeled on the back:

ANSONIA CLOCK CO.
USA
NEW YORK

5 1/5

PATENTED
JUNE 18, 1882

I didn’t do a full repair job on this clock. I disassembled the movement, cleaned it, and replaced the broken time mainspring. I installed a 3/4 by 0.0167 by 120 inch mainspring, Timesavers part no. 15959. If I had done a general service and repair, including pivot polishing and bushings, I would have installed an even thinner spring, about 0.0145 inch thick. The original strike mainspring is 0.0155 inch thick.

See more photos.

Repair job 5353.

Note: Shortly after the customer took this clock home, the orignal strike mainspring broke. I replaced it with the same type spring as I used for the time mainspring (3/4 x 0.0165 x 120″ Timesavers or R & M type). If I had done a complete repair, I would have used a thinner mainspring, about 0.0155 inch thick.

Ansonia Round Drop Wall Clock

Bill Stoddard — Fri, 20 May 2011 12:00:28 +0000

This nice old Ansonia wall clock has an 8-day time only movement. The case is 24 1/2 inches tall and 16 inches wide. The paper dial has an 11 inch time track.

The movement, like those in many Ansonia clocks, is an efficient runner, with the original mainspring being only around 0.0172 – 0.0174 inch thick. The mainspring is in excellent condition, so I retained it in the clock. If it needed replacing, the new spring should be only around 0.0155 – 0.016 inch thick. The movement appears to have been forced to run for may years by keeping it oiled without cleaning it, as 2 pivots and three pinions were quite worn. I polished the pivots and installed 8 bushings.

The movement is marked “12″, referring to the pendulum length.

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Repair job 5432.

Ansonia “Cabinet No. 56″ Mantel Clock

Bill Stoddard — Wed, 18 May 2011 12:00:16 +0000

This Ansonia mantel clock is named “Cabinet Co. 56″ and has an oak case with a fancy metal dial. The case dimensions are 12 15/16 high and 9 5/8 wide, with a 5.5 inch time track on the dial. The dial is metal (zinc or aluminum?) with applied gilt spandrels (corners) and embossed numerals.

This clock is a good example of mainsprings that are too strong causing mainwheel tooth wear, and making the timekeeping inaccurate. This clock has 3/4 inch wide loop end mainsprings. When I received the clock, the time mainspring 0.0178 inch thick, and the strike mainspring was 0.018 inch thick. The tooth wear on the time mainwheel was 25%, and the strike mainwheel teeth had 15% wear. The timekeeping was inconsistent – the clock would gain 3 – 4 minutes during the first half of the week, and lose it again during the second half of the week.

This type of Ansonia movement needs thin mainsprings. I installed replacement springs, part number 280-19-009 from Empire Clock, 3/4 inch wide x 120 inches long, and around 0.015 inch thick (the time spring measured 0.0148 inch thick, and the strike spring 0.015). With these springs, the timekeeping is very consistent, with mid-week error less than one minute.

This clock had had many bushings installed by a previous repairer. I polished the pivots (which hadn’t been polished by previous repairers) and replaced 5 bushings.

The pendulum illustrated above is a replacement that isn’t Ansonia style.

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Repair job 5277.

Ansonia Walnut Kitchen (Shelf) Clock

Bill Stoddard — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:31:59 +0000

I recently repaired this Ansonia walnut cased shelf clock. Case height 22 9/16 inches, width at base 14 1/4 inches. It was shipped from overseas, and so the door with glass was removed and not sent, to avoid damage. The main problem with the clock was that the strike mainspring was broken, and the click on the strike mainwheel needed a better rivet (it had a previous replacement rivet, that did not fully cover the hole in the click – see photo below). The click is also a replacement, but it functions well.

Ansonia clocks such as this have mainsprings that are thinner than used on many other clocks, and a thin replacement mainspring should be used (of course, original mainsprings should be retained unless there is a good reason for replacement).

The original mainspring measurements are:

Time Mainspring: 3/4 inch by 0.0155 inch.

Strike Mainspring: 3/4 inch by 0.0158 inch.

The time mainspring was in good condition so it was retained in the clock. The replacement strike mainspring is Empire Clock 280-19-009, measuring 3/4 inch wide, 0.0146 inch thick, and 120 inches long. It is a quite thin spring, but it is powerful enough to run the striking for 14 1/2 days.

Repair job 5299.