Seth Thomas “Kitchen” Shelf Clock, ca. 1865

I repaired this small Seth Thomas shelf clock called the “Kitchen.” It is a one day clock that strikes the hour. The veneered case is 16 inches tall, 10 inches wide and 3 11/16 inches deep. Here are “before” and “after” pictures. Note that the clock has “ST” hands that advertise that the clock was made by Seth Thomas. The Seth Thomas 1868 catalog shows this clock.

Here are some more views of the clock after repair.

See more pictures.

Repair job 7879. The movement was filthy and needed a lot of scrubbing to make it come clean. I polished the pivots and installed 12 bushings, trued the escape wheel teeth, installed a new minute hand of the correct style (Seth Thomas first “S” style) and installed a pendulum bob wire.

The original mainsprings are as follows:

Time: 3/8 inch by 0.018 inch
Strike: 3/8 inch by 0.0186 inch

Longer, thinner mainsprings will make the clock keep better time and cause less wear, so I replaced them with 3/8 by 0.014 by 60 inch mainsprings. They are much thinner than the originals, but provide plenty of power. The clock’s owner is keeping the original mainsprings. This is a one-day clock, but these new springs will run it three days on a winding.

I repaired the alarm by replacing the verge. I cleaned the case, replaced the upper glass, and had The Dial House repaint the dial. The case cleaned up well, and the reverse painted glass is very good for its age.

This clock uses a number 4 key.


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