Clocks of Yore

Some Restorations Completed at Clocks of Yore

Phil Ball — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 19:06:36 +0000

Restoration of a 300-year old LOUIS XIV style clock

This clock was found in an antique shop in Forney Texas. The Boulle brass and tortoise shell marquetry was in a very bad state of repair and just begging for someone to save it from further deteriorate. Click here for complete story.

Restoration of a Gustav Becker Alarm Clock

This German alarm clock was purchased from Arlington Book Store in 1990, at a National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors clock show in Frederick, MD. The finish on the wooden case was in very condition. Click here for complete story.

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Horological Histories and Stories

Phil Ball — Mon, 15 Sep 2014 19:41:19 +0000

In this section you can learn about the history of time and clocks including human-interest stories. This section is under development and as new subjects are written they will be added, so please check back from time to time for new articles.

A Brief History of Clocks and Time Keeping in Texas

Prior to Texas becoming a state, it was a vast undeveloped frontier controlled by the French and Spanish. In the early 18th century, the French colonized Louisiana and developed New Orleans as a trade center. In San Antonio, 500 miles to the west, the Spanish built a mission known today as the Alamo. The Comanche and Apache Indians provided the Spanish with a hostile place to live during this colonization period. The area was so sparse in 1821 that only three outposts of civilization existed between the Rio Grande and Red Rivers.  In 1823, American settlers coming to Texas established San Felipe on the banks of the Brazos River, and these new “Texians” settlers, as they called themselves, lived under Mexican rule. In 1836, they defeated the Mexican Army at San Jacinto and created the Republic of Texas.

When the US Congress officially accepted Texas as the 28th state in February 1846, less than one-half the population could read. Education and time keeping were not a prerequisite for obtaining the necessities of life such as food, clothing, shelter and protection against Indians and lawless neighbors. Although a public school system was established in 1854, it was not until 1869 that the Texas constitution provided free public schools for all children.   First Texas clocks came with the immigrants’  by 1848, Galveston had been established as a major seaport of Texas, and from 1840 to 1870 a large German and Czech population immigrated here and it is believed that clocks were part of their furnishings. It is also believed that during this same period, east coast manufactured clocks entered through Galveston to satisfy what little demand there was then for time keeping.

Some early clock salesmen were not liked;  most pioneers were simple, unsophisticated and honest people, and consequently were vulnerable to aggressive and not so honest salesmen. In the mid-1850’s settlers were plagued by clock peddlers who used ingenious methods to induce families to buy clocks they had little use for or did not want. When a salesman asked a settler whether they wished to buy a clock, the answer was usually “No!” He then asked for permission to leave a clock with instruct on how to keep it running until he returned in a week or so. Some families would become accustomed to the timepiece, feeling that they could not do without it, and would buy the clock; lacking cash, the salesman often gave them “a note for thirty dollars or so”, payable in several months. Such a clock was hardly worth a third that price. The clock peddlers would rarely return, but would send their agent to collect the money. These honest pioneers usually always paid the amount specified on the note. As a result, clock peddlers became extremely unpopular, and as most of them were from New England, settlers developed a strong prejudice against Yankees.

In 1853, the first 20 miles of railroads were constructed in Texas, and by 1859 the Menger Hotel was opened in San Antonio. A large black double dial Seth Thomas clock prominently stood in the lobby for guests and visitors, not only to check their pocket watch time, but also to read the day and date. Texas Governor Pease, who served six terms from 1853 to 1869, is believed to have obtained a tall case clock for the governor’s mansion. The case was made in Austin of metal covered wood and housed a two weight German movement.   Railroads demanded accurate time keeping  and Texas saw tremendous growth in trade and commerce from 1860 to 1890. The need for time keeping grew as nearly 8500 miles of railroad had been constructed and population spread to remote areas of the state. The telegraph was improved since its first demonstration in 1844, enabling the transmission of electric signals to any city willing to pay for the service. Usually the recipients of the signal were the prominent jewelers who displayed the time in their shop window for those few people with watches to check their time. Standard times zones were not established and most every locality set its own time by the sun. Railroads tried to make their schedules simpler by establishing railroad time along sections of their route. In 1883, since there were so many different railroad times, the US was divided into the four standard times zones as we use today. All of Texas was under the same time zone.

Texas has a lot of courthouses with clocks and is divided into 254 counties all with courthouses, sometimes called “Little Capitals”. Since there were very few clocks in early Texas, the courthouse clock soon became a feature upon which the largely agriculture society was dependent, and the courthouse clock was considered an integral part of their every day life. Historically, tower clocks in Texas courthouses became an important part of the social and political life of the community, for a large number of the settlers did not own timepieces. When new courthouses were constructed, provisions and money were included for an outside clock to please the taxpayers. The first three courthouse clocks were installed in the 1870s, and since then a total of 104 courthouses have been erected with tower clocks. The majority of these movements were manufactured by Seth Thomas and E. Howard and installed before 1900. Over the years most of these clocks have had the winding mechanism electrified, and during the late 1900’s there were 49 Texas courthouse clocks remaining. However. Recent trends has seen some of these old clocks refurbished and reinstalled either in the courthouse towers or in a conspicuous place on the first floor where these beautiful mechanical master pieces can be seen as they run and strike.

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Information and Maintenance Items for the Clock Owner

Phil Ball — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 19:50:43 +0000

There are certain tasks listed below that clock owners can preform to ensure proper running and time keeping of their clock, of course there are always clock repairmen willing to do these tasks for a fee.

How to Wind Your Clock?Most clock need to be wound once a week or daily. To do this, insert the key into the arbor protruding the dial and slowly turn the key in the clockwise direction or counterclockwise direction. When turned in the correct direction, the clock will produce a clicking sound indicating the correct winding direction. Continue to wind slowly until the key stops and you cannot turn it. Do not force beyond this point.
If you have a striking clock, then there will be a second winding arbor protruding the dial. Repeat the same procedure for the strike noting that this winding arbor may need to be turned in a different direction.
If your clock chimes at the quarter hour, then there will be a third winding arbor protruding the dial. Repeat the same procedure for the chime noting that this winding arbor may need to be turned in a different direction.

My Clock is Level But it Does Not RunA clock case can be physically level and the clock will not run because it is not in beat.
Putting a clock in beat means setting the clock up to give an even tick and tock sound, which produces its most efficient running condition.
To determine if the clock is in beat, start it and listen to the tick & tock as the case is slowly raised on one side and then the other; a wedge or shim placed under the side of the case works well. When the tick & tock is even or sounds about the same, the clock is in beat and will run the best.
If your clock is in beat and the case is not level, a part on the clock called the “crutch” needs to be adjusted to fix this condition, and adjusting the crutch should be left to an experienced clock person or just let it run in an unleveled state.  Also, the clock can be in beat and not run, meaning it needs service.

How to Regulate the Time of Your Pendulum Clock?There are two methods of adjusting the time regulation on your pendulum clock
1. Adjustment nut on the pendulum, if your clock has a small nut on the bottom or another place on of the pendulum, then use this method.   To adjust the regulation, the pendulum rating nut must be turned, and the amount depends on how much time the clock is in error. If your clock is off less than five minutes a week, you may only need to turn the nut a revolution or less. If the clock is off more, you may need to turn it more. To accurately adjust the clock, make the adjustments once a week when the clock is wound. If you do this and keep a record of how much it is turned each week, you should be able to adjust the clock’s accuracy to within a minute or two a week. Use the following rules to adjust the PENDULUM NUT;   If the clock is running slow, turn the pendulum nut clockwise to increase the rate.  If the clock is running fast, turn the pendulum nut counterclockwise to decrease the rate.
2. Adjustment on the dial, if your clock has a small arbor protruding the dial near the “12” or the “6” or perhaps in the center of the dial, then use this method. You will need smaller key to turn the rating arbor.   Some clocks will have a “S or F” by this arbor. For a ‘S-F’ mark, turn the arbor clockwise for faster and counter-clockwise for a slower rate. With a ‘F-S’ marking, adjust the arbor opposite as stated above. If there are no ‘S or F’ markings near the arbor, then use the trial and error method to determine the correction direction to make the time adjustment. Some times this adjustment can be turned too far; so do not force the adjustment if it tightens.

How to Synchronize the Clock Strike Mechanism?If your clock does not strike the correct number of times as indicated by the hour hand then use this procedure to correct it.   Before attempting to synchronize the strike mechanism, make sure the clock is wound (see instructions above).   Turn the minute hand clockwise to “6” and if “12” is passed, stop and let the clock strike. At “6”, stop and let the clock strike; if it does not strike one time, then move the minute hand pass “12” without stopping, and then stop at “6”. The clock should now strike once at “6”.
Now turn the hand to “12” and stop. Count the number of strikes and then carefully move the smaller or hour hand (grasp the smaller hand near the center arbor when turning) to that number on the dial. (Example, if the clock strikes five, move the hour hand to “5” on the dial). Your clock is now synchronized. Now the clock needs to be set to the correct time; turn the minute hand clockwise around the dial letting the clock strike at “6” and “12” until the correct time is reached.

Can a Clock Be Over Wound?If the winding procedure above is followed, then a clock in good operating condition cannot be over wound, there are probably other reasons it will not run.
Many people have been told at some point in their life that a clock can be wound too tight, and that probably extends to a situations where a clock that is badly worn will not run when it is fully wound. So, if your clock has not been serviced in many years, and is fully wound, but will not run, then in all probability it needs service.

How Often Should My Clock Be Cleaned and Oiled?Mechanical clocks in good operating conditions only need to be oiled each three to six years, depending on the environmental exposure or less often in a cleaner, cooler setting.
Clocks should be cleaned each 8 to 10 years, again depending on the environment. If cleaning and oiling is not done on a regular basis, your clock will wear more rapidly and other more costly maintenance remedies will need to be preformed.

How to Properly Move Your Grandfather Clock?It is important that the accessory components of the clock be handled correctly during the move. On clocks that have weights & pendulums with finished brass, use soft gloves or cloth when handling these components. Please read this entire move instruction before attempting the task.

Remove the pendulum from the clock.
If the clock has cable holding the weights, make a loose roll of newspaper about 2 inches in diameter and hold above the pulley as the weights are wound until they stop with the paper jammed above the pulleys. This procedure prevents the cable from tangling when the weights are removed.
For clocks with chains, raise the weights so the clock is about half wound (middle of the clock). Use a piece of thin wire to string the chains together just where the chains protrude below the movement seat-board and tie the wire together; this action will secure the chains so they do not come off the movement. Also, secure the chains so that they do not damage the finish.
Remove the weights and mark them so they can be replaced to the same position later.
For tubular movements, remove the tubes, and note their position for installation later.
Before moving the clock, ensure that the movement is mounted securely in the case. On some early English and American clocks, the movement just sets on two sideboards of the case. For these conditions, the movement should be removed from the case and stored in a safe place before moving the clock.
If the clock is to be moved to another room in the house, use a dolly or two-wheeled cart with blankets to protect the case finish.
If the clock is to be moved to another location, the case should be professionally packed in a rigid container and each the movement, weights and pendulum packed in separate boxes. For clocks with chime rods, secure them from vibrating by wrapping cloth around the rods and secure it with string or rubber bands.
Once moved, to set-up the clock in a new location, ensure that case will be positioned on a stable floor surface; carpets can be a problem if the case footing is not stable. The clock does not have to be absolutely perpendicular to the floor, but it needs to be stable and not rock. Some cases have leveling feet, or a small shim can to used to stabilize the case on the floor.
If the movement is out of the case, replace it in the same position it was before.
If the clock has tubular chimes install them now or if the clock has chime rods, remove the clothe from them.
Attach the pendulum just as it was before and place the weights in the same position as they were before the move. If a wire was used to secure the chains, remove it. If paper was used to hold the cables tight, remove it or just let the clock run for a day or so and it will fall out.
Simply start your pendulum swinging, and listen to the tick-tock sound. Raise the left or right side of the clock slightly with leveling feet or shims to get the tick-tock sound balanced.
Your grandfather clock is now in beat and your move is complete.
Wind the clock, set it to the correct time and enjoy it.
If all this sounds too complicated, call your local clock shop and they will do it for you.

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Clock Repair Classes

Phil Ball — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 20:45:53 +0000

Clock Repair Courses are available from the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC)

For students wanting to learn how to maintain their own clock collection.

1. The Field Suitcase Workshop Program offers a comprehensive program of clock courses where the instructors will travel to your location in the USA or Canada to teach classes. For details of the program visit: http://www.nawcc.org/index.php/workshops/field-suitcase-workshops

2. Chapter 124 of the NAWCC located in the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas area offers clock repair courses in Grapevine, Texas. For details of the program visit: http://chapter124.org/education/education.html

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Three Graces

Phil Ball — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 00:00:35 +0000

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French Boulle

Phil Ball — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 23:52:45 +0000

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Frenchafro Clocks of Yore

Phil Ball — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 02:10:39 +0000

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Frenchafro Clocks of Yore 2

Phil Ball — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 02:13:23 +0000

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Frenchafro Clocks of Yore 3

Phil Ball — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 02:15:22 +0000

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Tripplefusee

Phil Ball — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 02:17:44 +0000

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