Florrie - 1940's mantel clock

Another little job we have been working on is this clock which is called "Florrie". It is the name given to this small 1940's mantel clock. She strikes on a gong and for her age ticks along quite nicely. Not bad for an old lady!.

Florrie

German Vienna Regulator

German Vienna clockface

Clock pallet

German Grandmother clock

Let me introduce you to a German grandmother I met recently. Well, not quite your average older lady it must be said. This one announced every quarter hour on her Westminster chimes; and if you like levers, she had plenty of them. Made by a company called Junghans it was quite a nice clock. The only problem wss it had a most complicated (well to me at any rate), chime correct mechanism. Most three train clocks have them, to stop the chime sequence being for ever out of step with the time on the dial. Should they get "out of sequence", the clock has a mechanism that stops all chiming until the next hour, when it puts itself back in step with the hands. This clock had a most elaborate arrangement which clearly wasn't working when I received the clock. I think the last repairer must have given up. And I must admit I nearly did the same. It relies on a hook catching a pin on a wheel, to hold it until the hour comes round. The problem was, if the pin started too far away, by the time the hook started the lift, the pin went underneath it and missed it. Too near and it ended up being on the wrong side of the hook and couldn't be grabbed. When you have so many wheels to get in their pivot holes, trying to get that one wheel in exactly the right place would test the patience of any saint. Still in the end, after many unholy words and utterances, it worked. But why do horologists have to make things so complicated?

Grandmothers clock face

A not so simple lever system

Cleaned and working

Before cleaning

Three train bracket clock

Clockface

Three train bracket movement

Broken tooth in need of repair!

German ting-tang
Lest it should be thought that only longcase (grandfather) clocks are repaired here at Rectory Clocks, here are a few other clocks that have been received recently. Firstly the German ting-tang. Who doesn't like a ting-tang. Westminster chime clocks are alright, but after a while they can get on your nerves, especially when they start to run down. But the ting-tang never fails to disappoint. With its gentle single ting-tang on the first quarter, two ting--tangs on the second quarter, three at a quarter to and then at the hour the ting hammer is lifted aside, and the clock just strikes the hour on a single gong! Ingenious.

German ting-tang clock face

Ting-tang movement

Longcase clean and repair
Longcase clocks are often thought of as the "tractors" of the horological world because of their size. They are however on the whole nice to work on, not least because of their age and history. However, just occasionally you come across one that has more than its fair share of problems. This clock was probably made around 1780 making it a very early white dial longcase. When it arrived I think that must have been the last time it was cleaned. This poor old clock had suffered some terrible repairs such that abuse might be a more accurate word. Still after hours of cleaning and repairing it is now running once again.

In need of some cleaning!

From the other side

After cleaning!

Clockface

 Holtum of Coventry Longcase

A longcase by Holtum of Coventry, although no one seems to have heard of him! It is quite a nice clock but has had a hard life. Originally countwheel striking as you would expect for a clock of this age (around 1720), someone decided to update it to rack striking! Oh well I guess the owner might have wanted the latest innovation. Then someone probably a century later, decided this clock would never have had such a striking mechanism, so they decided to convert it back! The poor old clock! Still it works, although one of the teeth on the minute wheel decided to give up the ghost.

Clock face
 

Minute wheel missing a tooth

Minute wheel halfway through repair

Repaired and cleaned minute wheel

Kamerer Cuckoo Clock
How's this for a cuckoo clock, not your average one, that's for sure. It was made by a German manufacturer called Kamerer. They were famous for "Trumpeter" clocks, where a little man came out through the door and "blew" his trumpet to sound the hour, rather than a cuckoo. They are in fact very rare. So back to this clock. You cannot help feel sorry for the cuckoo who has been confined to his home for the last 50 years as the clock hasn't been working. Then to cap it all he has caught a nasty dose of woodworm! Still with the bellows repaired, some of the missing levers replaced, he makes a noise once more. Unfortunately his front door is missing and he doesn't come out very far, but that may be he is conscious of his appearance!

Kamerer Cuckoo Clock once repaired 

Kamerer Cuckoo Clock movement

Alarm Clock
How's this for an alarm clock. Never be late for work again! Every sound sleeper should have one of these. Fixed to the wall of the bedroom, it would have you out of bed in seconds, that is provided your heart didn't give out! Actually it wouldn't look out of place in the local fire station, and also might come in handy at the general resurrection! Made by the Hamburg American Clock company it makes a noise that cannot be ignored. I'm not sure of the target market for a clock of this type, perhaps it was just for the office. This particular clock had a broken spring, although the alarm still worked With the movement cleaned and a new spring fitted it is now ready to be sold to someone who is either a sound sleeper or as deaf as a post.

Alarm Clock

American steeple clock with alarum

An American steeple clock that had seen better days. The dial had been repainted rather crudely and the case had been covered with black paint. During the cleaning of the movement, the owner was happy for the paint on the case to be removed.

The clock restored to its former glory! We were all startled with what we discovered underneath! The dial was professionally repainted using the original dial plate.

 

Longcase clock by Furnival of Oldham

White dial longcase clock dated around 1790.

They said it needed cleaning!

After cleaning

The end product

400 day anniversary clock

An anniversary clock before repair.

The anniversary clock after the repair