Pandemic, DAY 2042…it seems. Came down to the end of 2020 with to much vacation that I had to take. During my time off with no where to go or be, I tackled the one thing that I have been putting off for years and years. Fixing my mom’s antique mechanical 1930’s clock.
Computers and digitial technology come easy to me. But this mechnical, gear, laden device frightens me. I’ve looked at it many times over the years only to be daughnted by the other worldly sight of the mechanism, wood, and seemingly impossible magic involved in how it works. How did the world ever run on such things?
Seesion hasn’t made a mechanical clock since 1935. My mom bought this clock around 1965 in an antique store. The story goes that it never ran right and required folded pieces of paper to “level” it and function. Some time in the early 1970’s, it was broken by one of us boys. This clock hasn’t worked for 45+ years. The time mechanism hasn’t done more than a few ticks in a least couple of decades and only when I open up the back and manually swing the pendulem. The glass is gone. The hands are broken. The wood has lots of “character”.
First stop, getting the mechanicals working. You can find and learn anything on YouTube. I was able to release the one coil I believe was just wound to tight and had locked in place. Once the coil was fixed, I oiled everything well and reinstalled the mechinism. There are hindged attachements on each screw that all the workings to be leveled inside the clock. Once I had that figured out, I was able to get it running.
Touched up the wood with some oil, used toothpaste to polish up the tin face plate, and egan researching parts on the internet. Took some doing and a bit of luck, but I found the right glass and hands on ebay.
Installed the parts. Took a few days for me to figure out how to realign the hour hand with the correct chime count….that was interesting. Now have a working clock on my mantle. I am glad this wasn’t to difficult of a project.
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