Escapement

In our last episode your local horologist had an opportunity to do a very modest adjustment of an 18th century English-style (and actually Dutch) tall case clock. Paul and Jane had reached out again... The clock was ticking away just fine but now they reported a couple new issues. Our Dutch friend was sometimes a strike behind, meaning that it is was striking 7 times at 8 o'clock, 3 times at 4, etc.  But only sometimes.  Hmm... Also the moon dial was not turning and had before. OK.  YLH went over to take another look and after discussing the issues above it was agreed that the clock needed to come back to the shop.  Important to note is that the movement and related works can be serviced without the case. A recent addition to the shop was a tall case movement stand custom made by  Johnson Arts . An additional feature of sliding panels proposed by the Johnson Arts majordomo proved to be invaluable in the accommodation of the extremely wide placement of the cabl...

The recent service on Ed's tambour clock by your local horologist caught the interest of another clock owner and that's how we met Peter Green. In a manner of speaking. Jane met me through Ed and asked if I would consider looking at an old family tall case clock. Very old. A few days later, drawn like a moth to a flame, your lepidopterological clock nut visited the home of Jane and Paul here in the Peninsula area. Whoa. This was an 18th century, English bell strike and chime, brass dial, tall case clock. Three enormous weights for Time, Strike and Chime. Six bells for the chiming and one giant one on top for the strike.  Plus a calendar ring and a beautifully hand-painted moon dial.  Wow. The name Peter Green elegantly inscribed on the brass dial. In a very large, old oak case. Probably well over 7 feet tall. Here is the face of the clock with the hood removed. Breathing restored, your clock doc asked... S'up? Turns out the clock has stopped running. They can start it but ...

Your local horologist had never replaced a movement before. Well there's always a first time! In our last episode we reviewed options for Ed's Seth Thomas Tambour clock. Replacement seemed the best choice but research was needed. There are few makers of mechanical movements still cranking out new versions. Hermle movements are most commonly found in clocks manufactured in the last 50-60 years and their movements are most commonly used for replacements. Your movement researcher came to understand that there are very few new movements made with balance wheels (like the one in Ed's clock) and the options for selecting one of those was quite limited. Furthermore, as much as the design of the Tambour is attractive, it is also a bit cramped in the case so... Etc., etc., etc... Turns out the basic dimensions of the movement is of a standard size still in use today. Excellent. And there is a balance wheel version that is made today. Excellent. Your local horologist also knows tha...

Friend Ed asked your local horologist to stop by and look at his Seth Thomas mantel clock and about a month ago this horological perambulator did just that. Ed's clock is an early 1970's vintage of a Tambour design, sometimes called a Napoleon's Hat. You can get your own Napoleon's hat but wearing one is not required for Tambour clock service (though would be fun). A few years back your correspondent wrote about a Seth Thomas Tambour he himself had stalked and finally bagged in Carmel Valley Village.  Here is a snap of it as found in the wild prior to acquisition. First introduced in the 1910's the Tambour design became very popular in the 1920's. Your clock hunter's example above is an early model, "1916" marked on the bottom of its case.  Tambours are rather simple but elegant and as designs evolved they began to cleverly incorporate a very compelling feature in their beguilingly modest look. The wide base of the case can accommodate quite long...

As mentioned in our  last episode , several years ago this clock collector was lucky to have acquired a beautiful  French silk suspension clock , circa 1860 (very late in the era of silk suspensions), and learned much about the idiosyncrasies of its movement during restoration. A welcome  comment  to that last episode posed a question about affixing the brass block to the rod of the silk suspension pendulum that your cross-country horologist had acquired specifically for the Tole clock. And to answer that... well...  It's all about power. Some backstory... Your correspondent greatly enjoys the field of horology, especially the workings of mechanical clock movements. Working on older clocks full of history and mystery... very gratifying indeed. Now clocks can break down in myriad ways but most clockmakers will tell you that the most common reason an older clock has slowed or stopped working is that the clock is no longer transmitting enough power to ope...

Mitchell reached out a few months back. He was looking at a local auction in New Jersey and saw a clock that he liked. Despite being relegated to only seeing it in photos, right away, your clock collector liked it too.    It's called a Tole clock.  Tole comes from the French term/phrase "tole peinte de lac" which roughly translates to "painted tin." Tole painting was the rage all through the 1800's when many everyday items like trays, utensils, coffeepots... even furniture, were decoratively painted in rich styles. Martha Stewart  calls the painting style "folk art" but she's a heathen and is referring more to the American examples of Tole painting. A subcategory of Tole was born in the design and painting of clocks. Typically these clocks are housed in large metal cases, decoratively painted and a with loop (called a "bow" in watch vernacular) on the top. This Google search shows some good examples.  Here's a fine early French ...