Escapement

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...