hollyking: (Default)

Priscilla Mainspring
Originally uploaded by hollyking

Yesterday I started the evening with a box that contained a very dirty clock movement. I ended the evening with a box of parts that are cleaner and hope to one day put back together. I say cleaner because we used some solvent to remove the old oil, grease and grime from the works. There is still plenty of dirt left that will be taken off next time when I get to use the ultrasonic cleaner.

And now a bit of advice given to us in class yesterday:

Ten Commandments for the Clockmaker

  1. Thou shall let down mainspring power before disassembling movment.
  2. Thou shalt not prickpunch pivot holes.
  3. Thou shalt not splice broken mainsprings.
  4. Thou shall be frugal when lubricating pivots.
  5. Thou shall be generous when lubricating mainsprings.
  6. Thou shalt not oil teeth or pinions.
  7. Thou shal peg all pivot holes.
  8. Thou shalt not allow hammers to rise during warning.
  9. Thou shall examine click rivets.
  10. Thou shalt not call a dial a face.

hollyking: (clock tower)
I mentioned wanting to tour the King Street Station clock a while ago. Well I haven't forgotten. Using my uber Google-fu and some patience I've threaded my way through the city government. I have found the person I need to setup a tour of the tower. I'm going to call him soon to get an idea of how big of a group they can handle.

Right now there is the restoration construction interfering with a tour but something is possible. Who is interested in a tour? Do we want to tour now, knowing that parts will be off limits due to the construction? Tour after the construction is finished? Both?

Priscilla

Jan. 8th, 2009 08:48 am
hollyking: (clock strasbourg)

Priscilla Movement Front
Originally uploaded by hollyking
I give you Priscilla. My project clock for the "Clock Repair and Restoration" class I'm taking. You can see the whole set of pictures I took on my phone at Flickr.
hollyking: (clock strasbourg)
Tonight was the first session of my clock repair class. Such a blast! I arrived early and the instructor was there so I got about an hour of one-on-one time before other people showed up. There are 8 people taking this class. 4 of us have never done anything like this before and the others have taken the class before. The class is a workshop setting where you have access to tools and the instructor when repairing your clocks. Not having a clock I bought one of the "mystery boxes" for $10. Inside was some junk, but a few decent clocks that should be worth repairing.

The one I am using for my project has a good movement although the case is pretty ragged. It's also missing the dial, hands and the lens. All parts I can easily replace. The key thing about the movement is it's well built and I should be able to refurbish it for years of service. I will post some pictures I took with my phone soon. This weekend I hope to take quite a few more with the better camera. Right now the movement is pretty grimy because the clock used to be in a place with a wood or coal fire. There is soot all over the movement.

So there's the first quick report about my class. Tomorrow I'll try to look up some details about my project clock and post a better writeup on the class.
hollyking: (ahead full)

I know, I know... No more shopping online to soothe my mood. It's just that I've been looking for one of these clocks for years. I was reading about boat when I followed an ad to find that beauty. Maybe I should use it as a reward for being good and cleaning up all my debt.

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