I am a former clock repair man now in my 79th year. I have become too fumbly and my eyesight no longer is good enough for close work. You are a true craftsman and also a fine UA-cam presenter and you have gained a new subsriber today! I am perplexed to see that you know clock work well enough to calculate a movement specific beat, yet you re-used the nails that some amature used to fasten the plates instead of the more appropriate steel taper pins? Please continue to keep this lost skill alive and enlighten perspective clock repairers on UA-cam! 28:55
Thanks for the kind words! Since this was my first time working on a movement that used pins, I didn't realize that the pins were actually nails. I didn't pay that much attention to them and didn't question what I was seeing. It's just simply ignorance on my part. There is so much to focus on with restoring a clock that I seem to always overlook something that's obvious to everyone else. It's all part of the journey and learning process. Always more to learn! Thanks for watching and subscribing!
Your passion lies in repairing a beautiful old clock, but professionally, you're a computer guy. Living and working in the digital age, while respecting and restoring a very old analog timepiece from the eighteenth century. My hat is off to you, sir.
Watching you broach those bushings fired up a memory that you might find useful - in the 90's a friend of the family (long since passed now, sadly) repaired clocks as a hobby. I was in his workshop one day while he was also broaching bushings. I noticed as he placed the broach in the hole that he slipped a small ball bearing on as well. He then held the bearing as he rotated the broach. The broach stayed dead straight through the entire process. The bearing had a short piece of aluminium rod pressed into it and the centre drilled out, turns out that small hole would accomodate every broach he used due to their taper. A simple little bit of absolute genious.
Deffo a repainted dial. I have an Ansonia version of this clock here, which I bought 18 years ago. It's been running fine and keeps excellent time. Mine also has the original key. Thanks for sharing your skills with this - it looks great. Take care. Michael in England.
Excellent video. Well done. I live in western Connecticut and drive through Thomaston now and then. The old brick factory is still there, although the clock in the video probably pre-dates it. I will look at that old factory building with different eyes now. Thank you.
Yeah that was my question to you? How do you remember how it goes back together? That's where I would get frustrated? Not remembering the way it was before? Thanks for sharing this with us, God bless you and have a great day
I've been tinkering with clocks myself for 18 months and thoroughly enjoyed this video. Those pins holding the movement together looked, to me, like old nails rather than proper taper pins. I've only done a few bushings but I prefer to use a reamer to cut the hole back to round. On my first clock, before I got an ultrasonic cleaner, I scrubbed the oily plates and wheels with mineral spirit and got that blue/purple discolouration. Some metal polish removed it nicely. I used Brasso but some people speak rather unfavourably about that when it comes to clocks.
Thank you, and thanks for the info! I wondered if those pins were nails as well, but I wasn't sure. Especially since this is the first time I've worked on a clock like this. Thanks for watching!
My Grandfather was a machinist thru the 40's - 50's and later in retirement he took on restoring old clocks and other antiques. He had a workshop in his basement where he did all that stuff. We still have some old clocks from then. Unfortunately those 2 clocks are just falling apart. They got moved from the west coast to Florida 30 years ago and the changes in temperature and humidity has all but destroyed them. It's to bad too because they are... well.. were pretty nice. Anyway: he had small lathes and other tools related to machining small parts for that stuff. He did the wood work and all that too. Your doing some nice work sir. Thanks.
Great video. Thanks! The face was hand painted. I have a Seth Thomas school regulator, octagon-faced case, that my mother hand painted the face to restore it back in 1964. It took her 12 hours straight. Still looks fantastic.
The best videos I’ve seen on veneer and stain matching is Thomas Johnson antique furniture restoration. He will stain match and apply finish and sometimes stain on top of that and apply finish again. He does great work
A very nice restoration. Your narration was also excellent; very informative at a good pace with pauses here and then. I'm looking forward to future videos as well as your previous catalogue.
Looking forward to watching this later this evening. I have several "Ogee" clocks amoungst my modest collection of these 19th century Connecticut clocks. Thank you for putting this together!
I now have a Seth Thomas clock that looks almost exactly like yours. I got it when my dad passed away. He had it for about 60 years. It hadn’t run for the last year he had it after being pushed up against a wall. I cleaned and oiled it, replaced the pendulum and the weight string. ( I didn’t fully take it apart as you did.). The bob looks to be original like yours. Runs fine now. I do not wind the chime weight. I grew up listening to that hourly gong, and don’t care to hear it anymore. You did a great job on the woodworking. Your clock face looks better than mine. On mine the paint is chipped in spots. Mine doesn’t have the weight pulley covers. I will do as you did and make two to keep the dust out. Thank you for an informative and helpful video.
Good job getting it running again! It's okay that you didn't dissemble the movement. Even though it is the proper way to really clean and inspect things, it's best to do what you're comfortable digging into at the time. I take things a step at a time since I'm learning as well. Maybe one day you'll get the itch to completely dissemble and clean the movement. Thanks for sharing and for watching!
3:00 My guess is that this is the original dial since all the dimensions and the holes fit perfectly but that it probably was repainted at some point. To verify that I'd look at the back and, from what I can tell, at 3:18 you can see both older paint in the background below the new coat of paint. I would assume that most of the old paint on the front of the dial would have been sanded off but you could always check for surface anomalies with a magnifying glass just in case it wasn't.
I watched the whole video twice and learned a lot from your rescue and rebuild of this 1860's OG. She ticks and strikes again thanks to your efforts. Well done.
Awesome! I'm glad you liked it! I put a lot of work into fixing it, filming, editing, etc. I do everything by myself, so it takes a while to get a video ready to upload. Thanks for watching!
I have a very similar clock hanging on my wall. Nice to hear the history. My weights are also not original. My dad drove the clock down to the states (Ilinois?) From Manitoba to have it repaired (~1980s) and new weights made as his we're lost. This clock belonged to my great grandfather in Starbuck Manitoba.
Completed a spring driven American wall clock this year. polished All pivots and rebushed most. You might want to make the bushes tighter, 0.001”+ is better Measure pivots for steps and taper wear. Mostly on higher speed pivots such as escape wheel. Your phone App was very interesting. Clock sounds pretty good 👍
Thank you! Since this is a hobby, I try not to spend too much money on equipment. Plus, it also shows that other people can try to repair clocks too without dropping thousands of dollars. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for posting this. I have the exact same clock, and yes the bob is the same. I I cleaned and oiled the movement years ago and it is time to do it again. These are beautiful timepieces.
I'm so glad you made this video! Today, I will be working on the second clock I've ever tackled, and it is a Seth Thomas Ogee! I especially appreciate your reaming demonstration. Very helpful. Many thanks!
That's awesome you're getting into this hobby! I hope my video helps you. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. Thanks for watching!
That was a beautiful restoration. It does look like to me that the face plate was "restored" at some point, but it still looks old and works perfectly with the clock.
Here's a tip: these will run on nearly any weight you throw on them. I have a 1850s Chauncey Jerome Ogee, and when I got it i didn't have any weights. So i used quarters in old spice jars for about a year, and it ran better than any mechanical clock i own or any of my watches. It ran for eight months without adjustment and was only a minute fast. Recently i have gotten the original weights, and now i have to completely retune the thing, however I am excited to see how it runs with them!
We had the exact twin to your clock in our home. Pasted inside was a newspaper clipping giving a recipe for treatment for rattlesnake bites. The recipe included gunpowder. The dial plate in our home & the glass door had hand painted decorations. The white paint on the dial was much more yellowed than the one in your video. We still have the clock.
Great job, I really enjoyed the video. I live in Thomaston and own one of their mantel clocks and one of the more modern wall clocks a lot of great history here in New England.
I have two of these Ogee clocks (Jerome & Co.) , sadly one with cracked glass but the others intact but needing the veneer. So nice to see your repair. Inspiring to get it done. The glass door scenes are fascinating.
I use a homebrew clock cleaner in the ultrasonic cleaner. It uses ammonia, isopropyl alcohol, a tiny amount of natural soap, and demineralised water. The advantage of the ammonia is that it shines up the brass real nice. I do rinse the parts afterwards with demineralised water and then isopropyl alcohol to prevent any residue. Like the restoration!
Great to see you are back making videos. This is an awesome channel and very inspirational. The quality of your work is amazing and it was cool seeing you go from a beginner to what I would consider a professional. I have fixed several anniversary clocks for my collection and I think you have inspired me to try and service a cuckoo clock that I have. The challenge will be adjusting the warning pin and stop lever since this will be my first movement with a strike feature.
Yeah, life has been busy the last couple of years. My hobbies are lower priority and have taken a back seat. I'm trying to find more time to work on this stuff. I really appreciate your kind words. I try to show the evolution of my progress, mistakes, and all, while also showing that others can do it too without dropping thousands of dollars on fancy clock repair tools. The striking mechanisms on clocks can be tricky sometimes. The link below has been super helpful for me. I would suggest you read everything on that page. Even though the mechanism described on the page is different for a cuckoo clock, the same theory and basic operation are the same. mb.nawcc.org/wiki/Encyclopedia-Subjects/Clock-Repair/Count-Wheel-Basics Thanks for watching!
Really enjoyed this. I've only braved getting into the movements of some old clocks; don't have the wood working skills to tackle the cases. Enjoyed seeing that part. I bet you'd enjoy Jerry Keiffer's discussions of bushing with a milling machine (Sherline mini mills) on the NAWCC forums. Just another way to do it to ensure perfectly centered holes, though your technique certainly seemed to do the job.
You want to polish the pivots before putting bushing in or even measuring. A lot of times there would be groves in pivots that need to be polished off and sized to the new bushing hole. The cord is a bit long it should have no slack when weights are on the hooks. this is how you know if you are using too much cord and too much gets wrapped around the spool. you always want tension on the cord at weights fully down.
I looked at the pivots under a microscope, and they seemed fine. I've never polished pivots before, though. It's something I still need to learn how to do. Regarding the cord length, I read that there should be a few winds of cord on the spool when the weight is at its lowest. So, that is what I did. Thanks for the tips and for watching!
I could’ve sworn I commented on here, but I guess either it never posted or I can’t see it. Either way, excellent presentation, and fantastic restoration! You earned yourself a like and new subscriber!
Yeah, I don't know. Sometimes, weird things happen with the comments. Sometimes, my replies don't go through and have to do it again. Thanks so much for the kind words and for subscribing!
Hi! The blue-purple patina is also what happened to my parts (though I work on wristwatches). I used to clean watch parts in 60C for 10 minutes, but then I reduced the time to 6 min, and the problem disappeared. I left the temp the same. Hope my similar experience helps :)
38:22 Could it be that someone had re-varnished the case at some point with a brush? In which case it is either varnish or shellac. Did you check whether the old veneer was covered with shellac or varnish? It might be that the original finish was shellac but subsequent layers of both varnish and shellac were applied. So what is on the glass might be a mixture. Btw I think shellac was used for attaching glass bulbs to their bases (although I might have gotten this completely wrong) in which case shellac would have made for a really strong glue to use on glass.
Yeah, I tested a small area on the case to see if shellac was used. I was leaning towards the glass was extremely dirty at one point, and someone cleaned the glass and smeared caked-on dirt to the outer edges, which subsequently dried into a thin hard film. I also thought it might have been the finish, but I figured the user is more likely to be negligent compared to the manufacturer. Either way, it's all cleaned off now. Thanks for watching!
Thanks! I have a link in the description for the app I use for Android. You can also just use a simple beats per minute app, but that kind of app won't show other fancy calibration metrics. Thanks for watching!
It’s also recommended to oil the ratchet rivet and put a small amount of thick clock oil or light grease on the ratchet wheel where the click interacts
Wonderful restoration. The reamer demo was especially informative! Thank You. Why did you keep the nails in the movement posts instead of replacing them with tapered pins?
I noticed that, too. I edit and narrate everything on my phone. My phone's microphone must be doing something strange. I'll have to see how I can fix it.
When matching veneer shape, try using a piece of painters tape over it, rub it with a pencil, it will transfer the shape on to the tape. I learned that from an antique restorer
These clocks were a common present brought to Sweden by emigrants returning to visit their relatives in "the old country". One can find them in yardsales and auctions in Sweden and Norway. They are called "Amerikaklockor" (American clocks). People were very proud of them and the husband was the only one who were allowed to wind them.
In the future you may want to try to save as much of the original veneer as possible to use in the really small areas, such as the miter point just to the side of your repair. The repair will be absolutely invisible and true to the original. Most items of this age would have been glued with hide glue. That is easily loosened with a little heat and moisture. Consider using hide glue on your veneer repairs since it is reversable. You don't have to use the flaked stuff there are commercial liquid hide glues available. Painters tape can make a good template for your repair area by rubbing the edges to create a crease, then transfer the tape to the new veneer and cut.
I have to make sure but I believe that I have that same clock from my great grandmother's house. I have 2 old clocks that both need a restoration performed.
I did have one shot at the end, but I didn't do multiple angles. You're right, though. It would have been good to show more of that at the end. I'll make sure I focus more on that in my next video. Thanks for watching!
I actually prefer the weight driven clocks . Less to deal with in many aspects. I use ammonia and water heated in my ultrasonic. Nice job on the restoration.
I am mostly surprised at how much slop is called for in the pivot holes. As to your veneer repairs, you did a good job. Perhaps you might be able to pick up a few tips on the tinting process by checking out Thomas Johnson Antique Furniture Restoration here on youtube? Over the years he has shown many different methods of tint-matching veneer on his projects. Enjoyable video, glad I watched it through. Have a good one o/
I think that dial was replaced, it looks to new and there is even indicators someone made as to if they were using indicators to help replace the paint, dial
Yeah, I couldn't find another picture online where I dial looked exactly like this one. There are some similar dials, but I couldn't find any thar matched this one.
Beautiful clock and GREAT restoration! The wonderful thing about fixing that veneer is that wood isn't ever consistent - so a little variability is normal - and your repair disappeared beautifully! NICE work! Question - The bushings you installed - it looks like there were already bushings there - Could you just replace those, or is that just some sort of pressing in the original brass plate? Maybe to correctly align the holes for drilling when it was made?
Hello, Sir - I have a type of Seth Thomas with the day and date faces that Lincoln had in the White House. (Also featured in 'Seven Days in May') It has an 1876 patent date and and has worked alright but needs veneer repair and a general tune-up. What would be the ballpark cost to rehab it, etc.?
I'm not sure what someone would charge to do that. I work on clocks for free as a hobby. I have seen prices around $300-400 to have a clock professionally worked on. Then, add the cost of repairing veneer damage on top of that. It can be quite a bit, I would imagine.
Hi, nice video and well done. Just some comments: One job to restaurant old stuff is to eliminate the previous unprofessional attempts to fix it. The old steel pins look like nails. Tapered brass pins are more appropriate for that. The bearing fit is way to loose.
Yeah, unfortunately, what might seem obvious to some can get overlooked by me because of my lack of experience and knowledge. I don't know what I don't know, so ignorance is something I try to improve with each project. Had I realized those pins weren't right, I would have replaced them. Thanks for watching!
The brass parts have begun to blue. This is due to heat. You might want to lower the heat a bit to keep this from happening. Those pins that hold the movement together looked like old nails. They should be tapered brass pins.
Ah, good to know. I'm going to lower the heat and the time a bit next time. I wondered if those pins were nails. I guess I should have looked more into that. Thanks for the info and for watching!
![1870s Circular Sock Knitting Machine [Restoration]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rAFlLEoFilM/mqdefault.jpg)
![1870s Circular Sock Knitting Machine [Restoration]](/img/tr.png)
If you would like to get exclusive Watch Overhaul perks and also support the channel, check out www.youtube.com/@WatchOverhaul/join. Thank you!
I am a former clock repair man now in my 79th year. I have become too fumbly and my eyesight no longer is good enough for close work. You are a true craftsman and also a fine UA-cam presenter and you have gained a new subsriber today!
I am perplexed to see that you know clock work well enough to calculate a movement specific beat, yet you re-used the nails that some amature used to fasten the plates instead of the more appropriate steel taper pins? Please continue to keep this lost skill alive and enlighten perspective clock repairers on UA-cam! 28:55
Thanks for the kind words! Since this was my first time working on a movement that used pins, I didn't realize that the pins were actually nails. I didn't pay that much attention to them and didn't question what I was seeing. It's just simply ignorance on my part. There is so much to focus on with restoring a clock that I seem to always overlook something that's obvious to everyone else. It's all part of the journey and learning process. Always more to learn! Thanks for watching and subscribing!
Your passion lies in repairing a beautiful old clock, but professionally, you're a computer guy. Living and working in the digital age, while respecting and restoring a very old analog timepiece from the eighteenth century. My hat is off to you, sir.
Thanks for the kind words! I really appreciate it. Thanks for watching!
I work in IT also. anachronistic things and working with my hands is a great destressor..
Watching you broach those bushings fired up a memory that you might find useful - in the 90's a friend of the family (long since passed now, sadly) repaired clocks as a hobby. I was in his workshop one day while he was also broaching bushings. I noticed as he placed the broach in the hole that he slipped a small ball bearing on as well. He then held the bearing as he rotated the broach. The broach stayed dead straight through the entire process.
The bearing had a short piece of aluminium rod pressed into it and the centre drilled out, turns out that small hole would accomodate every broach he used due to their taper.
A simple little bit of absolute genious.
That's a great idea! Thanks for sharing that and for watching!
Deffo a repainted dial. I have an Ansonia version of this clock here, which I bought 18 years ago. It's been running fine and keeps excellent time. Mine also has the original key. Thanks for sharing your skills with this - it looks great. Take care. Michael in England.
Hi Michael! Thanks for the information. I was leaning towards the dial not being original. It just looked too nice. Thanks for watching!
Excellent video. Well done. I live in western Connecticut and drive through Thomaston now and then. The old brick factory is still there, although the clock in the video probably pre-dates it. I will look at that old factory building with different eyes now.
Thank you.
I'm really glad you liked the video! That's neat that you live so close to the old factory. Thanks for watching!
Yeah that was my question to you? How do you remember how it goes back together? That's where I would get frustrated? Not remembering the way it was before? Thanks for sharing this with us, God bless you and have a great day
I reference the video I have if I need help. Thanks for watching!
I've been tinkering with clocks myself for 18 months and thoroughly enjoyed this video. Those pins holding the movement together looked, to me, like old nails rather than proper taper pins. I've only done a few bushings but I prefer to use a reamer to cut the hole back to round. On my first clock, before I got an ultrasonic cleaner, I scrubbed the oily plates and wheels with mineral spirit and got that blue/purple discolouration. Some metal polish removed it nicely. I used Brasso but some people speak rather unfavourably about that when it comes to clocks.
Thank you, and thanks for the info! I wondered if those pins were nails as well, but I wasn't sure. Especially since this is the first time I've worked on a clock like this. Thanks for watching!
You did a beautiful job bringing that clock back to working service!
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
My Grandfather was a machinist thru the 40's - 50's and later in retirement he took on restoring old clocks and other antiques. He had a workshop in his basement where he did all that stuff. We still have some old clocks from then. Unfortunately those 2 clocks are just falling apart. They got moved from the west coast to Florida 30 years ago and the changes in temperature and humidity has all but destroyed them. It's to bad too because they are... well.. were pretty nice. Anyway: he had small lathes and other tools related to machining small parts for that stuff. He did the wood work and all that too. Your doing some nice work sir. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing that. Maybe you can try to fix them up. It's a lot of fun. Thanks for watching!
Great video. Thanks! The face was hand painted. I have a Seth Thomas school regulator, octagon-faced case, that my mother hand painted the face to restore it back in 1964. It took her 12 hours straight. Still looks fantastic.
Thanks for the info! Yeah, I can imagine it would take a really long time. Thanks for watching!
Thanks!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!
I really enjoyed the different aspects of restoration you used. The mechanical, the woodworking, the duck bath!
I will be back for more...
Thank you! It was a lot of fun working on this clock. Thanks for watching!
Really nice mix of wood working and mechanical repairs, making a really interesting story. Looks great and I bet it will keep good time too.
Thanks! It keeps really good time right now. Thanks for watching!
The best videos I’ve seen on veneer and stain matching is Thomas Johnson antique furniture restoration. He will stain match and apply finish and sometimes stain on top of that and apply finish again. He does great work
Thanks! I'll check it out. Thanks for watching!
A very nice restoration. Your narration was also excellent; very informative at a good pace with pauses here and then. I'm looking forward to future videos as well as your previous catalogue.
Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for watching!
Looking forward to watching this later this evening.
I have several "Ogee" clocks amoungst my modest collection of these 19th century Connecticut clocks.
Thank you for putting this together!
You're welcome! I hope you like the video. This was my first encounter with a clock like this, and it was a joy to work on.
I now have a Seth Thomas clock that looks almost exactly like yours. I got it when my dad passed away. He had it for about 60 years. It hadn’t run for the last year he had it after being pushed up against a wall. I cleaned and oiled it, replaced the pendulum and the weight string. ( I didn’t fully take it apart as you did.). The bob looks to be original like yours. Runs fine now. I do not wind the chime weight. I grew up listening to that hourly gong, and don’t care to hear it anymore.
You did a great job on the woodworking. Your clock face looks better than mine. On mine the paint is chipped in spots. Mine doesn’t have the weight pulley covers. I will do as you did and make two to keep the dust out.
Thank you for an informative and helpful video.
Good job getting it running again! It's okay that you didn't dissemble the movement. Even though it is the proper way to really clean and inspect things, it's best to do what you're comfortable digging into at the time. I take things a step at a time since I'm learning as well. Maybe one day you'll get the itch to completely dissemble and clean the movement. Thanks for sharing and for watching!
3:00 My guess is that this is the original dial since all the dimensions and the holes fit perfectly but that it probably was repainted at some point. To verify that I'd look at the back and, from what I can tell, at 3:18 you can see both older paint in the background below the new coat of paint. I would assume that most of the old paint on the front of the dial would have been sanded off but you could always check for surface anomalies with a magnifying glass just in case it wasn't.
I'll take a second look and see. Thanks for watching!
I watched the whole video twice and learned a lot from your rescue and rebuild of this 1860's OG. She ticks and strikes again thanks to your efforts. Well done.
Awesome! I'm glad you liked it! I put a lot of work into fixing it, filming, editing, etc. I do everything by myself, so it takes a while to get a video ready to upload. Thanks for watching!
I have a very similar clock hanging on my wall. Nice to hear the history. My weights are also not original. My dad drove the clock down to the states (Ilinois?) From Manitoba to have it repaired (~1980s) and new weights made as his we're lost. This clock belonged to my great grandfather in Starbuck Manitoba.
Very interesting! If you want to find weights that look more original to the clock, I found many on eBay. Thanks for watching!
Lovely restoration, and plus the knowledge you have in these watches.
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
Completed a spring driven American wall clock this year.
polished All pivots and rebushed most.
You might want to make the bushes tighter, 0.001”+ is better
Measure pivots for steps and taper wear. Mostly on higher speed pivots such as escape wheel.
Your phone App was very interesting.
Clock sounds pretty good 👍
Thanks for the tips and for watching!
The clock came out wonderful. Someone will be able to enjoy it for another millennium.
Thanks! It should definitely run for a long time now. Thanks for watching!
Very informative video, and great job on showing how to rebush a pivot without expensive equipment. Keep up the great work!
Thank you! Since this is a hobby, I try not to spend too much money on equipment. Plus, it also shows that other people can try to repair clocks too without dropping thousands of dollars. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for posting this. I have the exact same clock, and yes the bob is the same. I I cleaned and oiled the movement years ago and it is time to do it again. These are beautiful timepieces.
Cool! It's nice that yours is running well. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for the demonstration and explaining your process.
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
As a weight cord, i used the cord from a Batminton-driver, and it works very fine! Very nice work!!
Very interesting! Thanks for watching!
A very good video. I have my great grandfathers Ogee clock that he purchased in 1873 (he wrote it inside the clock).
Thanks! It's cool he wrote the date on the clock. Thanks for watching!
I'm so glad you made this video! Today, I will be working on the second clock I've ever tackled, and it is a Seth Thomas Ogee! I especially appreciate your reaming demonstration. Very helpful. Many thanks!
That's awesome you're getting into this hobby! I hope my video helps you. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. Thanks for watching!
I have the same clock except by Ansonia. Interesting clock and powered by weights within the box.
That's interesting! They are nice clocks. Thanks for watching!
Wow very good video. I like how you are methodical in your approach and solution finding. I will be checking out your other videos. Well done. Cheers
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
Awesome restoring. Very nice job. Take care.Thanks 😊
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
A relaxing and rewarding hobby. I enjoy the problem solving when deal with these old mechanisms.
I agree! Thanks for watching!
This was really pleasant video to watch and listen to.
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
Best notification of my day
Thanks! That means a lot!
A superb clock restoration to start my Sunday morning off and very relaxing to watch. Cheers watch overhaul.
Thank you so much! I'm glad you found it relaxing. That is what I was going for. Thanks for watching!
That was a beautiful restoration. It does look like to me that the face plate was "restored" at some point, but it still looks old and works perfectly with the clock.
Thanks! Yeah, parts of it look hand painted. Thanks for watching!
Here's a tip: these will run on nearly any weight you throw on them.
I have a 1850s Chauncey Jerome Ogee, and when I got it i didn't have any weights. So i used quarters in old spice jars for about a year, and it ran better than any mechanical clock i own or any of my watches. It ran for eight months without adjustment and was only a minute fast. Recently i have gotten the original weights, and now i have to completely retune the thing, however I am excited to see how it runs with them!
Thanks for the info and for watching!
@@WatchOverhaul No problem, I love the videos! They're really entertaining and relaxing.
Beautifully done .cheers mate from Australia 🇦🇺
Thank you! 🙂
We had the exact twin to your clock in our home. Pasted inside was a newspaper clipping giving a recipe for treatment for rattlesnake bites. The recipe included gunpowder. The dial plate in our home & the glass door had hand painted decorations. The white paint on the dial was much more yellowed than the one in your video. We still have the clock.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Editing added extra fun to overhaul, thank you 🙏.
Thank you so much, and for watching!
Wonderful restoration, looks new.
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
Great job, I really enjoyed the video. I live in Thomaston and own one of their mantel clocks and one of the more modern wall clocks a lot of great history here in New England.
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
I have two of these Ogee clocks (Jerome & Co.) , sadly one with cracked glass but the others intact but needing the veneer. So nice to see your repair. Inspiring to get it done. The glass door scenes are fascinating.
Sounds like you have a great opportunity to fix them up! I'm glad you liked the video, and thanks for watching!
I use a homebrew clock cleaner in the ultrasonic cleaner. It uses ammonia, isopropyl alcohol, a tiny amount of natural soap, and demineralised water. The advantage of the ammonia is that it shines up the brass real nice. I do rinse the parts afterwards with demineralised water and then isopropyl alcohol to prevent any residue. Like the restoration!
Thanks for the tip and for watching!
Great to see you are back making videos. This is an awesome channel and very inspirational. The quality of your work is amazing and it was cool seeing you go from a beginner to what I would consider a professional. I have fixed several anniversary clocks for my collection and I think you have inspired me to try and service a cuckoo clock that I have. The challenge will be adjusting the warning pin and stop lever since this will be my first movement with a strike feature.
Yeah, life has been busy the last couple of years. My hobbies are lower priority and have taken a back seat. I'm trying to find more time to work on this stuff. I really appreciate your kind words. I try to show the evolution of my progress, mistakes, and all, while also showing that others can do it too without dropping thousands of dollars on fancy clock repair tools. The striking mechanisms on clocks can be tricky sometimes. The link below has been super helpful for me. I would suggest you read everything on that page. Even though the mechanism described on the page is different for a cuckoo clock, the same theory and basic operation are the same.
mb.nawcc.org/wiki/Encyclopedia-Subjects/Clock-Repair/Count-Wheel-Basics
Thanks for watching!
It's beautiful job well done.👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
Really enjoyed this. I've only braved getting into the movements of some old clocks; don't have the wood working skills to tackle the cases. Enjoyed seeing that part. I bet you'd enjoy Jerry Keiffer's discussions of bushing with a milling machine (Sherline mini mills) on the NAWCC forums. Just another way to do it to ensure perfectly centered holes, though your technique certainly seemed to do the job.
I'm glad you liked it! I've visited NAWCC forums quite a bit. I'll take a look at those discussions. Thanks for watching!
Nice sympathetic restoration, just repairing obvious damage and bringing back functionality. We'll done. Should give many years of service again.
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
Excellent job and video!!
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
lovely clock and lovely work. as a collector of clocks, thank you for rescuing it :3
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
19:07 it’s recommended to use the tighter bushing in this case and broach it out from both sides after pushed into the place
That's good to know. Thanks!
Fantastic overhaul
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
@@WatchOverhaul hi, where are you located? I have a clock I've like to overhaul as well. I live in Toronto ON.
You want to polish the pivots before putting bushing in or even measuring. A lot of times there would be groves in pivots that need to be polished off and sized to the new bushing hole. The cord is a bit long it should have no slack when weights are on the hooks. this is how you know if you are using too much cord and too much gets wrapped around the spool. you always want tension on the cord at weights fully down.
I looked at the pivots under a microscope, and they seemed fine. I've never polished pivots before, though. It's something I still need to learn how to do. Regarding the cord length, I read that there should be a few winds of cord on the spool when the weight is at its lowest. So, that is what I did. Thanks for the tips and for watching!
What a wonderful job on this clock and a great video. Thanks so much for sharing your journey!❤
Thank you! I'm glad you liked the video, and thanks for coming along the journey with me!
It took me some 10 minutes to realize that you and not me have a rain outside :) Thanx, interesting
Haha, yeah, it was raining some when I was filming. Thanks for watching!
I could’ve sworn I commented on here, but I guess either it never posted or I can’t see it. Either way, excellent presentation, and fantastic restoration! You earned yourself a like and new subscriber!
Yeah, I don't know. Sometimes, weird things happen with the comments. Sometimes, my replies don't go through and have to do it again. Thanks so much for the kind words and for subscribing!
I have on occassion when replacing veneer, used a very fine sharpee to match the grain if needed. Nice video
That's a good idea. Thanks for watching!
Hi! The blue-purple patina is also what happened to my parts (though I work on wristwatches). I used to clean watch parts in 60C for 10 minutes, but then I reduced the time to 6 min, and the problem disappeared. I left the temp the same. Hope my similar experience helps :)
Hey! That's really good to know. I'll reduce the time on the next one. Thanks for watching!
Superb job ,Looks great .
Thank you!
nicely done!
Thanks!
Well done sir!
Thanks!
Very interesting & beautiful! Thanks for sharing your skills & artistic eye.
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
38:22 Could it be that someone had re-varnished the case at some point with a brush? In which case it is either varnish or shellac. Did you check whether the old veneer was covered with shellac or varnish? It might be that the original finish was shellac but subsequent layers of both varnish and shellac were applied. So what is on the glass might be a mixture. Btw I think shellac was used for attaching glass bulbs to their bases (although I might have gotten this completely wrong) in which case shellac would have made for a really strong glue to use on glass.
Yeah, I tested a small area on the case to see if shellac was used. I was leaning towards the glass was extremely dirty at one point, and someone cleaned the glass and smeared caked-on dirt to the outer edges, which subsequently dried into a thin hard film. I also thought it might have been the finish, but I figured the user is more likely to be negligent compared to the manufacturer. Either way, it's all cleaned off now. Thanks for watching!
Great Vid in all ways. Thanks for sharing Your work.
Thanks for the kind words and for watching!
Amazing video ❤
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
Very enjoyable!
I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!
Great job on the clock! I have yet to find an app that will test the calibration of a clock. All the apps are for mechanical watches......
Thanks! I have a link in the description for the app I use for Android. You can also just use a simple beats per minute app, but that kind of app won't show other fancy calibration metrics. Thanks for watching!
Very Well done... Fantastic
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
Great work
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
It’s also recommended to oil the ratchet rivet and put a small amount of thick clock oil or light grease on the ratchet wheel where the click interacts
Thanks for the tip. I didn't realize I should do that, but I can see why that would be a good idea!
Wonderful restoration. The reamer demo was especially informative! Thank You. Why did you keep the nails in the movement posts instead of replacing them with tapered pins?
Thanks! I didn't realize they were nails at the time. Seems obvious now that some have pointed it out. Thanks for watching!
Realy nice job!
Thank you!
Thank you so much
👍Thanks for watching!
love it bro, thank u
I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!
not sure if its just me but it seems like your voice is louder in the right channel. i use headphones so i might be more sensitive to these things
I noticed that, too. I edit and narrate everything on my phone. My phone's microphone must be doing something strange. I'll have to see how I can fix it.
Precioso video ojalá estaría aquí para q me arreglase mis relojes, antiguos , sería fantástico
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
When matching veneer shape, try using a piece of painters tape over it, rub it with a pencil, it will transfer the shape on to the tape. I learned that from an antique restorer
That's a good idea! Thanks for watching!
@ beautiful job on the clock too!!
Thanks!
First class video.
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
A good way to know if the hole you put to center is centered check to see if it’s circular equaled wear = perfect circle
👍
These clocks were a common present brought to Sweden by emigrants returning to visit their relatives in "the old country". One can find them in yardsales and auctions in Sweden and Norway. They are called "Amerikaklockor" (American clocks). People were very proud of them and the husband was the only one who were allowed to wind them.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing and for watching!
In the future you may want to try to save as much of the original veneer as possible to use in the really small areas, such as the miter point just to the side of your repair. The repair will be absolutely invisible and true to the original. Most items of this age would have been glued with hide glue. That is easily loosened with a little heat and moisture. Consider using hide glue on your veneer repairs since it is reversable. You don't have to use the flaked stuff there are commercial liquid hide glues available. Painters tape can make a good template for your repair area by rubbing the edges to create a crease, then transfer the tape to the new veneer and cut.
Thanks for the tips! I'll keep that in mind if I have to go through this process again. Thanks for watching!
I have to make sure but I believe that I have that same clock from my great grandmother's house. I have 2 old clocks that both need a restoration performed.
That's cool! Maybe you can get them fixed up. Thanks for watching!
I wish you had given us a shot of the whole clock when it was done.
I did have one shot at the end, but I didn't do multiple angles. You're right, though. It would have been good to show more of that at the end. I'll make sure I focus more on that in my next video. Thanks for watching!
Very interesting thankyou
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
I actually prefer the weight driven clocks . Less to deal with in many aspects.
I use ammonia and water heated in my ultrasonic.
Nice job on the restoration.
It was nice that I didn't need to worry about dealing with springs this time. Thanks for watching!
I am mostly surprised at how much slop is called for in the pivot holes.
As to your veneer repairs, you did a good job. Perhaps you might be able to pick up a few tips on the tinting process by checking out Thomas Johnson Antique Furniture Restoration here on youtube? Over the years he has shown many different methods of tint-matching veneer on his projects.
Enjoyable video, glad I watched it through. Have a good one o/
Thanks! I'll check it out. Thanks for watching!
I think that dial was replaced, it looks to new and there is even indicators someone made as to if they were using indicators to help replace the paint, dial
Yeah, I couldn't find another picture online where I dial looked exactly like this one. There are some similar dials, but I couldn't find any thar matched this one.
Trabalho primoroso!
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
Beautiful clock and GREAT restoration! The wonderful thing about fixing that veneer is that wood isn't ever consistent - so a little variability is normal - and your repair disappeared beautifully! NICE work!
Question - The bushings you installed - it looks like there were already bushings there - Could you just replace those, or is that just some sort of pressing in the original brass plate? Maybe to correctly align the holes for drilling when it was made?
Thank you! It looks like there are already bushings there, but the metal is just stamped on one side to form an oil sink. Thanks for watching!
@@WatchOverhaul That makes sense! Thanks!
Hello, Sir - I have a type of Seth Thomas with the day and date faces that Lincoln had in the White House. (Also featured in 'Seven Days in May') It has an 1876 patent date and and has worked alright but needs veneer repair and a general tune-up. What would be the ballpark cost to rehab it, etc.?
I'm not sure what someone would charge to do that. I work on clocks for free as a hobby. I have seen prices around $300-400 to have a clock professionally worked on. Then, add the cost of repairing veneer damage on top of that. It can be quite a bit, I would imagine.
That was really good that.
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
Nice job I work on clocks too. And my son's a software engineer too travelers
Cool! They are fun to work on. Thanks for watching!
Hi, nice video and well done. Just some comments: One job to restaurant old stuff is to eliminate the previous unprofessional attempts to fix it. The old steel pins look like nails. Tapered brass pins are more appropriate for that. The bearing fit is way to loose.
Yeah, unfortunately, what might seem obvious to some can get overlooked by me because of my lack of experience and knowledge. I don't know what I don't know, so ignorance is something I try to improve with each project. Had I realized those pins weren't right, I would have replaced them. Thanks for watching!
Good video
Thank you!
Du beau travail. 😎
Thank you, and thanks for watching!
I have the same clock. I had to take off the front and get the hour bing to work. I walked by at 7 PM and the clock was dinging very quiet.
That's good you got it working again! Thanks for watching!
thanks you very much at your video ///i am from MOROCCO
Thanks for watching!
The brass parts have begun to blue. This is due to heat. You might want to lower the heat a bit to keep this from happening. Those pins that hold the movement together looked like old nails. They should be tapered brass pins.
Ah, good to know. I'm going to lower the heat and the time a bit next time. I wondered if those pins were nails. I guess I should have looked more into that. Thanks for the info and for watching!
I have one that needs a little tlc. Would consider repairing my mantle clock.
You should try fixing it up. It's fun! Thanks for watching!