German Hamburg Uhrenfabrik Clock Company Ca. 1920

Eight day Westminster chime.

 

The movement of this clock was cleaned, the spring barrels were removed and the springs were taken out for cleaning and re-oiling. There is an unusual hammer set-up on this clock.  Note how the striking hammers are suspended below the movement and connected with chains.

The movement was quite a challenge to remove from the case. As you can see, there is not much wiggle room once it is nestled in the case.  I recall having to fit the hammer assembly after the movement was in place.

Nice robust clock work and a relatively small case for such a large movement.

This was a relatively easy cleaning project as the spring barrels could be removed without disassembling the plates. One simply pulls the winding arbor out and the barrels can be removed from beneath.

Two mantle clocks. Unknown makers. ca1920-40

Many goods manufactured outside the UK in those days were simply marked as ‘Foreign.’

These clock movements were most likely made in a western European country and shipped to the UK where they were fitted into cases manufactured in the UK by the distributor.

Above top, you see the only triple chime clock in my collection.  Not a particularly grand example but the chimes are definitely a refreshing change after hearing Westminster on the majority of my chiming clocks. The clock has options for Westminster, St. Michaels, & Whittington Chimes…

Notice the eight chiming rods and hammers required to play the chimes. Also, not shown in this photo is the enormous spring barrel that is almost twice the size of the time and the strike spring barrels, a feature I only noticed upon cleaning the movement.

The example above bottom is a simple time & strike 8-day clock.

Junghans Parlor clock Ca 1900

Large parlor clock made by Junghans of Germany.

 

These clocks were made in two or three styles and the movement was used in several styles of Junghans clocks. This clock has two small dials at the top of the face for ‘silent & chime’ and ‘fast & slow’ adjustment.  The fast and slow adjustment is achieved by a cam that is attached to the back of the ‘fast & slow’ hand. When turned the cam pushes against a lever that raises or lowers the pendulum suspension spring thus raising and lowering the pendulum itself.

Very well engineered robust movement, quality engraved heavy gauge brass face, nice case work with beveled glass makes this a favorite of mine.

Junghans Mantle clock. Ca 1930.

‘Bim-Bam’ striking clock. 8 day.

The clock was very clean when I received it except that some grease or oil had hardened around a couple of the time train pivots causing the clock to stop intermittently.

I recall feeling particularly lazy on the day I repaired this clock not wanting to do any more than the bare minimum to get the thing working. I dropped both the mainspring barrels out (easy on these newer designs) and pulled the plates apart just enough to clean the time train wheel pivots without disturbing the Strike side. The movement of this clock was extremely clean. It just goes to show how just a little thickened oil can cause a problem even when a clock looks a clean as a pin!

Junghans Westminster Chime mantel clock. Ca. 1900.

A large walnut mantle clock.

It is typically good Junghans quality. I have done little to this clock other than some cosmetics and oiling. The large clock body offers a big sound board upon which the chime rod housing is mounted. Without seeing this clock one would think it was a grandfather clock chiming….very cool!

 Westminster Chime clocks are hard to live with as they chime on every quarter. I can only have one of these running in my home for a few days before I have to put it away. I much prefer the time and strike clocks for everyday practical use.

German FMS Mantel Clock. c.1900

 A very large German mantel clock.

This one is a little unusual in that one can see the pendulum through the beveled glass window in the front of the clock.

Time and strike movement is of reasonable quality. I like the large sound of these strike-only clocks. Good rule of thumb: the larger the case, the better they sound. This one has a very high quality gong.

 

I completely stripped the movement on this one to clean and rebuild it. The springs were excessively dirty because someone had packed the spring barrels with grease which had hardened over the years.

Not sure who the maker is on this one; there is an eagle on the face with the initials ‘FMS.’ No marking at all on the movement.

Tambour-style German Mantel Clock. ca 1900.

A Tambour style German mantel clock.

Tambour-style mantel clock

 This clock looks rather plain. However, the attraction for me was the size. This clock has a 7-inch diameter dial, so you can see that the case is massive for a Tambour clock.

I have restored the case and rebuilt the movement. Most of my case work involves simply stripping off the old shellac varnish. After sanding down the finish, I  will apply a stain and then recoat with a fresh shellac finish.

Once a case is completed, I then refit the dial, all the case hardware, and the movement. Having done all that with this example, I was still not entirely satisfied with the quality of the finish on this it!

M. Winterhalder & Hofmeier bracket clock. ca 1890.

A very high quality German bracket clock with walnut case and beveled glass.

 

This clock strikes the quarters with one chime for ¼ past 2 chimes for ½ past and 3 chimes for ¼ till the hour. The hours all strike on a single gong and the quarters on a double gong.
The movement in this clock is of the highest quality. Fine gear work, thick plates, top quality materials and high tolerances. The clock is regulated from the clock’s face. The small dial at the top of the face is to regulate the clock.

The hand is attached to a small cam that sits behind the face plate which, in turn, is connected via a lever assembly to the suspension spring. The lever raises and lowers the suspension spring which is attached to the pendulum. Thus, the clock advances and retards according to the position of the small hand on the dial ‘fast & slow’.

This clock will require some TLC. I will get around to dismantling and cleaning the movement. You will also notice that at least one of the striking hammers is not original and there is some shoddy soldering work on the hammers that will need some tidying up.

A few small pieces . . .

A collection of three (3) English mantle clocks c1930-40.

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Smiths Enfield and Bentima were popular brands sold widely throughout the UK in the 30’s and 40’s. Most major retail stores would have carried Enfield or Bentima clocks. These clocks were used as everyday time pieces, placed above the fireplace in thousands of homes in the UK. Today, they are widely available and can be purchased very reasonably at auctions and antique shops.

Inner label of mantel clock, promising cleaning and repair upon returning to one of Bravington's Ltd. four London locations

This type of clock holds little interest to me now. As with most horologists, my interests have expanded beyond this type of timepiece. However, to keep things in perspective, I have examined movements from current manufacturers such as Hermle and Kieninger and I can say without a doubt that even these ‘lower end’ vintage clock movements are by far superior to current clock movements.

Keeping in mine that these can be picked up for under $50 at auction, a new clock would start at $350….I know what I would buy!!

German mantel clock. circa 1890.

This is a recent acquisition and the first clock I have rebuilt this year (2009).

2009 Mantel Project

Chiming clocks resonate just like musical instruments: the larger the case the grander the resonance of the chime, just like the hollow body (sound box) of a guitar. I prefer larger clocks for this reason.

This clock, as with many of my mantel clocks has a large wooden case. I was taken by the unusual oval shaped dial and the wooded bezel.

The clock was not chiming when I purchased it at an auction. The repairs where very easy, nothing more than stripping down the movement and reassembling it after a good cleaning.

There was, however, a small personal goal accomplished when working on this clock. I always use a digital camera to photograph the movement in close detail, step-by-step as I dismantle it. Then, I use the photos as a reference tool to help me reassemble the movement after cleaning. In this case, I was able to reassemble the movement without referencing any of the photos.

One problem, however, was that, upon inspection, I was unable to see any markings on the wheels or pinions to assist with the synchronization of the striking train. As such, it all came down to trial and error. One must sync the wheels so that the striking hammer lever is between the lifting pins. Otherwise, the hammer will be left partially elevated between strikes. After three partial disassemblies, I got it right!!

I have enclosed some photos taken as the movement was disassembled.