newbie on board from UK

[stuboy57]

Hi all, I’m Stuart from Cambridgeshire here in the UK…turned the big 60 earlier this year….. so glad I have come across and joined this forum after signing up for the online course….main interest is mantle clocks, westminster chiming clocks, French clocks and carriage clocks, infact any clock that takes my fancy……got into clocks about 18 months ago after I got an old mantle clock working that I brought about 10 years ago (overwound) from a local auction for £2.00, it sat about for 10 years and I finally took the movement out, cleaned all the muck and grime away, re-oiled and the clock was ticking away and chiming…..that was it I was hooked, so I brought several more and managed to get them working with a lot of trial and error on the way….but it was a learning massive learning curve so as I got more experience I went smaller, alarm clocks, travel clocks etc learning all the way……..but now I like mainly Westminster Chiming Clocks and French Mantel Clocks.
This is my latest purchase a French “Medialle De Bronze” marble mantleclock which I think dates from 1890, which I picked up locally for £18.00……all complete with key and pendulum, movement needs a clean so do I clean and oil the best i can without taking apart or do I strip it done and rebuild?….plus what is the best way to clean and restore an old marble clock casing?
I’ve still got a lot to learn so hopefully you guys can help with my projects…thanks in advance

[ticktockshoppe]

Hello Stuboy

I don’t know much about cleaning marble cases so I won’t attempt to contribute anything along those lines but I always strip clocks and watches complete down for cleaning. This is the only way I can throughly check the pivots and other internal components for wear or distortion. I know that there are those who feel that movements can be cleaned assembled using an utrasonic machine but my experience, especially with watches is that larger dirt particles and things like lint and hair become tangled up inside and can not move out of the movement.
Maybe someone else on the forum can answer your question about marble cases. My technique is probably not a good one! I would also be interested to know the best way to deal with them.

Cheers,
Ian

[willofiam]

Hello and welcome stuboy57, you guys over there get great deals on some really nice clocks. @stuboy57 wrote:

do I clean and oil the best i can without taking apart

Like Ian mentioned…it is always best to completely disassemble. I just put a video on my website for customers to see that when a clock needs cleaning, most all the areas that would cause friction and or problems can only be accessed by taking the movement apart, so it is a good idea to practice that…. @TickTockShoppe wrote:

I know that there are those who feel that movements can be cleaned assembled using an utrasonic machine

. I too have heard this, also have seen them with the mainspring barrels full of water of some kind of liquid from this practice….it just doesnt work… you can cause more damage than good in the long run…

Nice looking clock, I love the Brocot escapement and those French clocks. I cant tell for sure but it looks like the exit pallet is not quite right. If your interested I made a couple of videos dealing with those…not that they are anything special but I have received good responses. YouTube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FtJi-IrADs

Paul on here is really good with cases, hopefully he chimes in.

Have a great day, William

[Author]

Posts