with great terpidation…

[stevefitzwater]

Today, I am finishing up a Sessions Dulciana movement, I am dreading my next project, a Seth Thomas 120L movement that my mother asked me to repair, what makes this movement so special is my maternal grandfather was a watchmaker, and this is one of his personal clocks that always sat in his living room. While I have serviced several dozen clock movements since I first took Bob’s course, this one causes me great trepidation, while the others have presented a challenge that intrigued me, this clock, the clock that my grandfather serviced and choose as his own, has been placed in my hands to be serviced and restored, the emotional impact is overwhelming as I look over the clock before I start to break it down.

My grandfather passed in 1976, when he passed, I was offered his tools (all of his grandchildren were, in hopes of carrying on his work), at that time I was 15 and while I had spent some time with him working of clocks, watchmaking was on the bottom of page ten of my “have to do” list and never moved up until I started to realize my mortality with all of my health issues. My grandmother gave me his everyday watch after he passed, nothing special value wise, but priceless emotionally. It still sits in a drawer with my other watches and pocket watches. One day, I will restore it, but I let it sit for now, most likely for the same reason I am looking at this clock as if it is made of crystal and scared to death to mess it up. My grandfather was a very strict disciplined person, maybe that is where the trepidation is coming from, or that I am afraid I will not measure up to his standards.

I’ll get some images up, not poster size as Chris calls them.. 😆

[chris mabbott]

Piece of pie Steve, or is that cake.. Whatever.. You can do you can do it. It’s one of those things where you Psyche yourself up to mess up, really, I’ve done it, others have done it… Trick is, treat it like any of the movements you’ve tackled successfully, hypnosis helps but so does a relaxing shoulder massage by your other half,while whispering sweet words of blissful encouragement into your pearl like ear 😆

[bernie weishapl]

Steve it is just a clock. As a repair person that is the way you have to look at it. I have both my grandfathers pocket watches and my dads. My grandmother gave me her 2 clock because no one else wanted them and I always wound them whenever I was there. So just study the clock and treat it as you would if Joe blow brought it in.

[maitai11]

Steve,

Sounds like you’ve got enough experience, and with the encouragement of the guys, to do this without a hitch. At some point, I will have the honor of restoring my grandfather’s prized pocket watch. I anticipate the job with a great sense of pride and service to him, in his stead. He was not a watchmaker, but loved trains, and acquired a railroad watch for his own.

Peer into the clock; your grandfather worked on it with his own hands. Listen to the lessons he would be teaching you, were he sitting to one side of you – who knows – maybe he’ll be right there guiding your very capable hands. After you get past the nerves, this, I am guessing, will become one of the great, highly symbolic things you do in your lifetime. To follow in his footsteps, and with such a personal clock and job, is something many, many people would love to do for their very own.

Have a great time with your granddad.

Best,

Tim

[stevefitzwater]

Thanks for the support, I dis-assembled the clock late last night, I am a night owl, I worked the graveyard for the better part of 25 yrs (11 pm to 7 am), while the last 5+ years prior to being disabled, I worked a swing shift, so I still slip into that time frame very easy.

Like I said the clock had sat for several years, my mother got it when my grandmother passed in 2002, and she said it was not working then. The main springs were “shot”, when I released them I got 2 turns max, before I had released them, I had I tried to wind it fully. At some point it appears someone had oiled the mainspring in an attempt to release it, it was saturated, not sure who, but once I started to pull them out of the barrels, they released more, so they must of been “stuck”. New Mainsprings ordered, everything else looks in great shape, looks like the last time he worked on the clock, he re-bushed all of the pivot points.

Broke out the 800, 1500, & 2500 grit sandpaper (working at a 3M Sandpaper facility has it advantages, I get everything pennies on the dollar) to polish the barrels and remove the build up, looks brand new

And yes Tim, you were right, I was talking to him the whole time, and no Chris he did not answer.

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