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Clocks, Watches/Seth Thomas mantel clock

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Expert: - 12/4/2009


Question

SethThomas
Hello, I was given a Seth Thomas mantel clock. The movement had been tampered with but I managed (I think) to reassemble it correctly. It seems to be missing the part that holds the pendulum to the movement (spring?). Do you have an idea, by looking at the pictures, of what should go there? I have looked on the Internet for that movement but did not find anything. One thing I think may be worth mentioning is that it was bought from Henry Birks & Sons Ltd. Montreal, Canada. (You can barely see it in the picture but it is written on the dial). I hope you can help me.

Math

Answer
Mathieu, you have a broken suspension spring.  I am not sure of the size of the suspension spring, as there are different types made and only one will work properly.  I see in a couple of the photos that the top block of the suspension spring is still in the post.  Do you possibly have the bottom half of the suspension spring which would be a block similar to the top except it would have a horizontal pin in it instead of just a hole.  Also there should be a couple of thin spring leaves attached to the bottom block.  If you do have the parts and can put the two halves together to photograph and measure, I could possibly determine which suspension spring to use.  I will also forward your photos to my Internet Clocksmiths Group and see if anyone has one of these in their shop that could enlighten me.  To help free up the Allexperts question queue, you can reply to my shop email address below and then I can give you the details.


John Newman
THE VILLAGE CLOCKSMITH
Old Prattvillage
Prattville, Alabama
klokdok@juno.com

(Due to the number of Allexperts questions and
the workload I have at my clock shop, I regret
that I cannot answer personal email questions on a timely basis
other than Allexperts follow ups.)

John Newman

Expertise

As much as I would like to offer values of clocks, I am not a certified appraiser and will not venture into giving an unresearched guess. There is very little published information on what I consider to be the value of "modern production clocks". Considerations are what the clock originally sold for, the condition of the case and movement, and particularly the area in which you live, the demand and the economy. ALSO, WATCHES ARE NOT MY FIELD. However, I can advise the clock owner on proper maintenance of a clock to keep it running, small corrections and adjustments and how to move a clock without damaging it. I can also advise on obtaining parts for clocks. It helps if you can send any information on the clock movement which is usually found on the back plate of the movement. I have been a clockmaker for about 35 years and was plant engineer in the mid 90's and later operations and engineering consultant at Emperor Clock Company in Fairhope, Alabama. I now have my own clock shop.

Experience

One of my greatest accomplishments was traveling to China to assist a clock factory in building clocks to the standards which we required. With the proper specifications and quality control, some beautiful clock cases were built. The factory people from the wood carvers to the plant manager were very congenial, friendly and I left a lot of wonderful friends when I returned from my trips.

Organizations
Chamber of Commerce Small Business Committee

Publications
Horological Times, a publication of the American Watch and Clockmakers Instute. Collaberated column author, with Photos and ideas for clock movement conversion article.

Education/Credentials
Associate of Science Mechanical Engineering Technology Emperor Introductory Clock Repair (Eventually taught a portion of the class after becoming employee)

Awards and Honors
Small Business of the Quarter (Prattville, Alabama) Leadership Class of 2009 (Autauga County, Alabama)

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