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Clocks, Watches/Mitchell Shelf Clock

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Expert: - 2/16/2010


Question
I have a George Mitchell shelf clock that was built about 1825 and was in my wife's family but never ran in the 50' and 60's.  About 20 years ago I drilled out the elongated holes in the plates, glued in dowels and made new holes for the "axles" of the gears.  It has run fairly well since then.  About 3 weeks ago it stopped.  I've done a lot of adjusting and it will run for about 3 hours and stop.  If I move the front plate a little it will run again for about 3 hours and stop again.  My dowels and holes still look good.  Any suggestions?

Answer
Bob, sounds like you did  good job on replacing the bushings in the plates.  I have not gotten into wood plates too much.  In the discussion within our Internet Clocksmiths Group on wood plate clocks, I have heard of using a special hard wood (don't remember which species), pewter/lead or ivory.  Of course in restoring a vintage clock of an age such as yours, it is best to use parts and do the restoration as close to the original as possible.  Just for some possibilities of causes, the holes you drilled could be a little off (clockmakers use a rather expensive device called a depthing tool to relocate the holes) and you could have some teeth binding after a little wear has taken place.  Also there could be some binding in the pivots (ends of the axles we call arbors).  I'm not sure what you mean by moving the front plate, but it seems there is some excessive resistance somewhere.  One thing you can do is to mark all of the wheels (gears) so that when it stops each time, there might be a mark that is in the same position each time it stops.  This possibly would indicate where a resistance point is.  Use some type of mark that can be removed after diagnosing.  Keep the clock as original as you can!  Make sure that when the pendulum swings you have an even beat which sounds like tick....tock....tick....tock.  If it goes tick..tock......tick..tock, it is out of beat and will eventually stop depending how much out of beat it is.  Other than that, I would suggest you take it to an experienced clock maker who understands the importance of restoration, no matter how small, that a clock such as yours should receive.  If you do have any more questions or think of something else that might contribute to the problem, let me know.  If I think of something else, I will do the same.

John Newman
THE VILLAGE CLOCKSMITH
Old Prattvillage
Prattville, Alabama

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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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