Expert: John Newman - 12/3/2011

Question
hi john

for urgos 9 tube UW03042B movement (i am building a clock using this):

1.  i bought a face/dial with only one hole for the hour/minute hands.  i am assuming that the holes for the three winding keys are the same as that hole.   what is the size of the hole for the second hand?  also i need the second hand and the small round 'face??' with small numbers (5 to 60) for the second hand.  where could i buy these items if available?   

2.  i am assuming that the tube lengths (38 31/32 to 59 1/16) you mentioned in one of the prior posts, are for the westminster, st michael and whittington, and could be used for a 1 inch pipe.  is this correct?  i am planning to use the 1" electrical (EMT) conduits for chimes.  
 
3.  is there a moon gear (for this movement) available with 30mm OD? This is the distance that I measured from the center of the hands to the wheel (teeth) on the dial/with moon.

4.  where could i buy the minute and hour hands and nut that will fit this movement?
   
thanks and regards

Answer
Al, the questions you ask require specific answers unique to your clock.  This basically requires checking resources for the actual parts you have to match.  I will try to answer generally which way you need to go.

1.  As far as the dial goes, it might be better to find one that matches your movement specifically, which would involve the correct mounting posts for length and location, winding arbor and seconds hand holes.  This has to be an exact match.  If you modify yours, the hole sizes are 3/8" for the winding hole grommets.  They have to be placed right on the centers for the winding crank.  I have found that a step-drill is the best way to cut the holes.  I have never measured a seconds hand hole but would estimate that it would be 1/8".  It has to be precise in location or the seconds hand stem will touch and stop the clock.  Seconds hands can be obtained from clock supply houses*.  Make sure that the hole in the stem is the correct size for the second hand arbor and that the length is correct.  Many times when replacing, I have to do a custom fit.  The seconds bit dial is rather difficult to find.  I do not have any catalogs with me as I am not at my shop now.  I have actually removed them from damaged dial assemblies to find a match.

2.  A nine tube set is correct for the triple chime function.  There are some movements that require only eight tubes, using the last tube for the strike.  I do not remember the exact lengths of the all of the chime tubes I had mentioned earlier.  I would imagine that the lengths you stated would be the range for your clock.  Of course I don't know the length of the case.  Tubular chimes are made from a special brass (some nickel-plated) which is an alloy of metals with specific ratios in the formula.  You can use 1" conduit, but I do not know what type of sound quality you would get.

3.  To determine the correct moon dial drive gear, you need to know the number of teeth and the collet center hole diameter for the particular movement you are using.  You might have to ask the suppliers* if they can help you.  When I have a missing drive gear, I have to fit by trial and error from salvaged gears I have to insure the teeth mesh properly with the moon dial gears.  Sometimes I have to modify the collet hole to fit, either by drilling or inserting a sleeve.

4.  I believe I do have the hands for that movement, possibly the seconds hand.  I will have to do some checking when I return to my shop next week.  The hand nuts for the are very scarce.  The suppliers* offer assortments, but sometimes the one you need is not included.  I don't know right now if I have one.

*You can locate clock supply houses by naming them in your search engine.  Some I use are, Timeservers, R&M Imports, Black Forest Imports, Merritts, Mile-High,  Some of them have On-line catalogs.

I hope this helps a little.  Contact me at my shop email address below, as I do not conduct sales or discuss prices on the Allexperts site, which is specifically for advice.  I only offer these items if other resources are difficult to obtain.

John Newman
THE VILLAGE CLOCKSMITH
Old Prattvillage
Prattville, Alabama

klokdok@juno.com

Note:  Because of the number of Allexpert questions and follow ups,
and the excessive backlog in my shop, I regret that I can only answer
the Allexperts related questions in a timely manner.