Smiths Sectric wall clock glass removal

[Voxophone]

I've just got hold of a small Smiths Sectric wall clock which I'd like to get working. This is my first electric clock project and I'm not sure about the model numbers of these yet, but it's about 7" in diameter across the face and looks more or less like the one here: http://www.antiquesreporter.com.au/i...and39smith-sec

The clock was described by the seller as working, but I'll be doing some cleaning and electrical checks before powering it up. The main problem for now is that there is a large amount of sawdust type material behind the glass and covering the numbers.

The chromed surround and glass appear to be held in place by metal tags which go through the Bakelite to the back of the clock. I can push these through a little way and loosen the glass, but I cannot get them all the way through without forcing them and I'm not certain that I'm doing this right.

Is there a particular knack to removing the glass and surround from these clocks? Is it necessary to bend the tags to get them all the way through?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Liam

[Mike Phelan]

Should be OK to bend them as long as no-one has done this before.

[Voxophone]

I managed to get it off with a bit of twisting to the tags. I'm not sure what the sawdust material is or how it managed to get behind the glass though.

I'd also like to remove the movement for cleaning. Is it possible to do this?

[Mike Phelan]

Yes, but we don't know your expertise on doing this sort of thing.
To clean a clock it must be dismantled otherwise you're just rearranging the muck into the wrong places!
It will need lubricating with the proper sort of oil as well.

Whatever you do, keep WD40 away from it!

On the bright side, look up various threads about doing this on the Forum.
These clocks are probably the best ones to start on as they're fairly simple.

[Voxophone]

There’s no hurry really. I found a dismantling video for a similar mechanism on Youtube which suggested that the only way to remove it was to grind away the retaining rivets. I don’t fancy trying this if it’s not absolutely necessary.

I found that the coil measures 11k and after replacing the mains lead and lubricating with clock oil (not WD40!) the clock runs very well. Although the inner workings of the mechanism are not very visible in the case, they do not seem very dirty as far as I can see. I think I’m happy enough to leave it for now. At a later date I might have a go at removal and try to match some paint to cover one or two small chips on the face.

Thanks for your help.

Liam

[Mike Phelan]

Well done, Liam. Should give you no trouble now.

[ianm]

Originally Posted by Voxophone

the only way to remove it was to grind away the retaining rivets.

Seems to me that the smallest of the Smiths electric wall clocks do not lend themselves all that well to disassembly of the casing. A case in point was a 1950s 'Durban' model that I overhauled recently. I wouldn't wish to bend those four retaining tabs on the aluminium bezel too many times, or worse still, attempt removal of the dial.

[Voxophone]

Yes, they don't seem to be designed for disassembly. I'm not sure how you would access the coil if a rewind was required. Although the assembly can be removed, it seems to be sealed in a metal case.

On a different note, does anyone know a reliable way of dating these clocks? Mine has no 's' on the end of 'Smith' and a large 'T' in 'SecTric', which I think means it is an early model. So far I haven't been able to find a date on it however.

[mike_newcomb]

Hi Liam,
some photos would be nice to view.
Regards - Mike