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Old 30th Nov 2016, 4:34 pm   #1
Nickthedentist
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Default Repair of a 1957 Smiths 9" Bakelite wall clock

This clock appeared on the forum in May, in a post from a new member, Tucker16:
https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...d.php?t=126885

She'd rescued it from a friend who was throwing it away, and wanted to know what to do with it. A few PMs and one PayPal transaction later, and it was on its way to the home for unloved clocks which is my house. Liz' packing was excellent - a big, stout box with loads of bubblewrap.

Barrie Smith's book identified the clock as the Adelphi model which appears in Smiths' 1957 catalogue. It uses the same design of moulded Bakelite case as its pre-War Delhi predecessors, but the typeface on the dial is much more modern as are the hands.

The clock had suffered a fall which had smashed the bottom of the Bakelite case, cracking it all the way through at one point and breaking away three chunks, only two of which were present. And as if that wasn't enough, there was evidence of severe water damage, though we can only speculate as to whether this might have been due to an over-enthusiastic attempt at cleaning, a burst pipe, or being dumped out in the rain. This had caused the printing on the dial to run and fade, the Bakelite case to take on a rough, weathered finish, and the cork gasket between the dial and the movement to rot. An extra hole had also been drilled in the top of the case at some point.

Fortunately, the movement itself was in reasonable shape, if rather grubby and covered with sticky, verdigris-laden gunge. It had a date code stamped into the front plate which seemed to indicate the year of manufacture as 1957, so it must have been one of the last "Bijou" movements to be made. The stator coil had a DC resistance of 12.5K and developed a healthy 25V~ across its terminals when the rotor was spun by hand, showing that the rotor's magnetism was OK too. Unlike earlier Bijous I've seen, this one had incredibly lightweight plates, presumably made of aluminium rather than brass. There was also no troublesome rotor cock spring present, because the revised motor was fitted which had the rotor captive in the stator assembly.
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Old 30th Nov 2016, 4:37 pm   #2
Nickthedentist
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Default Re: Repair of a 1957 Smiths 9" Bakelite wall clock

The movement was stripped, the only hard part being removal of the extra brass wheel on the front of the front plate which is fitted to clocks which have a seconds hand. I got this off with a drop of PlusGas then a single blow with a hammer and home-made punch to force the arbor through the hole in the wheel, supporting the plate on the top of my vice's jaws.

The plates and wheels were scrubbed with a toothbrush in hot soapy water then cocktail sticks were used to "peg-out" the grimey pivot holes in the plates. The wheels were smartened-up in a solution of Horolene for a few minutes, then everything was washed in hot water and dried with a hairdryer.

The movement was then reassembled, with the tiniest drop of thickish clock oil on each of the pivots and a thin smear of grease on the teeth of the fibre first wheel (not any of the others).

The motor could not be easily disassembled, so I had to settle for dripping a few drops of sewing machine oil into the bearing from the back. A quick Megger test showed good insulation between the coil and the stator, though I still think it's prudent to retrofit an earth connection to these clocks.

On test, it started easily, ran silently, kept perfect time and did not get hot. After a few days, it was declared fit and healthy.
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Old 30th Nov 2016, 4:39 pm   #3
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Default Re: Repair of a 1957 Smiths 9" Bakelite wall clock

The loose fragments fitted back together perfectly so were re-attached with Superglue, which was also used to hold closed the large gap where the case had sprung open.

A matrix (or shuttering, if you like) was made from bits of ice cream tub taped to the outside of the case, and the gaps were then filled from the inside with Milliput putty. I only had Superfine White to hand, so when it was set, and the edges had been blended-in using a sandpaper disk in a dental drill, I disguised it with acylic artists' paint which my mum kindly lent me. Burnt umber was a good match, though 2-3 thin, stippled layers were required to cover the filler's whiteness properly.

The tired-looking Bakelite was treated to a rub-over with Rustins Wood Reviver then a couple of coats of furniture wax. The end result was passable if not perfect, but more than good acceptable considering the original condition of the clock.

The glass was cleaned and the brass spacer between the glass and the dial given two light coats of Plasti-kote "creme de la creme" paint from an aerosol I picked up in the sale rack at Wilkinsons.

Finally a new gasket was made to go between the movement and the dial. As I didn't have any cork tiles to hand, I thought laterally and found an offcut of cushioned flooring vinyl which was easily cut to size with scissors.

No attempt was made at restoring the dial, other than a quick going over with a baby wipe followed by a buff with a soft yellow duster. Its distressed appearance matches the rest of the clock better than a pristine replacement ever would.
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Old 30th Nov 2016, 4:40 pm   #4
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Default Re: Repair of a 1957 Smiths 9" Bakelite wall clock

The clock now resides in the former coalshed which is where we keep our washing machine and tumble dryer, so gets used in earnest several times a day. It is also visible from the garden which is very handy. I managed to re-purpose a redundant 1.0mm T&E switch dropwire to supply it, via a NOS clock connector I found on eBay. As our house dates from 1950, it fits in rather well. It’s run for nearly six months faultlessly now, and in complete silence.

Thank you to Liz for saving the clock from the bin men, and being willing to post it to me.


Nick.
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Old 30th Nov 2016, 4:41 pm   #5
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Default Re: Repair of a 1957 Smiths 9" Bakelite wall clock

MODS: In spite of Paul's forum update, and my using a bog-standard Windows desktop PC, loads of my images have been turned round

Sorry!
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Old 30th Nov 2016, 7:02 pm   #6
Lloyd 1985
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Default Re: Repair of a 1957 Smiths 9" Bakelite wall clock

Hi Nick,

Great job on the clock, it looks lovely! I have a similar one here, with quite badly stained dial, I think it adds to it's character I have never replaced a dial on any of my clocks, even though some look rather scruffy!

Regards,
Lloyd.
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Old 30th Nov 2016, 10:14 pm   #7
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Default Re: Repair of a 1957 Smiths 9" Bakelite wall clock

That looks every second of nearly 60 years passing. Well done, stunning!

Regards,
Paul
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Old 2nd Dec 2016, 10:43 am   #8
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Default Re: Repair of a 1957 Smiths 9" Bakelite wall clock

Blimey! What a fantastic repair! It would have been disheartening to me to have seen the insides like that let alone continue with such a thorough restoration. Well worth doing, these clocks are getting harder to find now.
Nice One,
Neil
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Old 2nd Dec 2016, 11:21 am   #9
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Default Re: Repair of a 1957 Smiths 9" Bakelite wall clock

Brilliant job.
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Old 4th Dec 2016, 10:30 am   #10
Mike Phelan
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Default Re: Repair of a 1957 Smiths 9" Bakelite wall clock

Very nice job, Nick!
I hope that you waited for your better half to go shopping before purloining the tea towel!

Nice to see that the fibre second wheel has kept its teeth and the leads on the stator are still good.
Should last a century or so now.
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Old 4th Dec 2016, 11:11 am   #11
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Default Re: Repair of a 1957 Smiths 9" Bakelite wall clock

I keep looking at the pictures and it looks just like it's been removed from the wall of a bus depot canteen after a stint of duty lasting some 60 years. It looks so much better than restored to new.

Regards,
Paul
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Old 6th Dec 2016, 7:07 pm   #12
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Default Re: Repair of a 1957 Smiths 9" Bakelite wall clock

Very impressive! I'm always amazed at those that can repair severe bakelite damage like that!
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