Electric longcase clock

[dennishoy]

Folks,

I've been given an electric longcase clock from the estate of a long-deceased guy already in pieces (the clock, that is) and have been trying to assemble it without any drawings.

Has anyone seen one of these before and are there any wiring details anywhere, please? I've another couple of carrier bags of bits, but need to know if I'm wasting my time.

Thanks in advance.

[peteratnith]

Hi Dennis,

I dont recognise your clock but someone must. Its hard to get an idea of how it works, does it have pendulum ?. Fascinating device, is it in a nice case ?

I,ve attached pictures of my 1930s Gillet + Johnston, very different from yours.








Peter

[PJL]

That looks very early - Victorian? Does it have two pendulums?

The mechanism at the top is very Syncronome like, if so the item is upsidedown.

[dennishoy]

Folks,
Thank you for the encouragement.

The clock has a single pendulum (somewhere...).
The wooden case is around 7 feet tall and very heavy.
I think it is Victorian, or perhaps a bit later, but pre-dates an era when mains electricity was available. I may be wrong....
Agreed, I think the mechanism is upside down.

What is not clearly shown are some brushes and a commutator located underneath each 'spool'. It looks like this could be a very early version of a 'stepper motor'.

I will wait for the weather to improve, then take some better pictures.

I will also try to fit some more bits of the jigsaw together as I go along.
The problems are:-
1). I don't have anything to compare it too.
2). I don't know if any parts are missing; if so, then I will need patterns to measure up to make new ones.
3). The case is too big to fit in my car.
4). Will it work without spending time better spent on something more rewarding?
5). How many of these are still around and who will be willing to take some photographs for me?

Lots of 'ifs and buts' but thank you in advance for any help.

[Ed_Dinning]

Hi Dennis there are one or 2 paperbacks in the "Model Engineer" series that describe these systems and even show how to build them.
Tee Publishing of the Fosse Way may have them as re-prints as may Camden Minature Steam.

Ed

[Mike Phelan]

Hi Dennis

As others have said, what's visible looks like a Synchronome-based system and is upside-down.
It needs a pendulum, probably beating seconds and approximately a metre long.
Other items that appear to be missing are the inclined impulse ramp and gathering pallet attached to either the the pendulum rod (Synchronome) or a separate crutch (Gents).
There should be a solenoid and armature to reset the gravity arm, and some means on the count wheel of releasing the arm every half-minute.

The other curious items like some sort of motors - no idea unless for striking or chiming, or some sort of industrial device.

Looks sort of home made if there's no trace of maker's label.

HTH

[dennishoy]

Mike, Ed,

Thank you for the help and tips.

I will get the rest of the clock together and post on here once I've got a bit further with it. I'll try the (above) company to see if there are any reprints or articles of interest.

Many thanks again.

[dennishoy]

I've got a bit further in putting this kit of parts back together and have posted the progress to date.

There has been no restoration as only I'm trying to assess *exactly* what this is and how much of it is missing at this stage.

Whether or not is is eventually restored or junked will depend on what has been lost forever after the previous owner passed away in his late nineties.
He died many years ago before putting it back together again, leaving many old clocks in an unfinished state. most of them were discarded by the family and sadly, much of this one may have gone too.

The dial is interesting as it carries what appears to be four smaller hands in addition to a normal pair of hands.

The pair of stepper-motor thingys appear to drive only the chime and strike trains.

This clock seems to be a very ambitious and over-complicated piece of kit and I'm guessing it would have been difficult to maintain without the necessary expertise.
There is no makers' name, so perhaps it was an early kit. Still don't know the working voltage, but it is certainly not 240V ac.

Bottom line is that I've *never* seen anything like this before..... has anyone else ?

[Mike Phelan]

Dennis
I still say it's home built.

The four openings on the dial are interesting; there appears to be no pivot for the hand on the RH one, and the bottom one seems to be for a date dial; see if the wheel behind it has 31 teeth.
The odd notched wheel near the LH side is probably for a perpetual calendar and will rotate once in four years.

I agree, it looks like a homemade job. I like the striking mechanism, if you do scrap it may I have the dial?

[pentode12]

What a fantastic and rare item. I've collected antique clocks for fourty years and never seen one like this. Sorry to be different but I don't think its home made. It appears to have an electricly driven chimming train as well as the clock and by the configuation of the hammers it would be westminster chimes. It's definately a quality item superbly engineerd which I think excludes the home made view not to mention the quality of the dial. I would guess its later than victorian but a view of the case may help. Please don't scrap it, it's a way too good find for that.
Andy.

[dennishoy]

Thanks again for the encouragement.

It is an interesting and unusual item that I wanted to share with you.
Once I've managed to use up all the remaining parts, it should be easier to assess the overall restoration issue.

If only I had some paperwork, I would be able to detemrine what is still needed.

Still no evidence of a makers plate or name *anywhere* so I'm inclined to think it may be home-brew by some very clever person.

It seems the previous owner went through a late-life crisis which we would now call Alzheimers. Unfortunately, he managed to take things apart and not put them back together whilst losing the parts in the mean time...... He apparently also lived alone with little contact with the outside world during his last couple of years.

This http://www.huwswebthing.talktalk.net/sync.html is home made, link to next page at the bottom.

[chipp1968]

Very nice and interesting thing , You must try to restore it!
I would say the date could be from the 1890s till about 1920 .Could be later , but stylistically looks earlier.