Servicing a Well Worn New Haven Schoolhouse Clock

Side view of movement indicating solder points

The clock is a “Canadian made” New Haven Octagonal short drop wall clock. It was assembled at The New Haven Clock Co. of Canada plant established at Brantford, Ontario (Canada) in 1906.

The New Haven Clock Company of Canada was a subsidiary of the New Haven Clock Company of America. Both mantel and wall clocks were made in the Brantford plant with Canadian wood cases, but the spring-driven pendulum movements were brought in from the U.S. The Canadian arm of the New Haven Clock Company closed in 1956. More information about The New Haven Clock Company can be found here. This clock was probably made in the 1940s.

The clock was removed from a schoolhouse in Saskatchewan, Alberta (Canada) in the 1960s. The previous owner said that he ran the clock for a couple of years, got tired of it and put it in storage. I hung it up on my kitchen wall for a couple of months and while it ran immediately and kept good time I considered putting off servicing with other projects on the go. However, if I ran it long enough without proper attention any wear would be exacerbated. Now is the time to service this clock.

Day One

The movement was mounted with what looked like the 4 original screws. I wondered if this movement had ever been serviced. Clues began to reveal themselves as I took the movement out for a closer inspection.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — New Haven movement #304

The centre cannon arbour was very loose which is not uncommon. A bushing might be required. The pivots were in good shape and had minimal wear but most bushing holes on both the time and the strike side, front and back plates were so enlarged that there was considerable lateral movement of the wheels in both trains but not enough to stop the clock. Not the worst I have seen but clearly a clock that is in dire need of servicing. The clock ran for many years and appeared to have received not much more than basic servicing during that time.

Day Two

The movement was very dirty. The cleaning solution in the ultrasonic cleaner was dark brown in colour and large pieces of crud floated on top, a build up of dried oil and dust over the years.

An obvious example of a previous repair was the drop lever that had been soldered in two places as you can see in the photo below.

Top view of movement indicating solder points

The lever looks strong and should hold for years to come.

Strike side maintenance lever — Strike side maintenance / drop lever

I took special care to resist bending any parts of the lever to adjust it for fear of breaking it. The helper wire/spring on the drop lever also seemed to have been replaced at some point because it looked crudely made, not something you would see in a factory installed movement. A piece of the helper wire broke off during dis-assembly which meant that I had to make a new wire/spring.

I polished the pivots and then proceeded with the bushing work prior to cleaning the movement.

15 bushings were installed, 7 on the front plate and 8 on the rear plate. The centre cannon arbour required one bushing, a much larger one, on the rear plate.

To completely eliminate any issues with the time side I took all the strike train wheels out

Movement on test stand without strike side wheels

Day Three to day Five

All went well while test fitting the wheels on both trains; they moved as smoothly as they should. I re-assembled the movement and attempted to align the levers on the strike side as best as I could with little success. I ran the movement on the test stand even though the drop lever was not positioned correctly. Unfortunately, the clock stopped every few hours. My suspicion was an incorrectly aligned lever somehow stopping the strike side.

To completely eliminate any issues with the time side I took all the strike train wheels out and ran the time side for 3 trouble-free days eliminating any issues with the motion works.

I consulted Steven Conover’s excellent book on strike clock movements (Striking Clock Repair Guide) to work through a solution. He devotes one chapter to the New Haven movement and clear instructions for setting up the strike side.

Day 6

After studying Steven’s manual, I reinstalled the strike side and proceeded with the necessary adjustments as follows.

The positioning of the levers are critical.

There are 3 levers in this clock. Knowing how the levers function is key to getting this clock to run. The hammer strike lever (Lever number 1) performs a very simple task and installs on the bottom of the clock and is activated by the hammer lifting pins on the cam wheel. The drop and paddle lever (Lever number 2) does several jobs in unison. It pushes the unlocking lever or the lift lever (Lever number 3) down to release the warning pin to prepare the strike. The top arm of the lever number 2 rotates through the 2 – 180 degree slots of the cam while the bottom arm forms the paddle that enters the deep slots of the count wheel to indicate the strike on both the hour and half hour. The upper arm of this lever must be on the upper rear part of the slot on the cam to work correctly. I found this through trial and error. Needless to say, the positioning of the levers are critical. Once the levers were positioned correctly, the clock ran beautifully.

Post assembly testing

The clock went through it’s full 8-day cycle without any issues striking as it should. The movement was mounted back into it’s case, is being regulated and is now on display in our living room.

This very ordinary clock reflects its utilitarian role as a schoolhouse clock; it is not the best looking or the best sounding clock in the world but like a faithful servant it should run without issues for years to come.

April 28, 2017

Ansonia Schoolhouse Clock – Part I – Assessment

I acquired my Ansonia drop octagon clock in April of last year (2016) and put off servicing this clock because it was in good running order, kept good time and I had a number of other clocks that needed more attention. Now it’s on the bench.

Continue reading “Ansonia Schoolhouse Clock – Part I – Assessment” →

March 25, 2017

German “schoolhouse clock” by Gebruder Jauch?

The Germans would not have called them schoolhouse clocks, rather, short drop octagon wall clocks. The term “schoolhouse clock” is typically an American description.

The stylistic features of the Jauch reminds me of my Canadian made Arthur Pequegnat Brandon II wall clock

We often cruise the HiBid sites. I am not sure if they are wholly Canadian but may be in the US as well. HiBid are a hosting service for antique online auction companies and from time to time clocks come up on estate sales on various sites. One day in the past week (early February 2017) we were on a Nova Scotia HiBid auction site and noticed a Jauch drop octagon with a PL42 movement and I made what I thought was a reasonably small bid. We had errands to run that day so I just left the bid, got home later and realized that I had won. It was a good purchase.

The stylistic elements of the Jauch reminds me of my Canadian made Arthur Pequegnat Brandon II wall clock pictured here.

AP repaired_3 — Brandon II by the Arthur Pequegnat Company of Kitchener Ontario, Canada

I picked the clock up yesterday (mid February 2017). There is very little wrong with it. I took the movement out of it’s case, inspected it, noticed that it was not very dirty, gave it some oil, and put it on the wall and it ran like a charm. Since it is not in dire need of disassembly and cleaning I decided to leave that for another day.

It has some unusual features. The case is solid oak, no veneers and surprisingly heavy for a clock made in 1976. The finish is light oak. The case measures 15 inches wide by 23 inches long, 5 1/4 inches deep. The movement is a time only, typical spring driven recoil escapement stamped PL42, is heavy and is well constructed with quality gearing. The date of manufacture for the movement is September, 1976. The dial bezel is hinged at the top and the spade hands are what you would typically find on this style of clock. The dial is paper on tin. The pendulum has a large and heavy nut on the back of the bob that may not be original to the clock and I am inclined to think it is a replacement. The bob can be seen through a glazed lower access panel. The previous owner made a crude “adjustment” to the case to accommodate the pendulum swing (last photo). One of two wall stabilizer screws can be seen in the fourth photo below. There is a missing top section access panel on the back of the clock that I may or may not replace.

Solid oak construction — Well made solid oak construction

The clock is a Gebruder Jauch wall clock. Gebruder Jauch was a clock company from Schwenningen, Deisslingen, Germany. The Gebruder Jauch company manufactured hall, wall, and mantel clocks. They made movements for the trade, both spring and weight driven. In the late 1970’s the company fell victim to curtailed exports and the last recorded year of operation was 1978. The year they began is unclear but 1912 seems to be the consensus. Otherwise, I could find very little on this clock company. Perhaps someone can enlighten me.

February 11, 2017

The schoolhouse clock that was never called the schoolhouse clock

My recent acquisition of another schoolhouse clock stimulated my curiosity and prompted me to do some research on the origin of the name. In this article I will describe my thoughts on how the schoolhouse clock came to be and my most recent Sessions wall clock purchase.

During my research I found it very interesting that little can be found regarding the history of the schoolhouse clock. I realize that many older readers growing up in the rural areas of Canada and elsewhere in North American have fond memories of the one-room schoolhouse with a large clock in either the front or the back of a classroom. I did not live that experience rather, when I was young and attending a large urban school the Simplex master / slave clock is the one I remember best.

The schoolhouse clock that I bought recently adds to my modest collection of three schoolhouse clocks. Given that I spent many years as an educator, it seems only fitting that I would have an interest in schoolhouse clocks. My schoolhouse clocks are all a similar style; short drop octagon, constructed of oak, brass dial bezel, bottom glazed access sash, 12 inch dial or 9 inches as in this case of this clock and the Waterbury pictured below. Although 9 inch clocks were used in schoolhouses they were also found in office or workplace settings.

They were not called a schoolhouse clock when they were made

Schoolhouse clocks were the standard design for early North American school houses because of their larger, easy to read dials. These distinctive clocks were hung in many schools rooms across Canada. The majority had simple but tough time-only movements and some even came with a calendar function. Occasionally they were ordered with time and strike movements but the cheapest and most popular versions were time-only. This type of clock had a very utilitarian look and function.

They were not always called schoolhouse clocks. None of the labels on my clocks have the word “schoolhouse” written on them and are either described as a”drop Octagon” in the case of this Sessions or have a specific model name. The term schoolhouse clock was not applied to them when they were made but came to be known as a particular style of clock found in school settings by later collectors. If a particular style was ordered by a school authority makers might have informally described them as clocks for schools or “school clocks”. In any event, the term has become a permanent part of the clock collector language.

With a swinging pendulum visible from a distance the clock can easily be seen running and the open-door bottom access sash allowed for restarting and adjusting the rate. In some clock collecting circles it is said that schoolhouse clocks are a derivative of the English drop dial fusee clock, an example of which can be seen here. Drop dials were produced in the late 18th through to the 19th century and closely resembled the schoolhouse clock. Unlike spring-driven schoolhouse clocks, fusee clocks have conical construction from which a chain or gut-line is pulled by the mainspring barrel allowing the power of the mainspring to be released evenly thus assuring better accuracy.

When I am in the process of buying a clock I always ask the seller this question. “How much do you know about this clock?”

When I am in the process of buying a clock I always ask the question. “How much do you know about this clock?”. I always ask this question because I am interested in a clock’s provenance and some of the stories are quite intriguing. The seller, a man in his late fifties, thought about it for a moment and said, “Well, I’ve had it since I was 14”. The clock came out of a decommissioned one-room schoolhouse in a small town called Springhill, Nova Scotia (Canada). However, when I first saw the clock I said to him, “It looks like a nice office clock”. The seller quickly corrected me and said, “It’s a schoolhouse clock”. “It runs for a little bit and then stops, maybe you can do something with it”, he added.

It is a 1920’s vintage Sessions Drop Octagon wall clock. It has a solid medium dark oak case with original hands, ornate pressed brass pendulum bob, solid brass bezel, 80% of an intact label on backboard, tin dial pan and stenciled lower glazing on the sash. The paper dial is original but it is heavily “foxed”. The movement is 8-day time only. The dimensions of the clock are a 9″ diameter dial, 19″ high, 13 1/2″ wide by 4″ deep. It is in reasonably good condition given it’s age and for $20 it was quite a bargain. It is also intact; there are no missing or broken pieces.

sessions-drop-octogon time-only movement — Sessions time-only movement

I don’t think this clock has been run in quite some time.

I took it home, hung it on the wall and true to what the seller said it would run less than a minute and stop. I noticed a rubbing sound around the pendulum area as it was running. The pendulum bob was hitting against the inside front of the case. I took the movement out and observed a bent crutch rod, corrected it, put it on a test stand and it ran immediately. As expected the movement had quite a bit of grime and required attention but it ran for a day before I took it apart for a thorough servicing. I don’t think this clock has been run in quite some time.

I found it curious that the suspension spring was soldered where the spring hooks into the top block. It likely kept slipping off and solder was used to keep it in place. In any event, the spring cannot be taken out without first removing the solder! The clock is in very good overall condition for it’s age and the movement was not as dirty as I first thought. The pivots are in decent condition for the most part and there is minimal wear overall. The movement was disassembled, cleaned and in the process I decided to install two bushings for added insurance, one on the escape wheel (front plate) and the other on an intermediate wheel (front plate). The movement was tested, put in beat and reinstalled back into it’s case.

I may replace the paper dial but I am going to see if I can live with it for the time being.

The dial has many brownish spots as you can see in the next photo. The clock had to have been in a moist environment for a long period for the paper to discolour. My two options are, one, leave as is or, two, replace with a paper dial. I may replace the paper dial but I am going to see if I can live with it for the time being. The brass bezel cleaned up well but the exposed tin surrounding the paper dial has blackish areas which I managed to reduce with CLR but could not totally eliminate. Of course, I later learned that CLR is really not appropriate for this purpose as it is an acid.

clock face showing rust staining — Dial showing rust staining

The case has years of grime which was easily remedied with Murphy’s soap and water. It cleaned up very nicely. Following the cleaning I gave the case a light coat of shellac to restore the luster of the oak. It looks good and it runs well.

My other drop octagon clocks are a Waterbury Arion, an unknown Ansonia and an Arthur Pequegnat Brandon II.

rs-bezel-and-glass-on-a-waterbury-_1 — This Waterbury Arion is 19 inches long

RS April 16 — Ansonia short drop octagon, model unknown, 12 inch dial

Time-only movements are the easiest to work on and a very good movement to learn on.

Time-only movements are the easiest to work on and a very good movement to learn on. If you are a beginner in clock collecting and repair clocks such as this are satisfying clocks to work on and presents few challenges. I am happy that I managed to bring this particular clock back to it’s former schoolhouse glory.

The term schoolhouse clock is a term that was not applied when they were made but came to be known as a particular style of clock found in school settings by later collectors. The schoolhouse clock is such an endearing name that when one thinks of a schoolhouse clock the memory of these specific styles of clock immediately comes to mind.

January 4, 2017

New glass and bezel for Waterbury Arion

I am not sure where you would have found a Waterbury Arion. It is really too small for a schoolhouse clock or an office clock unless it was a tiny office. Nevertheless, enough of them were made since they are fairly common.

rs_1080437 — Waterbury Arion octagon short drop without glass and bezel surround

I bought this time-only clock from an older gentleman in Halifax, Nova Scotia.. When he advertised it on a local online for-sale site the photo was so poor that I did not notice that it was missing a bezel and glass so when I arrived at his home we negotiated a slightly lower price.

The oak cabinet is in very good condition as is the reverse painted glass sash. On the other hand, the paper dial is not in great shape but I have decided to leave well enough alone. I think it adds character to the clock. It is a strong runner and keeps very good time. Since it is only 19 inches tall it will fit just about anywhere in a home. A year has gone by and I like the clock so much that I felt it was worth putting on a glass dial and brass bezel.

I measured the clock face and ordered a new bezel and glass. Not having done this before, I thought the glass and bezel would come as one complete assembly or if not complete, a simple way of attaching the glass. What came were 4 brass clips, a hinge without screw holes, the brass bezel, convex glass sized to fit and a 1 1/2 inch long brass tab. Not what I expected!

rs-waterbury-octogon-short-drop-9 — Original hinge prior to sanding and cleaning

I did not see the need to replace the original hinge as it is in very good condition. I learned that soldering will only hold if the parts to be soldered are cleaned/sanded beforehand and petroleum-based plumber’s flux paste is used, plus I chose to use a propane torch rather than a soldering iron to get as much heat to the parts as I could. Capillary action is required to make the solder flow so there must be sufficient heat.

Although I need more practice soldering I achieved a strong bond. At hand were Robertson screws to secure the hinge to the case which will be replaced with slotted screws at a later date.

rs-bezel-and-glass-on-a-waterbury-_4 — New bezel installed with old hinge

Next was getting the glass into the bezel. Here is one of the clips that I soldered into place. There are 4 of them and each one was a minor frustration. If the solder bond is strong enough the clips can be safely bent and I was able to bend these with ease.

rs-bezel-and-glass-on-a-waterbury-_3 — Bezel showing a clip soldered into place

The high heat of a torch will discolour the brass. Too much heat and the outside of the brass will also be discoloured. Must be beginners luck, the outside of the bezel is fine.

When pushing the tabs down to anchor the glass I put a small chip in the glass which is not otherwsie noticeable. I did not want to put an anchor slot in the left side of the bezel which is what the 1 1/2 inch tab is for so I decided to trim it and use it as a bottom support for the bezel assembly, just under the number “6”. Not ideal but very functional.

rs-2bezel-and-glass-on-a-waterbury-_1 — You can just see the support tab under the 6

In the process I also cleaned up the brass around the dial pan to match the new bezel/glass surround. Despite minor frustrations and the need to stop and think as I went along the project is now complete and the clock looks much more better.

A great little project and I learned more about soldering along the way.

Now to repaint the numerals.

November 17, 2016

Ansonia Octagonal Short drop “schoolhouse” clock

Ansonia Schoolhouse ClockClock — Ansonia Schoolhouse Clock

I have been thinking of expanding my collection of wall clocks lately after acquiring a good sampling of mantle and shelf clocks.

I picked up this clock not far from where I live. It is an Ansonia octagonal short drop commonly known as a schoolhouse clock. I am putting the date of manufacture at around the turn of the 20th century though I cannot quite pin down the year. The number 12 is stamped on the movement which could refer to the year “1912”, or even the month of a year. The letters “TT” are also on the movement. This is my first Ansonia clock.

The gentleman I bought it from told me that this clock has been in his family for over 50 years and “I never saw it running”, he says. He was in the process of liquidating his mother’s estate and was loath to give it up as it had been a favorite of hers. He also said that it came out of a schoolhouse in Ontario, Canada; where, he did not know. The case is in great shape though there are other minor issues. One, the face has had some paint applied around the minute / hour pipe presumably to hide stains incurred from years of oily fingers winding and adjusting the clock.

You can just barely make out the Ansonia trademark. The second issue is a missing bushing for the hour hand.

The bushing inserts into the hour hand hole to friction fit with the hour pipe / cannon. I suspect that the clock was not running was for this very reason. Someone thought the clock was broken. It is an easy fix and requires buying or fashioning a new bushing.

Curiously, there were pieces of rotted elastic band on the pendulum rod just below the suspension spring. I have no clue why. You can still see a bit of it in this photo.

Otherwise except for a little adjusting (bending of the crutch to get the beat right} the clock works well and has been ticking away for a day now. There is very little wear on the clock and no obvious bushing issues that I can see although I will have to take the movement out of its case for a further inspection and a thorough cleaning to determine what if anything needs fixing.

Much has been written about the Ansonia clock company. The company history can be found here. The Ansonia Clock Company went into receivership just before the stock market crashed in 1929, a foretelling of things to come, perhaps. The machinery and dies were sold to a Russian Company. A sad end to a glorious American company.

Postscript: I took the movement out of it’s case and found that the clock does indeed need 2-3 new bushings. The wear is not terrible and the clock runs fairly well but bushing work is in order. Once the new hour and minute hands arrive I will clean the movement, re-assemble the clock and display it until my bushing machine comes in the new year.

Nov 10th; new hands arrive in the mail. The hour hand has the required bushing and was an easy friction fit. Now looks and runs as it should.

October 26, 2015

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When I am in the process of buying a clock I always ask the seller this question. “How much do you know about this clock?”

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