I repaired this Seth Thomas shelf clock and installed new mainsprings because they had previously been replaced with springs that were too strong.

The case is 22 3/8 inches tall and 14 3/4 inches wide. The minute hand is 2 13/16 inches long. I replaced the dial because the original was in very bad condition. Note that the door is not present in the photos below (the customer didn’t send it with the clock to prevent breaking the glass).

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Repair job 5726.The movement is marked “8 1/4″ on the lower front. Later, Seth Thomas named this movement No. 89. It is an efficient running movement due to its deadbeat escapement.

I polished the pivots and installed bushings. The mainsprings in the clock when I received it were as follows:

Time: 3/4 x 0.0178 inches, Strike: 3/4 x 0.018 inches.

I installed thinner new springs to make the movement have a longer life. They are no. 77.303 from R & M Imports. They are made of beautifully blued steel, of the following dimensions:

• Time: 3/4 x 0.0161 x 120 inches
• Strike: 3/4 x 0.0162 x 120 inches

These thinner mainsprings will reduce future wear to the time and strike mainwheels.

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I repaired this Seth Thomas tambour chiming mantel clock. It has the No. 124 Westminster chime movement, made from 1924 through 1956. (After 1956, Seth Thomas imported Hermle chime movements from Germany.)

The case on this clock is 20 1/2 inches wide and 9 1/2 inches tall. The minute hand is 2 5/16 inches long, and the beautiful dial is silvered brass with applied numerals and engraved time track.

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Repair job 5090. The No. 124 takes a lot of repair work to run reliably. The pivots are short, and each bushing must be countersinked enough for the pivot to protrude (or else the pivot will “tunnel in” to the hole and eventually stop the clock).

I cleaned the movement parts longer than usual to remove very sticky old oil. I polished the pivots and installed 21 bushings, smoothed the warning and lift levers and the lobes on the center cam. The loose strike warning pin was tightened, and the missing chime correction pin on gear c4 was replaced. The chime mainspring barrel hook was tightened, and solder was removed from the strike fly.

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Here is an example of a 1940s Seth Thomas mantel clock movement. This is the movement that replaced the No. 89 that was popular for many years. This one has the date stamp 42 6 on the rear lower left leg of the movement. Some of the other examples of this movement I’ve seen have another code stamped on the lower right movement leg as well, see my earlier posts: Plymouth (by Seth Thomas 1940s mantel clock, 1940s 8-day Seth Thomas Time and Strike Clock Movement, Two Seth Thomas “Plymouth” Mantel Clocks, 1938 and 1945.

This type of movement runs very efficiently, and can use thinner mainsprings (if they need replacing). My earlier post, Plymouth (by Seth Thomas 1940s mantel clock, describes the mainsprings this movement needs.

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Repair job 5815. Polish pivots, install 12 bushings.

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This Seth Thomas tambour mantel clock is very plain, yet is a great example of an old clock of classic design that will be reliable for many years. It has the No. 89 movement, very reliable and efficient, and one of their best movements, in my opinion. The clock is 17 inches wide, 9 1/8 inches tall. The minute hand is 2 5/16 inches long. The dial is silver-plated brass with printed numerals. The heavy wire gong (often called Cathedral gong) gives a very rich tone.

Tran Duy Ly’s book “Seth Thomas Clocks and Movements, Third Edition, Volume 3″ shows this clock is called “Tambour 12″, 1922 version.

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Sold 7-26-12. Installed 11 bushings. It has the original mainsprings:

• Time mainspring: 3/4 by 0.0176 inches
• Strike mainspring: 3/4 by 0.0173 inches

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I’ve always liked the appearance  of these green and black Seth Thomas Adamantine mantel clocks, and this one is interesting in having the model name “Sussex” stenciled on the back. This clock has the 8-day movement with escapement in back, so it was made in 1901 or earlier. The case is 11 3/4 inches tall and 11 3/4 inches wide at the feet. The minute hand is 2 3/16 inches long.

Sold 3-3-02 E is written on the back of the clock, meaning that it was sold March 3, 1902.

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Repair job 5855. New time click rivet, polished the pivots, installed 9 bushings, true the escape wheel teeth. The back escapement movement uses a strip recoil escapement requiring a small pendulum arc. The pendulum arc when running is much larger than the minimum arc (escape arc), so these clocks are very reliable even when slightly off-level. These movements have fairly thick mainsprings (around 0.018 inch) that are 11/16 inch wide rather than the standard 3/4 inch wide. If a mainspring does need replacing (it is best to keep the original springs) it is important to not use a spring that is too strong.

This example’s original mainsprings are the following sizes:

Time: 11/16 by 0.0175 inch

Strike: 11/16 by 0.018 inch.

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This beautiful Seth Thomas Adamantine mantel clock has a mahogany finish and two pillars on each side of the case. This clock has the 8-day movement with escapement in back, so it was made in 1901 or earlier. The case is 12 1/4 inches tall and 16 3/4 inches wide at the feet. The minute hand is 2 1/8 inches long.

Repair job 5861. I polished the pivots, installed 7 bushings, and tightened the clock rivets. The back escapement movement uses a strip recoil escapement requiring a small pendulum arc. The pendulum arc when running is much larger than the minimum arc (escape arc), so these clocks are very reliable even when slightly off-level. These movements have fairly thick mainsprings (around 0.018 inch) that are 11/16 inch wide and not the standard 3/4 inch wide. If a mainspring does need replacing (it is best to keep the original springs) it is important to not use a spring that is too strong.

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This example’s original mainsprings are the following sizes:

Time: 11/16 by 0.0187 inch

Strike: 11/16 by 0.0185 inch.

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The Seth Thomas August 1941 Clock Catalog shows the Staunton mantel clock on page 11. It is available in electric (Staunton-1E) and windup (Staunton-1W). The example illustrated here is the windup version, with a movement date of 41-7 (July 1941).

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Here is the catalog description:

STAUNTON-1E  (Ilus. Left)
With self-starting electric movement
Strikes hours and half-hours on coiled gong of bell metal

STAUNTON-1W
Same with 8-day pendulum movement
Announces hours and half-hours by rich chords on double rods

To see the Staunton is to be impressed by its pleasing symmetry and well-balanced appearance. The natural beauty of richly finished wood is accented by the gracefully sweeping lines of the tambour design. Cabinet is mahogany with overlaid front panel of distinctly grained crotch mahogany veneer. 5-inch dial is in light ivory with numerals and hands in deep brown. Fully polished sash. Height 8 1/8 inches. Width 17 1/2 inches. Depth 4 3/8 inches. Packed singly. Approximate shipping weight 8 pounds.

The price list gives the following prices for both the electric and windup versions:

Recommended retail $16.50
Dealer price, 1 – 5 $10.15
Dealer price, 6 or more $9.75

My post, Seth Thomas Mantel Clock Movement dated June 1942 describes the windup 8-day pendulum movement used in this clock.

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In clocks, the pivots (the ends of the gear shafts) rotate in holes in the brass front plate and back plate of the movement. After years of use, these “pivot holes” wear to an oblong shape. To bring the clock back to good condition, the movement should be disassembled and cleaned. Then, the pivots are polished, each pivot hole re-centered, and a brass bushing installed to restore the hole to the correct size. Some repair shops use bad bushing techniques (such as screw-in or Rathbun bushings) to avoid taking the clock apart. 

The clock movement shown here had 16 Rathbun bushings when I received it. I removed these bushings, polished the pivots, installed proper bushings, and did the other needed repair work.

A recent customer has a Seth Thomas shelf clock with a No. 89D 8-day time and strike movement. When it stopped working, he took it to someone who repairs clocks. That repairer couldn’t make it work, and the movement looked like this when I received it:

Part of the repair process is to install bushings to remove the wear that has occurred in the pivot holes (the holes in which the ends of the gear shafts, called “pivots”, rotate). Repair shops that don’t disassemble the movement for repair may use a “Rathbun” bushing, which is a small brass plate with a pivot hole and a screw hole. Each Rathbun bushing is attached with a screw or soldered on. Rathbun bushings have no place in quality clock repair, but were commonly used years ago on American antique clocks when they weren’t worth much. Another bushing system that is even worse uses “screw-in” bushings – these should NEVER be used.

The photo above shows the 8 Rathbun bushings on the front of the movement (the small brass plates secured by the large flat head screws), and the photo below shows the 8 in back.

Notice that 2 of the Rathbun bushings are soldered on, they were probably installed many years ago. The screwed on ones may be have been recently installed.

The photo below shows Rathbun bushings (called by the alternative name Rathburn) in the 1982  clock parts and tools catalog published by S. LaRose.

Here are the Rathbun bushings after I removed them:

A proper bushing is a small brass cylinder with a hole drilled in it. Here are some examples:

Here is the front plate after cleaning and installation of 7 correct bushings:

The completed movement, front view:

Rear view (I made no attempt to remove the solder):

Top view showing the “escapement” (the part that goes tick-tock):

Conclusion

I removed the Rathbun bushings and cleaned and repaired the movement. It now runs like new and will give many more years of service.

Technical Data

Repair job 5898. Pivots polished, new pins installed in 6 pinions, 16 Rathbun bushings removed, 15 bushings installed, strike gears #1 and #2 replaced with good old ones.

This clock has its original mainsprings that are labeled ST for Seth Thomas.

• Time mainspring: 3/4 wide by 0.0165 inch thick
• Strike mainspring: 3/4 wide by 0.0175 inch thick

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This cute little steeple clock is 11 1/16 inch tall and 6 1/2 inches wide, and was probably made in the 1950s. It strikes the hour and half-hour on a small brass bell.

The motor in this clock is a replacement made within the last 10 – 15 years or so. The old motor quit turning, so a new one was installed. The clock movement was not cleaned at the same time, so the grit and dried oil kept causing wear. When I received the clock for repair, one pivot was completely worn away and another was worn almost all the way through.

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The 2 bad pivots were replaced, other pivots polished, and bushings installed. Now the clock runs like new.

This clock movement has a typical feature of Seth Thomas electric clocks – the striking is driven by a small mainspring that the motor winds.

Repair job 5887. 15 bushings, repivot 2 arbors, tighten loose pinion wires.

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This tambour mantel clock has the unusual feature of quarter-hour striking. It does bim-bam striking on the first, second and third quarters, and strikes one rod on the hour (see video below). The mahogany case is 9 1/4 inches tall and 19 inches wide. The dial is silver plated brass with applied bronze numerals. The minute track in 5 inches diameter, and the minute hand is 2 1/2 inches long.

The dial has no maker’s name, just “Made in U.S.A.” at the bottom. The label inside the back door says:

THE PLYMOUTH CLOCK
Thomaston, Conn.

Plymouth was a division of Seth Thomas, which marketed clocks made by Seth Thomas, but with the Plymouth name instead of Seth Thomas.

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This clock uses the later type of Seth Thomas mantel clock movement (made in USA), as described in Plymouth (by Seth Thomas) 1940 Mantel clock, modified to strike quarters instead of just hour and half-hour. The model number 4601 is stamped on the back, as is the date code 11 39 (November 1939).

Repair job 5939. I polished the pivots and installed 20 bushings. There was lots of bearing wear due to the strong mainsprings that this movement uses. The time mainspring was replaced in the past, and I replaced it again with a thinner one (Empire 280-17-505 11/16 by 0.0163 by 96 inches, shortened by 13 inches). The strike mainspring is the original one measuring 11/16 by 0.018 inch.

This movement has rack and snail strike. To allow for quarter-hour striking, the following changes were made from the hour and half-hour strike movement:

• The lifting cam on the front of the center arbor has 4 lobes of equal length (instead of 2 lobes) to activate the strike every quarter-hour;
• There is a quarter-hour snail on the rear of the center arbor. This controls the number of quarter-hour strikes, from 1 to 3;
• There is another cam on the rear of the center arbor (between the quarter-hour snail and the back plate). It has one lobe that holds the rear hammer up on the hour so that it cannot strike. Thus, the hour strike is on only one rod, and the first, second and third quarters strike bim-bam on two rods);
• There is a lever on the rear strike hammer lifter lifted by the cam mentioned above;
• There is a rack tail on the rear of the hour rack arbor that bears on the quarter-hour snail to control the quarter-hour strike.

When assembling the movement, set the hour snail so that the front rack-tail can fall into the notch between  the 1:00 and 2:00 steps on the first, second and third quarters. If there is clicking when the rear hammer strikes, grease the rear end of its lifter.

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I just repaired this beautiful Seth Thomas Adamantine mantel clock. The mahogany Adamantine finish is in excellent condition, and has not faded much, if at all. The 6 celluloid half-pillars are celluloid with metal bases and capitals. The paper dial has Arabic numerals. The movement is the popular and reliable No. 89C. The clock was made around 1905.

The case is 18 1/16 inches wide at the feet, and  11 1/32 inches tall. The dial’s minute track is 4 3/16 inches diameter, and the space minute hand is 2 1/8 inches long.

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Repair job 6079. Partial overhaul. I polished the pivots of the time train only, installed 6 bushings. and tightened the time click rivet. The original mainsprings have the following dimensions:

Time: 3/4 inch wide and 0.0172 inch thick

Strike: 3/4 inch wide and 0.0163 inch thick.

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This style of Adamantine mantel clock case has 4 full pillars and a half-round section on each side of the case. This particular model has black top and base, and marbleized trim. This style is made in other colors, including mahogany. The case is 17 3/4 inches wide at the feet, and is 11 11/16 inches tall. The paper face has Arabic numerals with a 4 1/8 inch diameter time track. The minute hand is 2 1/8 inches long.

The movement is a No. 89, but was made before that numbering system started, and is labeled “4 1’2″.

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Repair job 6050. Pivots polished, 14 bushings, time click rivet. The mainsprings are original, their dimensions are:

Time: 3/4 by 0.0178 inches

Strike: 3/4 by 0.0170 inches

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This Seth Thomas “Legacy – 2W” mantel clock with Westminster chime dates from 1950. The movement is the No. 124, introduced about 1924 and made through 1956. The clock is 14 1/4 inches tall and 10 3/4 inches wide. The minute hand is 2 7/8 inches long, with a 5 2/4 inch minute track on the dial.

Besides “No. 124″ and “Made in U.S.A.”, the back of the movement has the model number B124E and date code 5003 (March 1950). The No. 124 movement has small gears (compared to a standard American clock movement) and a deadbeat escapement. The mainsprings are in stationery barrels. The pendulum bob weighs 3.0 ounces (some examples have a 5 or 6 ounce bob). Earlier versions have a Graham deadbeat escapement, and on later examples such as this the pallets are hardened steel pins of 4-sided cross section

The bottom of the instruction label on the rear door has the date code 5010 (October, 1950).

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Repair job 6005. Polish pivots, install 26 bushings. New time and strike mainsprings. This clock runs very well. After it ran down, it took 11 turns of the time winding arbor to wind it. This corresponds to about two weeks of running.

It takes time to properly repair the No. 124 because of the many pivots that need polishing. Some of the pivots are short, so care must be taken to make the bushings short enough for the pivots to protrude.

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This Adamantine mantel clock with black slate and tan marble appearance has the date code 3981F (June 1893) on the bottom. The case is 10 3/16 inches tall and 16 1/2 inches wide at the feet. The paper dial has a 4 1/4 inch minute track, and the minute hand is 2 1/8 inches long.

The movement is the “hip” style with rear recoil escapement. (This movement was used in Adamantine clocks until replaced by the No. 89 movement in 1901.

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Repair job 5979. I polished pivots and installed 5 bushings. The mainsprings were too wide so I replaced them. The mainsprings I used are CML 175.3 from Mile High Clock Supplies. The dimensions are 11/16 inch wide by 0.0168 inch thick by 96 inches long.

The pendulum bob is 1 1/8 inches diameter and weighs 2.4 ounces. It is old and may or may not be original.

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This clock is named “Metals No. 1″, the first in a series of clocks in oak cases with metal trim. The case is  22 3/4 inches tall and 14 15/16 inches wide. The paper face has a 4 7/8 inch minute track, and the minute hand is 2 7/16 inches long. The date code 9981 (meaning the year 1899) is stamped in ink on the back.

The movement is the “hip” style with front recoil escapement (replaced with the No. 89 movement with between the plates escapement ca. 1901). The following numbers are stamped on the front movement plate:

5 7/8
1/2

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Repair job 5979. I polished the pivots and installed 6 bushings. The mainsprings are original, and have the following dimensions:

Time: 11/16 by 0.0178 inches

Strike: 11/16 by 0.018 inches

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Here is a “modern” style Seth Thomas mantel clock made in 1946. It has the newer time and strike clock movement (see my post “1940s Seth Thomas 8 Day Time and Strike Clock Movement” for more details about this movement).

The mahogany case is 14 1/16 inches wide and 8 9/16 inches tall. The minute hand is 2 1/2 inches long.

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Repair job 6068. I polished the pivots and installed 17 bushings. The front time main wheel pivot hole was badly worn (see photos). The original strike mainspring, 11/16 inch wide by 0.0185 inch thick, was broken. I moved the original time mainspring (11/16 wide by 0.0180 inch thick) to the strike side. I installed a new time mainspring – 11/16 wide by 0.0163 inch thick by 18 inches long. (The new spring is a CML 175.3 from Mile High Clock Supplies, 11/16 by 96 inches long shortened to 80 inches long.)

Note on mainsprings: When replacing broken mainsprings in this Seth Thomas movement, use a thinner spring than original, to give the movement a longer life. A spring around 0.0160 – 0.0165 inch thick is good.

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I overhauled the movement and polished the case of this beautiful Seth Thomas Adamantine mantel clock. The case is 18 5/16 inches wide at the feet, and is 11 5/16 inches tall. The dial’s minute track is 4 1/8 inches diameter, and the minute hand  is 2 1/8 inches long.

The movement is the No. 89, but has “4 1/2″ stamped on it instead of 89. The movement model numbering system began later. Seth Thomas made this reliable and efficient movement for almost 40 years. It has thinner than average mainsprings to reduce wear.

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The case was the big challenge in this repair job. Adamantine cases usually look good after a bit of polishing, but this one looked terrible! Apparently some one varnished it or added some other type of coating. I used 0000 steel wool with “Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish” to remove the coating from the adamantine. Then I polished it with  ”Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish” on a soft cloth. I also polished the celluloid half-pillars (polish only the outside).

The feet, lion’s heads, column bases and capitals, and the bezel, had silver paint on them. I stripped the paint (the silver paint was hard to dissolve) with Zip Strip to reveal the original finish. I soaked the bezel in clock cleaning fluid and used a soft brass bristle brush to make it look good, but not too shiny. Then I sprayed these parts with Deft lacquer to protect the finish.

Movement repair: I polished the pivots, installed 14 bushings, and replaced the click rivet on the strike main wheel. The time mainspring is the original 3/4 by 0.0168 by 108 inch mainspring. The original strike mainspring is 0.0162 inch thick. It had a squeaky action when nearly wound, so I replaced it with the following mainspring: Timesavers no. 15959 3/4 by 0.0162 by 120 inches.

Repair job 6081.

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This is a Seth Thomas “Sentinel No. 19″ tambour mantel clock . The case is 20 1/8 inches wide and 8 5/8 inches tall. The painted dial has a 5 inch minute track and the minute hand is 2 7/16 inches long.. The back of the movement has the numbers “37-4″ which I believe is the date code for April 1937.

It strikes the hour and half-hour on two rods.

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Repair job 6048. I polished the pivots and installed 17 bushings. The mainsprings are both original.

Time mainspring: 3/4 inch wide by 0.0165 inch thick

Strike mainspring: 3/4 inch wide by 0.0167 inch thick

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The Seth Thomas Regulator No. 2 was one of the company’s longest running models, made from the early to mid 1860s until 1950. This appears to be a later example. The oak-cased model is common, and a few are mahogany like this one. There is no date code on the clock.

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The case is 36 inches tall and 15 3/4 inches wide. The minute track is 11 inches diameter (to the center of the minute dots) and the minute hand is 5 15/32 inches long.

The movement is marked “77A”. The pulley is 1 1/16 inch diameter. The weight weighs 5 pounds 10 ounces and is  6 5/16 inches tall and 1 3/4 inches diameter.

This clock might be classified as a “semi-precision” clock. It has maintaining power to keep it ticking as it is wound. The wooden rod pendulum with large bob provides some temperature compensation, but there is still some temperature error.

Repair job 6092. I polished the pivots and installed 6 bushings. I replaced the suspension spring, because the old one caused the pendulum to wobble. I installed a new 5/16 inch brass cable for the weight. I added a washer between the hour hand and minute hand to prevent the hour wheel from coming out of engagement with the minute wheel.

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This electric desk clock by Seth Thomas  is called the “Falcon”. The movement has the date code 6 40 (June 1940). The case is leather-covered wood and is 5 7/16 inches square. The dial is about 3 inches diameter.

This clock uses an interesting and long-lasting motor known as the Sangamo self-starting synchronous. The rotor has two parts: a cup shaped  copper rotor which starts the motor, and a steel bar rotor that locks into synchronization with the alternating current to keep the clock on time. More details are on my Westclox Electric Clock Motor History page.

Job 6181. I polished the pivots and installed 5 bushings. The Sangamo motor worked fine after cleaning. Electric clocks will keep chugging away for many years, and when they finally stop will have worn pivots and/or pivot holes. The motors are very often good after cleaning and lubrication.

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