Here’s a Seth Thomas electric chime clock that I repaired for a customer. It was made in 1949 and is called Simsbury-1E. The July 1949 Seth Thomas catalog shows this clock, and a windup version was also available. The clock plays Westminster chime on the quarter hour and also strikes the number of each hour.
The catalog describes this clock as follows:
SIMSBURY-1 E
Self-Starting Electric Westminster Chime Movement
SIMSBURY-1 W
8-Day Pendulum Westminster Chime Movement
“The Simsbury announces each quarter hour in full rich lingering tones. The design reflects good taste and injects a note of up-to-dateness into any decorative scheme. The diagonally matched front veneers, the gracefully molded ends and base all accentuate the well-proportioned appearance of the rich brown mahogany cabinet. The die-cut numerals are superimposed on a light ivory background and with the hands and sash, are in fully polished brass. Specifications: height 8 5/8 inches. Width 14 inches. Dial 5 3/8 inches in diameter. Packed singly. Approximate shipping weight 12 pounds.”
The movement is an interesting design where the electric motor winds two mainsprings, one for the quarter hour chime and one for the hour strike. Each mainspring has a bridle end that slips around its barrel so it won’t overwind. A series of gears/pinions reduce the speed of the motor to one revolution per hour to turn the minute hand. Regular motion work on the front reduce the speed to one revolution per 12 hours for the hour hand. And the center gear, which turns once per hour, turns two gears, one the winds each mainspring.
Repair job 8886. I overhauled the movement and took the motor bearings out for cleaning, and injected Molykote Light grease. I polished or burnished the pivots and installed 24 bushings. Speed reduction gears T4 and T5 had badly worn pivots and were re-pivoted. The pictures below show one gear with badly worn pivots (the small ends – the pivots – were originally straight – the worn down middle portions have left bulbous ends).
The worn pivots are about half the diameter of their original size. Extreme wear in these clocks is common, because the motor is powerful enough to keep running and running for many years, without the clock being regularly serviced. When it finally comes to a stop, several pivots and many pivot holes are worn. Sometimes gear teeth are worn down as well.
The chime and strike portion of this movement are based on the design of the popular No. 124 chime movement.
The motor is the General Time M4 motor, patented in 1951.
If you have a clock you’d like repaired, I invite you to my website billsclockworks.com.
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