This clock looks like a normal Seth Thomas chiming tambour clock. But the chime rods are tuned differently than Westminster chime rods, producing what Seth Thomas called “Bugle” chime.
This clock has the Seth Thomas No. 124 chime movement, made from 1924 through 1956.The “Bugle” chime was made only in 1926 and 1927. (Reference: NAWCC Clock & Watch Bulletin, October 2010, page 579)
The case is 9 inches tall and 21 1/8 inches wide. The minute track of the dial is 4 1/2 inches, and the minute hand is 2 5/16 inches long. The dial was originally silvered, but is now polished brass (which is why it doesn’t photograph well).
The movement has date codes of 38-3 and 10-50, which I can’t explain, as the “Bugle” chime was made in 1926 and 1927. Could these be Seth Thomas repair date codes?
Repair job 6281. The No. 124 movement needs to be carefully repaired to make it reliable. In particular, the bushings must be short enough for the pivots to protrude. I polished the pivots, installed 26 bushings, and tightened the riveting on the strike warning lever. I repaired the outer end of the time mainspring.
The slot in the regulator was too wide, giving the suspension spring too much play. This caused the pendulum to take a very poor motion (not enough swing to be reliable). When I narrowed the slot, the pendulum motion increased drastically! (see video above). But the clock ran too fast, so I installed an adjustable pendulum bob that could be made long enough to regulate the clock (The suspension spring appears to be original).
Pendulum Bob Data:
Original Bob: 3 ounces, Diameter 1 5/8 inches, Length to center 29.5 mm
New Bob: 2.4 ounces, Diameter 1 3/32 inches, Length to center 1 3/32 inches