Cuckoo Clocks

Cuckoo clocks delight kids of all ages. Most people acquired them in the 1940's, 50's and 60's. A lot of soldiers brought the clocks back from Europe after WWII.

Most people think the clocks are "Swiss" but they are from Germany. The cuckoo clock case style was meant to mimic the typical railway houses that stood at each German railway stop.  The "Railway House" cuckoo clock was made to look like typical Black Forest structure with its pointed roof and square shape. The cuckoo bird would be hidden behind a trap door at the top, only to peek out at the top of the hour.

There are 1 day clocks and 8 day clocks. That means that it takes one day or eight days for the weight to fall from the bottom of the clock to the floor and then the weight would have to be pulled back to the top again to run the clock.  A basic cuckoo clock will have two weights and will just have a cuckoo bird that comes out. The cuckoo clock with three weights will play a musical tune in addition to the cuckoo and could have dancing people and other things going on.

Cuckoo clocks come in all shapes and sizes and can be basic or very elaborate. The antique ones will have brass movements in them but the new ones could be run by battery.

I repair cuckoo clocks and I have an antique Hunter's Cuckoo Clock for sale at Midtown Jewelers in Ansley Mall in Atlanta.

Connecticut-Birthplace of American Clockmaking

Bristol and Plymouth Connecticut was the center of clockmaking in the 1800's. Eli Terry, Seth Thomas and Silas Hoadley started in Plymouth and expanded to neighboring Bristol. Bristol's attraction was their river and the town was already using water power to run their mills. The clockmakers took advantage of the water power and used it to run their factories.  

Ives and Jerome Brothers, Welch, Hubbell, Brown, Atkins, Boardman, Brewster, Sessions and Ingraham opened shops in Bristol.  Bristol reportedly had about 280 firms that were part of the clock industry.
  
In the beginning clocks were made one at a time by a local clockmaker. This made the early clocks very expensive. Eli Terry ended up producing 4,000 clock movements in 3 years. He used local water power to run machinery and carpenters, Silas Hoadley and Seth Thomas to produce wooden clock parts and Terry came up with interchangeable parts which lead to clocks being mass produced.

Bristol established the Bristol Clock Museum in 1954, now called American Clock and Watch Museum. If you ever get up that way you should stop in to see a part of our history. I have never been there but would love to visit someday.  

Black Forest of Germany

The Black Forest is a region in south-west Germany. It was know to be one the largest clock making areas in the world.  It started as local farmers were looking for some indoor work that could be done during the hard winter months. They took up woodworking and woodcarving. Someone had a wooden clock and from that they came up with the idea to start making clocks.

The early clocks had wooden wheels and  frames, the weight that powered it was a stone on a string. The clocks only ran for 12 hours. Later wood wheels were replaced by brass wheels.  A clock maker needed one week to make one simple clock. They progressed to two people making 10 such clocks in a week. As the years went on the business turned into a large enterprise for the area. They did not start out making cuckoo clocks even though that region is famous for them. They still make cuckoo clocks because the consumer is used to the west German quality and are not interested in cheap imitations.  

If you ever get a chance to visit the Black Forest region of Germany, here is a website that gives the history of their clock making. There you can tour clock museums, clock companies, workshops and studios of clock shield painters. http://www.deutscheuhrenstrasse.de/uhrimschwarzwalden.htm 

This is a place I would love to visit and see where it all started by farmers looking for something to do in the winter.

Daylight Savings Time

Daylight saving has caused controversy since it began and continues today. Many areas of the world do not use daylight saving time. DST's clock shifts have the obvious disadvantage of complexity.  People must remember to change their clocks. This can be time-consuming, particularly for mechanical clocks that cannot be moved backwards safely.

The history of standard time in the United States began November 18, 1883 when United States and Canadian railroads instituted standard time in time zones. Before then, time of day was a local matter, and most cities and towns used some form of  local solar time, maintained by some well-know clock (for example, on a church steeple or in a jeweler's window). The new standard time system was not immediately embraced by all. Use of standard time gradually increased because of its obvious practical advantages for communication and travel. Standard time in time zones was not established in U.S. law until the Act of March 19, 1918, sometimes called the Standard Time Act. The act also established daylight saving time, itself a contentious idea. Daylight saving time was repealed in 1919, but standard time in time zones remained in law. Daylight saving time became a local matter. It was re-established nationally early in WWII, and was continuously observed until the end of the war. After the war its use varied among states and localities.

Here on the east coast we observe DST so Atlantans turn your clocks back Sunday. On your mechanical clocks, stop the pendulum for at least an hour and then start it up again and set the hands to the correct time moving the hands forward only.    

Soldering in Clockmaking

Soldering involves the joining of metal under heat. Solders are commonly divided into two general groups, known as hard and soft solders. The hard solder fuse only at a red heat and the soft solder fuse at lower degrees of heat.

Four general rules for successful soldering are:
1. absolute cleanliness of the parts
2. equal heating of parts being joined
3. a pure flux
4. a solder of the proper alloy

Possible heat sources are propane, natural gas, acetylene, oxy-acetylene, water torch, lamps, and irons.
Solder is made up of alloys of two or more metals and there is a wide variety. Soft solder is made up mostly of lead and tin. Generally the higher the percentage of tin the lower the melting point. For soft soldering, where temperatures of around 500 degrees F will be required, electric soldering irons will usually do the job. The major drawback of  a soldering iron in clock repair is that they must be brought into direct contact with the parts to be joined. This is sometimes difficult without dislocating the parts.

A soldering flux is a liquid, solid or gaseous material, which when heated is capable of promoting or accelerating the wetting of metal with solder.

There are some basic principles of soldering in Clockmaking.
1. Solder is not a cure-all and should never be used as a filler. Careful fitting, leaving as little area as possible to be filled by solder will produce the strongest joint.
2. Clean surfaces
3. Support each part so they will not move before the solder flows and cools.
4. Always apply flux
5. Never apply heat directly to the solder, heat should be directed to the parts to be joined.
6. Use as little solder as possible, all that is necessary to fill the joint.
7. Allow solder to cool before moving.
8. Remove excess solder

Soldering is an art, so practice makes perfect. I do not do a lot of soldering which is good in clock work but it also means I have not perfected the art of soldering.  

  

Carriage Clocks

A carriage clock is a small, spring-driven clock designed for traveling. The case is usually rectangular glass with a carrying handle on the top, installed for easy transportation. A feature of carriage clocks is the platform escapement, sometimes visible through the top of the case.

Traveling clocks were being made as early as the 15th century. But the first authentic carriage clock was made in Paris by Abraham-Louis Breguet in the 1800's. It was fashionable to own a carriage clock in the 1800's. During that period the wealthy were traveling more and wanting to know the time. The clock's revolutionary lever escapement and their sturdy leather traveling case, helped it to stand up to the rigors of traveling by carriage-hence their name-carriage clock. Based on historical legend carriage clocks are also know in France as an "officer's clock". It is said that Napoleon, having almost lost a battle because one of his officers was late, ordered his military chiefs to carry a carriage clock with them at all times.

Carriage clocks faded from popularity around 1930 but are still produced today. You can purchase them in a variety of styles. They range from inexpensive to thousands of dollars.

     

Webster-Whitcomb Lathe

Even though I am a clockmaker and don't repair watches, I have a watchmaker's lathe. I use a Webster-Whitcomb lathe to polish the pivots on clock wheels.

The WW lathes are steeped in American history. The American Watch Tool Company started in New England in the 1800's and made over 5000 lathes which were in high demand. Ambrose Webster designed a lathe know as the "Webster-Whitcomb" and it was a superior tool then and still is today.

I bought mine several years ago for $225.00 but originally they sold back in the 1800's for $60.00-$30.00. This lathe has stood the test of time and is still sought after as a fine piece of machinery.

Here is a picture of my lathe.