October 2006, Chapter 168

This was the sixth anniversary of the 400-day members of NAWCC chapter 168 torsion clock group meeting in Sydney. At 6 meetings per year who would have thought that we could still be talking about these simple clocks after 36 meets!

Well, we are morphing into more workshop time rather than history and developments of these clocks to help with repairs; still plenty of hands on time with mystery clocks and show and tell as well as time to learn about workshop techniques. This session, conducted by Doug Minty, covered pivot polishing, bushing theory and tools.

This mystery clock has column finials I like to call Kaiser Bill like his spiked helmet!	Clues start to appear with a spring on the centre arbor for hand tension	Also when you see lantern pinions	But what about this pendulum? The 400-day clock repair guide lists it as from Kienzle, C1910 (P197)	No back guard. The suspension bracket and saddle is listed as Badische Standard (P202) S No. 41050
So what is it?	Well we decided it is a Badische (often seen with the same pendulum) Plate no 1627 (P 166) C1905	Moon dials are rare on 400-day clocks. This shows the same dial on an 8-day clock.	The tension spring has to be very lightly set to prevent the clock stopping.	By Wurthner, narrow plates C1950/60
This clock has been operating satisfactorily for 3 years	Standard 4 ball pendulum	Detail of the dial on the 8-day clock	Now this 4-glass clock is a Schatz	Which has a large barrel and gearing which allows 1000 days of operation
Another view	Doug shares his 40 years plus experience	with the attentive group	Polishing pivots, note the shine on Fred's dome!	Bushing equipment