How to remove the alarm section of a Westclox alarm clock
Rich
dial with lunimous hands.
I want to remove the alarm section.
I've got some parts removed, but others won't just drop out.
Okay, we've got the alarm pull. On the end is brass "button". I presume
I need to remove that brass button to get that alarm pull mechanism out.
How do I do that?
We've also got the component that sets the alarm time. It's a curious
mechanism. The knurled brass "button" you turn has a spring underneath
it. I don't know whether this is supposed to come off, or the "wheel"
(actually a bit more than just a cog, there is a brass disk with a slot
out of it) at the oppposite end of the spindle.
If you were to dismantle this clock from it's case, there is no need to
remove these buttons, (or the hands setting button for that matter).
Just the spring winds.
Any instructions as to how to remove the the items mentioned
appreciated. Thanks.
Jack Denver
the movement? These movements were supposed to be disposable and were not
meant to be taken apart for cleaning or repair.
"Rich" <zi...@dot.com> wrote in message
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Rich
Actually I'm messing about with a few alarm clocks I have. Some that
have cases I may seek to restore. The movements without cases I will
design a new stand for so you can see the clock work. I know of a child
who is keen to get his hands on a clock movement, but a movement I'll
eventually choose needs to be cleaned up.
As to this particular movement I'm addressing at the moment, I just want
to get rid of the alarm section. I just thought that there was a way to
remove the components. But if there isn't because of what you say,
I'll probably just cut the spindles.
"Jack Denver" <nunu...@netscape.net> wrote in message
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Rich
alarm clock would have come in later when plastics wrere introduced.
No plastic at all in this movement I have. It's even got brass parts in
it. :c)
"Jack Denver" <nunu...@netscape.net> wrote in message
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Jack Denver
movements were all brass and repair labor was relatively cheap, there were
still cheap mass produced clocks where the cost of any repair would have
been more than the cost of a whole new clock - in the '60s this clock would
have sold for somewhere around $8 or $10 US brand new - even in those days
that would not have bought you a clock rebuild. Building the clock to be
repairable would have raised its price.
"Rich" <zi...@dot.com> wrote in message
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Rich
as a business, although he was a professional watch & clock repairer. It
was possibly because his charges would be lower than what would be
charged in shops that made repairs economical.
Unless the only thing he did was clean the movements. I've seen dad many
times brushing alarm clock movements with spirit to degrease.
"Jack Denver" <nunu...@netscape.net> wrote in message
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Jack Denver
designed with repair in mind. Now that the older ones are collectibles, more
are being repaired I suppose. Some hints on disassembly here:
http://clockhistory.com/westclox/other/repair/repair-tips.htm
"Rich" <zi...@dot.com> wrote in message
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John S.
I'm not sure how much has been removed. But it will be immensely
easier if the entire movement is taken from the case. Remove the
hands and look for a few screws holding the movement in place within
the case. Be sure to control the spring(s) before disssembling the
movement. By control I mean wind the spring up, wrap it with some
wire then let it down. Otherwise parts will fly everywhere when the
plates are separated.
The easiest way to determine whether the movement was intended to be
disassembled is to look at the posts or pillars that hold the movement
plates together. If they use screws or nuts then it should be
possible to disassemble. If the ends are simply bent over or closed
like a rivet then disassembly isn't really feasible.
Rich
easily dismantleable for a child to mess with but that ain't necessarily
so. Well, certainly with the Westclox alarm clock movements I have been
looking at, this is not true. It is not at all easy to separete the
plates although they are screwed togther (and therefore dismantleable).
I've removed (by destroying) the alarm pull, and the alarm setting and
am left with the hands setting. But the plates are still unseparatable
unless perhaps I use a small hammer to knock the hands spindle
through a cog. So, it's only partialy dismantleable, sufficient to c
hange the springs, and balance wheel and perhaps one or two
more things.
I'll have a look at my other movements and see what I find. See if
anything is fully dismantleable.
"Jack Denver" <nunu...@netscape.net> wrote in message
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Jack Denver
"Removing Time Set Knob on model Big Ben model 75 movement (single key wind
introduced in 1956).
Remove movement from case. Bend a brass strip in half and put it over the
center arbor between the knob and the back plate. Firmly grasp the center
arbor (on top of the brass strip) with Vice-grip pliers. Lever the knob off
using 7" diagonal cutters, using the vice grips at the fulcrum.
The regular way of prying off the knob will compress the tension spring, as
there is no shoulder on the center arbor. Also, if the movement has an
aluminum back plate, it may bend."
"Rich" <zi...@dot.com> wrote in message
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Jack Denver
"John S." <hjs...@cs.com> wrote in message news:e1d8b2c3-d533-4d20-be09-The
disassembled is to look at the posts or pillars that hold the movement
plates together. If they use screws or nuts then it should be
possible to disassemble. If the ends are simply bent over or closed
like a rivet then disassembly isn't really feasible.
This is not 100% foolproof - as Rich pointed out, the Westclox plates were
screwed, but they pressed in the hand setting and alarm knobs so that even
after you unscrew the plates the movement does not come apart.
I suppose everything is feasible if you are willing to try hard enough/the
item is valuable enough. Electric clock rotors were made to be sealed
disposable items that were permanently crimped shut at the factory - now
there are pros who will painstakingly pry/cut them open and rebuilt them (at
a very high price because of all the skilled hand labor involved) because
the clocks they are in (sometimes) have the value to justify this. Tabs can
be unbent, rivets can be drilled out and replaced, etc. But generally it is
just not worth the bother if you are talking about something like a Big Ben.
They literally made tens of millions of these over the span of many decades
so except for some rare models, most have no collectible value even if they
are quite old - they are just not rare enough and never will be. I think
Rich has the right approach which is to keep going thru his junk drawer/
flea market finds until he finds something that comes apart relatively
easily.
dAz
> Hi.
>
> Actually I'm messing about with a few alarm clocks I have. Some that
> have cases I may seek to restore. The movements without cases I will
> design a new stand for so you can see the clock work. I know of a child
> who is keen to get his hands on a clock movement, but a movement I'll
> eventually choose needs to be cleaned up.
>
I was about 6 or 7 when I pulled my first clock apart, a Junghans or
Peter I think, I managed to remove the case, hands, dial, balance,
pallets and mainsprings, Mum wasn't terribly happy when she found me
using what's left of the movement of her alarm clock as a choo choo
train on the carpet.
I think it was that christmas I got a meccano set ;)
Jack Denver
again (in running order) that is the trick.
"dAz" <dazb@zipDOTcomDOTau> wrote in message
news:48c83855$0$4454$afc3...@news.optusnet.com.au...
dAz
> Taking them apart is (relatively) easy. It's putting them back together
> again (in running order) that is the trick.
>
never had problems putting stuff back together, I like puzzles, by high
school I could pull a cheap pin pallet wrist watch apart and put it back
together working, no training or books to refer to, even made the
screwdriver to suit since we didn't have stores like Radio shack here in
Oz at the time.
Frank Adam
I'm in the wrong trade. My first was my mum's sewing machine. She was
a seemstress. I managed to take the needle, the foot, the front cover
and a few other bits i don't knwo the names of, out before she caught
me. It looked like a normal day to me, but apparently it was deadline
day. Still, we did find all the bits eventually, so i feel she was a
bit over reacting..
ps: I'm sure she never cooked with that bloody wooden spoon, that she
was packing. :)
>I think it was that christmas I got a meccano set ;)
>
I got a Rolls Royce convertable that year, with the guy driving and
the girl occasionally spinning sideways and taking snapshots with a
flash camera. Amazing technology for it's day, which is how long it
lasted before i decided that the 80,000 millimeter major service was
due.. :-)
ps: i'm happy we're still here, what with the bloody Swiss trying to
kill the world and all that.. Mind you, i had food and drinks packed
and a solar torch handy for the black hole trip. All for nothing
dammit.. ;-)
--
Regards, Frank
Jack Denver
profession.
"dAz" <dazb@zipDOTcomDOTau> wrote in message
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Rich
"dAz" <dazb@zipDOTcomDOTau> wrote in message
My dad was self taught, but worked professionally.
He just had the gift.
He used to call himself a "microengineer"
He was good. Chronographs etc, no problem. He used a lathe etc.
He came from near Kartuzy in Poland of all places. :c)