Posted 8 years ago
SpiritBear
(813 items)
I've always liked these old case clocks and found one for about $40 today. It runs, strikes (albeit not regularly) and seems to have fair age (Patent of Feb. 11, 1879).
The paper says this is a striking 8-day Dandy Line; the clock even appears to feature some dandelion-like plants on the glass. LOL.
I am hoping to know the age of it, and how best to remove the face (just by the screws?) to see what might be wrong in the workings and then clean/oil it.
Also, it does wind, but is it the clock's left or the clock's right that winds the time? And is it the minutes hand I move to change the time?
A great New Haven Clock Co. piece for the collection.
Hi SpiritBear. Nice pick. Your New Haven Clock is from their "Dandy Line" as you've pointed out for us already. There were three different models in this line designated "A", "B" and "C". Yours is a very nice looking example of the "B" model. They are from circa 1895 and the 8-day strike version originally listed for $4.00. They also had an option for an "Alarm" which costs 50 cents more.
The winding hole on the right powers the time train, the left powers the strike train. You move the minute hand *clockwise* to set the time. Some antique clocks can have their minute hand turned counter-clockwise but unless you know for sure, only go clockwise otherwise the can be damage or adjustment problems as a result. The hour hand is friction fitted to the movement so you can turn it in either direction. Again, if in doubt go clockwise. Sometimes the hour hand gets loose, it's a simple matter to push it towards the dial to tighten it up again.
In order to gain access to the movement you will need to carefully remove the minute and hour hands. There is a "Taper Pin" which is used to fasten the hands to the clock's movement. A small pair of pliers should enable you to push the smaller tapered end back through the hole in the minute arbor. Once the taper pin is removed, there should be some type of washer to remove, then the minute hand and finally the hour hand comes straight off (or away from) of the dial/movement. Once that's done you should be able to remove the screws holding the dial to the clock's case, lift the dial and you can then access the movement. You'll find four wood screws holding the movement to the case.
If you have little or no experience working with antique mechanical clock movements such as this, I would recommend caution. The mainsprings store quite a bit of power and can cause damage to the movement and even serious injury to you if they are not handled properly. I would recommend that you go to the NAWCC's Message Board and register as a user. They have several forums on the Message Board. Go to the "Clock Repair" forum, introduce yourself and ask for help. They have a lot of permanent "How To" threads which can be of great assistance if you just want to browse around anonymously for a while.
Here's a link to a thread on the NAWCC MB in which they were discussing this exact model: http://mb.nawcc.org/showthread.php?106658-New-Haven-Clock
Hope that helps solve your mystery. If so, please indicate "Mystery Solved". If you have more questions, ask away!
Thanks for sharing your Antique New Haven Dandy Line "B" with us!
Thank you so much, Bruce!
It's a great clock SpiritBear and great price for it. I really like the oak woodwork - different and decorative without being fussy.
I need to post my cabinet clock!
Thank you, Racer4Four. I really like it.
Celiene, I needed one because one day I'm going to make my home totally Victorian (save for a couple rooms) that can be viewed by the public.
Cool! OleBodie should, too! Open his place for display, I mean! I would love to do that. I keep looking at places to buy. I'd love to get an old vic at auction including contents!!
I'm trying hard now for the smaller pieces of any kind imaginable, so when I have real money many years from now I can get the big pieces.