Posted 8 years ago
dwhitney
(2 items)
Here's my parents clock that I inherited. The clock face center says Ingraham and the bottom of the face says MANUFACTURED BY THE E. INGRAHAM CO BRISTOL CONN U.S.A. I believe this originally came from my fathers family. They were from Dover Massachusetts and this clock says its from Bristol Connecticut which is a short distance away.
Some of my research say its from 1885. That would make some sense with my grandfather from Massachusetts.
The clock runs about 5 minutes slow every day. It strikes correctly on the hour and half. I wind it 3 turns once a day in both places.
There is no adjustment nut on the pendulum, but there is an 'gear' that extends out of face in the front just above the center. What is that gear for?
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Don
Hello Don,
Your heirloom belongs to a style of clocks generally called "Tambours". This style was very popular in the 1920's and 30's. I think your clock may be from circa 1923 based upon similar models I've found in one of my references. The thumb wheel (or gear) that you refer to is for regulating the speed of the clock. I'm not certain but I believe that you "turn" it to the left to make the clock run faster and, of course, to the right to make it run slower. This is just the opposite from what one would expect from other American Clock Manufacturers but they didn't have this type of patented regulator. At any rate, make an adjustment and record the change of accuracy over a 24 hour period and then go from there. This is an 8-day movement which means it should run a full week between windings. It may need to be cleaned, serviced and oiled in order to run efficiently.
Sorry I was unable to find the model name but I'm fairly certain that this clock was manufactured in the early part of the 20th Century.
Hope that helps a little. Perhaps another collector has seen this model before and can help further.
Thanks for sharing your heirloom with us and welcome to Collectors Weekly.
Thank you Bruce. I'll start slowly adjusting the thumb wheel.
Were you able to adjust the clock for more accuracy Don? Did you have any more questions?
Thank you Bruce. Sorry, it's been so long to reply. I had the clock professionally cleaned and adjusted. Do you think 2 weeks and $165 was a good price? The chime sounds solid and it's been only a few days since I got it back, so I'm still in the adjustment phase, but seems good.
Hello again Don,
That all depends on what was done, but if the job was done properly, that's not an unreasonable charge for a professional service at an established clock shop in most markets I think. It wasn't "cheap" but you probably have a one year warranty on the work too, right? The old adage is true, you pretty much get what you pay for. Glad to hear that it's running smoothly. Enjoy your heirloom. It should give you many years of trouble-free mechanical time keeping.
Best regards,
Bruce
Hello Bruce & All,
It's been some time, but I did get the clock back from the repair shop and started to check the accuracy over a week or so., it was moving mostly slow. So gentle adjustment to the left each day, about a 1/4 turn each time. But it's been sometime now and it's still always about 5 minutes slow. I adjust to the left a bit, and the next day always 5 minutes slow. Any clues? thanks
Don
Hello Don,
If you have a warranty on the work done by your shop, contact them for help. That would be my advice.
Good luck with it
Bruce