Posted 12 years ago
busymom2th…
(10 items)
This clock belongs to my dad. It chimes on the hour and half hour. The front case is glass with a wooden frame and knob. The back "door" is made of wood, but the knob is missing. On the front are three holes (two large and one very small). The key that is with the clock only fits the two large holes (between the 4 and 5 and the 7 and 8 on the dial). As far as I can tell, the clock still works. I ran it for about an hour recently, but stopped it, since my dad doesn't seem to like hearing the chime anymore.
I am wondering an approximate age on this clock. So far I have not found any similar ones with the full glass front. If you have any ideas about this clock or where I can find information, I would love to hear about it. Note: You will find this note on the front bottom face of the clock, below the numbers: Made by Seth Thomas USA. Thanks!
Hello Busymom2three and welcome to C.W.,
You have a Seth Thomas Cabinet mantel clock called the "Tyrone" from circa 1917. This model combines some elements of the Crystal Regulator and Cabinet style of clock case. The glass front is a very nice touch allowing you to view the simulated mercury vial pendulum's swing.
Its case is made of Mahogany and this model uses the less common, high grade 15-day hour and half-hour rack strike movement. If your clock's movement is in good condition it should run a full two weeks between windings. Most American mantel clocks used either a 30-hour, or 8-day movement.
If you don't want to hear the clock strike, allow it run normally but just rewind the time train mainspring. That's the one on the right side of the dial between the "4" and "5". Eventually, the strike train will run out of power and stop chiming. Since your movement use the rack and snail strike mechanism, you should be able to wind up the strike train whenever you're ready to hear the clock strike again and it will still be in sync with the time train. That's not true of many clock movements which utilize the "count wheel" approach.
The small hole right about the 12 is for regulating the speed of the clock. This clock originally came with a winding key with two ends. The large end is used to wind the mainsprings and the small end is used to speed up, or slow down the clock so that it kept time as accurately as possible. If the clock is accurate within 3-4 minutes per week, that is considered acceptable. You can get the appropriate replacement key. It does make regulating the speed of the clock convenient, but you can still regulate the speed by adjusting the pendulum's length. In order to do so, you would need to loosen the black lock screw on the back of the pendulum, then you would screw the rating nut at the bottom (in the middle) clockwise (viewing the pendulum from the bottom) to shorten the pendulum and thus speed up the clock. Or, of course, you could do the opposite turning the rating nut counter-clockwise thus lengthening the pendulum and slowing down the clock. Looking at your photos, it looks like your clock's pendulum may already be set as long as possible, which would make the clock run as slow as possible using this approach. That suggest to me that you really need an appropriately sized double-ended winding key.
If you have any questions or need more information please don't hesitate to let us know.
Best regards,
Bruce
P.S., if you do adjust the pendulum's rating nut, don't forget to re-tighten the lock screw once you're satisfied with the clock's accuracy. Don't over-tighten it. It's easy to strip brass threads.
Thank you for all the information you provided. This is very helpful!
You're very welcome. If that solves the mystery for you, please don't forget to check the "Mystery Solved" gray button below your post's text entry box.
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Bruce