On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:55:05 -0500, Roy
wrote:

Can anyone identify the wood? I figure it is black walnut.

Probably rosewood or mahogany depending on age.

The top metal plate is held with two Phillips screws. Those weren't
in use before 1952/53, so it has to be after that.

I got sucked into hand tools because I was
interested in planes, and it went downhill from there. I'm finding my main
interest is in socketed chisels. I really need to make some time to turn a
bunch of handles.

Funny you should mention the chisels. I have a bunch of wood chisels
that my father made. He used existing chisels that he modified by
replacing the handles with bigger ones. Some of the chisels were
these two-ended types that he cut in half and made handles for... said
they were useless without handles.

When time permits, I'll have to snap a few shots of those & post them
as well.

Nice work on the clock. I am glad you could repair the original works.

That was actually pretty easy.

The movement was all brass, with engine turning on the plates. (Very
pretty, despite the fact you can't see it when assembled.) Apart from
the lubrication issue (pretty easy fix - just shoot the bushing points
and gear teeth with a good sticky grease.), the only two remaining
issues were the motor (a 1 RPM Telechron - had to replace that with
something modern), and a couple of springs that were out of tolerance
in the chime section. (this clock had Westminster chimes - a simple
arrangement that used thin metal rods and gravity-driven mechanical
strikers.)

The major time was spent refinishing the wood very carefully. The
veneer is extremely thin, so I had to be *very VERY careful* with
sanding. After stripping the finish (which was hopelessly cracked
wherever you see those flame ripples), I had to gently sand down the
raised grain with 400-grit. I used a wipe-on satin polyurethane, and
after letting each coat dry for a week, I hit it again with 400grit
then 600grit. I think I did 4 coats total. That was enough for me. I
used polyurethane as I wanted to protect the wood.

One thing about a mechanical movement like this: you have to open it
up every 6mos to a year and re-lubricate it. This is something that
most aren't used to in these days of battery-powered quartz movements.
Clocks like this need regular maintenance, so it is a bit of a
committment. The electric ones need much less tending to than a 100%
spring-driven or weight-driven mechanical movement.

Keep an eye out for these old electric mantle clocks, and the close
relatives made for kitchens that hung on the wall. They make
excellent resto candidates, and there is a lot of info on the web on
how to get the original Telechron motors/rotors working again... but
don't be surprised if you find yourself in need of a modern 1RPM
motor. (fair warning: the modern replacements make a lot of noise
and sound a little like a burr-type coffee grinder.)

Hope this all helps someone here....