Wooden movement wall clock!

[Alun]

Hi All....

A friend asked me to have a look at a very old wall mounted clock he had from his grandparents.

When I received it I was amazed that the movement was made out of wood, with the only brass part being the wheels (apart from the arbours)

I've managed to dismantle, clean, reassemble and oil the movement and it's going great.

I thought I'd share this, just for a bit of interest....but I do have some questions if anyone could help with:

What are these clocks called, when were they produced and are they uncommon nowadays.

Pictures attached 

Cheers 

Al

[MikeEll]

wow, I've never seen one like this before.  Are the pivot holes bushed/lined at all, or just drilled holes in the wood?

[Alun]

The pivot holes have small brass bushes pressed into the wood.

So whoever made it was a clockmaker and joiner! 

[oldhippy]

Normally called a Postmans clock or a wag on the wall. 

[MikeEll]

I bet its a nightmare when the temperature changes

[HectorLooi]

17 minutes ago, oldhippy said:

wag on the wall. 

I'm sure if you ask the millennials what comes to mind, you'll be shocked.

[Alun]

Thanks for the info....postman's clock, that's interesting. I suspect they were on the wall of post offices, maybe??

He also gave me another one. Very similar but it has a bell and looks like a striking mechanism with a notched wheel instead of a snail to count the strikes.

I'm waiting for a couple of chains and a weight to see if I can get it going...I've put a little bit of 'weight' on the going side and the pallet flutters so I'm optimistic.

The one in the photo I shared is going great and keeps really good time for what it is.....and appears to be either a 24 or 30 hrs movement.

I'm guessing these are from mid to late 19th century??

 

[oldhippy]

Date for these clocks anything from 1800 to 1920

[watchweasol]

Hi. I have had the pleasure of repairin*one of theses for a client. It had been round the world and when I got it , it was in a box in which it was last shipped from South Africa during the reforms there. All that was wrong was a broken glass. It was the striking version with a bell. It uses a counr wheel assembly mounted at the rear of the clock. I have another of the same type todo yet which has a peculiar method of friction for the hour wheel.  It has has a soft bush in the center that grips the center wheel shaft, not very well and consequentl looses time.  A job for later as time permits. Interesting clocks, some were fitted with alarms.

 

[Alun]

2 hours ago, watchweasol said:

Hi. I have had the pleasure of repairin*one of theses for a client. It had been round the world and when I got it , it was in a box in which it was last shipped from South Africa during the reforms there. All that was wrong was a broken glass. It was the striking version with a bell. It uses a counr wheel assembly mounted at the rear of the clock. I have another of the same type todo yet which has a peculiar method of friction for the hour wheel.  It has has a soft bush in the center that grips the center wheel shaft, not very well and consequentl looses time.  A job for later as time permits. Interesting clocks, some were fitted with alarms.

 

That's interesting.... here's a few photos of the striking clock.

This one looks like it's been buried in the back of a dirty garage for some years. It's nice and clean now, just waiting for some chains and a weight. 

Talking about the weight. I weighed one and it was 1.6kg, unsure if it's the going or the strike. I've ordered a 2kg weight (I can always cut it down if too heavy) and I was going to use that for the strike.

Any idea how heavy the weights were on your clock, just to give me a benchmark??

Cheers 

Al

 

 

 

 

[oldhippy]

So much missing such as hands, dial weights, pendulum. It's a job to tell what this started out as apart for it would hang on a wall.  I notice the spikes on the going side have been worn so much they are blunt you won't find a chain with links to fit that all the spikes will need replacing, just look at the strike side and compare. You can also get these movement with alarms 

[watchweasol]

Hi. Mine is just hanging on the wall not running , it had no weights bit I used a pair fron a Dutch zandaam clock they are heavy (large) I think I have the original weights written some where if I find it I will post it.  The original ones were heavy lead weights aka grandfather clock type.

[Alun]

4 hours ago, oldhippy said:

So much missing such as hands, dial weights, pendulum. It's a job to tell what this started out as apart for it would hang on a wall.  I notice the spikes on the going side have been worn so much they are blunt you won't find a chain with links to fit that all the spikes will need replacing, just look at the strike side and compare. You can also get these movement with alarms 

Sorry....I didn't upload the photo of the  dial/hands.

I'm going to give it a go just to see what the art of the possible is

[spectre6000]

On 3/18/2025 at 7:34 AM, HectorLooi said:

I'm sure if you ask the millennials what comes to mind, you'll be shocked.

I'm a millennial. Nothing comes to my mind. UK millennial maybe?

[MikeEll]

17 hours ago, spectre6000 said:

I'm a millennial. Nothing comes to my mind. UK millennial maybe?

yeah, WAG is a UK tabloid press slang term referring to 'wifes and girlfriends' typically of professional footballers.

Edited March 20 by MikeEll

[spectre6000]

Ah. So doubly out of that loop. Wrong vernacular, and not hip to the tabloids. 

[Alun]

On 3/19/2025 at 9:02 AM, oldhippy said:

So much missing such as hands, dial weights, pendulum. It's a job to tell what this started out as apart for it would hang on a wall.  I notice the spikes on the going side have been worn so much they are blunt you won't find a chain with links to fit that all the spikes will need replacing, just look at the strike side and compare. You can also get these movement with alarms 

Hi Old Hippy....I found a chain.

After a bit of searching and research into how to measure and determine what size chain was required I bought one from HS Walsh.

I also 'sharpened' the spikes and ran the new chain through. 

I then attached the weight and boom.

Tick tock.

After a bit of  adjustment getting it into beat and regulating, the clock has been keeping good time for about two weeks.

The weight hasn't 'dropped' either.

The bad news is that I can't get the strike to work. It looks like the wooden 'cam' that locks the train has broken in two....and one half is lost.

I was thinking of making a new one but I'm unsure if it's symmetrical, as I have half of what is left to make a pattern...thoughts??

Cheers 

Al