markbairdclocks

Making an accurate tide clock

This is the first in a series of blog posts where I will record the progress with the construction of a long case clock which aims to accurately predict the tides for Fidra, North Berwick on the East coast of Scotland or indeed anywhere in Northern Europe. There are many quartz tide clocks available onContinue reading “Making an accurate tide clock”

Safely drilling brass

Brass is a fantastic metal to work with, it machines, files and cuts easily and it can be polished to a mirror finish for the highest grade of clock making. However, to the uninitiated engineer there is a hidden peril to working with this metal: drilling it! If you’ve even taken a standard twist drillContinue reading “Safely drilling brass”

Replacing a missing screw

It is fairly common when working on antique clocks to find a missing screw. I’ve been working on a high end longcase clock movement recently where a previous repairer had replaced a missing screw with a machine screw. It looked terrible and didn’t even have the same thread! Fortunately in this case the original tappedContinue reading “Replacing a missing screw”

Lenzkirch clock service

I’ve recently completed a restoration and service of a Lenkirch bracket clock. Lenzkirch clocks from the town of Lenzkirch in the Black Forrest region of Germany were made between 1851 to 1929. The company was originally founded by Eduard Hauser whose company established a reputation of making reliable clocks with outstanding craftsmanship. The clock IContinue reading “Lenzkirch clock service”

Replacing the missing pendulum

Clocks often fall into a state of not working many years before they are presented to a clock repairer. The worst case scenario is when the owner takes it apart, fails to fix it and then stores the parts in a box for years. Being presented with a box of bits and the prospect ofContinue reading “Replacing the missing pendulum”

Evidence of a clock’s history

I’ve recently completed a restoration and service of a long case clock by Sam Ashton of Bredbury. Whilst working on the clock it became evident that it wasn’t all original and clearly many changes had happened to the clock during its lifetime. This blog post looks at the evidence of the changes. Initial impressions AsContinue reading “Evidence of a clock’s history”

Wheel cutting for a tide clock

I am in the process of prototyping a fusee dial clock which has a tide dial incorporated. Having worked on my train counts for the movement, I found that one of the wheels I needed to cut for the motion work contained 149 teeth! Those who have worked on cutting gear or wheel cutting willContinue reading “Wheel cutting for a tide clock”