Recently, the Sandstone Heritage Trust purchased an old SAR / SAS Station Clock. It was not working, and the pendulum was loose inside the case, not doing it any good as it fell around. We hung it up at home, but the sight of a non-working clock made me do some research into a new field!

Guarded by a fox from the Burleigh Hunt, possibly 60 years ago!

The description of the clock is an 8-day English Dial Clock. We have a book called Clock Repairing and Adjusting by W L Randell, published by Percival Marshall & Co. Ltd., London, which cost all of three shillings when new in 1923. The book starts by saying 'This book is written for those who have no experience of clockwork....' so it was right up my street!

On the subject of the English Dial Clock, this is what it says:

The clock conforms to this style, the wooden pegs, the doors at side and bottom:

One peg is unfortunately missing and another damaged. The book goes on:

The fusee mechanism described is ingenious:

Above, the wire (in place of chain or gut as described) is nearly all on the fusee, and only two turns are on the barrel, whereas in this picture below, the wire is completely off the fusee and all is on the barrel:

As the spring gets weaker as it unwinds, it pulls from a bigger diameter! Clever! The book goes on:

However, it was not possible to 'set the main spring up' as described, as the main spring was unhooked in the middle, which required further reading:

Clearly there was more dismantling to do, including removal of the escapement and the back, to be able to remove the barrel with the main spring in.

At this stage, I was feeling nervous. I had dismantled and assembled it already once, but I couldn't get the barrel arbor to stay hooked in to the inner end of the main spring. By patient bending and testing by turning the arbor a few times, it became clear what the shape of the inner end of the main spring should be, after all, the spring has been softened out at each end. The book dwelled more on the outer end of the main spring than the inner:

It didn't help to read 'make perfectly certain that the hook of the barrel arbor is through the hole and not merely catching the edge' . Eventually, I had it looking like this:

So I could put the brass cover on the barrel (it taps in) and start assembling. Once assembled, I wound it fully, as the book instructs, and ran it down. I then wound the barrel arbor 7 clicks tighter and locked in the pawl and tightened its screw. With some fine adjustments, it wasn't long before it was running properly:

.... with its base square on the table. Then I could start assembling. 'A simple matter', the author says on page 52! But there was also an interesting discovery during stripping!

And for interest, a date written on the back of the older face, perhaps when the later face was fitted 

It reads J .... Dec 3rd 61. It didn't take long to decide to go for the older face! Here it is, doing trials against other clocks in the house, so that further adjustments can be made!

An interesting afternoon's entertainment!

For interest, this is our own English Dial Clock:

And, also described in detail in the same book, our 30-hour Chain Clock, which, incidentally comes from  Uppingham, Rutland, about 185 years ago, not far from where the fox lived its foreshortened life!

Which only goes to show how late it is!

Andy Selfe

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