Another project on the go is this Tower clock originally from the Pro-Cathedral of the Holy Apostles in Bristol, England, removed in 1973.
The clock its self was made by Kemp Brothers, Bristol. dated 1901, It has had one owner since it was shipped to Australia in 1974, the clock has recently been aquired by a new owner who wants the clock overhauled and an auto wind mechanism fitted
The great wheel and maintaining power before cleaning
I initially started this project with the idea that tower clocks are large and less parts than a smaller clock how wrong could I be!!! I forgot to take into account that every bush is held in place by two to three screws then every mount is held in place by at least two bolts…. This all adds up to a lot of screw/bolt cleaning, image above the great wheel (35 parts) below are the components for the gravity escapement arbor (double three leg) 30 items in total.
At least all the brass work isn’t too bad, it had been lacquered in the past and a little soak in some solvent gets rid of the old lacquer, often the result is a part that looks gilded then a quick immersion in some clock cleaner then a quick once over with a light polish brings all the parts back to a high finish. I am then re-lacquering to preserve the finish again.
I am not sure whether the brass work was always so well finished but it appears that it may have been the case, even the parts of bushes hidden within the cast iron castings have a beautiful lustre to them.
Views from the work bench 