Help identifying grandfather clock?

[motco]

Here's my inherited-with-the-house in 1977 so-called English clock of c.1930s vintage. The 'Made in England' legend looks like an addition to me.

[EddyP]

clockworks said:

Here's what I do when I service an antique English 8 day longcase:

Customer brings everything but the trunk and hood to me
Visual check that no parts are missing or beyond repair
Remove hands, dial, lines/pulleys, seatboard, bell, back cock/pallet arbour.
Check both trains run
Strip
Check rack tail and pallets, repair as required
True and polish pivots
Bush holes as required
Ultrasonic clean
Reassemble, set strike train timing, and lube.
Fit new lines
Replace suspension spring if required
Test bare movement for a week
Fit dial and hands, test for a week

Deliver to customer and set up (free up to 15 miles)

Standard price of £150 includes consumables (lines, bushes, suspension) and minor repairs such as loose rack tail, pallet refacing, new centre rear pivot, etc.

Any other parts are charged at cost. Generic parts are available at reasonable prices, but getting wheels or pinions cut is expensive.

9 times out of 10, no extra parts or major repairs are needed, so the standard £150 covers it.

I can also polish and resilver brass dials for £100

I don't do woodwork, but I know a very good cabinet maker

I don't repaint white dials, and don't know anyone locally who can

I can repair just about any type of clock, except mains electric, cheap alarms (balance wheels with cone and cup pivots), and those Swiza things that are basically pocket watches ( too small for me to see what I am doing)

I've not long dropped off a very old clock to a local guy, he estimated it to be earlier 1700s, brass face etc. It's not run properly for a very long time, all of the mechanism is black and dirty with dust in the oil, there's obvious wear on some of the shafts so he suggested he'd have to make some bushes and fit them, he's giving it a thorough clean and polishing everything up, no work to the face, new lines as they're old, and also fitting a new suspension spring to the pendulum.
He's suggested it''s going to be around £700.

Your post makes me feel I might be paying over the odds quite considerably......

[clockworks]

dickymint said:

You're correct Clockman. Can't remember if my old man wanted it to run for longer or if the chime got on his nerves but it's certainly been 'disabled' on purpose.

The chime mechanism does work if tripped manually but I do suspect a part or two are missing.

I'm more than happy to let you work your magic on it so if your happy I'd like to start a new thread on the watch forum at some stage?

Here's a couple of pics to go on with........





PS apologies to Mattman for the thread hijack

Looks like a nice old clock. Does the extra panel below the door look original? Don't recall seeing anything like that before. I'm sure that I can sort it for you if you want to ship it. A new thread sounds like a good idea

[clockworks]

motco said:

Here's my inherited-with-the-house in 1977 so-called English clock of c.1930s vintage. The 'Made in England' legend looks like an addition to me.

It may well be English, or an Engish case with a German movement. The German clocks from that period were mostly quite plain, art deco styling rather than traditional. The only way to be sure is to look at the back of the movement

[clockworks]

EddyP said:

I've not long dropped off a very old clock to a local guy, he estimated it to be earlier 1700s, brass face etc. It's not run properly for a very long time, all of the mechanism is black and dirty with dust in the oil, there's obvious wear on some of the shafts so he suggested he'd have to make some bushes and fit them, he's giving it a thorough clean and polishing everything up, no work to the face, new lines as they're old, and also fitting a new suspension spring to the pendulum.
He's suggested it''s going to be around £700.

Your post makes me feel I might be paying over the odds quite considerably......

I know that some specialist repairers charge £35+ per hour, especially if they have a shop to pay for. Cheap compared to a plumber.

I work from home, and I live in an area where very few people have the disposable income to spend that kind of money on getting a clock repaired. Still, I probably work too cheaply, even for Cornwall.

I reckon to spend a day and a half on average doing a longcase, but a really rough one would take twice as long. It's the cleaning that takes the longest

[motco]

clockworks said:

It may well be English, or an Engish case with a German movement. The German clocks from that period were mostly quite plain, art deco styling rather than traditional. The only way to be sure is to look at the back of the movement

Thanks clockworks, I'll have a butchers when I can.

[EddyP]

clockworks said:

I know that some specialist repairers charge £35+ per hour, especially if they have a shop to pay for. Cheap compared to a plumber.

I work from home, and I live in an area where very few people have the disposable income to spend that kind of money on getting a clock repaired. Still, I probably work too cheaply, even for Cornwall.

I reckon to spend a day and a half on average doing a longcase, but a really rough one would take twice as long. It's the cleaning that takes the longest

Thanks, so it's about 20 hours, so just over a couple of days, he does have a shop so has some overheads there.

Shame you're in Cornwall.

When I get it back I'll get a picture on here, would be interesting to see your comments on what you think of it and the case if thats OK please

[clockworks]

EddyP said:

Thanks, so it's about 20 hours, so just over a couple of days, he does have a shop so has some overheads there.

Shame you're in Cornwall.

When I get it back I'll get a picture on here, would be interesting to see your comments on what you think of it and the case if thats OK please

I'm always happy to look at clocks, in person or photos. I'm not an "expert" on cases, but I know someone who is.

[dickymint]

clockworks said:

It may well be English, or an Engish case with a German movement. The German clocks from that period were mostly quite plain, art deco styling rather than traditional. The only way to be sure is to look at the back of the movement

Clocks imported into the USA from 1900's onward had to be marked "made in ......" Just a thought as OP thinks it could be an addition?

[dickymint]

Clockworks - You have mail

[mjb1]

Seeing as there are some knowledgeable people contributing to this thread, I'm after info/opinions on this clock please:



Had been in my granddad's house for many years, now we're probably looking to sell it on (I would have it in a heartbeat, but it's too tall to fit anywhere in my house)!

Estimate of age (I don't think it's particularly old, in clock terms)?
Anything about the maker (J Wilson, Gateshead)?
Rough idea of value?

[guindilias]

Jeremiah Wilson, of Gateshead? From here - http://www.clockrepairrochdale.com/Clock-Makers-Na...

[Simpo Two]

mjb1 said:

Seeing as there are some knowledgeable people contributing to this thread, I'm after info/opinions on this clock please:

Had been in my granddad's house for many years, now we're probably looking to sell it on (I would have it in a heartbeat, but it's too tall to fit anywhere in my house)!

Estimate of age (I don't think it's particularly old, in clock terms)?
Anything about the maker (J Wilson, Gateshead)?
Rough idea of value?

Contact your local decent auction house telling them you're thinking of selling it and they will send a valuer.

There are many, many clockmakers so unless you have a 'name' I'd guess £1,500, maybe £2,000 if the movement is good. It looks like mahogany not oak which helps.

[mjb1]

Simpo Two said:

Contact your local decent auction house telling them you're thinking of selling it and they will send a valuer.

There are many, many clockmakers so unless you have a 'name' I'd guess £1,500, maybe £2,000 if the movement is good. It looks like mahogany not oak which helps.

Auctioneer came this morning to pick out items from the house that he thought worthy of auctioning. Didn't offer any insight into valuation/reserves though, apparently.

[clockworks]

Valuing clocks really is a "finger in the wind" guess, unless you've got something really special. The low to middle market has been static for many years.
My local antique auction usually has a few longcase clocks, and they sell for £400 upwards. Something that doesn't need too much work will sell for a few hundred more. A grand will get something presentable and basically working.

Provincial clocks tend to fetch more in their local area, as buyers like a local name/place on the dial

[mjb1]

clockworks said:

Valuing clocks really is a "finger in the wind" guess, unless you've got something really special. The low to middle market has been static for many years.
My local antique auction usually has a few longcase clocks, and they sell for £400 upwards. Something that doesn't need too much work will sell for a few hundred more. A grand will get something presentable and basically working.

Provincial clocks tend to fetch more in their local area, as buyers like a local name/place on the dial

I'm fairly local to you (although the clock in question is miles away), may I ask which is your local antique auction?

[clockworks]

mjb1 said:

I'm fairly local to you (although the clock in question is miles away), may I ask which is your local antique auction?

David Lay in Penzance. I don't go there regularly, but I do some work for an antique shop, and the owner visits most of the auctions.

[Simpo Two]

mjb1 said:

Auctioneer came this morning to pick out items from the house that he thought worthy of auctioning. Didn't offer any insight into valuation/reserves though, apparently.

Strange, it's certainly worth auctioning. It's in his interests to spot thngs and persuade you to auction them as they'll get the commission.

[mjb1]

mjb1 said:

Seeing as there are some knowledgeable people contributing to this thread, I'm after info/opinions on this clock please:



Had been in my granddad's house for many years, now we're probably looking to sell it on (I would have it in a heartbeat, but it's too tall to fit anywhere in my house)!

Estimate of age (I don't think it's particularly old, in clock terms)?
Anything about the maker (J Wilson, Gateshead)?
Rough idea of value?

Just a follow up on the clock above. Went to auction last week, auctioneer put a guide price of £100 odd or so on it, and it didn't sell. So presumably it didn't even get bids over the £100 mark. Which is a little disappointing, and out of line with people's comments on here. Leaves me wondering about the abilities of the auctioneer. Or maybe no one wants grandfather clocks at the moment? Apparently the casing is a very obscure design, maybe that's putting buyers off? Auctioneer is going to stick it in their next auction, but frankly I think it'd do better on ebay, with buyer to collect from the auction house!

[JackReacher]

Thread bump. Does anyone know much about a clockmaker called Green from Edinburgh?