Caseless Clocks

[bbodnyk]

I have two movements; Waterbury and Seth Thomas, without cases as they went thru a house fire. Since I don't have the original cases I was thinking of mounting the movements on a board so they are entirely visible. I would imagine without a case the movement may accumulate more dust however in todays world where central heating is commonplace I would think houses are less dusty and occasionally blowing the dust off the movement with canned air would keep it clean.

Is this a reasonable approach or should I not even think about using a movement without a case?

Thanks!
Bruce

 

[Brian Smith]

If you run an uncased movement it will provide at least two benefits: 1) you get to see the inner workings on a mechanical clock and impress friends and relatives, and 2) you will get all the joy and pleasures associated with disassembling your movements and cleaning more often than a protected (cased) clock movement.

 

[Bruce Alexander]

Try to find a small glass enclosed display case for one or both of them and lubricate very sparingly. Nice looking pair!

 

[shutterbug]

The danger of an open clock is dust mixing with oil. Blowing it off occasionally might actually exacerbate the problem. I think Time's advise is a good compromise. You might find a nice display dome which would do the same thing.

 

[Kevin W.]

Making a case of lucite or plexi glass should not be that difficult if you wish just to cover it. Mounting the movement to the case would be better but more work.

 

[Bruce Alexander]

I've looked at a couple of display cases, I think one type that might work for either movement would be those rectangular boxes with glass lids (fastened by a latch). They typically sit on a counter top. Assuming that the hinges are strong enough, there's no reason why they couldn't be fastened to a wall. In the case of your weight-driven lyre movement, holes could be drilled in the wood "bottom" for your cables, you'd just need sufficient clearance from the wall. I like Kevin W's idea of using Lucite or Plexi-glass, either for the "glass" cover or for mounts. You could also place a mirrored surface behind the movement. You're in Harrisburg, here's a company in Dallastown, PA that has a lot of stock cases. http://www.customdisplaycases.com/ They can also fabricate a custom display case to your specifications/needs.

 

[bbodnyk]

After reading everyone's responses I'm shying away from mounting the movements themselves. For my own use I can deal with cleaning a clock more often but I want to give the Waterbury back to the person who originally gave it to me in which case it should be in a case. I think I will checkout that place in Dallastown, it's only about 30 min away.

Bruce

 

[Randy Beckett]

Not recommending this because it is unproven, however this thread and the concerns in it jogged my memory about this recent thread for you to think about since the movement would be constantly exposed and subject to inspection for wear, etc. https://mb.nawcc.org/showthread.php?105241-Using-Dry-Lube