Gustav Becker Wall Clock Information Needed

[BillnHsv]

Hello: I just bought a GB wall clock. The movement has P48 stamped on the back but no serial numbers. There are some things that are not original and I need advise on how to start my repairs on the case. The first thing is the board the movement is mounted to is plywood. I think the case is mahogany? So I have a piece of solid mahogany wood for the new mount. I'm hoping the cutout was made from the original but I'm not sure. If you think it is I will copy it? The mounting board is 9 1/4" wide X 2 3/4" inches deep.

There is a metal bracket mounted to the back so I'm not sure the movement is supposed to be board mounted or was mounted to the metal bracket in the back? If not for mounting the movement what is it for?
There are side mounting boards with slots which have been moved. I don't know it they are original? They have been moved so I'm not sure if it is because of the plywood base and moved to center the face?

The two side mounting block are 3 5/8 inches long X 1 7/8". Any advise would be appreciated.

 

[JTD]

Welcome to the board.

I can't enlarge any of your photos, so it is difficult (for me) to see what you are dealing with. So just a few comments:

1. This is a German clock of the style known as a box clock. It probably dates from mid-1920s to early 1930s. If the movement is a GB, I would have expected it to be marked.

2. P48 refers to the pendulum length.

3. Why do you want to replace the seatboard? Is there any reason to suppose it is not original? In my opinion this movement would certainly have been mounted in the case with a seatboard. Not sure what you mean about the brackets the seatboard slides into, pictures would help.

4. I can't see the metal thing in picture three clearly, so cannot comment.

Clearer and more explicit photos that are able to be enlarged would be a great help in providing any assistance you need.

Hope this helps.

JTD

 

[BillnHsv]

Welcome to the board.

I can't enlarge any of your photos, so it is difficult (for me) to see what you are dealing with. So just a few comments:

1. This is a German clock of the style known as a box clock. It probably dates from mid-1920s to early 1930s. If the movement is a GB, I would have expected it to be marked.

2. P48 refers to the pendulum length.
3. Why do you want to replace the seatboard? Is there any reason to suppose it is not original? In my opinion this movement would certainly have been mounted in the case with a seatboard. Not sure what you mean about the brackets the seatboard slides into, pictures would help.

4. I can't see the metal thing in picture three clearly, so cannot comment.

Clearer and more explicit photos that are able to be enlarged would be a great help in providing any assistance you need.

Hope this helps.

JTD

Thanks JTD. The movement has the BG with Anchor on the back which follows other threads on here that some movements are not serialized. I have attached larger pics. As I said the seat board is a piece of plywood and to make it fit they ran it across the blade to reduce the ends to go into the side mounts. So I want to replace it with a correct size. The two mounting brackets are not he same size so I will need to make sure the mounting is level with the case so it does not affect the pendulum. Bigger pictures attached.
Thanks,
Bill

 

[JTD]

Yes, these photos are better. You didn't mention before that the movement had the GB logo on the back. So yes, GB.

The metal 'thing' at the back is to hold the gong rods still when the clock is transported. You will find the each side piece can fold over (inwards) and the gong rods will be held firmly between the little teeth.

The seat board does look like a replacement but since you don't show the brackets it slides into, it's hard to comment. Even if it's not original, I it seems to be doing a good job. Whether you use plywood or solid mahogany it's still not going to be original or match rest of the case. And no one sees it anyway.

JTD

 

[John Hubby]

Bill, welcome to the NAWCC Message Board! Thanks for your inquiry and for posting the photos of your GB clock.

Regarding the seatboard, the shape of yours is very close to originals that I have documented, as seen by in the first photo here.

This was the only photo I could find with this exact movement and similar case so you could have something to compare to. You should be able to copy the shape of the one you have and be OK. Note in the second photo, the seat board rails are mounted just below the side windows such that the dial will be centered in the circular opening in the door. Also, note that the thickness of the seat board is exactly the same as the slot in the rails. The seat boards were usually made of solid oak and didn't sag even with nearly 100 years of use. Show us the seat board rails so we can see if they are original, their profile should be like the ones in the photo.

I notice in your photo of the front of the clock movement there is a date stamp at the upper right corner of the front plate. It is in the format "MM YY" where MM is month and YY is year. I think it shows something like "8 27" which would be August 1927, however will let you check it out and let us know exactly what it is. That will be the actual date your movement was completed at the GB Freiburg factory.

Also, based on the absence of the letter "H" above the pendulum length stamp "P 48", it appears your movement most likely has solid cut pinions instead of lantern pinions. The letter "H" stands for Hohltreiben or Lantern Pinions, had it been present it would have had those. I would appreciate if you could confirm what you have. This convention was trialed from early 1924 and then adopted as the standard GB designation for the construction of the movement in May 1925.