Lions and tigers and bears! Oh my!

[rmarkowitz1_cee4a1]

RM, it looks like you had a really bad day back last April and this thread is the result. Does your statement today regarding diversity indicate a moderation of that position?

I'd love to have an 18th-century long case clock in the hallway but that ain't gonna happen barring some miracle. Because I have little money to spend, I troll along at the bottom end, finding and repairing what many participating in this thread apparently would consider to be junk clocks. By that metric, here's the before-and-after difference: before, they're worthless clocks; after, they're worthless clocks that run. To me they are interesting regardless of the lack of provenance - I learn and develop my skills by working on them. It is the act and process of repairing the mechanism and returning it to its intended function that interests me. So because I'm a bottom-feeder, horologically speaking, is this thread a general indication that my interests and little triumphs and failures aren't welcome here?

Maybe we need to break up the forums based on a mutually-negotiated definition of intrinsic value. Assuming, of course, we could come to consensus on that definition.

My offer of a steak and a scotch stands.

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No, wasn't having a bad day in April. Was feeling the need to express my observations and honest feelings. I'm not alone. It's just that more than a few who feel the same way have written off the Forums. It's our loss, as many of those folks are quite knowledgeable and could contribute much here.

I would not "Balkanize" the Forums by overly dividing things up. And you can't please everyone all of the time, so some will like what you post, some will vilify it. That's the risk of going public with anything. I say so what. If you find value in what you do, it shouldn't bother you or cause a crisis of a lack of self confidence.

Your approach to collecting as stated is perfectly valid. Sounds like you enjoy what you do.

I do think that there are misconceptions surrounding old and scarce and expensive.

Many of the clocks I have posted are in fact not super expensive, some were down right cheap. For example, the rather pure original Brewster and Ingraham steeple I posted and the ogee with the incredible glass (both of which can be found on the Forums opening page) were acquired from a local shop and probably for not much more than folks are paying for, well, lesser stuff. IMCO, the kind of thinking I'm referring to is a real barrier to their potential growth as collectors.

Using your example of an 18th century tall case clock. I have been to auctions where 18th century tall case clocks sell VERY reasonably. So, they are accessible and if you have repair skills, you can have one running in your hallway some day.

May take you up on your offer some day.

RM

 

[leeinv66]

People, I have removed several post from this thread as the discussion had devolved into a tit for tat exchange, rather than remaining on topic. I also had to remove a couple of legitimate posts as they had no context once the aforementioned posts were removed. This is an emotive subject and there are strong views on either side. Can we please stick to the topic and refrain from commenting on each other. Thank you!

 

[Schatznut]

.

No, wasn't having a bad day in April. Was feeling the need to express my observations and honest feelings. I'm not alone. It's just that more than a few who feel the same way have written off the Forums. It's our loss, as many of those folks are quite knowledgeable and could contribute much here.

I would not "Balkanize" the Forums by overly dividing things up. And you can't please everyone all of the time, so some will like what you post, some will vilify it. That's the risk of going public with anything. I say so what. If you find value in what you do, it shouldn't bother you or cause a crisis of a lack of self confidence.

Your approach to collecting as stated is perfectly valid. Sounds like you enjoy what you do.

I do think that there are misconceptions surrounding old and scarce and expensive.

Many of the clocks I have posted are in fact not super expensive, some were down right cheap. For example, the rather pure original Brewster and Ingraham steeple I posted and the ogee with the incredible glass (both of which can be found on the Forums opening page) were acquired from a local shop and probably for not much more than folks are paying for, well, lesser stuff. IMCO, the kind of thinking I'm referring to is a real barrier to their potential growth as collectors.

Using your example of an 18th century tall case clock. I have been to auctions where 18th century tall case clocks sell VERY reasonably. So, they are accessible and if you have repair skills, you can have one running in your hallway some day.

May take you up on your offer some day.

RM

I don't have a lack of self-confidence. I will proceed on my horological journey, with or without these forums. Their content and evolution (or lack thereof) will determine which path I take.

 

[rmarkowitz1_cee4a1]

I don't have a lack of self-confidence. I will proceed on my horological journey, with or without these forums. Their content and evolution (or lack thereof) will determine which path I take.

As it should be.

RM

 

[Bill K]

I am late to the party on this thread and my opinion as a fairly recent visitor to the Forums and even more recent member of the NAWCC doesn't count for much but....I like the idea mentioned much earlier of possaibly breaking the threads down to "older" and "newer" topics. My humble horological family began with a F4-U Corsair clock my father brought back from Korea, then a Seikosha schoolhouse my wife bought me as a gift, then a Telechron desk clock. Hardly notable items but they got the "ball rolling." I still enjoy my less exceptional black mantle, gingerbread kitchen clocks and the like and I'll ALWAYS be a "sucker" for a forlorn ogee, but now my focus is on American wood cased "shelf" clocks, preferably pre-1845 but almost always pre-1860. A fairly typical collecting pattern no matter what one collects. Breaking the threads down somehow by age is a far from perfect solution but it might help in navigating the growing volume of threads and possibly assist with the large number of interesting posts which quickly die out. It is tedious to have to sift through volumes of posts to locate the few applicable to a particular interest. A large majority of the threads I have participated in (as this one) I have stumbled upon by accident. With some exceptions the forum categories only help to some limited degree. I am interested in "mining" the wealth of knowledge exhibited herein but "prospecting" for it can be prohibitively time consuming and much escapes notice. There has to be some way to make things more efficient without discouraging collectors of newer vs. older clocks, or novice vs. veteran horological participants. I understand I am a technological Neanderthal but I refuse to participate in main stream social media for any number of reasons. The NAWCC Forums are the major source of daily connection I have with those who share my time keeping interest and I have always been treated with respect here. I do not want to see the Forums become what so much of the electronic media world already has morphed in to.
Bill K.

 

[Calvin H. Huynh]

I am late to the party on this thread and my opinion as a fairly recent visitor to the Forums and even more recent member of the NAWCC doesn't count for much but....I like the idea mentioned much earlier of possaibly breaking the threads down to "older" and "newer" topics. My humble horological family began with a F4-U Corsair clock my father brought back from Korea, then a Seikosha schoolhouse my wife bought me as a gift, then a Telechron desk clock. Hardly notable items but they got the "ball rolling." I still enjoy my less exceptional black mantle, gingerbread kitchen clocks and the like and I'll ALWAYS be a "sucker" for a forlorn ogee, but now my focus is on American wood cased "shelf" clocks, preferably pre-1845 but almost always pre-1860. A fairly typical collecting pattern no matter what one collects. Breaking the threads down somehow by age is a far from perfect solution but it might help in navigating the growing volume of threads and possibly assist with the large number of interesting posts which quickly die out. It is tedious to have to sift through volumes of posts to locate the few applicable to a particular interest. A large majority of the threads I have participated in (as this one) I have stumbled upon by accident. With some exceptions the forum categories only help to some limited degree. I am interested in "mining" the wealth of knowledge exhibited herein but "prospecting" for it can be prohibitively time consuming and much escapes notice. There has to be some way to make things more efficient without discouraging collectors of newer vs. older clocks, or novice vs. veteran horological participants. I understand I am a technological Neanderthal but I refuse to participate in main stream social media for any number of reasons. The NAWCC Forums are the major source of daily connection I have with those who share my time keeping interest and I have always been treated with respect here. I do not want to see the Forums become what so much of the electronic media world already has morphed in to.
Bill K.

I agree. I too have thought it inconvenient to sift through numerous threads. I think this is a great archive but information may be hard to find even in the thread itself. Some thread titles may even not contain the content (desired), that’s within the thread. (Such as a thread with the title “How to fix this” and then the thread talks about a broken mainspring.)

I do not think there should be any Horological Misc or other elusive forums because that does not get equal attention as other forums. I also think we should have a separate forum for discussions of horology and a separate forum for clocks themselves (with sub-forums of old, new clocks, etc.)

My idea of a valuation issue is an updated chart for clock types which are popular, such as Sonora chimes, mantle clocks, parlor clocks, Chelsea clocks, Atmos, etc. It would be updated voluntarily every once and a while. This would not be a perfect solution but it would partially eliminate common clock value seeking.

Common repair/troubleshooting IMO should be addressed in a simplified format that people would want to read.

Although common questions is less tolerable here, so I would redirect to Facebook groups, with many more members, which means more people willing to contribute when other members pass to answer.