I am sometimes asked to fix Mastercrafters electric clocks. There is not much to them, but the motor often needs work and the fiber gears are difficult to find. Repair costs can easily be more than the value of the clock. While I prefer to keep the clock original, it is very tempting to install a quartz movement. The challenge then becomes making the animated feature work.
This Swinging Playmates clock arrived on my bench. A previous repairer had converted it to quartz and used a very clever method to swing the children. I thought I would share how it was done.
A pendulum quartz movement was used. Instead of a pendulum, a strip of brass was fashioned with a hook on one end and a copper alarm clock hairspring on the other. A wrap of lead tape was added to give it some weight. This assembly hangs from the pendulum leader of the quartz movement. As it swings, the hairspring bumps against the wires of the swings, giving each child a little push as it alternates back and forth. It works amazingly well!
The original power cord was left in place to power the light. The only noise the clock makes is the pulsing of the quartz time unit so this would be a great nightlight for a child's bedroom.
Oh, I almost forgot. The only repair it needed was to replace the batteries. Apparently the current owner did not know it was quartz and the batteries expired in 1994. Surprisingly very little corrosion damage.
Allan
This Swinging Playmates clock arrived on my bench. A previous repairer had converted it to quartz and used a very clever method to swing the children. I thought I would share how it was done.
A pendulum quartz movement was used. Instead of a pendulum, a strip of brass was fashioned with a hook on one end and a copper alarm clock hairspring on the other. A wrap of lead tape was added to give it some weight. This assembly hangs from the pendulum leader of the quartz movement. As it swings, the hairspring bumps against the wires of the swings, giving each child a little push as it alternates back and forth. It works amazingly well!
The original power cord was left in place to power the light. The only noise the clock makes is the pulsing of the quartz time unit so this would be a great nightlight for a child's bedroom.
Oh, I almost forgot. The only repair it needed was to replace the batteries. Apparently the current owner did not know it was quartz and the batteries expired in 1994. Surprisingly very little corrosion damage.
Allan




Last edited: