question about Sessions banjo clock hinge

[abe]

I have a very nice Sessions Revere Banjo clock. I bought it on eBay years because It was like one my parents had hanging in our farmhouse kitchen, see the first pic. That's my grandparents sitting in front of it.

It was missing the crystal. I soon saw why the bezel that held the crystal was detached. I soon bought one and had a friend's dad solder it in place. One day when I opened it to wind the clock and the door fell to the floor and broke the glass. I bought another one and had a clock buddy solder the door bezel on. Several years later I opened the door to wind it and the door fell but I was able to catch it before it hit the floor.

Is this small hinge supposed to hold the door bezel in place? What can I do to prevent this from happening again?

See the pictures. Thanks!

 

[Jim Hartog]

Hello Abe,

You're not getting a lot of responses, so I will chip in with a comment.

I have a Sessions "Alden" that has the same setup as your clock. Three rivets in the bezel, a big cutout in the sash (ring around the dial) and just solder for the hinge to sash connection. Yours looks the way it should. Initially, I thought the cutout in the sash was way too big. It's not.

My suggestion is that you (or your clock buddy) clean off all the old solder and use a stronger solder. I am going to recommend something like Stay Brite which is supposed to have some silver in it which makes it stronger than plumbing solder. The Stay Brite is low temperature compared to real silver solder and has no where near the same silver content, I'm sure. I use the Stay Brite in situations where I need more strength.

Jim

 

[abe]

Thank you Jim, for your reply. It's good to know that the cutout in the sash is original and not something that was altered by a PO. It looks like a weakness in Session's design .

I think I will keep it as is for now. I'm afraid the hinge will not hold and it will crash to the floor. I was lucky to catch it last time. If I decide to solder I will take your advice and use Stay Brite.