Standard Electric Time

[CJo]

Bought this clock at auction resently. From the paper work with it, it came out of a school. Would really like to get it running, but this is where I need help. Not sure what to look for to get it running, any help would be really appreciated. The clock is about 5' 3" tall, 10 1/2" wide, and 7 1/2".

 

[harold bain]

Nice find. Don't install it where the once a minute clack of the solenoid will be annoying to others in your home.
It appears the contacts needed to activate the springwinder are missing. Contact Ken at Ken's Clock Clinic to get a battery operated pulse generator to wind your clock.
http://www.kensclockclinic.com/

 

[CJo]

Harold, thanks for the advice and help!

 

[eskmill]

The contacts needed to activate the springwinder appear in the photos and look to be intact.

On this SET master clock unlike other master clock movements , the contact pair that actuate the winding electromagnets are on the verge and escape wheel arbor.

The escape wheel arbor has a small platinium tipped arm clamped to the arbor and rotates with the escape wheel. The mating contact is the tip of a berillium-copper flat spring that oscillates with the verge. The escape wheel arbor has a wiper to make the arbor electrically connected to the movement frame. The oscillating verge contact has a long coiled wire extending upward to a terminal in the top of the clock case.

The two contacts mate and close the circuit to the wind electromagnets exactly as the verge exit pallet slips off the escape wheel tooth. This timing should be exact to avoid wear of the escape wheel tooth.

A common fault is if the contact makes when the entry pallet is poised on a tooth or when the escape wheel is locked on a verge dead face AND if the winding wheel pin and the main wheel pins are engaged. This causes the force of the winding magnets to be imposed directly on the verge causing excessive wear of the escape wheel. This is, in my view, a major flaw in the SET master clock movement design. Most SET master clocks have the tips of the escape wheel worn down beyond use on account of improper adjustment of the contacts.

I cannot agree that using "Ken's Pulse Generator" will make the clock less noisy. The mainspring is still wound by the electromagnets.

 

[harold bain]

Les, I didn't recommend Ken's pulse generator as a way to quiet the magnet, just as an easier way to power the clock than building a 12 volt DC power supply. But, I do have very little experience in handling Standard masters, and didn't recognize the contacts on this movement.

 

[eskmill]

I owe Harold and all some explanation of the Standard Electric Time Co. movement and the winding details.

Below is a couple of photos of the Standard Electric Time Co. movement. It has been basically the same from about the first production until the end of production although a greatly modified versions were produced for others. Note that the mainspring is a helix between the winding wheel and the main wheel. Also note that both wheels have studs that carry the mainspring and when the spring is fully wound the two studs may touch especially if the winding linkage is adjusted to access two ratchet wheel teeth.

Additionally, the earliest ITR movements have a similar mainspring design and they too only run about 54 minutes without electrical power.

A couple of close-up snapshots show the rotating contact on the escape wheel arbor and the oscillating contact. Many early master clock movements employed this oscillating contact scheme to provide a precise once a second impulse of very short duration.

 

[harold bain]

Thanks, Les. An interesting way to wind and provide duration for the programmer.

 

[CJo]

Les, thank you for the additional info!

 

[John Sidlauskas]

The main spring and program clock run on the same contact on the escape wheel. The other contact seen on other clocks would be to control the clocks.