Well @catdad49 and a few others liked my old timepieces that no doubt hung on many a Shop Wall or Garage Office back in the day... I thought I'd start a Thread on them... 1) because many of you have one of these interesting oldies hanging in your own shop so you know how long you've been working on the Ole Hotrod/Custom... 2) because I don't know WHY I put it in Moriarity's Thread on His Atomic Yardmaster Lawnmower... Stogy Bad...... My interest in Vintage Stuff goes beyond the Ole Hotrod so here's a couple of things that caught my interest. These are vintage wall clocks that have a modern twist. I love the clocks but have always found the dangling cords unsightly and the motor noise annoying somewhat as well. What I did was gut the motors and fit modern battery motors one even silent to boot to the original arms to keep it as original externally as possible. Now no more fugly cord and motor buzzz... Gotta unscrew and or pop it apart to change the battery once a year but all in a days work......Guess which ones in the shop...which I have been staring at since a wee tyke by the way So Hamber's Show me your vintage Hamb Era Shop Clocks...
Here’s my 54 Merc hubcap shop clock I made. And my grandfathers old desk clock from his office years ago. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
...@Early Ironman, thanks for sharing...love how it's hung...something tells me Hubcaps are going to be popular...
Great thread! Do you have a recommendation for conversion parts supply? My grandpa gave me this, it’s out of an old power plant. 24 hour Stromberg. The big needle is 7.25” from the mounting hole to tip, so apparently I need a beefy motor. Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
@Gnater...Cool Clock...you may be surprised the arms may be lighter than you think...compare the hands with the new motor in length to yours, if they're similar it will probably work. By 24hr I suspect you mean Military Time...they make both 12hr as well and very affordable. I really looked at my clocks sort of like the Hotrods we work on. Yes I want to change the motor but I want the clock to look the same hands and all...only visible difference is theres no cord. So essentially it's an inspired Traditional Clock now... Remember chances are good this will take away originality so if your okay with this carry on...If your worried about that don't do it... For instance I opened up the hole for the new motor to fit through...slightly larger. use sharp drills...I think I used one of those multi size step drills. You basically have to disassemble the clock and get the glass off to access and carefully remove the arms and loosen the nut holding the old motor...break things down to prep for the new install. If you are lucky you can find similar arms/hands you are comfortable with, which makes it easier as some times the original arms can't be used if they don't match the new bores and shafts... It's kinda dainty stuff...so here's a couple of links...I have no affiliation you may have local sources...let us know how you make out. https://www.amazon.com/clock-motor/s?k=clock+motor https://www.klockit.com/all-departments/quartz-clock-movements.html Good luck Gnater...
Perfect, thank you. I checked the motor with a multi-meter and it failed the rebuild test. I can buy used motors with no guarantee, but it’s not a collectible item and I don’t plan to sell it since it’s meaningful to me. I’ll let you know how the “resto mod” goes. I’m sure theres’s a forum somewhere where I won’t be able to post pictures of it post rebuild...... Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Please post it here on the shop wall when you get the transformation done as that's a milestone that I did achieve and the shop now has it keeping things timely... Our interests sometimes lend a direction in choices of types of shop paraphernalia as many Members for instance enjoy Chevys or Fords, some are into Boats on top of Hotrod/Custom...so our shops are generally collages of our lives... This is not a new phenomenon either...as evidenced by @pumpmans display...
With an upcoming kitchen remodel this clock is being reassigned to the garage over my glass block windows. It is a battery movement that 40 years ago was put into the wooden design I built from quarter sawn oak that was stacked and dried 40 years before that. Does that make it HAMB eligible? I have actually rebuilt carburetors at the kitchen table watching that clock.
I don't own one of these...yet, but I will. Mowtomuch here on the HAMB has several. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/antique-electric-neon-clock-co-aztec-1852497726
Here's a couple of conversion examples... https://www.instructables.com/id/Adapt-a-Vintage-Electric-Wall-Clock-to-a-Battery-P/ https://industrialcaffeine.com/ibm-simplex-schoolhouse-clock-conversion-quartz/
That's a really cool Shop Clock Root...26" in diameter, that'll stand out... Backlit/neon clocks are pretty popular in the shop and as for unsightly cords I suppose we do the best we can...depending on the age of your shop or if you are redoing it you can sink or install a specific outlet that accommodates the cord...with the mounted clock hiding it all.
Just as I mentioned hobby or profession many times dictates what hangs in the shop...Woodworking is Traditional and many a Woodworker like yourself have A shop and the joy of Hotrod/Custom to boot...coincidentally what you are doing with your Clock is how many things end up in the Shop...migrating due to a remodel...that Clock certainly makes a statement A2B...thanks for sharing...
That is one of six 25 man life rafts. It’s not H.A.M.B. friendly either. It’s a brand new 220’ offshore oil industry supply boat I am delivering to Guyana right now. Sorry Stogy, Don’t mean to hijack... or pirate...your thread. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
...Pics or it didn't happen... I had to change to daylight saving time, so I took a couple of pics to show the conversion...this old dinosaur even had some weird dark greeny blue oily crap oozing out of the old motor I changed out...again to most this would have been dumpster material but to me it was like and old friend... ...loosen 2 screws...pop off back ...crappy pic but this shows 3 rotating parts one for Hour, Minute, Second... The second hand in usually a pin pressed into a bore where the hour/minute are split and press onto shafts... Again to me retaining the original hands was something I strived for and if I can't I look for similar/close matches. ...how about that antiquated color eh! Again these get pretty milage on battery and for the shop silent movement doesn't really matter you wouldn't hear the noise anyway...and NO Cord...Yay.... Here's another option to buying new...check out your local reuse center or junk shop...for cheap used battery clocks but make sure it suits your application...
I know many Hambers have hugely interesting shops FULL of Hotrods/Customs and all kind of Cool Shop clocks and yes this is Big and Very Visible and would add a vintage Ambience to any Garage...Hope you snag one...
Thanks Stogy, I like my job... but we will see how long I like being stuck in Guyana. Just received the updated Covid19 procedures. It starts with NO crew changes. Oh well, if I am going to be stuck during this pandemic. Might as well be getting paid! Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Stay safe my friend and it seems the best advice is wash the hands often and don't touch your face unless the hands were washed...and maintain distance as best as possible...
My wife's grandfather was a school teacher and during the spring and summer months, he worked at the brickyard. Sometime in the early 70's, the pits got a remodel and he went dumpster diving for this. A few years back my father in law gave it to me and said it has never worked and it's been his goal to get it fixed. I couldn't find the exact magnetic ballast so I wired in an under cabinet led light. Anyways, once it was up and running, the old man had to step outside because he had something in his eye. He said his where I hung it in relationship to my bench, was the same as his father
Osoty so is it just lit with the time is idle due to motor issues? Perhaps you might consider a battery motor...That was worth a trip into the bin...
The Jalopy Journal
