Clock #15: Jefferson Electric Golden Hour Clock

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1954 Golden Hour Clock b Jefferson Electric.

The clock ran well until recently when it started slowing down. A sign the glass may be loose in the gear ring (due to cement failure), or binding of the gear ring in the frame.

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Hand mechanism disassembled. Note one fiber washer is adherent to the glass.

Notice the electrical tape on the cord which was brittle and the bare wires exposed.

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Inside the base. Motor is in the upper right. Manufacture Date “5-3-54” written in crayon (or maybe lipstick).
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Disassembled clock, rear view. Glass is solidly attached to the gear ring, but the gear ring, frame and tension springs have 74 years of grime on them. Notice the three tension springs which sit in the frame.
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Close up of the dirt buildup on the tension springs. Top spring has already been cleaned.
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The metal gear ring was pretty grimy as well.

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Motor Assembly. The drive gear has a grove down the center of each tooth. A sign that the ring has been binding in the frame.

Although the gear can be purchased separately, I decided to replace the motor as well. Damage to the gears inside the motor case is likely after a long time with gradually increasing binding of the ring.

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Rear view.Looking at the 4:00 o’clock position. Ring is resting on a raised metal pad at the 5:30 position.
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Rear view at the 6:30 position. The metal pad has completely warn away causing the ring to ride on the frame.

The two metal pads were each about 0.010″ to 0.015″ thick. Because the drive gear pushes the ring is forced to the left side (as viewed from the front). The left metal pad has worn completely away. A second wear point at about the 7:30 position was also visible on the frame.

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Nylon self-adhesive drawer tape – 10 mil thickness.

Nylon drawer tape was used to fashion new pads. One was placed at the 6:30 position and one at the 8:00 position. The ring (and likely the frame as well) turned out to not be perfectly round. As a result the ring tended to drag against the top of the frame over an arc of movement of about 20 degrees. A third pad at the 12:00 position made the drag worse. The problem was solved by moving the pad to about the 1:30 – 2:00 position.

After installing the new electric cord and motor, and reassembling the glass and hands with new fiber washers, the clock is back to keeping perfect time!

Click here for more on Jefferson Golden Hour Clocks: http://www.roger-russell.com/jeffers/jeffers.htm