UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Powered By Google Custom Search Vintage Radio and TV Service Data

Go Back   UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum > Specific Vintage Equipment > Other Vintage Household Electrical or Electromechanical Items

Notices

Other Vintage Household Electrical or Electromechanical Items For discussions about other vintage (over 25 years old) electrical and electromechanical household items. See the sticky thread for details.

Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 1st Jul 2021, 3:03 pm   #21
Guest
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: US GE Clock 60Hz

Quote:
Superglue should make a decent enough bond.
I would use a contact adhesive, no fogging, sticks well and is removable. Use it as a normal glue, not in contact mode. BluTak is your friend here, line it all up and walk away for a day or two.
 
Old 1st Jul 2021, 3:15 pm   #22
paulsherwin
Moderator
 
paulsherwin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,787
Default Re: US GE Clock 60Hz

There may not be a large enough mating surface for contact adhesive to produce a strong joint. A very thin smear of epoxy glue might work.

Good idea to use Blu-tak to stabilise the joint.
paulsherwin is online now  
Old 1st Jul 2021, 3:56 pm   #23
MartinMarris
Tetrode
 
MartinMarris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Wye, Kent, UK.
Posts: 93
Default Re: US GE Clock 60Hz

One possibility:

Leave the original GE hands intact, instead of chopping them off at the shaft end. Cut the donor hands down so that they just consist of a plastic "washer" at the shaft end. Glue these plastic "washers" onto the intact original hands, centering them over the original hands' shaft holes.

Then use emery paper to sand the glued-on plastic part down to 0.3mm, for an overall thickness of (0.3mm + 0.4mm) which is exactly the 0.7mm thickness of the original donor hands. Finally, fill the shaft hole with a temporary shaft (a nail would do the trick) and pour some kind of filler into the gap so that you end up with a shaft-hole, of the right diameter, and a full 0.7mm thickness.

I've never done anything like this but I have used filler materials on carpentry projects.

(I bought two donor clocks, in case the first attempt does not work. If it does work I will use the spare as a bedroom alarm, which is much more restful that constantly reaching for one's mobile phone to get the time.)
__________________
Martin
MartinMarris is offline  
Old 1st Jul 2021, 4:01 pm   #24
paulsherwin
Moderator
 
paulsherwin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,787
Default Re: US GE Clock 60Hz

I think you will find that the tolerances aren't as tight as you expect. Obviously you should check before doing anything irreversible.
paulsherwin is online now  
Old 1st Jul 2021, 4:01 pm   #25
MartinMarris
Tetrode
 
MartinMarris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Wye, Kent, UK.
Posts: 93
Default Re: US GE Clock 60Hz

Another idea, similar to the above but easier. Find some very thin metal or plastic washers with the same inside diameter as the donor clock shaft. (Thickness needs to be about 0.15mm.) Glue these onto the original hands, one on the top side, one on the bottom side, paying very close attention to alignment.
__________________
Martin
MartinMarris is offline  
Old 3rd Jul 2021, 6:34 pm   #26
MartinMarris
Tetrode
 
MartinMarris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Wye, Kent, UK.
Posts: 93
Default Re: US GE Clock 60Hz

Quote:
Originally Posted by paulsherwin View Post
I think you will find that the tolerances aren't as tight as you expect. Obviously you should check before doing anything irreversible.
I just want to make sure I understand your advice. Are you saying that there is enough leeway so it is not as hard as it sounds?

Just want to make sure before I experiment with gluing the old hands onto the stumps of the new ones. I will endeavour to make sure that I don't do anything irreversible. If I mess up, I may damage the donor hands irreversibly (which doesn't matter), but will try to make sure that the original GE hands can be rescued if the transplant does not work.
__________________
Martin
MartinMarris is offline  
Old 3rd Jul 2021, 6:50 pm   #27
paulsherwin
Moderator
 
paulsherwin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,787
Default Re: US GE Clock 60Hz

I don't know how much leeway there is, but electric clocks aren't precision instruments, and you may well find there is plenty of room to just glue things together without matching the precise dimensions. As I said, you should obviously confirm this before hacking things about.
paulsherwin is online now  
Old 3rd Jul 2021, 6:55 pm   #28
MartinMarris
Tetrode
 
MartinMarris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Wye, Kent, UK.
Posts: 93
Default Re: US GE Clock 60Hz

Quote:
Originally Posted by paulsherwin View Post
I don't know how much leeway there is, but electric clocks aren't precision instruments, and you may well find there is plenty of room to just glue things together without matching the precise dimensions. As I said, you should obviously confirm this before hacking things about.
The main issue is that if I glue the old hands on top of the stumps of the old ones, the combined "hand" may be too thick on the shaft, so that the other hands do not fit. OTOH I don't need the "alarm-set" hand and at a pinch, could do without the "seconds-sweep" hand. So it may work even with the extra thickness, if I just use two hands.

I think I will have a go.
__________________
Martin
MartinMarris is offline  
Old 11th Jul 2021, 4:11 pm   #29
MartinMarris
Tetrode
 
MartinMarris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Wye, Kent, UK.
Posts: 93
Default Re: US GE Clock 60Hz

Success!! The modern Seiko quartz movement has been installed.

I glued the old hands on top of the new ones with Superglue, see photos. The exception was the seconds "sweep hand" from the new clock which was chopped down so that only its center bevel remained, and then glued *on top* of the old seconds hand, because this was how the Seiko shaft was configured. The new bevel is silver, the old hand is gold, so I will need to paint the new bevel gold eventually.

The entire movement was glued onto the back a custom-cut thin sheet of aluminium, with a hole pierced in the middle for the shaft. The old clock face was glued onto the front.

I am thrilled with the result. This was my ham radio "shack" clock (set to GMT) in America before moving to the UK three years ago and it is now resuming its rightful place in the shack, minus the RFI. It should last many more years yet!

Paul: Thank you, your advice helped give me the courage to undertake this, my first very modest clock restoration ... or rather, modern butchery, but very few people will know....
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	Clock_NewMovement_Back_Small.jpg
Views:	76
Size:	110.6 KB
ID:	237496   Click image for larger version

Name:	Clock_NewMovement_Front_Small.jpg
Views:	95
Size:	66.2 KB
ID:	237498  
__________________
Martin
MartinMarris is offline  
Old 11th Jul 2021, 4:26 pm   #30
paulsherwin
Moderator
 
paulsherwin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,787
Default Re: US GE Clock 60Hz

Nice job, congratulations.

I'm no horologist, there are members here who know vastly more than I do about clocks, but you're very welcome to any advice I can offer.
paulsherwin is online now  
Old 11th Jul 2021, 7:01 pm   #31
MartinMarris
Tetrode
 
MartinMarris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Wye, Kent, UK.
Posts: 93
Default Re: US GE Clock 60Hz

Quote:
Originally Posted by paulsherwin View Post
Nice job, congratulations.

I'm no horologist, there are members here who know vastly more than I do about clocks, but you're very welcome to any advice I can offer.
Thanks! I just realised that when I glued the "alarm-off" button into the old case, I glued it permanently in the "alarm on" (raised) position. But that's fine, it reminds you that this was once an alarm clock.

The Seiko movement is also an alarm clock, but setting things up so that the old GE button actuated the modern movement's alarm on/off was just too much bother. (I also deliberately did not try to install the "alarm set" hand from the old GE clock.)
__________________
Martin
MartinMarris is offline  
Old 11th Jul 2021, 10:56 pm   #32
usradcoll1
Heptode
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Cedar Grove, Wisconsin, USA.
Posts: 823
Default Re: US GE Clock 60Hz

Quote:
Originally Posted by MartinMarris View Post
So I went ahead and purchased one of the suggested voltage/frequency converters to run my American AC clock in the UK. It works beautifully in terms of running the clock, which is keeping perfect time.

However, the clock is in a ham radio shack and the "system" (converter plus clock) is generating considerable RFI on the ham bands. I have tried several things, including putting the converter in another room and running a cord to the clock, but that made no difference. I also tried placing ferrite beads on the cords, but that also made no difference.

I attach a photo of the clock below (bog standard American GE from the 1950s). Does anyone know how feasible it might be to remove the mechanism and replace it with a battery mechanism, thus eliminating the risk of RFI altogether? If so, any suggestions for the best "donor clock" to cannibalize from?

The clock is a "glow in the dark" model (constant very low level lighting from a bulb inside) but, in the event of conversion to battery power, I don't mind losing that feature in the interest of longer battery life.

By the way, in the photo, the clock is literally on top of my radio receiver, just to make a nice picture. During the RFI tests, the clock was not in that position, but was actually about a foot away on the table to the left.

Thanks!
It's unfortunate that the frequency convertor creates that much RFI, after spending that much to find out! The modified sine wave supplies can't be used on an AM radio. It's alright on FM and running a CRT TV.
A fellow collector uses one to power a CRT tester when buying a set at an outdoor swapmeet where AC power is not readily available.
Dave, USradcoll1
usradcoll1 is offline  
Closed Thread

Thread Tools



All times are GMT +1. The time now is 7:32 pm.


All information and advice on this forum is subject to the WARNING AND DISCLAIMER located at https://www.vintage-radio.net/rules.html.
Failure to heed this warning may result in death or serious injury to yourself and/or others.


Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2002 - 2023, Paul Stenning.