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Gustav Becker Box Clock? "Click" to Login or Register 
IHC Member 1725
posted
Hi Guys,
I have had this one for a long time and while I had the camera out, thought I would take a couple pictures. I think it is a Gustav Becker stained glass box clock. It's nothing special or rare, it strikes on two rods and is probably one of the best sounding clock chimes I have "really sweet.

 
Posts: 376 | Location: Conover, North Carolina in the USA | Registered: July 07, 2012
IHC Member 1725
posted
Here is another shot with "Toucan Sam" on his perch...He never seems to move!

 
Posts: 376 | Location: Conover, North Carolina in the USA | Registered: July 07, 2012
Life Member
posted
Is that one of the ones that strikes the two rods simultaneously? I had a client once, who had me tune the rods in his Becker clock to a perfect fifth. It was a sound that I did not particularly like, but it was what he wanted. Smile
 
Posts: 213 | Location: Westminster, Maryland in the USA | Registered: March 02, 2015
IHC Member 1725
posted
Hi David Booth,

In answer to your question my clock has three hammers and three rods. Two hammers that are fastened together that strike simultaneously to create a lower tone and the other strikes right after those two that creates a higher tone. I guess you would say it works like a 'Bim Bam", does this recall anything?

Thanks,
Tim
 
Posts: 376 | Location: Conover, North Carolina in the USA | Registered: July 07, 2012
Life Member
posted
Yup. It is essentially a bim bam, and the two Beckers that I worked on actually used the same system as Ansonia did in their "camelback" mantle bim bam clocks. I like the Becker use of two rods for the lower note. That gives a really sonorous tone. Incidentally, if you want to mess around with tuning, the easiest way to change the pitch of a rod without making a change that cannot be undone, is to wrap a piece of clear tape around the end of the rod. The location and thickness of the wrap will determine the new pitch. Just don't get the wrap under where the hammer strikes, or the tone will be horribly muffled, or damped completely. If you want to "undo" that, all you need do is peel off the tape, and clean the rod with denatured alcohol
 
Posts: 213 | Location: Westminster, Maryland in the USA | Registered: March 02, 2015
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