Gentelmen: I have a nice not too old Hershede floor, hall, or grandfather clock My question is how do I care for the wood and brass both on the outside and inside???? Thanks for any help...

James R. Hurst

Jim,

If this is as you say "not too old" any good furniture oil like "Old English" or even their Scratch Cover would suffice and keep it looking good for many years to come. After all the case is fine furniture and deserves to be treated as such. As with any good wood, you'll want to avoid anything abrasive, is water-based, that dries the wood, and steer clear of silicone-based spray cleaners.

For the brass trim on the outside, just keep it clean, a good glass cleaner on a clean cloth removes your skin oils which can attack the brass. In my opinion, the more careful you are in preservation the better. Don't laugh, but some diligent owners obsess over care and cleanliness to the point of wearing soft cotton gloves when opening doors and winding their clocks.

On the inside, keep it clean and dust-free. The weights and pendulum can also be carefully cleaned wth a good glass cleaner on a soft, lint-free cloth. These clocks do require periodic cleaning, oiling and adjustment of the movement. Synthetic lubricants are the best, and they hold wear to a minimum. Every two years you'd be wise to have the clock professionally attended to. As a warning sign of much-needed service the chiming rate will slow, and the clock may even seem to run a little faster just before it finally stops. Don't wait until that happens.

It is my personal practice to wind our 8-day clocks mid-week and Sunday. This twice a week habit is especially important for spring-driven movements, and will keep a weight-driven clock from running down should you forget occasionally. Always wind slowly and never force, stop winding as meet resistance.

Locate your clock away from heat or air conditioning vents. Keep it away from any extremes, heat, cold, direct sunlight all are highly detrimental. Be certain it is sitting perfectly level, carefully shim it if need be. Don't move it any more than you must.

I personally like a tall-case clock placed in a corner where it has maximum ease of viewing, there it essentially "commands" the room as well as a great deal of attention!

You're dealing with a family heirloom, whether it be from the past, the present or especially if you're making memories for the future. By all means enjoy it, lavish care upon it and show it with great pride.



Lindell V. Riddle, Interim President
NAWCC Internet Horology Chapter

NAWCC Life Member# 253-150074
Member of Chapters 10, 28, 37 and 174
Proud Charter Member# 003 of the NAWCC-IHC

nawcc-ihc@adelphia.net

Phone: (440) 461-0167

Lindell, 

I can't tell  you how happy I am that you took the time to answer my question.    Thanks so much  

I plan on giving the clock to my son in Georgia soon. He was here over Christmas and we talked about getting the clock there from our home in Texas.

I would like to do this while I'm still alive to know that it has been set up correctly and cared for properly.     

I would like to put together  some material about the clock, How and why I came to buy such a thing.  I was not making very much and I went home and told my wife Ann I had just paid  $5,000 for a clock!!!    She said..."just how do you plan to pay for it?"    Today, she has come to love the clock just as I do.  

The clock was advertised in the Smithsonian Magazine for $7,900 The store where I bought it had a tag of $6,500 I paid five thousand and thought I had a bargain.   Well it doesn't sound like so much now, we have had it since 1978. 

It is time for my son, the next owner to begin to look after it for a few years. I would like to see it go always to a Hurst, but that may not always be possible.

I would like to put together  some information about the care and feeding off a fine old clock.  To try to make things go a little smoother with my wife in 1978, I said if my grandfather had bought a good clock I would not of had to, but he didn't so I had to! That somehow made my wife feel a little better.  

I printed your fine information, and plan on putting it in an envelope that I hope will stay with the clock for a long time. 

If you are interested my clock is just called "The Clock". It's a Hershede model 250, they built them from 1938 to about 1983.   

Nine tubes, three weights, three chimes and strikes the hour.  In this little house we live in now it is too much clock. My son Jim has a nice home and it should be there for a long time.  

Thanks again Lindell,

James R. Hurst

.

I'd like to add to the good advice already given:

Please don't oil your movement. Too much oil is worse than none. Horological lubricants are highly refined and very expensive. A single drop, properly applied, is enough for several movements. If you have already sprayed with WD40 or the like, stop the movement and get it to a clockmaker. The cleanup won't be cheap.

When winding a weight driven clock, use your other hand to pick up some of the weight. This reduces wear on the winding arbor pivots. When you release the force, do it gently. The clicks and click wheels will thank you. (Pawls and ratchets to engineers.)

For a while, Hershede, (Jauch),went to the expense of chrome plating all the pivots. Your clock probably has them. This is fine as long as the owner keeps a reasonable service schedule. Extreme wear causes enough force to make the chrome flake off. I'll spare you a technical description of how bad that is. Just think "Sugar in the gas tank". Properly cared for, those pivots should last forever and never need polishing.

You have a great clock, and it doesn't seem to be in danger of neglect. Future generations of Hursts are sure to thank you.

Regards,
Tom Chaudoir

I believe that the "sugar in the gas tank" anology does not apply. I was was told that sugar is a carbon that will not dissolve in gasoline. The sugar will just sit in a lump at the bottom of the tank. You would have to drop the sugar directly into the carburetor to damage the engine. No, I've never tested this, but it came from someone that knew a lot more about cars than I do. (Of course, if you ran the gas tank dry, then maybe...

Len

Tom, that's the great thing about this forum, you get a lot of great advice from people who do this kind of work every day. The thought of loose flakes of chrome and the fast wear on those pivots is one scary scenario!

Len, I think Tom was making it clear that neither are things we'd want to wish on the Hurst Family! And as I understand it the sugar can make it's way into some highly detrimental areas. Like clogging the fuel lines and even causing severe engine damage. In modern fuel injected engines with a tank mounted fuel pump the damage you may be right about it being localized, but still no fun!

Keep posting guys, this is always a learning experience.

Here's hoping for a clean gas tank and smooth pivots!

Lindell V. Riddle, Interim President
NAWCC Internet Horology Chapter

NAWCC Life Member# 253-150074
Member of Chapters 10, 28, 37 and 174
Proud Charter Member# 3 of the NAWCC-IHC

nawcc-ihc@adelphia.net

Phone: (440) 461-0167