FOUND ONE AT A FLEA MARKET. CAN IT BE RESTORED?

Jim,

Do you have a picture or two?

William

Yes, but don't seem to be able to get them posted do to size of file. sorry

1. I do not think I have ever heard of such a clock - perhaps you are just looking at a part of a contract number or something else?

2. If you can upload your photo to a photo hosting site such as Photobucket.com or something and then post the URL to the page number here perhaps Greg or I or another person here would be able to resize the photo and post it here for you. Be sure to take several photos using your macro setting on your camera to show the details of the dial, case - front and back, and isf possible the movement. Please be sure to include crisply focused photo(s) of any markings.

3. Any watch or clock can be repaired and brought to full working order - the only question is whether it is a simple repair using readily available parts or one where a watchmaker will have to custom manufacture one or more parts. In either case you would be paying a very high skilled craftsperson and so neither would be cheap, but if parts have to be made that would significantly increase the cost due to the substantial time and effort to do so.

The clock is a air corp, round, black dial, the number I listed is on the dial on the upper right side. will attempt to use photobucket and post some pics.

Thanks

Pictures as requested.

2nd picture

3rd picture

Not sure but I think this clock might be in the category of keyless rim wind car clocks.

With those screw terminals on the back, it could be electric, possibly 12 or 24 volt. Or they could be to attach a plate for the mount on a dash plate.

Curly

I was talking with my friend Gary Google this morning.

The guy knows a lot of stuff.

I once said to him 'Jeez you are a know-it-all' and he said "I know that".

Phinney Walker Clock

Rough and dirty, Phinney Walker was a marketing company, clocks ware made in the USA then after WWII were made in Germany.

If the casing is brass they are repairable but the pot metal ones are very difficult to repair due to metal swelling.

Thanks Lorne for the link. Brought back a lot of
fond memories!

Roger

It is a car clock, not an aircraft clock. It is also civilian, not military. Yours seems to be in pretty rough shape compared to most of the ones that you see on Ebay. The bolts on the back are for mounting, not electrical hookup. See the example in the Ebay auction below to see how they were used to mount onto a metal mounting strip in the car's dashboard. Dave is correct in that most of these Phinney Walkers were rimwind clocks and the knurled edge of the ring around the dial indicates that this one should be rimwind as well. Another clue is if you read the dates of the patents on the back I think the earliest is 1908. There were no instrument panels in aircraft in 1908, and definitely no need for a clock since the aircraft of the day typically could only stay aloft for a time measured in minutes rather than hours. For example, in September of 1908 Wilbur Wright set a breath taking at the time, new endurance world record flight of 62 minutes.

Here is a link to a recent auction where one actually sold (often they do not sell). The one in this auction seems to be in fairly good condition other than not running. Also it is a slightly different model. Phinney Walker made these for many years and in many slightly different ways including black dials, white dials, black dials with white seconds subdials, different names and images and wordings printed on the dials, different numbers of rubies though all of the low, different cases from shallow to deep, etc. These were mainly aftermarket clocks that were sold to auto owners who wanted to add a clock on their dashboard of their car. I think that the many slightly different looks these come in was part of their marketing to increase sales by offering something for everyone, combined with their selling these for a great many years with natural improvements to their product.

Yes these can be repaired and there is an endless numbers of them around that can be used for parts, though most of them are broken since the quality is low. My guess is that the cost of paying someone to repair one would greatly exceed the commercial re-sale value so unless one does one's own repairs and does not care for being reimbursed for one's time when re-selling, or unless it has a sentimental value where cost is no object, it would not be worth restoring.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintag...rksid=p2047675.l2557