Restoring Mom's "Pocket Watch" Wall Clock

This Gibraltar wall clock hung in our family home from at least the early 1960's, maybe even before that, but that's about as early as I can remember it. I couldn't even begin to count the number of times growing up that I checked this clock to get the time. I took it down from the wall in 2023, before the farm was sold, and it hadn't run in a very long time.

​My mom was a Depression kid, and wasn't one to just throw things away, so it just stayed right there on the wall, working or not. And I take after my mom, so I wasn't about to let it get thrown out now.

If I'm not mistaken, mom bought this clock with Top Value "TV" stamps. I remember she would get stamps from grocery shopping and save them up in books until she had enough to order something from their catalog.
This photo is after I cleaned, sanded and painted it in a matte gold finish. Fortunately, the dial was still in good shape, and only needed cleaning.
No one had lived in the house for the past five years when I took the clock down, and it was dirty and rusty. The finish was originally polished brass but now it's going to need painted. The chain is all rust now, too.

​At least it's easy to disassemble. The front bezel comes off the back by removing four screws, and the dial glass mounts in the bezel.
The rear of the clock isn't as badly rusted as the front. The clock motor and face mount in the rear of the case.
The synchronous electric motor needs a little cleaning, and a new power cord installed, but otherwise is still in good condition. It looks like the only reason the clock wasn't running was that it, and its power cord, just looked so old and unsafe that it had been unplugged.
The finished clock hanging on the wall in the man cave. It still runs fine, and I've discovered it's more than just a clock, it's a time machine. Whenever I look at the time, it takes me on a journey home again. Times were different then, mostly in a good way.
Page created 5/26/2024
​Last edited 5/28/2024