RESTORATION FROM SCRATCH TO FINISH

 DATE: 17/06

Only at the Old Cloxhibhition can you get your clocks fully restored from scratch to finish.

If you own an old clock that is worth keeping and if it is not in pristine condition, have it restored from scratch without sacrificing its identity.

Restore the clock to its Glory days and maintain it is a family heirloom. Antique clocks add splendor to the interior of any home, they become an icon in your homes, and appreciate in value  time.

See the before and after work. There are More examples at our Gallery.

At the old Cloxhibhition we send your clock mechanisms to experienced and skillful horologists overseas to repair and service your clocks and return the piece in it's original condition to work as if it were new.

We offer a 3 year warranty on the clock from the date the clock has been repaired.

Our works are total, although at times we may find difficulty in restoring damaged, finely carved cases.

Our Equipment

Our dedicate workshop in Vietnam is equipped with State of the Art equipment to give you the best quality in clock repair.

The above is a picture of a Spring Barell mounted on a 3 - jaw, lathe chuck and being machined to perfection.

The chuck on this lathe is designed for securely clamping cylindrical workpieces.

These chucks feature reversible jaws to accommodate different workpiece sizes and shapes.

They are ideal for fast, repetitive machining of symmetrical parts due to their self-centering capability.

Concentricity is adjustable within 0.005mm to 0.05mm depending on the model and quality.

The Desktop lathe machine doing this job is more than effectively sufficient to cater for even the most complicated clock parts;

 

    

Common Applications in Clock Repair

• Bushing Worn Pivot Holes: Over decades of use, clock pivots wear down the holes in the brass movement plates, changing their shape from perfect circles to elongated ovals. Clockmakers clamp the plates to the milling table to locate the exact original center, then use precise end mills to cut straight, perfectly centered holes to receive new brass bushings. [1, 2]
• Wheel and Gear Cutting: While a lathe can turn the initial brass wheel blanks, a milling machine paired with an indexing head or rotary table is used to cut the precise profile of the teeth into the gear. Special profile cutters run along the edge of the wheel blank to create identical teeth. [1, 2, 3]
• Cutting Pinion Leaves: Clock pinions (the small, high-stress gears that mate with larger wheels) are cut out of hard silver steel. The milling machine provides the rigid setup necessary to machine the exact tooth profiles and spaces of the pinion leaves evenly. [1]

The picture of the Spring Barell above is from this lathe, this machine is highly  a highly  sophisticated tool for clock making and clock repair.

.In clock repair and horological restoration, a desktop mini metal lathe serves as a foundational tool used to fabricates or repair precision components that cannot be bought off the shelf. While watchmakers utilize tiny, specialized 8mm or 6mm collet lathes, the extra mass, rigidity, and physical power of a mini metal lathe make it ideal for the larger scale components found in mantle, wall, and grandfather clocks.

Core Applications in Clock Repair

• Pivot Polishing and Re-pivoting: Clock wheel axles (pivots) wear down or break over time. Repairers use the lathe to turn down the worn steel, drill a precise microscopic center hole into the arbor, insert a new high-carbon steel pin, and polish it down to its exact original fraction. 
• Making Custom Bushings: When the brass plate holes supporting a clock gear's arbor wear into oblong shapes, the lathe is used to machine custom brass bushings. These are bored out and pressed into the plates to restore perfect vertical alignment. 
• Fabricating Missing Parts: Antique clocks rarely have replacement parts available. The lathe allows a repairer to turn raw brass or steel bar stock into custom parts like winding stems, click springs, clicks, posts, and arbors.
• Trueing and Repairing Barrels: Mainspring barrels can bulge or distort from the extreme energy of a spring snapping. A mini lathe provides the clearance to mount, face, and true the inner or outer dimensions of a mainspring barrel back to round. 
• Gear (Wheel) Cutting Extensions: When fitted with a specialized indexing plate and a vertical milling attachment, a mini lathe can be used to accurately space and mill custom teeth out of raw brass blanks to replace broken or stripped gears. 

For real quality repairs and restoration jobs of your clocks you require work of this quality to ensure that your back plates and parts are still reworkable should they fail. 

Our work is guaranteed for a period of three years, that does not mean your clock will breakdown after the period, it could go omn for even 10 years if properly looked after and cared for.

All our customers are briefed on clock care after their clocks are worked on.

If you are seeking to have your clock worked on ensure that anyone who works on your clock is equipped with the right equipment to conduct such repairs.

Screw drivers and tweezers, spanners and sharp points may be sufficient for adjustments, but repairs and full service requires  a full set of equipment and good and present day state of the art.

At The Old Cloxhibhition our dedicated Repair workshop has all that.

Contact: email: oldcloxhibhition@gmail.com

                 Mobile: +60122468196 / +60162203771

ANTIQUE CLOCKS, AND UNDERSTANDING THE KEEPING OF TIME

 by Toffee

Date: May 25, 2026.

  Antique Clocks from many eras, made by various manufacturers, in all shapes and sizes, some with gongs, others without, some with melodious chimes, and were very artistic, representing the art forms of the time, mostly from Europe, and some from America, mainly the US. The European clocks represented the more classical versions.

From the early Ormolu mantle clocks to the large, famous French Mobier Besancon Wall clocks as big, and even bigger than the grandfather clocks that came later, right to clocks of the late nineteenth Century and the famous Vienna Regulators.

ORMOLU CLOCKS SHOWN BELOW FROM THE EARLY TO THE MID 1800S.

EARLY MOBIER BESANÇON CLOCK.

These were early masterpieces mainly from France, still available and made by famous clock makers, among whom are the Vincente and Cie and Japy Feres clocks. Some of these Ormolu clocks are driven by a "silk string pendulum spring," others by conventional springs that would continue to be used till the late 20th Century.

What these clocks and later timepieces had in common was "accuracy" in timekeeping.

What was accurate then is far from accurate today.

If you use  your mobile phone to adjust the time on these clocks, you'll find out what is being said here,

The clocks of these times were spring-driven.

When comparing an antique spring-driven clock to a modern quartz and a Cesium atomic clock, you are looking at vastly different eras of physics, spanning an accuracy difference of thousands of seconds per day to billionths of a second.

Daily Deviation: Varies from \(1\) to \(600) seconds per day depending on age, condition, and environment. It could be more, depending on the era the clock comes from, and the condition of the clock

How they work: These rely on a mechanical unwinding coiled spring as a power source and a pendulum or balance wheel as an oscillator.

Why they differ: Mechanical timepieces are highly susceptible to changes in temperature, gravity, air pressure, and friction. Furthermore, because the driving spring gradually uncoils over the course of a week, the clock may run slightly faster when fully wound and slower as it nears the end of its winding.

Now, compare this with the Quartz Oscillation clocks of today

Quartz Crystal Oscillation Clocks

• Daily Deviation: Typically \( 0.5 to  1\) second per day (often much less, at \(1-2\) seconds a month). [
• How they work: When an electric current is applied to a tiny, precisely cut piece of quartz, the crystal oscillates (vibrates) mechanically at an exact resonant frequency, usually \(32,768\) times per second. [1, 2]
• Why they differ: Because quartz relies on piezoelectricity and high-speed vibrations, it is entirely unaffected by gravity and less vulnerable to temperature changes than springs. It translates the rapid, stable vibrations directly into a digital signal, essentially eliminating mechanical gear slip.

Now, to give you a clearer picture of why you should not compare this time and even your wrist watch with the mobile handphones.

 Your mobile phone time is driven by a completely different system, called the Cesium atomic clock, and believe me, this is not the most advanced form of time keeping; there are others I'll not deal with here.

Cesium Atomic Clocks (The Standard)

These are the standard microwave-based clocks used to officially define the SI second (which is exactly $9,192,631,770$ oscillations of a cesium-133 atom).

Now what does that mean? 

• Accuracy: They lose or gain about 1 second every 100 to 300 million years.

• Where they are used: National metrology labs (like NIST in the US), GPS satellites, and keeping Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) synchronized globally.

So don't complain if you have to periodically adjust the times, even on your quartz watches and most of all your antique clocks.

Remember, your Antique clock belongs to another era; it is an ornate piece that brings History to your home, be it in the study, the living room, or even your dining space. 

THE WUBA SALENDER CLOCK

 

THE RARE WUBA SALANDER CLOCK

Date; 10th Feb 2026

Not to be mistaken with Zansee clocks. 

THE WUBA SALANDER CLOCK

Not to be mistaken with the newer Zansee clocks these are often referred to as "Almelo style" wall clocks, named after the town where they were manufactured.

This clock has a moon face and fits that classic Dutch aesthetic,—it is a Sallander.

While WUBA/Warmink produced both types, the Sallander and the Zaanse are distinct families. Think of them like two different cousins from the same Dutch family: one is the "traditionalist" (Zaanse) and the other is the "sophisticate" (Sallander).

How to Confirm it's a Sallander

The Sallander (named after the Salland region in the East Netherlands) has specific features that distinguish it from the Zaanse:

The Moon Phase: This is the biggest giveaway. True historical Zaanse clocks almost never had moon phases. Sallanders nearly always do.

The Pendulum: On a Zaanse, the pendulum is often a "Horseman." On a Sallander, the pendulum is usually a shining brass Sun which in Dutch Clockmaking symbolises “Time” as a celestial constant.

The Woodwork: Zaanse clocks are usually made of Oak or Nutwood with very straight, "architectural" lines. Sallanders are often made of Walnut and have softer, more rounded, "cloud-like" curves on the wooden backboard.

The Figures: Instead of the figure of Atlas holding the world (common on Zaanse clocks), a Sallander usually has three brass ornaments on top—often a central finial or urn flanked by two smaller ones. (not found here)

The Weights: Unlike the Zansee that has Ornamental weights the Sallander comes with 2 solid cylindrical brass weights.

 

Setting your WUBA Salander Moon Faced Dial.

To set your Wuba clock accurately for today,

Monday, February 9, 2026, follow these steps based on the current lunar cycle and standard Wuba mechanism guidelines.

1. Current Moon Status

Today if the moon is in its Third Quarter (Last Quarter) phase. 

• Illumination: Approximately 48–50%.
• Lunar Age: It has been roughly 22 days since the last New Moon.
• Visual Appearance: Only the left half of the moon is visible (in the Northern Hemisphere). 

2. How to Set the Dial

Wuba/Warmink clocks generally use a "click" system for the moon disc.

1. Preparation: Ensure your clock is not currently between 9:00 o’clock and 2:00 o’clock, as the internal gears may be engaged to move the moon dial automatically.
2. Locate the Moon Disc: Gently place your thumb on the moon face visible through the top arch.
3. Advance to Full Moon: Rotate the disc clockwise (to the right) until the moon is perfectly centered under the  “V” (Pointer) at the top of the arch. This represents the Full Moon phase.
4. Do not do any advancements at the full hour or the half hour when the clock is due to ring, wait at leas a full 7 minutes after ringing time.
5. Adjust for Today: Since today is roughly 9 days past the last Full Moon (which was on February 2), gently click the dial forward 9 times.
6. Final Check: The moon should now be exiting the "arch" on the right side, with only less then left half of its circle visible. 

Important Precautions

• Never Force It: If you feel significant resistance, do not force the disc. This means the clock’s automatic advancement pin is currently engaged. Wait 4–6 hours and try again.
• One Direction Only: Only rotate the disc clockwise; turning it backward can damage the delicate "click spring". 

 The v-notch (or small pointer) at the center of the arch is the reference point for the peak of the lunar cycle.

Aligning the moon face directly under that notch signifies a Full Moon. The plan to use the 15th day of the Chinese Lunar calendar is a clever and highly accurate method, as that calendar is specifically designed to align the 15th day with the full moon. 

Refining Your Setup

• The "Click" Count: When you adjust the dial, each "click" or tooth on the gear represents one lunar day (roughly 24 hours).
• • Safety Timing: To avoid damaging the internal gears, do not adjust the moon dial between 9:00 PM and 3:00 AM on the clock's time. This is when the automatic advancement pin is usually engaged.
  • Direction: Always push the dial clockwise (usually to the right). 

   

  You can track the moon's daily progress on the Time and Date Lunar Calendar or see a visual representation of today's phase on MoonGiant. These are websites.

  Does the moon disc on your clock have numbered days (1–29) printed along the top arch, or is it a plain painted scene?

  This moon disc has no numbers on top to show the days it has a v notch (pointer) on top of the moon dial in the centre, that is the date of the full moon. That being the case you can wait for the date of the full moon on the Chinese Lunar Calendar and move the dial (move only clockwise) clock wise or you may break the spring that facilitates the movement of the moon dial with gears.

This clock has just been fully serviced at the Old Cloxhibhition  and will be delivered to it's owner soon together with a Gilbert (Admiral) Architectural Clock. mantle 

CHIME CLOCK MAINTENANCE

 The Old Cloxhibhition

French 3 train Wall clocks (Carillon) Maintenance handbook

Compiled by the Old Cloxhibhition

Almost all musical chime clocks come with 3 keyholes, referred to as 3 train clocks, listed below are the maintenance procedures for such French made clocks, however these rules can also apply to all other 3 train clocks in general.

Maintenance Guide for Vedette, Romanet, Odo, and Girod Clocks

This guide provides structured care and maintenance instructions for four major French clockmakers: Vedette, Romanet, Odo, and Girod. It is designed for collectors and horology enthusiasts who wish to preserve the mechanical integrity and musical heritage of their clocks.

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1. General Care Principles

• Placement: Keep clocks on stable, vibration-free surfaces away from direct sunlight, humidity, and heat sources.
• Dust Protection: Regularly dust cases with a soft cloth; avoid sprays or chemical cleaners.
• Handling: Always handle pendulums and weights with care; avoid touching with bare hands to prevent corrosion.

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2. Winding & Power

• Frequency: Wind weekly at the same time for consistency.
• Technique: Use gentle, even pressure with the correct key size.
• Dual Chime Models: Switch between Westminster and alternative chimes only when the clock is not actively striking.

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3. Movement Maintenance

• Oiling: Apply clock oil to pivots every 2–3 years, sparingly.
• Cleaning: Professional dismantling, ultrasonic cleaning, and re-oiling every 5–7 years.
• Inspection: Have a horologist inspect bushings, pivots, and springs every 10 years.

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4. Chime & Strike Systems

• Hammer Alignment: Ensure hammers strike rods cleanly without resting against them.
• Rod Integrity: Check rods are secure in their block; loose rods dull the tone.
• Sequence Correction: If chimes fall out of order, allow the clock to run through a full cycle or reset gently.

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5. Case & Dial Care

• Wood Preservation: Use mild wax polish once or twice a year.
• Dial Cleaning: Lightly dust; avoid liquids that damage numerals or silvering.
• Glass Care: Clean with a damp cloth, avoiding drips into the bezel.

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6. Troubleshooting Common Issues

Problem	Likely Cause	Remedy
Clock stops	Out of beat, dirt in pivots	Adjust beat, clean/oil
Chimes silent	Lever in “silent” mode, stuck hammer	Reset lever, free hammer
Runs fast/slow	Pendulum length	Adjust nut up/down
Hands clash	Bent hands	Remove and reset carefully

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7. Brand-Specific Notes

Vedette

• Known for dual chime models (Westminster and Ave Maria).
• Pay attention to chime selector levers; avoid forcing them.
• Maintain resonance by checking gong block screws.

Romanet (FFR Mobier)

• Often feature ornate cases; preserve veneer with gentle waxing.
• Movements may have unique strike sequences; ensure proper synchronization after servicing.

Odo

• Famous for clear Westminster tones.
• Inspect hammer springs regularly; weak springs cause muted notes.
• Cases often feature Art Deco styling; avoid abrasive cleaning.

Girod

• Known for robust wall clocks.
• Pay attention to pendulum suspension springs; replace if worn.
• Chime rods are thicker; ensure hammer alignment for full resonance.

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8. Maintenance Checklist

Task	Frequency
Wind clock	Weekly
Dust case & dial	Weekly
Oil pivots	Every 2–3 years
Full cleaning	Every 5–7 years
Horologist inspection	Every 10 years

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9. Preservation Tips for Collectors

• Document history: Keep records of servicing and provenance.
• Avoid modifications: Preserve originality of rods, gongs, and dials.
• Cultural heritage: Respect devotional symbolism in chimes (e.g., Ave Maria).

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Summary: Regular light care combined with professional servicing ensures Vedette, Romanet, Odo, and Girod clocks remain accurate, melodious, and historically authentic for generations.

 

PREPARED  BY THE OLD CLOXHIBHITION Specialists in servicing, repairing and restoring all kinds of  old antique clocks.

Webpage:  https://facebook.com/yestertiems/99

Email : cloxhibhition@gmail.com