"Stadium" 8 day clock

[Parazine]

Found this nice little "Stadium" 8 day, art deco clock on fleabay recently.

   

Unfortunately it didn't run, so I opened it up and found the balance staff was broken. For those who don't "do" clocks and watches, the balance staff is the axle that the escape wheel, a fundamental part of the clock, turns on. The movement was a write off, spares are unavailable and it would cost a fortune to have a watchmaker repair it.

Ah well, it was cheap enough....

A couple of weeks later, the remains of another "Stadium" turned up, only at half the cost of the first but in a dire decorative state, missing glass etc. "Worth a punt", I thought, "might have a escapement I can use". So I put in the opening bid and got it. When it turned up, not only was the balance staff intact, the movement actually ran!

This evening, I put the two together, the pretty case, face and hands with the running movement and it all works nicely!

The "Stadium" clocks are very small, the backplate is only 3" diameter and the face about 1 7/8". The movement was a mass produced, six jewel pocket watch movement, made by L Sandoz in Switzerland. I believe they retailed in the late twenties for about 30/-.
I have previously used "Smiths" clocks on the dashboard which are much more agricultural.

This one should look good on the dashboard of my RK saloon...….

[AllAlloyCup]

How does it wind?

A key at the back or rim wound?

Regards

Bill G

Ps I had a period rim wound Smiths recently rebuilt
For about £150 , after I had plated the metal parts
and it will look the part on my dash, when I finally get this car going!

[Parazine]

It's a rim winder. The knob at the bottom flicks to the left to adjust the hands, to the right to wind the movement.

I know the Smiths clocks were available as rim wind or they hinged out from the case and were wound with a key. Some of them have a separate knob on the front as well, several different types.

I can't work out how the Smiths type without a separate case are retained in the dashboard, it's something to do with the two knobs on the side at the back. Perhaps I'm missing something.

[Tony Betts]

Well done.

They are a nice clock.

I bought one a couple of years ago for the van, as I forgot to cut the hole for the smiths?

nice and easy to add to a car, just drill the screw holes.

Sadly mine ticked for around 20 seconds then stopped, so I sold it on. I haven't the time to repair it.

I bought a nice clock at the weekend.

I'll put pics up on another thread.

Tony.

[AustinWood]

The Smiths clocks with 2 knobs on the side are held into the dashboard by a curious spring that hooks under the knobs. I have seem one on ebay but don't have a picture.

[Parazine]

Ah! the spring is probably the bit I have never seen. That would make sense.

[Parazine]

Finally, completed this project!

The dashboard was removed and powder coated with a textured black finish. It seems the original wrinkle finish is no longer available in powder coat and I didn't fancy painting it, although I believe there are good products available for this.

The clock movement was a bit of a mare really; I had a contact at work clean it, involving dismantling the movement. It came back after several months running very poorly, stopping frequently and with little "power" on the escapement. I finally dismantled it again and found a foreign body (rubbery, greasy sort of stuff) stopping the scape wheel rotating freely. Re-assembled it, (this is a nightmare job, I was wearing 3 pairs of glasses at the same time and couldn't work for more that 10 mins due to shaky hands) and it now works fine!

Placed on the dash this morning, looks fine!


   

[JonE]

I like your exposed oil gauge too - much nicer/more purposeful than a fascia extension plate... fab Mann Egerton dealer plate too.

[AustinWood]

I now have pictures of the spring that holds Smiths clocks in place.


   

   

[Parazine]

Brilliant! Thanks Jim! I'll be looking out for one. There's loads of this type of Smiths clock around but all the springs seem to have gone AWOL.