This DeBruce 400 day clock is almost identical to the previous one I repaired (see DeBruce 400 Day Clock by Kundo, 1950s). The dial says DeBruce, and the back plate says DeBruce Watch Co. Kundo made the clock.
Repair job 6129. Cleaned, new mainspring (Horolovar 19 x 38) and new suspension spring (Horolovar .0032 inch).
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This 400 day clock looks like a regular Schatz standard. However, it has an unusual, narrow movement.
A brief history: Through the early 1950s, standard size 400 day clocks had movements of about the same width. Then, someone discovered that if the movement was narrower, the import duty was less, as the movement was small enough to be considered a watch instead of a clock!
Kundo, one of the major makers, used narrow movements with “wings”, (brass strips) added to the back plate to make the narrow movement look wide. They omitted the wings after a few years.
Schatz made narrow movements, with a one-piece wing assembly on the back plate to make it look wide. Soon, Schatz resumed making the wide movement. I don’t know why.
Above: left – Mounting of the narrow movement. Right – Mounting of the regular Schatz standard movement.
The Schatz narrow movement is taller than the wide movement (3 5/8 inches tall for the narrow, 3 7/16 inches tall for the wide). To make the pendulum height correct, the narrow movement stands on two thin brass washers, and the wide movement stands on two brass posts (see photos above).
Another unusual feature of this example is the extra (auxiliary) mainspring and barrel. This was Schatz’s attempt to equalize the power to the escapement as the clock ran down. It provided no benefit and was soon discontinued.
Above: Left – gears in the movement. The auxiliary mainspring barrel is in the front center. Right – rear of movement with the attached “wing” to make the movement look wide.
Another unusual feature are the jewel bearings for the anchor pivots (most Schatz standard 400 day clocks have no jewels). The jewels may give a slight reduction in friction, but the sharp edge of the jewel sometimes wears a groove in the pivot.
Repair job 6117. I polished the pivots and replaced the suspension spring. This movement has “49R” in the circle on the back. The date on the back is 7 53 (July 1953).
The Schatz narrow movement is uncommon, I see one only every year or two, out of dozens of Schatz standard 400 day clocks that I repair.
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I just repaired this 1950s Kundo 400 day clock. The photos below show the case before and after polishing and lacquering.
Repair job 6217. Movement overhauled, 2 pivots polished, suspension spring and mainspring replaced. Horolovar back plate no. 1377. 0.0032 inch thick suspension spring.
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Here is a Schatz standard 400 day clock made in December 1952. It looked pretty bad to start with, but came out looking superb! I did a lot of polishing, and replaced the bezel (the original was dented). I replaced one gear (T3) that had bad rust on its pinion.
The enamel dial had rust stains and I wasn’t sure it would clean up. I removed the bezel and cleaned the dial in my clock cleaning fluid, and it came out looking like new!
Repair job 6236. Polished the pivots, replace the suspension spring and lower suspension block, polished the leaves of T2 (had surface rust). I also supplied a glass dome. Movement date code 12 52. .004 inch thick Horolovar suspension spring.
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Here is a pair of Schatz miniature 400 day clocks that came into my shop the same week. They are similar models, made one month apart in 1953 They have a round base and a 3-ball pendulum. One clock has a handle on top and a hole in the glass dome. The other has the standard type of dome.
Repair job 6301. Handle on top and hole in dome. Movement has the date code 11-53 (November 1953). Overhauled, polished pivots, new suspension spring (.0024 inch thick Horolovar). See more photos.
Repair job 6295. Movement has date code 10-53 (October 1953). Overhauled, polished pivots, new suspension spring (Horolovar .0024 inch thick). See more photos.
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My customer sent this clock to me after it had been to 2 other repair shops and still didn’t work.
One of the previous shops had done things that shouldn’t be done:
After cleaning the clock, I polished 8 pivots and then adjusted the escapement (moved both pallets in and lowered the rear anchor pivot hole). The clock worked great! The pendulum motion was over a full turn (4.7 – 4.8 balls).
Job 6280. I installed a 0.0024 inch suspension spring. Horolovar back plate no. 1406H.
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This is an ordinary Kundo standard-sized 400 day clock made in the 1950s. Normally, I go through my standard repair process, and the clock works well.
This clock didn’t work well after repair. It ran, but the pendulum rotated only about 3 balls (where 4 balls is one full turn), and sometimes it would stop. Normally the pendulum rotates 3.5 – 3.8 balls with the mainspring wound 2 turns.
Each adjustment I made seemed to help, but after an hour, the pendulum motion would decrease.
Finally, I tightened the lower block in the pendulum (this clock has a locking pendulum; and the lower block slides up and down in the top of the pendulum). I squeezed the top of the pendulum together to reduce the slot width, and the clock worked perfectly!
The pendulum rotation was as follows:
Repair job 6319. Polished 6 pivots, cleaned, installed new .0032 inch suspension spring.
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I think this is among the prettiest 400 day clocks ever made. The case is maroon and brass, and the dial has a picture of 2 people lighting Japanese lanterns. I illustrated the same model before (see Schatz Painted 400 Day Clocks with Diamond Dial), but I like them so much I posted this one too.
The color is darker in real life than it appears in the pictures.
Repair job 6342. I polished 6 pivots, polished the minute wheel screw, and installed a new suspension spring (0.004 inch thick Horolovar). The movement has the date 6-52 (June 1952) and is Horolovar back plate number 1281. It has adjustable pallets.
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I repaired this “Jahresuhrenfabrik” or “Schatz” 400 day clock recently. There is no name on the dial, and no date code on the back of the movement. The movement has the earlier type of motion work under the dial. These features are found on clocks made around 1949.
The case is brass with ivory color painted areas. The dial is the standard enamel dial.
Repair job 6298. I polished the pivots and installed a new .004 inch suspension spring.
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I just repaired 2 Schatz London Coach 400 day clocks for a customer. The oldest one, dated 12-57 (December 1957) has the usual silvered dial with brass Roman numerals. The newest clock is dated July 1972. I didn’t know that they made them this late! Its dial is brass-color with a white chapter ring and black Roman numerals.
Repair job 6393. The newer clock had a cracked jewel, which I replaced with a brass bushing. The older clock had gunky black oil in one pivot hole. The pivot was rough, and the hole was worn, so I polished the pivot and installed a bushing. This was ususual – 400 day clocks usually don’t need bushings.
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Here’s a great old 400 day clock that I recently repaired. It was made by Kienzle in Germany around 1905. It has a “disc” pendulum, consisting of a round brass-covered iron disc, with 2 weights on top that you screw in or out to regulate the timekeeping.
The dial is enamel with spade hands.
Repair job 6339. The movement needed major repair work. The escape wheel had 3 badly bent teeth, and I was able to obtain a replacement from the Horolovar Company. The mainspring barrel had a bulge and the hook was loose. I carefully flattened the bulge and riveted the hook tighter. I moved the entrance pallet out and adjusted the escapement depth. The suspension spring was nice and flat, but the clock ran slightly fast. I thinned the spring, and adjusted the fork height for proper escapement action.
I polished and lacquered the base, pillars and arch (the decorative part above the dial).
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Here is a Jahresuhrenfabrik (JUF for short) 400 day clock made around 1902. It has a disc pendulum, small dial, and delicate spade hands. It has beautifully turned finials above the dial.
I repaired this clock, and fixed some problems caused by previous repair work.
The picture below shows the mainspring after removal from the clock. Note that it is cone shaped. It should be flat.
Here is the new mainspring that I installed:
The “arch” of the clock (the decorative part with the finials above the dial) was fastened to the clock with GLUE, as one screw hole didn’t have a shoulder for the screw to bear on. I inserted a bushing in that hole to repair it.
This clock has an unusual anchor (the part that goes back and forth as the clock ticks). Most JUF clocks have a solid-body anchor, but this one has adjustable pallets like most other makers use. Here is a photo:
Repair job 6585. I polished five pivots. The 0.004 inch thick suspension spring was good, and I adjusted it to hang straight in the upper block and adjusted the height of the fork. The hand set tension washer had a hole that was too big, causing it to bear on the front plate, causing friction that would stop the clock. I installed a new tension spring. I installed a Horolovar 19 x 36 mainspring.
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Schatz made 3 sizes of 400 day clock: Standard, Miniature and Midget. The Standard 400 day says “49” on the back inside a circle, the miniature says “53”, and the midget says “JUM/7”. Can anyone tell me what “JUM/7” means?
The midget 400 day clock is slightly shorter than the miniature. I recently repaired a midget dated 9 62 (September 1962), and its height without the dome is 5 9/16 inches. A similar-looking miniature that I repaired (see Schatz Miniature 400 Day Clock, March 1956) is 7 inches tall to the top of the decoration above the dial.
The midget movement has a pin-pallet escapement instead of a Graham deadbeat.
Repair job 6631. I polished the pivots, smoothed some damaged teeth on the mainspring barrel, and replaced the suspension spring. I used a 0.0022 inch thick Horolovar suspension spring (a previous clock of the same model I repaired (see Schatz Midget 400 Day Clock Made in 1968). needed a 0.0023 inch thick spring (I’m not sure if the difference was in the suspension springs or the pendulum).
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Three matching Jahresuhrenfabrik (JUF) 400 day clocks ca. 1910 were in my shop at the same time. They have a smaller disc pendulum and thinner suspension spring than many JUF 400 day clocks, and date from around 1910.
Many JUF disc pendulum clocks use a 0.004 inch thick suspension spring, but these 3 clocks have a 0.0035 inch thick spring.
The disc pendulums are smaller in diameter than usual, but taller. They are about 2 3/4 inches in diameter, as compared to the more usual 3 1/4 to 3 3/8 inches. The pendulums have an iron core with a brass sheet spun around it, painted gold on the bottom.
Data:
Clock 1 (my number S-0634): Pendulum diameter 69.5 mm, pendulum weight 11.2 ounces.
Clock 2 (#2 in my collection): Pendulum diameter 69.5 mm, pendulum weight 10.4 ounces. I bought this clock in 1988, and restored it at that time. It still runs well and looks good!
Clock 3 (belonging to my father-in-law): Pendulum diameter 69.5 mm, pendulum weight 11.2 ounces.
All three clocks are Horolovar back plate number 1260 (having Jahresuhrenfabrik Germany G.m.b.H. in a circle around the second wheel pivot, and 2 standing elephants facing each other with a bell-top leg model alarm clock in between).
See more photos:
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Here’s another Jahresuhrenfabrik 400 day clock I repaired. This one was probably made about 1910 or 1912. The base is not original – it is a 1950s Kundo base.
Repair job 6468. I polished the pivots, removed the broken-off screws and found new screws to mount the arch (the decorative part above the dial). I installed a new Horolovar .004 inch suspension spring. The movement is Horolovar back plate number 1439. I polished and lacquered the base and pillars.
It has a suspension guard, with a wide bottom end that originally had a brass cover.
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This Schatz standard 400 day clock is from 1953 and has several unusual features:
The adjustable pallet anchor is not really a good feature, as it tempts a tinkerer to move the pallets, putting the escapement out of adjustment. The factory set the pallets correctly, and they do not need adjustment. The photos below show the adjustable pallet anchor and a regular, solid body anchor.
Repair job 6614. I polished the pivots, put the anchor in beat, and installed a new 0.004 inch thick suspension spring. Movement date 6 53 (June 1953). Horolovar back plate number 1287.
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Here is an old and unusual 400 day clock with a white marble base, made around 1900. The dial says “The Bowler & Burdick Co., Cleveland, O.” Notice the small dial, delicate hands and disc pendulum, common on early 400 day clocks.
Repair job 6685. Horolovar back plate no. 1471. 0.004 inch thick suspension spring. I polished the pivots, broached out the bushings that a previous repairer installed, smoothed the minute hand hub, and reduced the barrel arbor endshake.
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I repaired this unusual Herr 400 day Anniversary clock. It has a square dial, which is less common than the normal round enamel dial. And the nickel-plated finish is even more unusual, I get a nickel-plated 400 day clock for repair only every year or two.
Repair job 7235. Someone inexperienced had tried to repair the clock, damaging to several parts. I replaced the following damaged parts: Anchor, time gear No. 2, escape wheel, barrel, ratchet gear. The clock has unit 27B, and a 0.0036 inch suspension spring.
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400 day clocks with a three or four-ball pendulum have a regulating disc near the top of the pendulum. On Kundo and Schatz clocks, turning the regulating disc clockwise slows down the clock; and turning it counterclockwise speeds up the clock. Some brands of 400 day clock regulate in the opposite direction. The clock usually has labels to tell you which way to turn the disc.
The photos below show typical regulating discs.
An effective way to regulate a 400 day clock is to grasp the pendulum when as comes to a stop at the end of a rotation, hold it in place, turn the regulating disc, then release the pendulum. This a good procedure as long as you are CAREFUL NOT TO YANK DOWN ON THE PENDULUM, AS THE SUSPENSION SPRING IS THIN AND COULD BREAK.
This procedure is good because it doesn’t disturb the rotation of the pendulum very much, reducing the timekeeping variations caused by the changing the amount of swing of the pendulum. And it doesn’t disturb the pendulum as much as taking it off would.
Video showing the procedure:
For clocks that have a pendulum lock, (such as the Schatz “London Coach” many Kundo clocks), you can lock the pendulum and then turn the regulating disc.
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This Kienzle 400 day clock has a metal case with beveled glass in the sides and front. The engraved, silvered dial has the Kienzle wings logo. The clock is 10 15/16 inches tall, 7 1/2 inches wide, and 4 1/4 inches deep. The dial’s minute track is 3 9/16 inches in diameter. The back has engraved Chinese characters, as this was a presentation piece. It was made around the 1930s.
Repair job 7583. I polished the pivots, replaced a missing arm pivot on the pendulum, and installed a new suspension spring (0.0135 inch thick). The movement is like Horolovar BP 1385 and 1387 but has just a serial number. The movement was made by Badische for Kienzle.
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