Goblin Model 46 Electric Clock
I was given this mains-powered clock but found that the coil was open circuit. I could possibly have re-wound this but didn’t fancy that job, or paying for the wire. Another option would be to re-wind it with fewer turns of thicker wire and run it at a lower voltage via a transformer. I wasn’t keen on that either as working out the coil details would be tricky.
Now I don’t give a rat's rear end about ‘Authenticity.’ I don’t regard what I do with old radios, telephones &c to be ‘Restoration;’ I simply want things to be useful and to look nice.
The obvious thing to do to this clock therefore was to fit a quartz movement but I wanted to do it an a way that wasn’t obvious or that involved heavy modification to the case or face. I hadn’t really looked into that side of things as the other problem was getting one with suitable hands; the trouble was as much available sizes as styles.
After it cluttering me up for literally years I decided it was time to either mend or bin it.
I ordered a movement for a quid and thought it would be possible to bush the old hands to fit. When this arrived I found the hour hand fitted as was and the minute hand did after pinching the collet up a bit. I devised a way to mount the movement without enlarging the hole in the face and which also hid the fixing nut. Besides that I refinished the case as it had been done with some horrible ‘mahogany’ coloured varnish and resembled a toffee apple.
It now looks very nice and doesn’t need to be near a socket, which it would monopolise and need a cord trailing about, and there are no safety concerns — not that such things concern me anyway.
I certainly wouldn’t do this to a mechanical clock but this was electric in the first place and still is. As the movement is a sweep type there isn’t even a tick every second.
I even managed to get a few bob for the original works on e-Bay.
Now I don’t give a rat's rear end about ‘Authenticity.’ I don’t regard what I do with old radios, telephones &c to be ‘Restoration;’ I simply want things to be useful and to look nice.
The obvious thing to do to this clock therefore was to fit a quartz movement but I wanted to do it an a way that wasn’t obvious or that involved heavy modification to the case or face. I hadn’t really looked into that side of things as the other problem was getting one with suitable hands; the trouble was as much available sizes as styles.
After it cluttering me up for literally years I decided it was time to either mend or bin it.
I ordered a movement for a quid and thought it would be possible to bush the old hands to fit. When this arrived I found the hour hand fitted as was and the minute hand did after pinching the collet up a bit. I devised a way to mount the movement without enlarging the hole in the face and which also hid the fixing nut. Besides that I refinished the case as it had been done with some horrible ‘mahogany’ coloured varnish and resembled a toffee apple.
It now looks very nice and doesn’t need to be near a socket, which it would monopolise and need a cord trailing about, and there are no safety concerns — not that such things concern me anyway.
I certainly wouldn’t do this to a mechanical clock but this was electric in the first place and still is. As the movement is a sweep type there isn’t even a tick every second.
I even managed to get a few bob for the original works on e-Bay.
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