Smiths Sectric Wall Clock

[@keroxene]

JW, I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I've recently moved into a house in rural Australia that was built in 1967, and all the light switches, door bells, door hinges, taps etc are made in the UK. It's lovely to see old stuff like your clock being preserved.

[@isoguy.]

I have the identical clock which belonged to my grand parents, I have fond memories of viewing it in their kitchen and always used it as it was always the most accurate clock in the house. We now use the clock in our kitchen, its never been switched off, apart from power cuts and moving it to our house. According to my parents it was purchased in the 60s and has run almost continiously for 60 years. Thanks for sharing this video 👍 👍 👍.

[@Dog-whisperer7494]

Wow , we had the same clock in the classrooms above the blackboards at my primary school and secondary school . 👍hope you’re going to keep it and put it to good use John . It probably more accurate than most modern wall clocks.

[@clairedoll7219]

Thank you for making this video,I acquired the green version and needed rewiring,without this video I'd be stumped!

[@matthewsynnott9599]

I first should point out that I am not a qualified watch or clock repairer, I am an enthusiastic amateur who loves working on my small collection of old clocks; a US Ansonia, (cheap and cheerful), a beautiful old English office wall clock, 8 day Fusee chain drive, unknown manufacturer but made for Hardy Brothers, a highly regarded Australian Jewelry Retailer and my Smiths Sectric wall clock c.1960`s. I enjoyed watching your video of the restoration of your Smiths Sectric and I have to say I was surprised that this did not involve the disassembly of the movement. I wonder how effective the cleaning process could be where the various parts could not be submerged in a solvent, my preferred one is Shellite. Further your application of a light oil was applied to the meshing parts of the movement`s cogs and not the pinions where they turn in the plates. Many years ago a respected clock maker told me never to oil the teeth of the cogs, only a small amount applied to the pinions. This is conveniently done with a fine wire dipped in the oil in the container then touching this to the appropriate place. One small bead of oil clinging to the tip of the wire is enough, each pinion gets it`s own ration of oil. When you cleaned your clock, any old oil still attached to the pinion would have been removed so your movement would now have no lubricant where it is most needed, at the pinions. I would urge you to consider redoing the process, this time take it apart completely, this way a close examination can be done of all the moving parts to check for wear. I understand that reassembly can be a fiddly and frustrating exercise at times but perseverance brings it`s own rewards. By all means seek out the advice of a trusted and respected clock repairer to verify the worthiness of what I have said. These are such beautiful time pieces that deserve to be preserved in a time when many worship only the newest, the latest whatever. I hope the charm of "my dear old things" will survive long after my demise, to bring pleasure to whomsoever becomes their custodian. I noted, one respondent did not appreciate the "butt-ugly power cord", and thought that replacing the original movement with a 9 volt one would be an improvement. I don`t understand what this would improve, not it`s value, collectors who know what they are talking about, pay a premium for "genuine", "original", a mass produced quartz movement out of China could hardly be regarded as original. Not time keeping, the vast majority of consumer grade quartz time pieces are uncorrected, many have no means of being corrected, so the best accuracy they are likely to provide is within a couple of minutes a year, good enough some might say? Well my 50 plus year old Smiths can go head to head with the time keeping of the GP Satellites, thanks to the synchronous motor taking it`s rhythm from the mains power line frequency.

[@southernnutcase]

OH i recently found an old Hammond Synchronous clock that runs on the mains like that! . i had to replace the cord on it but its sitting on my desk buzzing away happily .. from around the 20s or 30s .. and it actually holds fantastic time

[@locouk]

What a beautiful clock, i vaguely remember my nan having a similar one with the sweeping second hand that was mains voltage. Thanks for the video. 👍🏼

[@hypnotised-clover]

This clock was apparently originally made in 1937, but was made until the 50s at least.

[@campbellmorrison8540]

Excellent, I have just done one up myself so its great to see how it was done by somebody else. I did make the mistake of taking all the gears out and it was a night mare getting them all back so I cant recommend this unless you know how the get the gears apart between the hand gears and the gear box, Im sure they pull apart but I couldnt get them to do so. Anyway I love these sectric clocks, no noise and a wonderful smooth sweeping seconds hand, even better they keep time perfectly.

[@TheMarkanthony5]

I think you will find this is circa 1940s early 1950s . I collect these clocks probably 1955 at the latest

[@douglasburskey4820]

A popular electric clock movement here in the states was a General Electric Telecron. The motor looked like a small shaded pole motor.

[@davidpar2]

I finally managed to snag one of these on eBay. It’s a first generation one, with the window with a spinning indicator wheel in it instead of a second hand. Came with an MK clock plug and outlet, too. Those bijou movements seem to run forever

[@arancunningham7256]

Many of these were made in Avery light baby blue. Very fitting for the time period.

[@hamjazz]

I had a larger version of one of these with an O/C coil in the motor. I was fortunate enough to find in my junk an old Honeywell type motorised valve which had a similar sized coil but obviously different pole spacings. I managed to dismantle the peened-over centre fixing and substitute the new coil. bit of a fiddly job to re-peen the fixing with a small drop of superglue to help. Mow runs perfectly.

[@preynolds5]

Amazingly helpful , i have one of these which had stopped i jiggled the stalk like you showed , applied a drop of penetrating oil , and hey presto . Fond of this Art Deco clock which i found on ebay.

[@Bevoin1970]

Lovely time piece, and so nice to see it working too - def takes me back to school :-)

[@warrengray610]

Hi John, yep those synchronous motors always sieze when they've been sitting about, also found in the base pot of those fibre optic Christmas trees and plate rotators in microwaves! Kind regards Warren

[@davidfanimation]

my great nan and grandad owned a hotel in Bournemouth an had 30 of these one in each room! all green

[@woodtooth32]

I would choose one of these over cheap quartz clocks anytime.

[@linuxthemoon]

I love mains powered clocks, they had them when i went to school connected to a master clock converted from a grandfather clock! Would always like to setup something similar here at home, but have a ton of power outages :(

[@wateryblaze]

You need to take the clock right apart like you are a watchmaker to understand how this clock works. The knob hanging out of the bottom did TWO things. A simple synchronous motor will run in either direction... this is the nature of the beast. Unless there is a starting mechanism; this direction will be random... clockwise or anticlockwise. When you push the knob to adjust the time, it stops the motor. You set the time correctly and waited until just before the time pips from your radio station, having stopped the clock with the sweep hand at the top. You waited until the pips started and pushed the knob up. When you heard the last (fifth) pip you released the knob. This started the clock motor in the correct direction and also ensured that the motor was up to speed. These clocks were notorious for running backwards if the power supply was glitchy, like it used to be in rural New Zealand. The tick that mista bubble heard was the starting/stopping gear brushing past the rotor probably damaged when the sweep hand was removed. They were manufactured with all 3 hands.

[@douglasburskey4820]

I own a Hammond organ myself. I use that tone generator oil when I restore record players.It's perfect for the shaded pole motor and idler wheel bearings.

[@100SteveB]

We used to have one of those on our kitchen wall when i was a kid back in the 70's. I bet that clock must have nearly forty years of service under it's belt. You will not be able to buy anything these days that will last so long.

[@robertherberg9595]

Kind of an art deco vibe with this clock. It could have been a prop on Bioshock.

[@hellcattanks]

I have a small collection of these. Later ones were self starting. I have rewound a couple of mine so that they now run of a 9vac wall wart.

[@WM2869]

Great vid, very informative. Had one a while back (much larger) but never knew about the jump start

[@mikecawood]

I really like that clock.

[@LMcI01]

My grandparents have a green one in their kitchen, still being used as the main clock.

[@gvvq-pi5ml]

Hi John from a mechanics point of view, a good way to remove rivets is to drill the heads off, and good way to remove paint is brake fluid...that strips paint really well from Fred in Essex,

[@alistair1978utube]

What has Fred in Essex been doing that he needs paint stripped off him?

[@chrisrix7645]

We had a smiths clock in our workshop as an apprentice I would flick it to start backwards they will run either way. We must have had time on our hands in those days

[@marcogarofalo6343]

You don't need to cut the rivets on the face. You're supposed to remove the hands which is by far the easiest way of removing the movement.

[@Hawksmere]

Thanks for the video - just for clarity, does it not matter which colour wire goes in to which slot?

[@jwflame]

No.

[@Hawksmere]

@@jwflame thank you John. Your videos are so straight to the point.

[@ShokaLion]

I think on those older synchro clocks the push in action mechanically engaged with the motor and gave it a starting flick, as these weren't shaded pole so couldn't start themselves.

[@ShokaLion]

typed this as I was watching, my apologies, I see you addressed this later in the video.

[@Tangobaldy]

Baldy gives you a thumbs up

[@drewukdrew]

Thank you for trip down memory lane, we had the exact same one in my parents house.

[@davidpar2]

Nice deco wall clock, btw

[@andrewschannel3635]

I've just watched the "repair shop" on BBC desecrate an old mains powered mantle clock, by replacing the synchronous mechanism with a "safe" quartz battery movement, probably made in china.

[@douglasburskey4820]

That old synchronous mechanism would outlast that Chinese made quartz movement.

[@wowbagger1954]

Those motors always are hit-and-miss to start. We had an older version of that clock when I was a child - I suspect it's more likely to be 1940s rather than 1960s - and on occasions you pressed the button to get it started and the clock would go backwards. I recently fixed a very similar clock to my parents' for a friend: the only difference between her clock and ours was the colour of the bakelite.

[@davidpar2]

Do you ever come across the two pin plug connectors that fit into Temco mantle clocks? I bought a Temco clock years ago w/o a lead and have been looking for one of those plugs ever since

[@MrHack4never]

isn't the mains grid "synchronized" to have 432,000(50*60*60*24) cycles per day to keep mains clocks running at 24 hours/day? or did they stop because mains clocks are getting rarer and rarer?

[@rich1051414]

+MrHack4never Thank you for explaining this. I had no idea how they expected these clocks to keep time off of the mains frequency, as it is not expected to be as perfect as a crystal would be. If they designed mains grid to produce exactly 432,000 cycles a day, then such a thing is quite simple. Odd to design the whole grid around a solution where such a thing is not even required, a crystal could be used instead... However, If they did intentionally use a precise ac frequency because of these clocks, that makes the whole idea make a lot more sense. In the US, i think nearly all our clocks were either battery + crystal based, or clockwork wound/pendulum based. I couldn't imagine trying to get all the electrical companies to keep the frequency precise. Was 50hz a decision solely because of how it could be used to keep time, or was this just a coincidence? I do know the US decided on 60 hz because Westinghouse thought lighting looked better at 60 hz. I hear Edison actually had much more influence in Europe than the US, funnily enough.

[@matthewsynnott9599]

Actually there should be one more zero in the number of cycles per day making 4.32 million. The ideal is that mains supply is exactly 50 Hz, but actually it can drop very slightly below that under high load, 0.01 Hz, (0.02%), is acceptable, a drop of 0.5 Hz is unacceptable and is likely to result in load shedding to prevent damage to very expensive assets. Power stations have monitoring systems in place to enable restoration of the 50 Hz by applying increased energy to the turbines but this can take some tens of seconds due to the high mass of the rotating turbines. It is usual at some time in each 24 hour period, for the main supply frequency to be adjusted, by the plus or minus 0.01 Hz to bring about the 4.32 million cycles per day. This is likely to occur at times of reduced power demand across the network where the frequency has to be adjusted up. Mains clocks have become rare as the inexpensive, convenient battery powered quartz clocks have become commonplace. This will never be a reason for power generators to adopt a more casual approach to line frequency. All turbines connected to the grid are locked together spinning at exactly the same speed, were one turbine could manage to spin faster or slower it would effectively be attempting to drive or be driven by all the other turbines on the grid. This would lead to its destruction. In addition, turbines are designed to run at a narrow speed band, vary that too much and they start shedding blades, (spectacular and expensive). Some years back, in the US, (60 Hz), there was some thought they would loosen up the line frequency, I don`t know where the idea came from whether it was some wags idea of a joke akin to the Y2K scare around the turn of the century. It caused great consternation as people thought it would come to pass. As good as quartz clocks are, my c.1960`s Smiths Sectric clock is outstanding in accuracy, I check it against the GPSatellites that are used for our navigation devices. It is never wrong unless the power fails. The fact is Quartz movements can be very accurate, the expensive ones with temperature correction and where great accuracy is essential. In domestic situations a gain or loss of a couple of minutes a year is perfectly acceptable.

[@MrHack4never]

UPDATE: They still keep an average frequency Source: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJrNXn2gr6iUbdE

[@jusb1066]

i calculated this uses 5w of power, and would cost around £6.60 per year in elec costs, so much cheaper to use a modern aa clock! one old devices like this, i would have soldered the cable ends, a stray wire is a worry when there is little insulation around them.

[@rogeralden5534]

An entertaining video, but a few points: You do not mention that the screws securing the motor seem to have been previously removed and damaged when replaced. The cork coaster looks like ones that could be obtained from Ikea a few years ago. The original lead-in cable is the type I used to buy from Woolworths back in the sixties to re-wire table lamps etc. It seems unlikely that the case was painted without getting paint over the bezel unless disassembled. Does this suggest that the clock has already been 'renovated' some years ago? PS I like the comment about rubber Duraplugs, I have been caught many a time with those. I've even seen one with a slit in the rubber to squeeze the cable in after wiring-up.

[@BertKrus]

Love your English accent

[@christopherhulse8385]

I still have a mains clock in the kitchen which is extremely accurate.

[@mikewest8535]

Hello Do you or do you know anyone that repairs Smiths clocks or sells a replacement movement’s thanks

[@shilks8773]

Was the alcohol on the cork from an afternoon tipple that you spilt or have you been wasting good gin on cleaning old clocks ?

[@montystelevision3238]

I have a smiths electric clock and it's in a proper MK clock connector.

[@awolmadandy]

where did you get that vice from? looking for something similar for working on locks

[@jwflame]

+Andrew Watson Panavise 350, from cpc.farnell.com/

[@kjm-ch7jc]

Sounds like a lecture from the open university.

[@SuperNathan90]

these were push to start or something. it explains how to start on the back

[@hob991]

I wonder if the hole at the top is for the cable? it would let it fit flat against the wall if it was?

[@jwflame]

Probably - although electric clocks were intended to be used with clock connectors, a very slim plug and socket which fitted behind the clock so no wiring was visible.

[@iiiiiiicurtisiiiiiii]

interesting video,what is the purpose of the restoration of this particular device?

[@TheDutyPaid]

+iiiiiiicurtisiiiiiii So he knows what the time is. :)

[@piratedprivacy9052]

so JW can make a KZbin video out of it... 😁

[@mattdonut]

thanks for the video

[@TheDutyPaid]

What's the time John?

[@piratedprivacy9052]

**until next time, thanks for watching**

[@fulano1969]

I really like this type of old electric clocks, I would like to buy one of these, but unfortunately is impossible to make it work correctly where I live (brazil), because of the "uncommon" 220V 60Hz that we have here, almost all of the 220V-240V countries the frequency is 50Hz, and the majority of the 60Hz countries the voltage is 110-127V. Well, in reality we do have a "mix" of voltages, where some cities the voltage is 127V and others 220V, but both are 60Hz.

[@jwflame]

+some one If you want one for 220V 60Hz, get a 110V 60Hz type and use it with a small step up transformer.

[@fulano1969]

That's a good idea, I could buy one from north america (60Hz) and use a step down transformer.

[@pcuser80]

If i understand correctly, the clock does not start after a power outage? You must help it.....

[@jwflame]

+pcuser80 Yes, must be manually restarted. However the time would need to be set as well, so no extra effort.

[@rich1051414]

Wait, it uses the frequency of mains to keep time? Is that accurate?

[@Graham_Langley]

+Richard Smith More than accurate enough for here in the UK. Remember most mains-powered non-RDS or DAB clock radios use the mains frequency for timekeeping. FWIW a company I was working for a few years back started using mains frequency for an industrial programmable thermostat as it was far more accurate long-term than the 32kHz crystal they had been using. The crystal was still used when the mains failed of course.

[@rich1051414]

Graham Langley Yeah, i saw in another comment they intentionally made the frequency accurate enough for keeping time like this. No such thing existed in the US, so no one would design a clock that way here.

[@Graham_Langley]

+Richard Smith From a little bit of Googling it seems the US 60Hz grid is accurate enough for timekeeping and AC electric wall clocks do exist.

[@fulano1969]

+Richard Smith Actually it was pretty common in the US too, a flip clock alarm radio works the same way as the clock on the video.

[@brunoshow124]

+Richard Smith Most AC clocks work that way in the US. Mechanical appliance timers also use the mains frequency for timekeeping...

[@robshorts]

I hate the way people slop emulsion and gloss paint onto electrical fittings, something I often end up having to deal with on the vintage light fittings I collect.

[@gabest4]

That hole is too perfect for the cable, in fact it may have been broken out for that reason.

[@gvvq-pi5ml]

Hi John you ought to see this....Fred.

[@XtremeKremaTor]

buy Chinese one and would last Max 5 years due to motor giving up

[@petermooney2228]

Nice

[@KarlBunker]

Personally, I think it would have been much kinder to the spirit and design of that clock to get rid of that scraggly, butt-ugly power cord and replace the movement with a battery-powered movement.

[@ethelryan257]

Those flex cords are hideously ugly, no question - and the enormous UK mains plug is equally distracting from the pleasant design of the clock. However, the flex and plug are part and parcel of the original design and to replace it with a quartz movement would violate that. There's also the minor point that this clock is considerably more accurate than an unadjusted quartz movement. Yes, the 230V setup in the UK is horribly oversized, but it just belongs together.

[@davidpar2]

KarlBunker these synchronous wall clocks (and mantle clocks) are meant to be connected to dedicated clock plugs and outlets, which were mounted either on the wall behind the clock or on the mantle behind the clock, so the cords weren’t seen

[@gvvq-pi5ml]

sorry link doesnt work fred;

[@sean999ification]

I expected more fluff inside.

[@CurtisEFlush5962]

James, I think a rap video would help your channel get more viewers. Plus that'd be funny to watch

[@aigleblanc3966]

HELLO MY FRIEND vous êtes bien gentil mais j'aimerais bien regarder des vidéos nouveaux hi parce que vos vidéos de 4 ans ou 3, ou 2 ans j'en a mare ok fes nouveauté oki yes ...ET REPNDER AUX COMMENTAIRES . !

[@jwflame]

Newer videos are here: kzbin.infovideos

[@XtremeKremaTor]

buy Chinese one and would last Max 5 years due to motor giving up

[@CurtisEFlush5962]

James, I think a rap video would help your channel get more viewers. Plus that'd be funny to watch

[@XtremeKremaTor]

buy Chinese one and would last Max 5 years due to motor giving up

[@CurtisEFlush5962]

James, I think a rap video would help your channel get more viewers. Plus that'd be funny to watch