Welch Spring Regulator Restoration

We fix up some wood shrinkage and other case damage and talk through the operation of this fascinating perpetual calendar regulator clock.

[@suecox2308]

Lovely to see this beautiful clock being so carefully treated. I think the domino was the right answer for the frame, and I like to think of a 22nd century restorer being full of admiration at your meticulous work. ;-) It has a pretty sophisticated movement. I was impressed that the calendar mechanism "knows" about longer and shorter months--clever.

[@metalmanipulator7210]

Were the original screws slotted? I doubt they were phillips.

[@MinnesotaClocksandWatches]

The original screws were definitely not Phillips, and they were probably steel, not brass. According to Wikipedia, the Philips Screw company was incorporated in 1934, and this clock predates that by possibly 60 years.

[@metalmanipulator7210]

@@MinnesotaClocksandWatches For the wood side they were probably steel. I thought the one you had was original, but you were replacing it with a phillips.

[@metalmanipulator7210]

@@MinnesotaClocksandWatches Nice calendar clock by the way.

[@MinnesotaClocksandWatches]

"Original" may have in my head meant "The screw that was in there when I got the clock". :) I have commented in the past about trying to find a reasonable spot on the continuum of perfection vs. quantity of clocks I can restore to a level where they are nice enough for someone to want to keep it around for a few more decades. Menards had appropriate-ish tapered screws that were useful, albeit with period-incorrect driver interface.

[@metalmanipulator7210]

I get it. I’m just not a big Phillips guy (but they do stay centered well), so I was giving you a hard time. And you can’t see it when it’s all together anyway. I do quite a bit of gunsmithing as well, and it’s amazing what screws people in their beautiful, old firearms. We don’t have Menards out here, but I get to Sioux Falls quite a bit and go to theirs.