Now that the heavy tarnish is removed, it is still clear that we’re not going to be able to polish out the rust. The result is shown on the right, and, things aren’t improving much. But before going any further, let’s take the rear bell out on the buffing machine and see if we can salvage the piece. Upon examination (left), we see a badly tarnished surface and substantial rust pitting. For now, we’re going to turn our attention to the case restoration. Wrapping the lens in a plastic bag is prudent as well. On the right, a small Tupperware container is used to store the movement and other parts until Note the dial and hands which have been stored in a plastic bag for protection. It’s very important to start thinking about organizing the project. At this point, the rear assembly easily comes apart exposing the movement as is shown below. Now that the hands are removed, the dial can be lifted off, exposing the movement. The hour hand pulled away in this case with a gentle twist at the center wheel (NEVER twist the hand itself), and no tools were required. An original dial in good condition carries a heritage forward with the clock. If the dial is marred from careless hands, or oilstained, it brings down the appearance of the entire clock. If the dial is in good condition, the entire clock looks better. It’s important to do everything possible to preserve the dials on these antique clocks. No damage was done to the dial with this approach. On the right is a view of the dial with hand safely removed as well as another view of the puller. It helps to rock the puller side to side gently, which helps coax the setter away.
This time the entire assembly came right off. If you pull on the hand and not the collet, you’ll be reriveting the collet to the hand, which will pop right off and separate. Even though the puller isĭesigned to avoid touching the dial, the setter has a deep collet and you must get under the collet if you want to get the assembly off in one piece. This prevents accidental marring from the hand puller. A sliver is cut out of the paper so that it can be slipped under the setter. Prying any hand off against the dial will mar the dial or distort the thin dial pan. This setter, it is absolutely imperative that a miniature hand puller be used. No problem in this case with the minute hand, but the alarm setter remains a challenge. To remove the dial, the hands must be removed. Removing those gives us access to the dialĪnd hands as shown below. There are three small screws retaining the bezel assembly. The first step in the restoration is to remove the front bezel and dial. They are rusty and discolored and the slots are burred, but not badly stripped. The front and rear screws show signs of having been removed and replaced several times. The collet and hand are rattling around loose under the glass and the tip of the center wheel arbor is distorted. Someone had attempted to tighten the minute hand by smashing the arbor down, and had in the process separated the hand collet. The center picture also shows that the hand is loose. Further, a leg is missing and the bottom of the case is fairly distorted, probably caused by the same force that dislodged the leg. The rear bell cover has a substantial amount of rust pitting which doesn’t polish very well. Attempts to polish it were futile, offering marginal improvement and wearing the nickel through. It’s evident from the pictures (and even more so in real life) that the case on this clock is distressed. Fortunately, this clock has a dial that is in at least good condition, so the restoration promises to result in a very attractive clock. We’ll be going into detail on the restoration of the movement and case, as well as the hands.
This article focuses on the restoration of a 1927 Style 1 Baby Ben. We’ve had several customers ask us to restore or maintain their early Westclox models as the clock ofĬhoice that they use on their bed stands because of their reliability, robustness, loud alarms, and decorative charm. These clocks were wellengineered and very rugged, and many have withstood the test of almost 100 years in service. Many fine models could be purchased new in the early 1900’s for around $1.00 (probably close to $15 in today’s currency).
Collectors enjoy the early Westclox models as examples of American ingenuity and creativity. In particular, early Westclox models are a very common favorite with them. The number of alarm clock collectors seems to have increased over the last decade or so.
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