Chelsea ships clock

[Danv508]

Hi all I was looking for for him to help me identify this clock and give me a little advice on it. My name is Dan I recently purchased this Chelsea ships bell o’clock I can’t find the serial number on the back and when I pull the clock a park there is really no serial number on the back plate either and not even stamped with a Chelsea‘s name. The clock was dedicated to Frank E heart which with a quick Google search shows that he was one of the founders in designing the Internet as we know it today. I’m thinking this clock is very special but I’m not sure on the backside at the top near the mounting screw there’s a number 91 and that is all and then on the inside there is nothing just some marker writings on the top in blue. Please help. Can’t figure out how to insert pictures onto this forum

[RogerH]

Morning  Dan, welcome to the forum. You should just be able to drop and drag pictures across. (At the bottom of the text box you write in) and sadly, without them I'm not too sure there's a lot the guys can do. I've no idea btw but I'm sure someone will know. 

[clockboy]

9 hours ago, Danv508 said:

Hi all I was looking for for him to help me identify this clock and give me a little advice on it. My name is Dan I recently purchased this Chelsea ships bell o’clock I can’t find the serial number on the back and when I pull the clock a park there is really no serial number on the back plate either and not even stamped with a Chelsea‘s name. The clock was dedicated to Frank E heart which with a quick Google search shows that he was one of the founders in designing the Internet as we know it today. I’m thinking this clock is very special but I’m not sure on the backside at the top near the mounting screw there’s a number 91 and that is all and then on the inside there is nothing just some marker writings on the top in blue. Please help. Can’t figure out how to insert pictures onto this forum

Dan welcome to the forum. You need to post some pictures for us to analyse 

[Danv508]

[Danv508]

Thanks for the reply I didn’t even see that at the bottom of the page. I love the clock and I am not planning on getting rid of it I was just wondering about what it may be worth being that it was owned by such an influential person. I even went as far as the Google his wife and come to find out she was the first woman ever let in order to become a professor at an MIT laboratory that and a bunch of other things. The clock now seems to be holding pretty good time I let it run overnight still the only problem that I see is that it rings at the wrong time. I’m guessing the clock isn’t all that old probably about 40 years if it is a 1991 it’s just weird that there’s no serial number on it. The back only has a number 91 stamped on the top.

[clockboy]

It looks like it is in remarkably good condition indeed. New they are about $2000 and I don’t think yours is vintage. What this is worth used I have no idea. on eBay the prices vary between $500 to $1700.

 

https://www.chelseaclock.com/style/ships-bell-clocks-collection

[Danv508]

Thanks for the reply I have seen them on eBay for around that kind of money I’m just wondering what something like this could possibly be worth being owned by such an influential person.

[JohnR725]

6 minutes ago, Danv508 said:

I’m just wondering what something like this could possibly be worth being owned by such an influential person.

The problem for something like this is to prove it really did belong to that person. The person is important enough that there's probably a history of him somewhere. If there was a photograph of him receiving the clock or a picture of it sitting on his desk preferably with him sitting there. Otherwise it's interesting piece of history but you can't really tie it to the person unfortunately.

 

4 hours ago, Danv508 said:

I see is that it rings at the wrong time

Out of curiosity what do you mean that it rings at the wrong time?

[Danv508]

OK I understand what you’re saying. First off he did live in Massachusetts which is where the house was cleaned out. Also he did work for that company and he did start as the plaque states in 1966 so I really don’t think I’d have to go any further I guess for $35 I could get the certificate from Chelsea clocks improve it was sold to a company on the plaque. I will probably still get the certificate but I really don’t think I need it everything adds up perfectly. And what I mean about the chimes is that it does not ring on the hour and a half hour it rings yeah let’s just say 1:20 and then the next time that it rings is around 1:50. If that makes any sense.

[Danv508]

So would anybody happen to know how to reset the clocks chime. Or is there something broken in it

[clockboy]

If it is just chiming incorrectly ie chiming the wrong amount of chimes in relation to the hour showing then the easiest way to correct this is to remove the hands and replace them to match the chiming sequence. 

[Danv508]

I didn’t want to have to pull the hands off the clock but if that’s the only way to fix it and that might have to be the route I’m going to go. And what I mean about it not chiming is it rings in the right sequence just in the wrong spot

[clockboy]

1 hour ago, Danv508 said:

I didn’t want to have to pull the hands off the clock but if that’s the only way to fix it and that might have to be the route I’m going to go. And what I mean about it not chiming is it rings in the right sequence just in the wrong spot

I have had another look at the pictures of the movement and I could be wrong but if this is a snail wheel then it looks damaged. If you look at french snail wheel it has segments of different lengths that determines the amount of strikes.Maybe if you lift the cam that’s following the snail it might advance to get it into the correct sequence (if it is not damaged)

 

[JohnR725]

2 hours ago, clockboy said:

I have had another look at the pictures of the movement and I could be wrong but if this is a snail wheel then it looks damaged.

I don't think it's damaged I think the problem is were not seeing all of it. In other words the rest of the strike stuff is hiding in the back someplace. As a ship's clock it doesn't strike the normal striking It is on a eight hour cycle. it looks like that snail may be set up for eight. Although it's hard to tell.

3 hours ago, Danv508 said:

I didn’t want to have to pull the hands off the clock but if that’s the only way to fix it and that might have to be the route I’m going to go. And what I mean about it not chiming is it rings in the right sequence just in the wrong spot

Then yes it may just be that simple but? In other words of the striking is right through its cycle it's just that your 10 minutes off then the simple fix would be just to move the hands providing you can do that. Sometimes the hour hand goes on a square part and that doesn't like to be moved. But if you're lucky they may both just pull off and just repositioning them solves the problem.

One clue that you may be having a hand not in the correct place issue it is at midnight or 12 noon are both hands together and are the actually pointing to exactly the top of the clock? I'm looking at your original pictured it looks like at midnight you'd be off a little bit. So for instance somebody setting the hands especially if you set them backwards at the wrong time may have actually knocked the hand the minute hand out of alignment. The easy way to fix this is at midnight basically or 12 noon wait until the hour hand is exactly where it's supposed to be and then just reposition the minute hand. Then hopefully be striking at the right time.

[Danv508]

Thanks so much for all your help. I did take the min hand off but it’s a square shaft so it can only go on 4 ways. But moving it one position now makes it chime 5 min late. So now it chimes five minutes after the hour. I really don’t want to go digging too much further into the clock in case something goes wrong that little wheel on the back of the clock with the arrow to it appears to only set the amount of chimes that the clock gives off I don’t think it has anything to do with the time the chime goes off. If that makes any sense

[clockboy]

Some hands are friction fitted to a brass collet and they can be twisted around the collet.I have a square hand tool specifically for this job BUT care has to be taken as it is easy to distort the hand. See pic