Thread: Mantle Clock restoration

I was recently given (yes, 'given') two old mantle clocks which had been living in a garage for years. Usual story, Granny dies and the clocks are considered too good to give away but out of fashion for display in the home so they end up being dripped on from the leaky roof and spattered with paint from those odd jobs in the garage. One clock was a German 'Juba' which dates, I'm guessing, from the 50's but it's hard to tell as the style is very traditional. The only thing wrong with the movement is a broken suspension spring for the pendulum (waiting for the part). Other than that it's a good three chime movement. The other clock is an Enfield with a single Westminster chime movement and a bit easier to date as the 'Enfield' stamp was replaced by 'Smith Enfield' in 1949 when Smiths bought the company. I'll post the work on that one separately. The following pics show the condition of the Juba. Attachment 469756juba clock 003.jpgjuba clock 004.jpgjuba clock 005.jpg I decided to strip the case as I didn't want to sand through the veneer. I used Citristrip for the first time and was pleased with the result. It took longer to work than the usual smelly aggressive stuff but was almost free of odour and I found it easier to clean up. After stripping, I washed the case down with turps and set it aside for a couple of days to completely dry. Then I attacked the bezel, which was very corroded, first with 1500 wet & dry to remove the worst then finished off with some cutting compound on a Dremel buffing wheel. I was pleased with the result. I also removed the little fancy fret work from the front of the clock which were only pinned on. These showed an interesting red colour underneath where the dark brown finish was flaking off. The following pics show the condition after stripping and then finishing with two coats of 'orange' grade shellac. IMG_2022.jpgjuba clock 2 001.jpgjuba clock 2 003.jpg Cheers, Pete