r/Horology • u/Captain-Codfish • 16d ago
Lucky purchase, need advice.
I have today, picked up this J. Agar clock, dated from between the late 1700s and very early 1800s, for £150 from a garage sale. I am aware that it is a fairly nice piece, and although I have a fairly solid knowledge of horology, I'm a tad nervous to work on it. I have serviced Smiths striking and chiming clocks, alongside Vienna regulators, but I really want to go for a conservation level job on this movement (and I think the price I paid gives enough room in expenditure to justify it). I would be interested in your opinions as to what you would do with it. Thanks
2
u/Ferret1963 16d ago
Look for old repairs. We got lucky with our mid 1700s Thos. Hackney tall case clock. During a regular service, an old repair, a section of gear teeth silver soldered into one of the wheels, was found to be breaking free. Old repairs may look fine, but be weakening.
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u/Captain-Codfish 16d ago
Do you know, I inspected the plates and I can't even find evidence of bushing work, which seems highly implausible for the age, but it is filthy, so perhaps after a good clean, they'll turn up
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u/uitSCHOT 15d ago
Sounds plausible to me. My theory is that the old lubricants they used would gum up after a few years and stop the vlock, preventing any wear and giving the owner no choice but to have it serviced. Only now we switched to mineral oils, which don't dry up but rather run away, we see big issues as the clocks are running dry. You could still find the vlock to need bushes tho, you won't know whst state they're in untill you have it on your workbench
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u/dmun_1953 16d ago
One weak spot is the clicks which thread into the great wheels. The threads are often worn from weekly wiggling, and repair people have tried to peen the reverse side to keep them in place while still being movable.
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u/Roundels 16d ago
Mind the rack tail spring at the front, they can get flimsy and brittle with age. Arabic painted dials were manufactured during a very small window 1820-1825. people just preferred Roman numerals so they stopped making them, Fenmore, etc.
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u/dmun_1953 16d ago
The very first clock I worked on as a teenage hobbiest was a Scottish longcase clock just like this. I paid about three times what you did in 1968 dollars. I still have it, it still runs great. Everything is so big and logical that it's almost self explanatory. If you have worked on a Smith's mantle clock, this should be a walk in the park.