June 7, 2009

The Staking Set - Jonas G. Hall and K&D

No, K&D did not invent the staking set! An American, Jonas G. Hall, invented the modem staking tool. He both repaired watches and made high quality watches including pocket chronometers and at least one marine chronometer. Hall later was employed by the American Watch Company (Waltham) where he designed the first ladies watch movement, a 10 size key wind PS Bartlett. Probably, sometime around the time of the Civil War, Hall came up with the idea for a staking tool, an upright tool with a revolving base place with holes. He was not the best businessman and soon K& D had copied his idea and run with it. Ed Fasanella will present a show and tell with antique and new staking sets and will discuss their many uses. If you have an original Jonas Hall staking set, or an older model that is similar, bring it for display and comparison.

Main Program - After Lunch

Four Generations of Watch Case Making

The amazing story of Martin Matthews will be covered in this video of a fourth generation watch case maker in the United Kingdom. Matthews has the same tools his great-grandfather put together many years ago. His shop looks like a dingy room inside an old house, and his techniques look simple - until you try to reproduce his work yourselfl As we all know, skill makes difficult operations look simple. Martin Matthews' skills are almost unique in our modem world. You will be fascinated as he hand-produces beautiful watch cases right in front of your eyes.

February 8 2009

Back Due to Popular Demand!

Old Dominion Chapter members will describe or tell a story about their item on display. So bring an interesting, rare, or unusual watch, clock, tool, or other horological item. Or, if you would like to demonstrate a repair, restoration tip, or technique, that would be fine too!! Finally, if you want to recommend a good book, bring the book and tell us what you liked about it. _________________________

"Willard Eight Day Clocks: Innovation in Manufacture or Business as Usual"
In our last Chapter 34 program in February, Our president Bill connected the dots between John McKee, a South Carolina “clockmaker,” and the Williards.  Bill pointed out that in one tall case clock, McKee had essentially pasted his label over one of Williards. 

In this presentation, Robert Cheney presents his compelling analysis of the movements found in the clocks of Simon and Aaron Willard.  In stark contrast to John W. Willard’s 1911 story praising Willard’s clock craftsmanship, Mr. Cheney shows that the more highly organized and resource-rich Liverpool region in England, including Prescott, most likely provided the Willards with clock parts necessary to out produce their more traditional contemporaries, such as Daniel Burnap and the Dominy family.  Thus, like McKee, the Willards were more businessmen than craftsmen clockmakers. 

This presentation was made at the 2005 Ward Francillon Time Symposium in Houston, TX.  This 40 minute DVD presentation by Robert Chaney is both highly entertaining and interesting information that will appeal to all horological collectors.

December 12, 2008

A Demonstration of Watch and Clock Repair Techniques

Presented by Chapter Member Rick Robinson Chapter Member Rick Robinson will simulate a small horological repair shop at the meeting and will provide hands-on demonstrations using the lathe and other clock and watch repair equipment.

The Beginnings of the American Watch Industry

Presented by Chapter Member Ed Fasanella

The beginnings of the American clock and watch industries are intertwined. Both had their origins in New England. The first watches made in America in colonial times were simply assembled from parts imported from Europe. Most of these very early “watchmakers” were trained in England or Switzerland. Luther Goddard of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, also imported dials, springs and pinions from Europe. However, he was one of the first Americans to produce wheels and bridges in his shop. He, along with his sons and apprentices, produced perhaps 500 watches. The Goddard watches had chain-drive vergefusee movements and looked very similar to English watches of the time. In 1830, Henry Pitkin, a mechanical genius, designed his own lever watch without a fusee. The Pitkin brothers built their own machinery and even attempted to produce interchangeable parts. They were only moderately successful, but produced twice as many watches as Goddard from 1838 to 1842. The baton was then picked up by Aaron Dennison, whom many consider the “father” of the American watch industry. He along with Edward Howard perfected the modern factory produced watch in America. The companies these men started soon became the American Waltham Watch Company, which was in business over 100 years.

October 12, 2008

Horological Windfalls and Nightmares

Old Dominion Chapter members were invited to share some of their good and bad experiences with watch and clock collecting. For example:

• your best buying experience (deal)

• your worst buying experience

• missed opportunities

• eBay and mail order experiences

• your best repair experience (from either the repairman or the customer’s perspective)

• your worst repair experience

• auction surprises

• mart experiences

• pawn shop experiences

• gifts, watches found on sidewalk, etc.

An example of a great find: an acquaintance found a Rolex watch tucked inside the band of a hat that he bought at an auction.

Both clockmakers and watchmakers have some great tales concerning customers “from you know where”. Share your experiences and make us gasp or giggle.

Internet Horology, Everything You Wanted to Know

Presented by Chapter Members Ed Fasanella and Stan Palen

With each passing day, more and more information from every corner of the globe is available on the internet to aid the watch and clock collector. Ed and Stan will surf the web and show you locations that you need to know about. Horological items are bought and sold in a world-wide market on the internet. Users groups are online to answer your questions about clocks and watches. The internet has created a market where common items have become cheaper and better items have become more expensive. The NAWCC and its chapters have added valuable information for collectors. There are now web sites devoted to many different watch and clock companies. There are internet “watch and clock museums”. Rare items that once were impossible to find, even at NAWCC regional and national conventions, now show up quite often. Parts that were very difficult to find can now be obtained. The value of an horological item can be more thoroughly investigated by searching eBay completed auctions. Research that once would take years can now be performed much more rabidly.

An Interview with Dr. Ted Crom, Horological Tool Expert Stewart Lesemann from the American Watchmakers Institute visited the late Dr. Ted Crom at his Florida home in 2002. In this program, he interviews Dr. Crom, who at the time was about 80 years old. Dr. Crom was a very successful engineer and contractor, who caught the Horological “virus” at an early age.

During his lifetime, he wrote six massive books and numerous articles on Horological tools. Over a period of 50 to 60 years, he accumulated a collection of orological watch and clock tools from the 1700s and 1800s that he kept in a workshop museum in his home. Dr. Crom was very well known internationally and undoubtedly had one of the best collections of Horological tools in the world.

Unfortunately, Dr. Crom died recently at the age of 87. His entire collection was donated to the Smithsonian Institution. Bring your old Horological watch or clock tools to the Exhibit. See if you can stump our “experts”. Whether you know what it does or not, perhaps another member does!!!

Dr. Crom’s Collection Stewart Lesemann demonstrates many of the rare and unusual horological tools that were assimilated by Dr. Ted Crom in this video tape. It is totally amazing to see the depth and quality of the horological tools that Dr. Crom assembled during his world-wide travels from the end of WWII until his recent death. Dr. Crom also used these tools in his shop/museum to repair early watches for his own amusement. He also was generous and allowed horological craftsmen to borrow tools for specific tasks.

Edward F. LaFond, Jr. and Virginia LaFond

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

The Old Dominion Chapter No. 34 welcomes Ed and Virginia LaFond of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, as speakers for the June 8 Chapter Meeting.

Question and Answer Session with Ed LaFond

An opportunity to bring pieces from your collection to have Ed evaluate and give his opinion on authenticity, originality, age – whatever your questions may be. Ed is expert in American, English and Continental tall case clocks, as well as American shelf clocks to the mid-19th century.

Mourning Jewelry and Horological Affiliations

Presented by Virginia LaFond

Virginia will present a program discussing mourning jewelry and the affiliations shown with horology.

Making a Stem for a 14 size Waltham Watch

Presented by Old Dominion Chapter Members Dick Arnold, Lowell Fast and Tuck Tompkins

Chapter members Dick Arnold, Lowell Fast and Tuck Tompkins will present a video presentation showing the step-by-step process to making a stem for a 14-size Waltham Watch.

Buying Clocks at Auction

Presented by Old Dominion Chapter Member Lowell Fast Chapter Member Lowell Fast will give pointers on things to look for when buying clocks at auction.

Lowell works part-time for Motley’s Auctions in the Richmond area.

French Carriage Clock Escapement Movements

Presented by Old Dominion Chapter Members Dick Arnold, Lowell Fast and Tuck Tompkins

Chapter members Dick Arnold, Lowell Fast and Tuck Tompkins will present a video presentation explaining the French carriage clock escapement movement and hints on servicing this type of movement.

Restoring a Carriage Clock

Presented by Old Dominion Chapter Members Dick Arnold, Lowell Fast and Tuck Tompkins

Chapter members Dick Arnold, Lowell Fast and Tuck Tompkins presented a video presentation on the restoration of a badly abused carriage clock. The presentation was the first half of a large project to fix this clock. The problems solved in this part were replacing two broken pivots. The balance this program will be presented in February 2008.

The New Bern Tower Clock

By Kenneth J. Johnston Ken is a member of the Old Dominion Chapter No. 34 and resides in New Bern, North Carolina.

The Conventry Watch

Coventry is rated as the third largest watch center in England, after London and Liverpool. Yet, in the mid-1800s, it made the majority of the pocket watches and had the largest factories. It’s probably true to say that Coventry made the watch a commodity rather than a prestigious item for the more affluent. The presentation briefly examines the history of the city and the reasons for its demise and concludes with a case study of two watchmakers in the Earlsdon area.

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The Dead Beat Escapement

and

The Recoil Escapement

Presented by Old Dominion Chapter Members Dick Arnold, Lowell Fast and Tuck Tompkins

Chapter members Dick Arnold, Lowell Fast and Tuck Tompkins presented a video presentation offering helpful hints for making adjustments at the bench on recoil escapement movements in June and dead beat escapements in August. They offered alternates to simplifying the complicated book formulas describing to these tasks.

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At the April meeting Computer expert and chapter member Stan Palen presented the programs. The first was on the MicroSet Timer and the second was on Computers in Horology.