The Bytown Times ISSN 1712—2799 VOLUME 40 NO. 6 AUGUST 8, 2020

A Small Beha 30 Hour Cuckoo Clock

I recently found a small cuckoo by Johann Baptist Beha on eBay. As far as I can tell it is a model 117B although this clock did not have the echo complication. The clock arrived in bad shape which is typical for a clock of this vintage (probably between 1850-1875). The bellows and pipes had completely disintegrated and of course the clock did not run, was missing its topper and hands, and had replacement doors.

So when the clock arrived I took it to my workshop to begin restora-tion. The first thing to do was a complete cleaning of the brass gears and I oiled the wooden plate movement. The original hand carved bird (which flaps its wings and opens its beak) re-quired only a minor touch up to the paint and I try to leave these as close to original if possible. The movement itself was in good shape, however the bellow arms lift pins did not reach the pins on the strike train wheel! Therefore, as received the clock would not strike or cuckoo and I do not see how it ever could have. Thus, it has either been a wall decoration or a time only clock for the past 150 years. Now I could have easily

bought new pipes for the clock, but Beha was known to put “natural call” pipes in his clock that he turned on a lathe. The legend is that only when he could use a turned pipe in the Black Forest and sexually frustrate the actual bird were the pipes good enough to go in the clock. So, I figured why not turn my own? After much experimentation I got pipes that I think sound very much like the bird

and certainly different from a modern clock. The ones that went into this clock are made from Mahogany.

So that completed the mechanical part of the restoration which left me with three problems: no hands, no topper and replacement doors. The wood surface required hours of cleaning and re-oiling to remove 150 years of grime. The hands were easy (I have a guy) so with a not-so-quick order I got a set of hand carved bone hands in the mail which I put on the clock and, even though they are replacements, they look better than any original set I have seen yet. I tried to find someone to carve a new topper but failed so in the end used my time in isolation to carve the one you see in the photo out of a solid piece of walnut. The doors (double doors are also a Beha trademark) are also my best effort. I don’t know if either the doors or the topper would have passed inspec-tion by Beha, but I can live with them and the bird is up on the wall in my office happily calling the hours each day.

John Rogers

FABULOUS FINDS

AUGUST NEWSLETTER SUPPLEMENT

The cuckoo bird after the touch up

One of the lathe turned pipes

The restored Beha cuckoo clock. Note the replacement bone hands

Page 2

THE BYTOWN TIMES Page 2

CHAPTER OFFICERS

President : Don Purchase DonPurchase25@gmail.com

Vice President: Kevin West KevinWestClocks@gmail.com

Editor ByTown Times Gary Fox chapter111.gary@yahoo.ca

Secretary Paul Sonnichsen chapter111secretary@gmail.com

Auditor: Jean Paul Tourigny

Immediate Past President: Daniel Burgoyne

Treasurer:

Ray Springer

Education & Workshop Chairman:

WHAT DID BEHA DO TO THAT BIRD?

Okay. One sentence in John Rogers’ story about his Beha Clock really got me going! How would Johannes Baptist Beha “sexually frustrate” a cuckoo bird?? I had to ask and this was John’s response….

I would expect anyone who tinkers with clocks to be intimately familiar with frustration, but just in case, let me paint you a picture:

It is a beautiful spring morning circa 1875 in the black forest. A female cuckoo bird has just fin-ished eating a particularly succulent worm when she hears the most beautiful cuckoo call she has ever heard. She quickly checks her reflection in a nearby pool to make sure that each feather is perfect and then heads in the direction of the call. He must have the most perfect plumage if his call is that nice she thinks. She has a brief pause as she wonders if he voted conservative in the last election. She then dismisses this as unimportant and such trivialities can be easily corrected in the behaviour of a male bird. She moves on to consider the names of their first five chicks and has just finished selecting the color of the throw pillows they will have in their nest when she arrives in the clearing where the call came from. Clearly this bird's life will be altered forever upon his first sight of her. Their romance will surely be remembered for a thousand generations of cuckoo birds yet to come....yet there is no bird to be found...only a lunatic clock maker with some wooden pipes...

Another case of Covid-19 cabin fever??? Editor

Another Interesting Beha Cuckoo

John Rogers has repaired another Beha Cuckoo Clock, the model 930. In addition to the Cuckoo bird sound-ing the hours, this clock rings bells for three calls to prayer every day. The bell is in a tower atop the clock. Originally the bell remained stationary when the call to prayer bell was rung, but John made an interesting addition to show the bell being struck.

John took a video of the clock that has been posted on the club’s Facebook page. Our webmaster is away, but will load the video onto the Educational Info page of the website later in August

Did You Know?

The Swiss watch industry has been heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. In April alone, exports of Swiss watches declined by 63 percent over the previous month. A private Swiss bank has predicted that Swiss watch exports will decline by 25 percent over the full year. That is more than the decline caused by the quartz revolution in 1975 (15.2 percent) and the sub-prime mortgage crisis of 2000 (22 percent).

Roger Ruegger, Editor-In-Chief, WatchTime, August 2020

Page 3 VOLUME 40 NO. 6 AUGUST 8, 2020

Did You Know?

Breguet Aviation

The next time you stop for a cup of coffee at your local diner or coffee emporium, check out the brand name on the coffee makers. Nine times out of ten, the maker will be “Bunn”. It may come as a surprise to some that this is the same family that started the Illinois Watch Company—remember the “Bunn Special”?. It seems that entrepreneurship was a trait shared down through the generations in the Bunn family.

There is another family that became renowned in the watchmaking in-dustry that branched out into a totally new direction…...

The name Breguet conjures up images of superb watches from the as far back as the 18th century. “Montres Breguet”, founded in Paris by Abraham-Louis Breguet in1775, served the royalty of France and sur-vived the Revolution to serve Napoleon Bonaparte. Breguet’s watches

were of the finest quality and featured numerous advances in technology, such as the Tourbillon escapement. “Montres Breguet”, later named “Breguet et Fils” stayed in the family until the late 19th century. Abraham-Louis’ great-grandson, Louis-Antoine Breguet, sold the company to Edward Brown a British watchmaker who had been Breguet’s factory manager. Louis-Antoine was forced to make this decision as neither of his children wished to enter the business.

Louis-Charles Breguet, the great-great grandson of Abraham Louis was far more inter-ested in flight than time keeping. In 1905, he partnered with his brother to build a gyro-plane, an early form of today’s helicopter which, in 1907, became the first piloted air-craft to make a vertical ascent! Louis-Charles built and flew his first fixed wing aircraft, the Breguet Type 1 in 1909. Perhaps inevitably, in 1911, Louis-Charles founded a com-pany with the grandiose name Société des Ateliers d’Aviation Louis Breguet, later short-ened to Breguet Aviation.

World War I was the first major conflict to use planes strategically and Breguet Aviation became a major supplier of aircraft for France, supporting both reconnaissance and bombing missions. The Breguet model 14 bi-plane was so successful, it was exported

to France’s allies, including the United States.

While Louis Charles had removed himself from the Breguet watch dynasty, he did maintain contact with the new owners of Montres Breguet. Throughout both World Wars, Montres Breguet supplied Breguet Aviation with wrist watches and cockpit clocks. The connection of Montres Breguet to the aviation industry remains to this day with numerous watches in their Pi-lot’s Series.

Louis-Charles died in 1955, but his company continued making aircraft beyond his death. In 1971, his company merged with the French aircraft manufacturer Dassualt and the name Breguet Aviation was gone forever.

With input from…. Mark Bernardo, “Rarefied Air”,

WatchTime, August 2020

Breguet Type II Cockpit Clock, circa 1960s.

Source: eBay.ca

Breguet Type

20 pilot’s watch, circa

1955

https://www.timeandwatches.com/

p/breguet-type-20-and-

world-of-aviation.html

Louis Charles Breguet circa 1909

Source: Wikipedia.org

Breguet Br 14 aircraft circa 1918. Source: Wikipedia.org

THE BYTOWN TIMES Page 4

ASK THE WIFE!!

If you acquire a clock and don't know whether to refinish it or not - ask the wife! If she thinks it doesn't look good on the mantle piece then it's time to get out the sander. If after you have refinished the clock she still thinks it looks bad then take up another hobby instead! If you don't have a wife ask a partner.

Many say that one should not try to restore clocks and that is certainly true for valuable clocks with original finish, but an old worn out Gingerbread with an unreadable dial and missing pendulum needs some attention. My objective is to save clocks that were heading for the garbage anyway and try to restore them to their for-mer glory as items of decor. Two skills are needed: movement repair and wood refinishing and of course a lot of time and patience. It also helps if you have a set of small hand tools and workshop area where you can disassemble all the clock parts, clean and refinish them. I also use my computer to touch up photo images of the dial and labels and a black & white printer to print the new ones on to off-white card stock.

Here are some tips I have learned along the way:

• Never assume the clock contains original parts -especially springs. • To tell who worked on the clock last, look at the quality of the hands and fitting of centre pin. • Watch out for missing springs on the movement levers. • Check old clock catalogues on the Web to see original form of the clock before refinishing. • Most cases were cheaply made and the wood is soft so go easy when sanding. • Wood cases shrink and warp over the years which may cause the movement plates to twist. • When replacing wood screws, check length carefully so they don't burst through finished surfaces. • The finish you achieve will only be as good as the type of wood allows. • Using cross head screws on the case of a Victorian clock never looks good. • Reversing a zinc dial and repainting a new face is sometimes possible. • Preserve the original label if possible. Add a readable new one somewhere else to identify the model. • Stain, shellac and bee's wax polish make a nice wood finish. Varnish seldom looks good. • Always vacuum case after each sanding with wire wool etc. this will allow for a smooth finish. • Never use alcohol to clean old porcelain dials as it may dissolve the numbers. • Use slate blackener on marble clocks, not paint. • Bathroom tiles can be sawn and filed to make marble parts, glue together with epoxy resin.

Tom Clifford

"Before and

After" photos

of Tom’s

Gingerbread clock.

Page 5

Since we cannot have a Mart until we are able to resume our meetings, you can send me Want Ads or ads of Items for Sale which I will include in future newsletter supplements.

Just send a description, photos and permission to publish your contact information (an email address or phone number) to…...

Chapter111.gary@yahoo.ca

Note: The transactions will take place between the members. The club provides no guarantees. There is no charge for the service

WANT ADS AND FOR SALE

VOLUME 40 NO. 6 AUGUST 8, 2020

FROM THE ESTATE OF BEN ROBERTS

Many thanks to Kia Nielsen and the family of Ben Roberts for donating Ben’s clock repair tools and horologi-cal books to the club. As Kia said… Given Ben’s long involvement and leadership in the club, this is what he would have wanted.

Note that Gary Fox will deliver any of these items to Ottawa Area Locations at no charge. Outside the area, the books will be shipped by Canada Post at the buyer’s expense.

Please contact Gary to purchase an item and arrange delivery. chapter111.gary@yahoo.ca

For Sale….. Dial Assortment There are four dials and a dial pan with bezel and glass in this assortment. Three of the dials are in poor condition but could be used in a pinch. $5 Or Best Offer

For Sale….. Book “Automatic Winding for a 30 Hour Longcase Clock” Tired of winding up your old English Longcase clock every day? Here is a book that describes a device that will do it for you.

Initially published in a series of articles in the Horological Journal in the early 1970s, this book is an updated view of the same work. $5 Or Best Offer

For Sale….. Bench Lamp This bench lamp, with an incandescent bulb, was on Ben’s main clock work bench. It func-tions perfectly and comes with an easy-to-use clamp on its base. The clamp will hold onto a bench top up to two inches thick. The light is very bright. $10 Or Best Offer

Remember, all money obtained from the sales will go directly to the club

THE BYTOWN TIMES Page 6

FROM THE ESTATE OF BEN ROBERTS

For Sale….. Book “Repairing & Restoring Pendulum Clocks”

Written by John Plewes, this hard cover book is in excellent condition. It is considered a bible on clock repair and is recognized as one of the best guides for repairing wooden works clock movements. Selling for up to $197 on eBay!! $25 Or Best Offer

For Sale….. Book “ Clocks” This early hard cover book is by Cedric Jagger. It is the story of the evolution of clock and watchmaking, pri-marily from an English and European perspective. Most images are in black and white, but there are a num-ber of colour shots as well. $5 Or Best Offer

For Sale….. Book “Antique British Clocks A Buyer’s Guide” A hard cover book in excellent condition. Ben was an excellent source of information on British clocks. This is just one of many books on this topic in his library. $5 Or Best Offer

For Sale….. Book “Jerry Smith, Richmond Hill’s Master Watchmaker” Jerry Smith was an A1 student at the Canadian Horological Institute, making a watch from the raw metal to graduate. This softcover book was written by Smith’s youngest daughter Audrey Konig, with help from local librarian and historian Marie Jane Celsie. Smith was so well regarded by the officials at Westclox in LaSalle, Illinois that they offered to build their Canadian factory in Richmond Hill if Smith agreed to manage it. He turned the offer down and the factory went to Peterborough. The book is signed by the author. $15 Or Best Offer

VOLUME 40 NO. 6 AUGUST 8, 2020 Page 7

FROM THE ESTATE OF BEN ROBERTS

For Sale….. Book “English Dial Clocks” Another excellent hardcover book on English Clocks. The book is in very good, used condi-tion with no missing or torn pages. $15 Or Best Offer

For Sale….. Book “English Bracket & Mantel Clocks” A very thorough book on English Bracket Clocks fo-cusing on cases, dials, movements and makers. This hardcover book is in very good, used condition with no torn or missing pages. $10 Or Best Offer

For Sale….. Book “The White Dial Clock” For the collector interested in English Longcase clocks, this hardcover book by the renowned author Brian Loomes, is a must have. The copy is in very good, used condition with no torn or missing pages. $10 Or Best Offer

DoN’t Forget

All proceeds from the sale of Ben’s books are donated by his family to the club!

To Purchase a book, contact Gary Fox at Chapter111.Gary@Yahoo.ca

If you live in Ottawa, Gary will deliver the books to you. Outside of Ottawa, the books will be shipped by Canada Post at the buyer’s expense.

There are more books to come. Look for our next issue!

THE BYTOWN TIMES Page 8

NEWSLETTER ARTICLES

If you want to initiate a debate during a Clock Club meeting, ask this question to the member-ship! Some will say that any alteration to the clock case will reduce its patina and therefore its antique value. From my perspective, if a clock appears unattractive then no one will want it in their house and the clock ends up having no value. So, this is my test to decide whether to re-store a clock case, or not.

The next consideration is restoration versus conservation. The two are not the same. To re-store is to re-establish the case, or bring it back into usefulness. While to conserve the case is to preserve it, to keep it safe and authentic. As my clocks are not to be installed in a museum, I fall squarely into the restoration category, which makes life so much simpler.

The steps to restore a clock case include: 1) Inspection – examine all surfaces to determine what restoration work is needed. Possibly the entire case needs to be restored, or just one area of the case. 2) Disassemble – remove the movement from the case. Remove gongs and bells that might be attached to the case. Remove glass. Take doors or other moving parts off the case. 3) Test the finish – is the case shellacked, lacquered or varnished? Test a hidden area: shellac will soften with denatured alcohol; lacquer will melt with heat, or dissolve with lacquer thinner; varnish is not affected by alcohol or lacquer thinner. Once you know what is on the surface of your case you can remove the finish entirely or in the areas requiring work. 4) Veneer repair – topically areas of a veneer will bubble or peel. For bubbles you can cut a slit into the bubbled surface. Next cover the area with wax so glue won’t stick to the finish. Use a syringe and needle to insert white glue behind the veneers Clamp until it’s dried. For peeling veneer you can wet the veneer to make it soft and pliable. Then use water soluble glue and clamp until it’s dried. If replacement is needed, find a matching veneer from a supplier. Using a template, cut out a triangu-lar section of damaged veneer cutting with a 45 degree angle to the blade. Use the template to cut out the replacement veneer. Glue and clamp. If there is any surface glue showing, vinegar will dissolve white glue and water will dissolve hide glue. 5) Strip finish – Use the appropriate solvents to strip the shellac/lacquer finish, or good old sand-paper for the varnish. This may be needed for the entire case, or one area of the case. An alternative to entirely removing the finish is the French Polish. To do this simply soften the existing finish with the appropriate thinner and smooth it over the surface and let dry. The benefit of this is that you don’t have to attempt to match any staining/dyes used originally. 6) Disguise the restoration – If you’ve refinished the entire case you’re lucky. You can stain the case if you desire and finish it with the same finish, or use a wax to add a polish to the end result. If you restored one section of the case you have to match the refinished section with the original fin-ish. You use a brush with shellac and add pigment to it. This will sit on the surface of the wood and you can re-apply or remove it until you’ve matched the original surface. Alternatively can also add dye to a shellac which will soak into the wood, which can be rubbed off with alcohol to adjust. Finally you can use a lacquer stick and melt it then use an iron to smooth the finish.

I am no expert on repairing a clock case and this submission was taken from notes taken during a presenta-tion to the Club May 26th, 2013. I have followed these notes and have been pleased with the results. I hope it is of value for you.

Don Purchase

TO RESTORE A CLOCK CASE, OR NOT?

Many thanks to John Rogers, Tom Clifford and Don Purchase who contributed articles for this latest issue of the Bytown Times. If you have a Fabulous Find, a repair technique, an item For Sale, a Want Ad, a service to offer, etc. do not hesitate to drop me a note. This applies to any of our readers whether a member of the Ottawa Chap-ter or not. We are striving to make our newsletter interesting and informative to the whole community and, with the increased number of issues this year, content is important. Chapter111.gary@yahoo.ca Gary Fox