A "New" Westclox

[19and41]

I saw a clock on Ebay that caught my eye and put in an offer and got it.  The carrier put it's box in my hands as I was leaving for work.  I haven't seen inside the box, but the outside looks pristine.  It's a Westclox Oracle.  I hope it made it's trip well.   

[Larry]

I saw a clock on Ebay that caught my eye and put in an offer and got it.  The carrier put it's box in my hands as I was leaving for work.  I haven't seen inside the box, but the outside looks pristine.  It's a Westclox Oracle.  I hope it made it's trip well.   

That is a very stylish clock and was apparently quite popular in its day judging by the numbers that are still around.  The Andover was a manual start model with about the same style, but a different dial design, which was introduced about a decade earlier.

Larry

[19and41]

That's an attractive clock.  I was surprised to see the Oracle was made between 1959 and 60.  It looks more like the late 30s to the late 40s.  I like moderne styling of that kind.  I'm anxious to open the parcel.

[Larry]

That's an attractive clock.  I was surprised to see the Oracle was made between 1959 and 60.  It looks more like the late 30s to the late 40s.  I like moderne styling of that kind.  I'm anxious to open the parcel.

I thought that you were referring to the round Oracle from the late 1940s which looks much like the Andover in a different color.  There was a rectangular model named Oracle made in the 1959-60 period, but I do not recall how it looks.  I would be interested in seeing a picture of yours.

Larry

[19and41]

I guess I may have gotten some faulty info then.  Here is a screen shot of the Ebay auction pic of it.

[Larry]

I guess I may have gotten some faulty info then.  Here is a screen shot of the Ebay auction pic of it.

Yes, that is the famous Oracle that I thought you meant originally (https://clockhistory.com/0/model-944-1.html).  There was also a wall clock named Oracle.  They either liked the name or lacked enough imagination to think of other names.

Speaking of Westclox models, I very recently bought an Orb desk clock (as opposed to the Orb wall clock, which I also have).  This clock has the same type of manual start movement as the Andover.


Larry

[19and41]

That's very nice.  Westclox apparently invested in styling for their products.   Some clock makers just didn't.

[19and41]

Well I opened it.  The seller packed it very well, even putting painter's tape round the rim of the crystal to keep it in place.  I plugged it in and it ran quietly for 30 minutes.  It has one small problem, the tattle tale doesn't reset.

[Larry]

It has one small problem, the tattle tale doesn't reset.

It is probably dirty.  I usually manage to fix those problems by spraying some electrical contact cleaner into the pivot and working it back and forth to clean out the dirt and goo.  I always give the motor and movement a good cleaning.

The Orb is somewhat stylish, but it was cheaply made.  The dial is paper, and mine has some soot marks and is bumpy on the bottom half.  When I bought it, the power cord had pulled off of the field coil, so I had to carefully fish out one end of the coil and then solder a new cord to the coil ends.  The movement runs smoothly now, but I cannot figure out how to make the alarm mechanism work properly.

Larry

[19and41]

Thanks for the tip.  This will be different from my other Westclox'.  The spring driven ones seem to just balk at running until I clean and relube the central shafts and degauss the mechanism.  This electric seems to run pretty freely.

[Larry]

Thanks for the tip.  This will be different from my other Westclox'.  The spring driven ones seem to just balk at running until I clean and relube the central shafts and degauss the mechanism.  This electric seems to run pretty freely.

It probably depends on the life that the clock was led in the past.  Many of my Westclox/ST clocks didn't run because their motors and movements were dirty and sticky.  Unfortunately, the movements cannot be fully dismantled without breaking something, and tiny washers tend to fall out and go lost.  The models with the Sangamo motors tend to be noisy because the bushings wear.


Larry

[19and41]

Would you have any tips on opening the Oracle without damaging it?  I see fasteners at the top and bottom of the housing and two in the base, but it doesn't lend a clue as to how the works are fastened in the housing.

[Larry]

Would you have any tips on opening the Oracle without damaging it?  I see fasteners at the top and bottom of the housing and two in the base, but it doesn't lend a clue as to how the works are fastened in the housing.

It has been at least a few years since I opened mine.  I do not remember how I did it, but I do recall that it was a bit complicated.  I think that the first step was removing the bracket on the top of the clock to release the glass and then the base.  After carefully removing the glass, I think the next steps were removing the hands and then the dial.  I think that the glass can chip on the edges easily, so great caution is advisable.

Good Luck!


Larry