My wife asked me how my day has gone.

akshayluc420 · Oct 26, 2020

Agreed! Though I'm coming from a 'if you gotta get something done right, you gotta do it yourself' stance, assuming that no one helped out hardworking Canuck in setting the time in the first place. 😜
BTW, lovely piece on your Display Pic, I had the 3576.50.00 version, have always regretted having to let it go.

Canuck · Oct 26, 2020

queriver
If they've spent $34m on city hall, you'd think they could afford to have someone stand on the footpath in front of the tower, look up and call in the alignment via a mobile phone.

That is precisely what will happen today. We’ll make certain the clock is ahead of the correct time. There will be someone with a cell phone in the clock room, and the instant that the clock commences the hourly strike, they will STOP the pendulum. Meanwhile, someone with a cell phone will be at street level. The operative in the clock room will adjust each of the minute hands on each of the four dials to show the 60 minute mark. The clock will then be set to the correct time by using the two cell phones. Working on 110 year old tower clocks in not a science, it is an art.

Canuck · Oct 26, 2020

JimInOz
Can't you use the clock on the frame?
Or are they not linked/synchronised?

And can you take your camera tomorrow and take some good shots? Dial train, hand counterwrights and stuff, and better pics of the strike side.

Thanks, that'll be all for now.

😁

The clock has six dials. Four on the exterior of the tower, the dial on the frame that you refer to, and one for the SECONDS, also on the frame. It has yet to be installed. Each of these dials has to be set individually. Even if the one on the frame accurately tells the time as reported by the bell, there remains the problem of setting the four exterior dials. And each of those has to be set individually! The “rule of thumb” regarding having all the dials on a tower clock telling precisely the same time is that you are doing well to have them all within two minutes. There are many gears between the final driving gear in the clock, and the last driven gear in the dial train. And all these gears must have lash (freedom), or the clock won’t run. Plus, each dial train operates through universal joints, and each universal joint has an expansion joint which has to allow for expansion and contraction of the extension shafts to each of the four dials. These shafts get longer during the summer, and shorter during the winter. The expansion joints prevent binding. So, this is the way tower clocks are. As OCD as one might be about pin point accuracy in every respect of modern timepieces, you can’t be OCD when dealing with 110 year old tower clocks! That is why working on them is an art, not a science.

JimInOz · Oct 26, 2020

Canuck
................................ That is why working on them is an art, not a science.

The more you explain, the more I learn (and all of us actually) and the more I enjoy it. Far more interesting to me than a lot of modern technology.

There are many hobbyists who make miniature steam engines/locomotives, are you aware of any equivalent "turret clock" hobbyists?

Are there any arrangements in place for you to pass your knowledge on to younger Calgarians in the hope that they may become keepers of the clock when you (many years in the future we hope) shuffle off this mortal coil?

Canuck · Oct 26, 2020

JimInOz
The more you explain, the more I learn (and all of us actually) and the more I enjoy it. Far more interesting to me than a lot of modern technology.

There are many hobbyists who make miniature steam engines/locomotives, are you aware of any equivalent "turret clock" hobbyists?

Are there any arrangements in place for you to pass your knowledge on to younger Calgarians in the hope that they may become keepers of the clock when you (many years in the future we hope) shuffle off this mortal coil?

James,

According to the lead hand at City Hall who has been most intimately involved with getting the clock to where it was when I came on the scene, “there are only 5 people in North America who are well versed in these clocks”. And they are all in the USA. This is a crock! This guy tells me he has learned a lot during the three days he has observed the various corrections I have made to the clock. Three days of my tutelage will not bring him to where I am after 28 years of working on tower clocks. AND over 60 years of working on clocks, generally. Teaching younger people? The world is moving far too fast, and the cost of living is growing exponentially. Nobody today is interested in marking time progress wise as they try to learn a dying craft which has so little promise to ever provide a living wage. Furthermore, I have corrected several things on this clock over the last three days, that I have never run into in all my years of working on them. Training is no substitute for intuition and ingenuity. And understanding clocks.

As to hobbyists involved in turret clocks? The guy who did the cosmetic restoration on this clock is the president of the Tower Clock Chapter of the NAWCC. He’s based in Lockport, N Y. 20 years ago, I met a fellow in England who had 17 tower clocks in his home! It will be up to interested hobbyists to keep this craft alive. My hobby is watches, not clocks.

What is happening to tower clocks is sad. People are gutting them and installing synchronous motors in the frames, closing the door to the clock room and locking it. Then walking away and forgetting the clock. Other clocks are being converted to crude electric wind systems. Then walking away from the clock, and letting it run until it is worn beyond salvaging. If I was to be a tower clock repairman sitting by the phone, waiting for someone to call me to work on a tower clock, I’d be like the Maytag repairman of years ago. Waiting, waiting, waiting! If you are good at tower clocks, you can pick up a dollar here and there, and that’s about it!

JwRosenthal · Oct 26, 2020

Canuck
Teaching younger people? The world is moving far too fast, and the cost of living is growing exponentially. Nobody today is interested in marking time progress wise as they try to learn a dying craft which has so little promise to ever provide a living wage.

As someone who worked at becoming a master craftsman of a now dead trade- I feel your pain. The younger generations that I have taught, or are currently working with, are fascinated by the process/craft, but with no practical application by which they could make a living- it's just a novelty to them- part of the heritage of their trade but no longer a vital part.

rcs914 · Oct 26, 2020

"There was an engineer who had an exceptional gift for fixing all mechanical things. After serving his company loyally for over 30 years, he happily retired. Several years later his company contacted him regarding a seemingly impossible problem they were having with one of their multi-million dollar machines. They had tried everything and everyone else to get the machine fixed, but to no avail. In desperation, they called on the retired engineer who had solved so many of their problems in the past.

The engineer reluctantly took the challenge. He spent a day studying the huge machine. At the end of the day he marked a small X in chalk on a particular component of the machine and proudly stated, 'This is where your problem is!' The part was replaced and the machine worked perfectly again.

The company received a bill for $50,000 from the engineer for his services. They demanded an itemized accounting of his charges. The engineer responded briefly:

One chalk mark .. ..... ..... $1

Knowing where to put it ..... $49,999"

Canuck · Oct 26, 2020

I sent the City a bill for $1,500.00 for my trouble. Clock still working beautifully, and the misalignment between the strike and the time shown by the hands has been attended to. Some might say little enough for 11 hours work for two of us. But it is the contractor who did the 34.1 million dollar job that will pay my bill. Score one for me.

Canuck · Oct 31, 2020

Saturday (31st) is the eighth day since we returned the clock to running condition. As I write this, it has now been running for 200 hours. I am convinced that the shop that did the cosmetic restoration could not have test run the clock, completely set up. It could not possibly have run considering the work he left undone had he done a complete set up on it. The fact that the clock had been dismantled, shipped, temporarily assembled, dismantled again, moved to the clock tower in pieces and re-assembled again, didn’t help!

The local media has been clamouring for the opportunity to do a story on the clock, now that the job is finished. But because the whole story might not portray the City in its best light (namely, their two months of unsuccessful attempts to try to make it run), the City has clammed up, and won’t permit the media to report the story. And they have muzzled me (the guy who finally made it run), because this is a part of the story they definitely don’t want to be told!

I remember the first time I worked on this clock (in 1992) we had television film crews in the clock room on several occasions, as we did the work. How things have changed! The powers that be have become so anal about the clock it is hard to believe.

I find solace in the fact that I have a decent cheque coming my way, some time in the next few days. But if these people come to me in the future if the clock has problems, I might just think twice before I get involved again!

BlackTalon · Oct 31, 2020

tell it on Instagram. Or better yet, do a blog on you web site. You didn't sign a NDA, did you?

JimInOz · Oct 31, 2020

Canuck
....................... But if these people come to me in the future if the clock has problems, I might just think twice before I get involved again!

Yep, think twice, and add another zero to your invoice.

😁

pdxleaf · Nov 1, 2020

Canuck
...the City has clammed up, and won’t permit the media to report the story. And they have muzzled me (the guy who finally made it run), because this is a part of the story they definitely don’t want to be told...

The City knows the truth. What's more important, they know that you also know. Solace in that.

Nicely done. Thanks for sharing. Unfortunately few city clocks left. Nice to know another will live on into the future.

Lbreak · Nov 1, 2020

such a great read! I've always wondered how these huge clocks work, but never had any clue where to start learning.

Congratulations on the successful repair!

DaveK · Nov 1, 2020

My NAWCC chapter maintains the clock in what is now a community hall (but a post office back in the early 1900s) in exchange for free meeting space. I just joined last fall, so I didn’t get an opportunity to wind or “help” with any maintenance before the zombie apocalypse hit. They are planning to install an electric winding system in 2021, a handy but (I imagine) not a universally applauded advancement. So I haven’t seen the clock, but I have seen the even more famous urinal. It’s been creating awkward moments for 104 years now...

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-twin-urinal-histry-1.5292912

And the hall

Professor · Nov 1, 2020

Canuck
They were lubricating the clock with 40-weight oil, in a clock room that is -10 degrees Celsius! First mistake!

Wrong lubricant was the first thing I thought of. Though I had suspected something to light that had allowed friction to slow it down.
The clocks of this era were most unlikely originally lubed with a temperature insensitive Whale oil or "Black fish (pilot whale) oil".

Dan S · Nov 1, 2020

Canuck
The local media has been clamouring for the opportunity to do a story on the clock, now that the job is finished. But because the whole story might not portray the City in its best light (namely, their two months of unsuccessful attempts to try to make it run), the City has clammed up, and won’t permit the media to report the story. And they have muzzled me (the guy who finally made it run), because this is a part of the story they definitely don’t want to be told!

Funny, I think the added chapter with your participation makes the story even more interesting and could be good PR if they were smart about it. They could downplay the three stooges aspect of the people they hired to assemble it, and just emphasize that after a protracted period of assembly, they brought in the local tower-clock expert who had decades of experience with this clock, to add the final touches. Just a little spin on the story, not even totally false. And they can still take credit for getting it to operate correctly in the end. 😀

Archer · Nov 1, 2020

BlackTalon
tell it on Instagram. Or better yet, do a blog on you web site. You didn't sign a NDA, did you?

I would wait to get payment first!

JwRosenthal · Nov 1, 2020

I understand the reluctance for the city to report. Working for a large government organization, I work closely with the comm’s folks and understand that whereas their jobs used to be about promotion and education, it’s now about damage control and spin.
30 years ago- this story would have been reported as:
“City invests in cultural heritage and brings in local clock maker to bring it back to life- bringing joy to all in dark times”
Now the story would be reported as: “Local government waste and incompetence during times of hardship”.

Canuck · Nov 1, 2020

The now operating clock did appear in a 30-second TV news item, twice on Friday. It was tied in with the “set your clocks back one hour” news item. A brief mention was made referring to the fact that a local “expert” (moi) was brought in to bring the clock back to operating condition.

Our city has an annual awards ceremony during which local people are awarded a “Lion Award” for contributions to our city. There are numerous categories. In 2016, a panel of judges selected me for the award for “Heritage Craftsman”, based on previous work I’ve done on the clock. There was a grand soirée, open bar, catered, and recipients were given 90 seconds to give a presentation. My award was the recognition, and a miniature lion statue based on the lion statues that greet visitors to our city hall complex. These are copies of the lions in Trafalgar Square, London. So out of it all, I have my lion ornament, and a decent cheque. So there is a measure of satisfaction.

Archer · Nov 1, 2020

JwRosenthal
30 years ago- this story would have been reported as:
“City invests in cultural heritage and brings in local clock maker to bring it back to life- bringing joy to all in dark times”
Now the story would be reported as: “Local government waste and incompetence during times of hardship”.

Sounds like the second headline would be the accurate one though...