Vintage Elgin cockpit clock

[matt stott]

I have had this old Elgin cockpit/tank clock on my workbench for years now. Finally decided to dig in to it and see if I cant get her ticking again. Figure if I can fix a lawnmower I can fix this!

i think the dial on this one has aged really well- it has age- but in a way that looks really cool. Anyway, back to cleaning all the pieces parts.

 

[engineer2]

Fascinating history. In the 80's I lived a few blocks from their old Elgin, IL location. It's now the Clock Tower Plaza strip mall.

Elgin National Watch Company - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[cvairwerks]

T.O. AN-05-35A-6 is going to be the manual for that version, although the -5 also cover it as well I think.

 

[Indexmill]

Are you really going to be able to reassemble that pile?

 

[rlitman]

Are you really going to be able to reassemble that pile?

It's nowhere near as bad as a cellphone. The age on that dial looks real nice. My favorite projects are ones where you can get something working, and not do any "restoration".

 

[matt stott]

Got it mostly back together last night-- and onto the timer. So far, losing about 2 sec/day in all positions: not bad, considering I had to do some serious reshaping of the balance hairspring. Still some work to do to get the beat error better and amplitude up a bit, but all the major parts are working as they should. I will probably case it back up this weekend- no restoration, only the usual cleaning and oiling- and replacing the mainspring.

Matt

 

[cvairwerks]

It's nowhere near as bad as a cellphone. The age on that dial looks real nice. My favorite projects are ones where you can get something working, and not do any "restoration".

Dial is probably loaded with radium......

 

[rlitman]

Dial is probably loaded with radium......

Probably. It'll be perfectly save once a crystal is installed again.

 

[cvairwerks]

Probably. It'll be perfectly save once a crystal is installed again.

Yep, unless he gets the hots to lick it first...

 

[matt stott]

mmmmm, radium...

 

[cvairwerks]

Should take the time to read "The Radium Girls" by Kate Moore...very haunting tale of how so many young girls were destroyed by their work for the war effort, and how the companies tried to make it go away.

 

[rlitman]

Should take the time to read "The Radium Girls" by Kate Moore...very haunting tale of how so many young girls were destroyed by their work for the war effort, and how the companies tried to make it go away.

War effort? Not remotely. Heck, their cases were all settled before we entered WWII. This was simply private enterprise taking advantage of employees before the days of OSHA.

 

[matt stott]

Thanks for the book recommendation cvair- I had seen that book before, but never picked it up- definitely going to read it now.

All cased up and ticking well now- i need a new gasket for the glass, you can see it is broken, and a new spring clip for the glass too. The one in there now is shot. I think i am going to use some BrassBlack on the panel mounting screws, too. Way too shiny there (but it does look nice sitting on my Harry Epstein leather weight!) Now I just need to figure out a place to mount it in my shop, or maybe make it into a desk clock type of thing.

 

[driftpin]

Should take the time to read "The Radium Girls" by Kate Moore...very haunting tale of how so many young girls were destroyed by their work for the war effort, and how the companies tried to make it go away.

I read that awhile ago, it's now in my library. That and The Jungle by Upton Sinclair make great reasons why organized labor came into-being.

The O.P. seems like his work has borne fruit. A good job on the clock.

 

[Provincial]

That same type of clock was original equipment on my 1953 Cessna 180. I kept it when I updated the instrument panel to modern instruments and radios because I liked it.

Cessna, and other light aircraft manufacturers, used many WWII-era instruments and gauges for a number of years after the war. Probably because they were dirt cheap! By the mid-1950's more stylish and compact instruments were being introduced, and they were adopted in new aircraft.

 

[Straightgrain]

Great job Matt! Do you repair watches/clocks on the side?

 

[rlitman]

That same type of clock was original equipment on my 1953 Cessna 180. I kept it when I updated the instrument panel to modern instruments and radios because I liked it.

Cessna, and other light aircraft manufacturers, used many WWII-era instruments and gauges for a number of years after the war. Probably because they were dirt cheap! By the mid-1950's more stylish and compact instruments were being introduced, and they were adopted in new aircraft.

They also used car parts like door handles and window cranks. That clock was made to fit in an WWII era aircraft (many types), but actually was used in car dashes before the war (with a prettier bezel, but not all that different inside).

 

[Provincial]

I think Elgin had been making clocks for aircraft instrument panels since WWI, and for sure the early 1920's. The Army was a strong customer, and I'm sure the Navy as well. It makes sense that the movement was also used for automobiles, which would amortize the costs of tooling over the largest number of products. I don't believe that military specifications for these clocks was tighter than for civilian general usage, since the military was big on synchronizing clocks and watches as an operational procedure.

The case is one of the cheaper components of the clock, and molded plastic cases were acceptable. The dial and hands (especially the radium) were an important part of the military specification.

 

[Sumboodie]

Elgin like the company that makes street sweepers?

Odd it's not a 24hr clock

 

[Provincial]

The military did have specs for some 24-hr clocks, but in general use the standard clocks were adequate. A 24-hr clock with a display to easily read the one minute increments has to be much larger, and unless there was a serious need for the 24-hr display, it took up too much valuable panel space.

 

[cvairwerks]

The Navy used the AN-5741 Chronometer starting in late 1944, with them still in use in the P-3's well into the 1980's. The AN-5741 is a 3 1/8" instrument while the AN-5743's were 1 7/8" dials.

The AN-5743 is a clock movement only.

 

[ttpete]

The Navy used the AN-5741 Chronometer starting in late 1944, with them still in use in the P-3's well into the 1980's. The AN-5741 is a 3 1/8" instrument while the AN-5743's were 1 7/8" dials.

The AN-5743 is a clock movement only.

Here's a pic of an AN-5741. 24 hour, 5 dials.

Original U.S. WWII Army Air Forces AN 5741-1 8 Day Five Dial Airship Cockpit Clock by Hamilton

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a great example of the Elgin-Hamilton developed USAAF AN5741-1 8 Day clock, designed for Airships. These really are a marvel of Watchmaking design, featuring FIVE dials, the main 24 hour clock face, and 4 sub dials. These include a dial for the clocks...

www.ima-usa.com

 

[engineer2]

Elgin Sweepers is a different company. Elgin Watch Company no longer exists.

 

[humber2]

Did the Elgin Sweepers have no need for the clock’s sweep second hand?

 

[engineer2]

Interesting video on an Elgin watch rebuild.

 

[driftpin]

Hamilton made dash clocks. Here's one from a Tri-Five, this model was more-expensive than that year's Corvette. The inked date code is April 12, 1957.

 

[humber2]

I have this working pre-war aircraft clock but don’t know who made it.