Hi all

I have recently picked up a pile of 50's clock radios. I love them for the style and several of them (RCA 4-C-672, Stromberg Carlson C1 and others) are really great radios. But... those durned telechron clock movements. Most are working. All - working or not - are really noisy. You would be noisy too if you had no lubrication in over 50 years, I guess. 8-)

The dedicated Telechron clock parts & repair sites just skip over clock radios. One place posts a "don't even think of asking..." policy regarding clock radio movements.

Have any of you tackled resurrecting these Telechron clock radio movements?

:Hi all
:
:I have recently picked up a pile of 50's clock radios. I love them for the style and several of them (RCA 4-C-672, Stromberg Carlson C1 and others) are really great radios. But... those durned telechron clock movements. Most are working. All - working or not - are really noisy. You would be noisy too if you had no lubrication in over 50 years, I guess. 8-)
:
:The dedicated Telechron clock parts & repair sites just skip over clock radios. One place posts a "don't even think of asking..." policy regarding clock radio movements.
:
:Have any of you tackled resurrecting these Telechron clock radio movements?

Rick:
This is a problem that has been discussed several times on this forum, so you will get several opinions, I'm sure.
Here's how I do it:
1. Drill a small hole in the upper case of the motor.
2. Using a medical needle and syringe, inject solvent into hole. I like mineral spirits, it is already an oil based liquid, and doesn't react with plastic.
3. Let clock run for about an hour, and turn upside down and let mineral spirits run out of hole.
4. Repeat until solvent no longer has parts of gears, dirt, and GOKW running out of clock motor.
5. Inject about 10 drops of oil into motor, and seal hole with a drop of Elmers white glue.

6. Put about half a drop of oil on the bearings of the outer gears, and a small dab of Vaseline or other light grease on the gear exiting the clock motor.
The Elmer's is not permanant, so the process can be repeated as necessary. I had access to exotic lubricants used in aircraft instrument, but plain old 3 in 1 seems to last longer than anything. WD-40 does not work well for this procedure.

6. Wait for other opinions on the forum, and choose the one that suits you best.
7. Enjoy the sounds of silence.
Lewis

Never tried this, but a very experienced friend has, and swears by it:
With the clock resting on its face, place a drop or two for fine oil (like sewing machine oil, etc.)at the point where controls/adjustment shafts enter the case. Oil will cling to the base of the shafts. Place clock in freezer. As the air inside the clock cools and contracts, there supposedly is enough "pull" along with gravity to suck oil into the case and to the works. Repeat as necessary.
Hey, what can I say? As he told me, "Sometimes that's all it needs."
Your mileage may vary.
There are lots of reasons why this won't work, but I am looking for a clock to test this on for myself.

Never tried this, but a very experienced friend has, and swears by it:
With the clock resting on its face, place a drop or two for fine oil (like sewing machine oil, etc.)at the point where controls/adjustment shafts enter the case. Oil will cling to the base of the shafts. Place clock in freezer. As the air inside the clock cools and contracts, there supposedly is enough "pull" along with gravity to suck oil into the case and to the works. Repeat as necessary.
Hey, what can I say? As he told me, "Sometimes that's all it needs."
Your mileage may vary.
There are lots of reasons why this won't work, but I am looking for a clock to test this on for myself.

Remove gear case from the field coil. Warm the gear case in direct sunlight. Lay the gear case on its back (pinion gear up) Put a drop of sewing machine oil on the pinion gear. The oil will seep down the gear shaft into the case. Repeat around five times. This will lubricate the insides where it runs quiet again.

Thanks for the responses. The search option on nostalgiaair is disabled right now so I couldn't look for other posts on this topic.

Seems like you all have tried the two basic methods I ran across: "Drill & fill" or playing with the vacuum to suck oil into the case.

My concern about "drill & fill" is the potential for damage. Either by 1.) Denting the case and consequently binding up the gears in the process. or 2.) Actually taking out a chunk of a gear with an "Oops!" and a drill bit slipping. or 3.) Getting metal filings from the drilling into the clock works.

Lemme think on this one regarding the approach. It seems like the more effective method, since you can get solvent in there to remove 50+ year old, turned to hardened lacquer, type leftover oil. But it has the greater potential to make a bad thing... dead.

I like the idea of the freezer method. The other approach I read to this involved heating the case with a 100w soldering iron, and the oil getting sucked into the case as it cooled. (Freezer method seems a LOT safer...) More conservative, but it doesn't allow you to remove any gunk built up in the case either.

If it helps: One site swears by 0W30 synthetic motor oil.

Rick: I use the drill and fill method and have never had a problem. Try drilling from the bottom so metal shavings fall out as you drill if you are concerned, but it has never been a problem as I mentioned. Add a teaspoon or so of light oil. I use epoxy putty to seal the hole. Clean and oil the other bushings that are accessable by putting a small dab of oil on each. Mark from Kalamazoo

:Thanks for the responses. The search option on nostalgiaair is disabled right now so I couldn't look for other posts on this topic.
:

Rick, if you want to search for posts on telechron, thy this:

Go to Google.com and enter:

telechron site:www.nostalgiaair.org

Or to restrict search to just the furums:

telechron site:www.nostalgiaair.org/forums

It will search for "telechron" on only the nostalgiaair.org site

This works for any web site

I got this from a clock repair guy. He fixes Telechrons for fun, in other words.
He uses the drill and fill method BUT he cuts a small notch with a file. This prevents the drill from hitting a gear, and I think you can control the filings better from being pushed into the clock.

I tried the passive suction idea, including heating the clockworks and then cooling with a puddle of oil around the shaft. No go. Not enough slack in the seal, maybe. My Zenith Owl Eyes radio loses about 20 minutes an hour. I have a Westinghouse "Risemaster" that would keep me up all night.
The Risemaster, Jewel "Wakemaster", and Travelr "XXXMaster all have the same cabinet, painted Bakelite, different plastic grills.

Been using the drill and fill method for years. Not sure if I came up with the idea or if it was already around. I use solder now. Used to use tape. Elmer's glue is a good suggestion. Either glue or solder will seal it well. Tape will come off with the oil, as I have learned.

If the oil you use is too thick, such as regular motor oil, the clock will run well, but will run really slow for about an hour or so when it is first plugged in, until it warms up. I never unplug my clock, though, so it rarely does this. Never loses a minute.

Lots of good suggestions!

:Been using the drill and fill method for years. Not sure if I came up with the idea or if it was already around. I use solder now. Used to use tape. Elmer's glue is a good suggestion. Either glue or solder will seal it well. Tape will come off with the oil, as I have learned.
:
:If the oil you use is too thick, such as regular motor oil, the clock will run well, but will run really slow for about an hour or so when it is first plugged in, until it warms up. I never unplug my clock, though, so it rarely does this. Never loses a minute.
:
:Lots of good suggestions!
:
I have been using the opposite of the "freeze" method with very good results. I seperate the gearbox from the windings and put it in a glass container with light machine oil. I then put that in a toaster oven at 200 to 250 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes. After the "baking", I let it cool at room temperature and the oil will get sucked into the housing. Wipe clean and "fire it up"!

These are good suggestions. Try the heat methods first, then drilling a small hole if they fail. You run the risk of getting a metal chip inside the case. This is fairly rare but I've seen it happen and then you have to open it.

The reason clock shops don't do these is it simply isn't worth their time. The clock movements are very cheapy made. The plates are steel and too thin to bush and even if that can be somehow overcome the normal rebuild would cost about $125, more than the whole radio is worth. Then they would have a worthless orphan movement on their hands and have lost the time that could have been used on a profitable repair.

:Hi all
:
:I have recently picked up a pile of 50's clock radios. I love them for the style and several of them (RCA 4-C-672, Stromberg Carlson C1 and others) are really great radios. But... those durned telechron clock movements. Most are working. All - working or not - are really noisy. You would be noisy too if you had no lubrication in over 50 years, I guess. 8-)
:
:The dedicated Telechron clock parts & repair sites just skip over clock radios. One place posts a "don't even think of asking..." policy regarding clock radio movements.
:
:Have any of you tackled resurrecting these Telechron clock radio movements?
:
:

Rebuilt and NOS units are available on eBay as well as other online sources. Some require the return of your core.

As you will find if you research Telechron, all original equipment was destroyed after a final production run in the 80s? ...I think.

I have had very good luck oiling the units myself, however. One unit finally failed, and so I bought a rebuilt unit on eBay. It is working well, but is actually a bit louder than the ones I have running with 3-in-1.

The rotors are available from clock suppliers. The movements themselves are not. You may find a complete clock movement with rotor and coil for a particular radio on line but don't count on it.

As for my response about clock shops, let me put it another way. They don't like to waste their time on junk.

:Rebuilt and NOS units are available on eBay as well as other online sources. Some require the return of your core.
:
:As you will find if you research Telechron, all original equipment was destroyed after a final production run in the 80s? ...I think.
:
:I have had very good luck oiling the units myself, however. One unit finally failed, and so I bought a rebuilt unit on eBay. It is working well, but is actually a bit louder than the ones I have running with 3-in-1.
:

:Hi all
:
:I have recently picked up a pile of 50's clock radios. I love them for the style and several of them (RCA 4-C-672, Stromberg Carlson C1 and others) are really great radios. But... those durned telechron clock movements. Most are working. All - working or not - are really noisy. You would be noisy too if you had no lubrication in over 50 years, I guess. 8-)
:
:The dedicated Telechron clock parts & repair sites just skip over clock radios. One place posts a "don't even think of asking..." policy regarding clock radio movements.
:
:Have any of you tackled resurrecting these Telechron clock radio movements?
:I agree i have a 950s tube zenith its great the style and all
:

:Hi all
:
:I have recently picked up a pile of 50's clock radios. I love them for the style and several of them (RCA 4-C-672, Stromberg Carlson C1 and others) are really great radios. But... those durned telechron clock movements. Most are working. All - working or not - are really noisy. You would be noisy too if you had no lubrication in over 50 years, I guess. 8-)
:
:The dedicated Telechron clock parts & repair sites just skip over clock radios. One place posts a "don't even think of asking..." policy regarding clock radio movements.
:
:Have any of you tackled resurrecting these Telechron clock radio movements?
:I agree i have a 950s tube zenith its great the style and all
:

:Hi all
:
:I have recently picked up a pile of 50's clock radios. I love them for the style and several of them (RCA 4-C-672, Stromberg Carlson C1 and others) are really great radios. But... those durned telechron clock movements. Most are working. All - working or not - are really noisy. You would be noisy too if you had no lubrication in over 50 years, I guess. 8-)
:
:The dedicated Telechron clock parts & repair sites just skip over clock radios. One place posts a "don't even think of asking..." policy regarding clock radio movements.
:
:Have any of you tackled resurrecting these Telechron clock radio movements?
:
:The motors are available at most larger clock stores in larger cities, 50,000 and above.

:Hi all
:
:I have recently picked up a pile of 50's clock radios. I love them for the style and several of them (RCA 4-C-672, Stromberg Carlson C1 and others) are really great radios. But... those durned telechron clock movements. Most are working. All - working or not - are really noisy. You would be noisy too if you had no lubrication in over 50 years, I guess. 8-)
:
:The dedicated Telechron clock parts & repair sites just skip over clock radios. One place posts a "don't even think of asking..." policy regarding clock radio movements.
:
:Have any of you tackled resurrecting these Telechron clock radio movements?
:
:The motors are available at most larger clock stores in larger cities, 50,000 and above.