Tower Clocks Around North Carolina - PBS/UNC TV

Thank you to PBS and UNC TV for broadcasting a show that included the care-taking of some beautiful tower clock installations around North Carolina.  These examples are exactly why Cabarrus Time Savers exists.  Click the link below.

Enjoy!

Clocks, Ferry Rides, and Parades - UNC TV

Dial Construction Begins for the Courthouse

Phil Wright has started construction on our new dials for the Historic Cabarrus Courthouse project.  These will be correct in design for the Seth Thomas Company and era correct for pictures that were shown in the 1930's.  It was recorded that the lighter face colors (only pictures are in black and white) were done in the late 1800's for better visibility.  The new dials will be back-lit, as updated in the 1970's so the clock can be visible after dark.  Back-lit dials were available in 1876 when the courthouse was constructed, however wood dials were installed instead.  Ultimately visibility always proved to be an issue, especially only being 34-inches in diameter.

Stay-tuned for more updates!

Laying out the guide lines

Phil uses a mock-up hand (Seth Thomas style) to assist with the layout

Once the hand design was finalized and scaled correctly to the dial size, cutting the new hands could start

Each hand is detailed by hand to be correct in geometry

The stack of hands ready for primer

First layer of primer complete

The paint process will continue and further work to construct numerals will be next.  Cabarrus Time Savers will be assisting with the numeral construction.

Below is a similar style of dial assembly that is being used as a guide for this project.  Also a Seth Thomas installation.

More Removal Photos

Here's some more action photos from Monty Eudy and from my phone. 

Ready for disassembly

Time to get the glass dials out that are not original to the building.  They will be replaced with new translucent dials that will visually look era correct for an 1876 Seth Thomas installation.

Removing the hands and motion works from each dial face so they can be packed up.

With the dials out, there was a pretty decent cross-breeze to cool us down.

The courthouse looks a little different without the dials.

Time to start disassembly 

Bubble wrapping all the fragile parts.

With the legs off, we mounted the chassis bed to an old pair of water skis.  Phil gets full credit for this clever idea!  It worked great!

The first hurdle was the steep steps from the dial room down to the belfry platform.  They are as steep as they look.

Ropes and rigging helped us get all the parts down slowly snd safely. 

Finally, the fifth and final set of stairs down to the main levels of the courthouse.  From here it was down to the ground level floor and out to the trucks.

More updates to come!  With the parts of the clock out, we can finally start the restoration process.

Stay tuned!

The Clock Is Out - A Long Time Coming

On Saturday, August 25th, we successfully removed the Hotchkiss/Seth Thomas clock from the historic Cabarrus County Courthouse.  Everything went off without a hitch.  We are very excited!

I will post more pictures as I can get them.  In the mean time, here is the small group of us that got it taken apart and brought down piece by piece.  Thank you Monty Eudy for taking pictures along the way and of course we'll never forget you carrying that 110 pound pendulum bob down 3 flights of stairs.

Additional thanks to Phil Wright of the Tower Clock Company for coming down for the extraction, and of course Josh Weaver for volunteering to help do some heavy lifting and run to his house to do some quick carpentry.

Stay tuned!

Left to right
Monty Eudy, Phil Wright, Josh Weaver, Scott Schmeiser

Seth Thomas - Hotchkiss 12A - Pre Restoration Pics

With the removal of the historic Cabarrus Courthouse clock quickly approaching, here are some additional pictures to show the current condition.  This is going to be an exciting and challenging restoration, but another piece of history will be brought back to life.

(NOTE:  These pictures are the property of Cabarrus Time Savers and are not to be reused with out written permission from Cabarrus Time Savers.)

Coltrane-Webb Elementary School Clock

Another clock in our community that hasn't functioned for many decades is the clock mounted on the side of Coltrane-Webb Elementary School, in the historic district of Concord.  The school was built in the 1940's and the clock appears to be original to its construction.  However, the clock, an electric clock, has not functioned since possibly the 1960's.  We're still trying to find someone that can account for the last time it actually worked.

After reaching out to Timothy Taylor, principal of Coltrane-Webb, we found that there was a common interest to restore the clock and have it functioning again.  A couple of us form Cabarrus Time Savers met with Mr. Taylor and were pleased to find a great deal of enthusiasm towards the idea of restoring the clock.  Cabarrus Time Savers will help Mr. Taylor the best we can to get this clock going in.  Coltrane-Webb is a STEM school, and the process will be documented for educational purposes for the students.  Tim's motivation to have it functional to represent his school is refreshing, in a time where people are so quick to discard and destroy historic details like this.

The plan for this clock is to restore all the original existing salvageable components, remake missing numerals, and replace the removed/missing electric movement that drives the clock.

Here are some pictures of the clock before and after removal.  The hands are cast aluminum, as are the numerals.  The shafts are steel and ride in a cast iron mounting plate that would be greased.  The drive shafts appear to have been cut off flush with the inside wall surface, where the motor/movement was mounted.

This Shouldn't Happen - Destruction of a Seth Thomas Tower Clock

In February 2018, Northside-Blodgett School, in Corning, New York was demolished.  In doing so, the clock tower went with it, along with the clock components, bell, and 3 of the 4 dials on the building.  Efforts were made to purchase and remove the Seth Thomas Clock and the 34" McShane bell before the building was demolished, but the demolition company had no interest in allowing the salvage of the clock.  A wonderful tower clock was destroyed along with the bell.  Tragic and sad.  This shouldn't happen in this day in age.

It can't be stressed enough how important it is to save these pieces of history.  This is why Cabarrus Time Savers was formed.  We want to prevent this from happening in our own community.  So if you live in a community with history you care about, get involved and help protect it.  We can't saver every building throughout history, but there are artifacts worth saving and preserving that are part of our heritage.

Thank you to Peter Nunes, of NAWCC, for making this public among other enthusiasts.