Our Next Mart is March 15th at 9:00 am.

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March 15, 2026 Presidents Message,
We will continue to need some help setting up and taking down.  So arrive at 9:00 and help setup and stay after the educational talk to help return the room in the condition, we found it in.  Thank you for your help in this.

Some of our meetings will be in the lower hall if conflicts arise with American Legion Hall.  So, look for us in either hall.

I hope you enjoyed the educational talk by Craig White titled “Making Missing Brass Clock Case Parts.”  The talked showed how persistence pays off in making some missing case parts for a couple of old clocks.  A simple plastic casting with Rub & Buff surface treatment can be a great match,

Doors open at 9:00 for setup and mart. The educational talk at 11:00 is “Innovative Watches for Telling Time 300 Years Ago” by Richard Newman.

There will be a board meeting for officers and directors after the Educational Talk.

Educational Talks Planned for 2025:

  • March – Innovative Watches for Telling Time 300 Years Ago by Richard Newman
  • May – Gear Cutting by Mike Dempsey
  • September – Clock Movements 101 by Mike Dempsey
  • November – Isaac Rogers Ebonized Bracket Clock Restoration by Craig White

Free tables!!  A free silent auction table will also be available. 

Hope to see you all there. 
Thanks,
Craig

Next MART is January 11, 2026. Doors open at 9:00

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We will continue to need some help setting up and taking down.  So arrive at 9:00 and help setup and stay after the educational talk to help return the room in the condition, we found it in.  Thank you for your help in this.

Doors open at 9:00 for setup and mart. The educational talk at 11:00 is by Craig White titled “Making Missing Brass Clock Case Parts.”

Our meeting dates for 2026 are:

  • Sunday, January 11tth, 2026
  • Sunday, March 15th, 2026
  • Sunday, May 17th, 2026
  • Sunday, September 13th, 2026
  • Sunday, November 15th, 2026

Some of our meeting will be in the lower hall if conflicts arise with American Legion Hall.  So, look for us in either hall.

There will be a board meeting for officers and directors after Educational Talk.

Thanks, Danno, for your talk on Turkish Dial Clocks and watches at late notice.  The origins of a special numbering system just for clocks and watches is amazing.

Elections for Officers and Directors was run by Mike Demsey.  Results are as follows:
President – Craig White
Vice President – Harry Schulz
Secretary – Patrick Hansen
Treasurer – Danno Osterud
Past President – Mike Dempsey
Director – Mathew Taylor

Thanks all for volunteering and making the chapter successful.

Educational Talks Planned for 2026:

  • January   – Making Missing Brass Clock Case Parts by Craig White
  • March     – Gear Cutting by Mike Dempsey
  • May      – Isaac Rogers Ebonized Bracket Clock Restoration
  • September – Clock Movements 101 by Mike Dempsey
  • November  – ?

We still need volunteers for talks for 2026.  Please contact Harry Schulz or myself with ideas or suggestions.

Free tables!!  A free silent auction table will also be available.
Hope to see you all there.
Thanks,
Craig

Here is a fun video on the origins and meanings of temporal terms. Enjoy.

Next Mart is November 9th at 9:00am

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Presidents Message
We will continue to need some help setting up and taking down.  So arrive at 9:00 and help setup and stay after the educational talk to help return the room in the condition, we found it in.  Thank you for your help in this.

Doors open at 9:00 for setup and mart. The educational talk at 11:00 is by Mike Dempsey entitled “Gear Cutting”. 

Mike Dempsey gave a talk on battery clocks in September. 
There are Three Types of Battery Clocks:

  • Mechanical timekeepers that are electrically impulse.
  • Mechanical Timekeepers that are electrically wound.
  • Timekeepers that are purely electronic.

It all started in 1814 with Sir Francis Ronalds created the first electrostatic clock with an oscillating pendulum. Then in 1841 Alexander Bain produced the first electromagnetic clock.  Thank you, Mike, and Ralph, for this presentation and bringing in all the examples. 

Elections for Officers and Directors

Mike Dempsey will take the lead as our chairperson of the nominating committee.  The election will be held at our November meeting.  The nominating committee will also invite suggested names from the floor. Please contact him if you would like to run for one of the positions.  The election will be run at the November meeting.  Contact Mike if you want to volunteer.

We still need volunteers for talks for 2026.  Please contact Harry Schulz or myself with ideas or suggestions.

Educational Talks Planned for 2025:
January ?
March ?
May ?
September ?
November ?

Free tables!!  A free silent auction table will also be available. 

Hope to see you all there. 
Thanks,
Craig

 

Next meeting is May 18, 2025.

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Presidents Message,
We will continue to need some help setting up and taking down.  So arrive at 9:00 and help setup and stay after the educational talk to help return the room in the condition, we found it in.  Thank you for your help in this.
Doors open at 9:00 for setup and mart. Mike Dempsey will talk about assembling a clock movement beginning at 10:00 during the mart.  The educational talk at 11:00 is by Craig entitled “Isaac Rogers Turkish Dial Lantern Clock Restoration”.  Replacement of bell spider is explained and side fret repair and more.

Patrick Hansen Jr. is a new member and has volunteered to be our new secretary.  Thank you for joining and volunteering to help, Patrick. 

Mike Demsey gave a demonstration of tools used for watch hairspring and staff Thank you Mike for Part 1 and we are looking forward to Part 2 soon. Part 2 will show the replacement live. 

Danno thank you for your presentation on disassembling a Schwalbach tower clock.
Schwalbach was the founder of the Star Tower Clock Company in Milwaukee.  His firm is known to have installed between 55 to 70 tower clocks during its 42-year existence.
Schwalbach first established his own business in 1873 after having been an important contributor to the invention of both the typewriter and the sewing machine. Schwalbach built and installed tower clocks in 11 states from Oregon to New York.

Elections for Officers and Directors
Mike Dempsey will take the lead as our as chairperson of the nominating committee.  The election will be held at our November meeting.  The nominating committee will also invite suggested names from the floor. Please contact him if you would like to run for one of the positions.  

We still need some volunteers for talks for 2026.  Please contact Harry Schulz or myself with ideas or suggestions.
Educational Talks Planned for 2025:
May 2025      Isaac Rogers Turkish Dial Lantern Clock Restoration, by Craig White
Sept 2025     Gear Cutting, by Mike Demsey
Nov. 2025     Battery Clocks, by Mike Demsey
Free tables!!  A free silent auction table will also be available. 

Hope to see you all there. 
Thanks,
Craig

Our Meeting Will Be on March 9th, 2025

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Presidents Message,

We will continue to need some help setting up and taking down.  So arrive at 9:00 and help setup and stay after the educational talk to help return the room in the condition we found it in.  Thank you for your help in this.

Doors open at 9:00 for setup and mart. Mike Dempsey will be continue discussing Balance staff and hairspring replacement beginning at 10:00 during the mart.  The first part was presented in the October meeting.  Educational talk at 11:00 by Danno entitled “The one that got away, moving a Schwalbach Tower Clock Movement.”

We also need a new secretary.  The main job is just to put this newsletter together.  Please offer to help so no one is overburdened, only takes around an hour per meeting.

Our planned demonstration at the March  mart will be Balance staff and hairspring replacement, part 2 (Dempsey)

Craig White gave a hands-on demonstration of silvering a dial.  Surface preparation and actually adding silver to the surface was demonstrated.  This was followed by lacquering or waxing.

Craig White then gave a PowerPoint talk on Restoring a Scottish Musical Tall Case Clock, or Nock as the Scottish would call it.  The Clock was made by James Gray and the musical portion made by Anthony Jeeves around 1774.  The clock plays 10 individual tunes by a selector dial.  Music plays at 10, 1, 6 & 9 or on command.  This is called Presbyterian strike which is defined by the clock playing at certain times of the day and silent at night.  The specific times are selected by maker and usually had religious reasons.
The replacement of some missing pins was shown as well as cleaning and adjusting.  A missing pully was recreated to match the originals and the technique was shown on how this was done. 
The hands, finials were verified as originals by comparing to other clock by the same maker.

We still need some volunteer for talks for 2025.  Please contact Harry Schulz or myself with ideas or suggestions.

Educational Talks Planned for 2025:

May 2025      Isaac Rogers Turkish Dial Lantern Clock Restoration, by Craig White
Sept 2025     Open
Nov. 2025     Open

Free tables!!  A free silent auction table will also be available.

Hope to see you all there. 
Thanks,
Craig

Next meeting is January 12, 2025

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Presidents Message
We will continue to need some help setting up and taking down.  So arrive at 9:00 and help setup and stay after the educational talk to help return the room in the condition we found it in.  Thank you for your help in this.

Opens at 9:00 for setup and mart. Craig White Will give a demonstration on re-silvering dials beginning at 10:00 during the mart. Mike Dempsy will give the second part of his balance staff and hairspring replacement in March.   Educational talk at 11:00 by Craig White entitled “Restoring a Scottish Musical Tall Case Clock”

We also need a new secretary.  The main job is just to put this newsletter together.  Please offer to help so no one is overburdened, only takes around an hour per meeting.

We have some demonstrations planed for upcoming meetings as follows
Jan – Resilver dials (White)
Mar – Balance staff and hairspring replacement, part 2 (Dempsey)

Thank you, Mike, for giving your PowerPoint talk on Mainsprings.  He suggested this is the first tool you should buy when getting into clock repair.  There is a lot of potential energy stored in a mainspring.  This energy needs to be let down in a controlled manner to avoid personal injury and damage to the clock.  Cleaning and examining the mainspring is important when servicing a clock.  The spring needs to be free of any cracks and clean and lubricated with horological mainspring oil.

Craig White gave an overview of his recent AHS tour in Netherlands and a stop in Wales, intitled “Horological Finds in Europe.”  Photos of a couple of rotisseries powered by clock works were shown.  A dog powered wheel was shown for rotating meat during cooking.  This was a special dog breed now extinct.

But in 1793, the French smashed the old clock system in favor of French Revolutionary Time, which was a 10-hour day, with 100 minutes per hour, and 100 seconds per minute. This thoroughly modern system had a few practical benefits, chief among them being a simplified way to do time-related math. If we want to know when a day is 80% complete, decimal time simply says “at the end of the eighth hour,” whereas standard time requires us to say “at 19 hours, 12 minutes.” French Revolutionary Time was a more elegant solution to that math problem. The problem was that every living person already had a well-established way of telling the time, and old habits die hard!

The system proved unpopular. People were unfamiliar with switching systems of time, and there were few practical reasons for non-mathematicians to change how they told time. (The same could not be said of the metric system of weights and measurements, which helped to standardize commerce; weights and measurements often differed in neighboring countries, but clocks generally did not.) Furthermore, replacing every clock and watch in the country was an expensive proposition. The French officially stopped using decimal time after just 17 months. French Revolutionary Time became non-mandatory starting on April 7, 1795. This did not stop some areas of the country from continuing to observe decimal time, and a few decimal clocks remained in use for years afterwards, presumably leading to many missed appointments!

We still need some volunteer for talks for 2025.  Please contact Harry Schulz or myself with ideas or suggestions.

Educational Talks Planned for 2025:
Jan  2025         Restoring a Scottish Musical Tall Case Clock
March 2025        Open
May 2025          Isaac Rogers Turkish Dial Lantern Clock Restoration, by Craig
September 2025    The one that got away, moving a Schwalbach Tower clock by Danno
Nov. 2025         Open

Free tables!!  A free silent auction table will also be available.
Hope to see you all there. 
Thanks, Craig

Next meeting is November 17, 2024. Note: Meeting to be held in lower hall

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Presidents Message,
We will continue to need some help setting up and taking down.  So arrive at 9:00 and help setup and stay after the educational talk to help return the room in the condition we found it in.  Thank you for your help in this.

Opens at 9:00 for setup and mart. Mike Dempsey will be continue discussing Balance staff and hairspring replacement beginning at 10:00 during the mart.  The first part was presented in the October meeting.  Educational talk at 11:00 by Craig White entitled “Interesting Horological Finds in Europe”.  Come see a ticking Rotisserie and one powered by a dog.  Also see a decimal metric clock!  Cleanup at 12:00.

We also need a new secretary.  The main job is just to put this newsletter together.  Please offer to help so no one is overburdened, only takes around an hour per meeting.

We have some demonstrations planed for upcoming meetings as follows:

  • Nov – Balance staff and hairspring replacement, part 2 (Dempsey)
  • Jan – Winding and Letting Down clock & watch mainsprings (Danno/Dempsey)
  • Mar – Resilver dials (White)

 

Thank you, Amelia, for giving your PowerPoint talk on Chauncey Jerome vs PT Barnum: The Great Bankruptcy of 1856.  PT Barnum born in 1810 and got into the curiosity business in 1835 and then created the American Museum in 1841.

Chauncy Jerome worked for Eli Terry making clock cases.  Jerome and Barnum went into business together but the stories greatly differ on who was at fault in their transactions. 

A visit to the Halim Time and Glass Museum was suggested.  I have not received feedback of enough people interested in the tour.  The good news is that the Time Symposium is planned there in October 2025.  This will give all of us an opportunity to visit the museum and all the other activities of the symposium so close to home.

The Midwest Regional has been disbanded and the funds distributed between the chapters that were involved.  Chapter 47 received approximately $5000 for our share.  A discussion was held with those of us in attendance and we agreed to buy a new projector and reduce dues and attendance fees to run the chapter slightly at an operating loss, and use this extra money to supplement our expenses for the next 10 years.  This will continue to be monitored and adjusted if necessary.

Current Fees:

  • Dues      $25
  • Admission  $5
  • Gold Card $15

NewFees:

  • Dues      $15
  • Admission  $5
  • Gold Card $10

Link to the 2025 Membership form

This months meeting is to be held in lower hall due to Packer Party in regular upper hall. We will meet in the lower hall whenever there is a Packer game at noon on Sunday of our meeting.  The hall is much larger and we get it for the same price.  That gives the hall plenty of time to set up the upper hall for a Packer Party.

This months  educational talk:
Nov 17 – Craig White will make a presentation “Interesting Horological Finds in Europe”. 

Educational Talks Planned for 2025:

  • Jan  2025         Restoring a Scottish Musical Tall Case Clock
  • March 2025      The one that got away: Moving a Schwalbach Tower Clock.
  • May 2025         Open
  • Sept 2025         Open
  • Nov. 2025         Open

We still need some volunteer for talks for 2025.  Please contact Harry Schulz or myself with ideas or suggestions.
Free tables!!  A free silent auction table will also be available. 

Hope to see you all there. 
Thanks,
Craig

DATE CHANGE: Next MART is October 6th.

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Important Notice, the date of our next mart has been changed to October 6th.

Presidents Message,
Next meeting is October 6, 2024

We will continue to need some help setting up and taking down. So arrive at 9:00 and help setup and stay after the educational talk to help return the room in the condition we found it in. Thank you for your help in this.

Opens at 9:00 for setup and mart. Mike Dempsey will be discussing Balance staff and hairspring replacement beginning at 10:00 during the mart. Educational talk at 11:00 by Amelia Osterud she will give a talk entitled “Chauncey Jerome vs PT Barnum: The Great Bankruptcy of 1856”. Cleanup at 12:00.

We also need a new secretary. The main job is just to put this newsletter together. Please offer to help so no one is overburdened, only takes around an hour per meeting.

We have some demonstrations planed for upcoming meetings as follows:

Oct – Balance staff and hairspring replacement (Dempsey)
Nov – Winding and Letting Down clock & watch mainsprings (Danno/Dempsey)
Jan – Resilver dials (White)

Thank you, Mike, for giving your PowerPoint talk on repivoting. Many ideas and methods were presented. Further demonstrating some of the techniques will follow later.

Craig White updated on his and Mike Dempsey Congreve Clock making. The large pieces are cut out and assembled. Feet were copied and cast/machined coping and old Congreve clock foot. Finials were purchased and drilled and tapped for fitting into assembly.

Many months were spent building models and drawings for construction. The drawings in the book left out a lot of dimensions. The plates, movement plates were cut on a CNC mill. Columns and movement posts were machined on a CNC lathe.

The Pritlaff four sided street clock spent many years in the Grand Avenue Mall in Milwaukee. It was packed away in storage and saved by the owner of the Pritlaff building. Jack Heisler restored the movement and got it going again in a hall located in the Pritlaff building around 8 years ago. Jack has passed on and Mike Dempsey and I are working on getting it going again. Will keep the chapter updated on progress.

A visit to the Halim Time and Glass Museum was suggested. They currently offer guided tours for $25 each for a minimum of 10 people. Web site is https://www.halimmuseum.org/. The museum is in Evanston IL 1.5 hours South of Milwaukee. They are open for the tours Mon-Friday 10-5

They have the largest remaining items of the Time Museum Clocks from Rockford IL. They have over 1100-time pieces on display including tower clocks, chronometers, automatons, pocket watches, and tall case clocks. Beautifully displayed and preserved. The collections are one of the finest in the world. Many amazing clocks in are displayed and we will have a knowledgeable tour guide to tell us all about them. The Museum also contains many displays on glass.

Email Craig White cswhite5@yahoo.com if interested and I will propose some dates if we can get 10 interested people.

Nov 17 – Craig White will make a presentation “Restoring a Scottish Musical Tall Case Clock”.  Meeting to be held in lower hall due to Packer Party in regular upper hall. We will meet in the lower hall whenever there is a Packer game at noon on Sunday of our meeting.  The hall is much larger and we get it for the same price.  That gives the hall plenty of time to set up the upper hall for a Packer Party.

We still need some volunteer for talks for 2025.  Please contact Harry Schulz or myself with ideas or suggestions.

Dates for 2025 are as follows:
Jan 12, 2025
March 9, 2025
May 18, 2025
September 7, 2025
Nov. 9, 2025

Free tables!!  A free silent auction table will also be available. 

Hope to see you all there. 
Thanks,
Craig

May 19th is the next mart

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Presidents Message
We will continue to need some help setting up and taking down.  So arrive at 9:00 and help setup and stay after the educational talk to help return the room in the condition we found it in.  Thank you for your help in this.

Mike Dempsey will be discussing re-pivoting clock and watch arbors beginning at 10:00 during the mart.  Educational talk at 11:00 by Craig White entitled “Restoring a Scottish Musical Clock.” Craig will also give a short update on Demsey/White Congreve clock making progress.  Cleanup at 12:00.

We also need a new secretary.  The main job is just to put this newsletter together.  Please offer to help so no one is overburdened, only takes around an hour per meeting.

We have some demonstrations planed for upcoming meetings as follows:

  • May – Re-pivoting clock and watch arbors (Dempsey)
  • September– Balance staff and hairspring replacement (Dempsey)
  • November – Winding and Letting Down clock & watch mainsprings (Osterud/Dempsey)
  • January – Re-silvering dials (White)

For our live seminar in May, Robert Olney demonstrated glass cutting for clocks.  He cut glass for a break arch door using hand tools only.  He also showed the use of a diamond wheel grinder and emery paper to cleanup edges, as well as demonstrating use of a suction cup circle cutter to make a round dial to fit a bezel. He supplied handouts with methodology and sources for materials.
Thanks to Bob for teaching us a little about cutting glass.

Danno Osterud made a Presentation on Renaissance Clocks in Milwaukee Art Museum.
You can get free admission from many of the Milwaukee suburban libraries by checking out a pass on a first come first serve basis.
The Museum collection includes wonderful rarities because Milwaukeeans Richard and Erna Flagg collected them and donated them to the Museum.  In fact, the Milwaukee Art Museum is known to have the best collection of German Renaissance clocks anywhere outside of Germany.
During the 15th century, clock mechanism began using springs and gears.  Around 1500, just in time for the Renaissance, this new technology led to a proliferation of table clocks.  These new machines not only could divide the day systematically into hours and minutes, but they could also track the zodiac, phases of the moon, and seasons.  Highly esteemed craftsmen would make these for the wealthy patrons who could both afford the valuable mechanism and be able to understand what all these symbols meant.
Danno also showed pictures of many of the other clocks in the museum.  This is a must see for horological interested people, especially in our home town.  Danno, thanks for sharing.

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A visit to the Halim Time and Glass Museum was suggested.  They currently offer guided tours for $25 each for a minimum of 10 people.  Web site is https://www.halimmuseum.org/.  The museum is in Evanston IL 1.5 hours South of Milwaukee.  They are open for the tours Mon-Friday 10-5.
They have the largest remaining items of the Time Museum Clocks from Rockford IL.  They have over 1100-time pieces on display including tower clocks, chronometers, automatons, pocket watches, and tall case clocks.  Beautifully displayed and preserved.  The collections are one of the finest in the world. Many amazing clocks in are displayed and we will have a knowledgeable tour guide to tell us all about them.  Also many displays on glass.
Email Craig White cswhite5@yahoo.com if interested and I will propose some dates if we can get 10 interested people.

==========================

Future educational talks planned:

  • May 19 – Craig White will make a presentation “Restoring a Scottish Musical Tall Case Clock”
  • Sept 22 – Amelia Osterud will give a talk entitled “Chauncey Jerome vs PT Barnum: The Great Bankruptcy of 1856”

We still need some volunteer for talks for 2024 & 2025.  Please contact Harry Schulz or myself with ideas or suggestions. 

Free tables!!  A free silent auction table will also be available. 
We had some more clocks donated which the chapter will be selling at the silent auction table.

Hope to see you all there.
Thanks,
Craig