Ticking Again

We have 2 battery-operated ceramic clocks.

My ceramic frog clock was a gift from my mother.

The conservatory clock.

Both of them stopped ticking.

The clock runs on a single AA battery.

I changed the batteries but they still would not work.

When this blew apart I knew I couldn’t put it back together.

I took them apart and found they were both corroded. And the whole mechanism popped apart.

Clock movement from a craft store.

For $8 each I bought replacement clockworks at Michael’s craft store.

I unscrewed the old movement from the clock.

They’re not difficult to put together but they take a little finesse to get the hour hand, the minute hand, and the second hand to all work.

I used a 3/8 inch mechanism — they also come in 1/4 inch and 5/8 inch sizes.

On the first try the hour hand was moving ahead an hour about every five minutes.

When the battery is inserted in the back the clock started ticking.

I took it apart again and reseated all the pieces.  Tighten the screws only finger tight; using pliers will bind up the mechanism.

I darkened the hands with a Sharpie.

I used new hands on the frog clock and colored them black with a Sharpie to make them more visible against the clock face.

The old hands were usable but needed a tiny adjustment with some pliers.

On the dolphin clock I used the old hands since they were smaller and more appropriate (and cuter) than the ones that came with the movement.

This clock hangs over the pantry in the kitchen.

Both clocks are now back on their hooks and keeping time.

The dolphin clock hangs in the conservatory.

A reasonably cheap fix. By the way, fixing clocks is not my cup of tea.

What craft do you enjoy?