Making Mechanical Music - Restoration and Completion of a Claude Reeves designed musical quarter striking long case clock.
The completion and restoration of a musical long case clock, including arranging the music and pinning the musical cylinder.
This was an unfinished clock making project dating back to the 1970s. The movement, dial and hands of this Claude Reeves designed musical quarter striking long case clock was mostly completed in 1977 by J. E. S. Walker. The music for whatever reason was never completed and the cylinder remained blank with the hammer tails unfinished. The movement and dial were made into a complete clock sometime later when a rather impressive case was made specially for it. This is how the clock remained until the current owner came by it. I was then asked to complete the clock and to provide it with the music it had always been intended to have.
This was a substantial project that required a mixture of skills, with restoration of the existing parts of the movement, manufacture of the missing and incomplete elements and the musical side of things with the arranging of the music and programming and pinning of the cylinder.
Tommy Jobson: A Master of Musical Clocks
I recently entrusted Tommy with shall I say a "challenging" clock restoration/completion project. An unfinished home built musical clock, it was in desperate need of expert attention to the clock mechanism, overall aesthetic and more importantly the musical side needed completing. Despite the complexity of the task, Tommy's skill and precision were exceptional.
He successfully restored/repaired the clock and he also expertly arranged and pinned four pieces of music onto the musical barrel. This level of expertise I knew would be very difficult to find, but when I contacted Tommy he was very enthusiastic about the whole project.
The final result was truly remarkable and exceeded all my expectations! My clock now plays one of four tunes, each beautifully and expertly arranged and programmed into the musical barrel. Tommy's attention to detail and commitment to excellence are evident in every aspect of his work. I wholeheartedly recommend Horologium Precision LTD to anyone seeking a skilled and reliable clock repairer, especially for those with intricate musical clocks.
- Eddy Norton.