Jump to content

Just got a Chelsea US Army M2 Message Center Clock....with interesting tag!


Morlok
 Share

Recommended Posts

Well, I've been looking at the U.S. Navy Clocks at every auction I go to for the past few years, but they always go for way too much.

 

About 2 hours ago, my dad called & asked if I wanted his snowblower. He bought it new last year, used it twice & pulled the rope out of it! So, he did what anyone else would do (!!) & bought another new one!! He lives 2 blocks away, so I RUSHED to Home Depot, bought a new pull rope, RUSHED to his house & loaded it up! It still has the bright, shiny stickers on the motor!!

 

Anyway, enough of my over-excitement! (I really needed a new snowblower, after mine broke last year...& I love free stuff...especially NEW free stuff!!)

 

So, while I was there, he mentioned a Army clock that he bought in the early 80s from one of the surplus sales they used to have on APG. He paid a whopping $10 for it back then. I said I'd love to see it, so he ran inside & grabbed it. When he came back out, I could hardly contain myself! I've been searching for one for years! I saw it said US Army & I was even more excited! It has the original box with serial numbers stamped in it, and the remnants of a painted HQ ID! The best part is the label. It shows the recoverable cost & says not repairable. I cleaned it up & it runs great! It needs the hour hand to be replaced, but I'll have it fixed soon. Then, he said "take it...it's yours"!! What a great day...& all within 2 blocks of my house...and it only cost me $3 for a new pull rope on the snowblower!!

 

Sorry for the long winded novel...I'm just excited!!

 

Comments welcome!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i got the matching brass army one! they go for well over $200 alot of the time, parts can be hard to come by though! would you take pictures of the hinge because i need to replace mine :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I paid a lot more than $3 for mine. Nice score.

Thanks! I guess I should get him a pretty nice Christmas present this year!

 

I'm going to shop around & try to find a reputable clock repair shop locally. It looks like a really easy fix to replace the hour hand though. It is cracked & doesn't fit snugly around the "stem" in the center. The damage is only in the thin hour hand itself & not in the mechanical parts. I would buy one & repair it myself, but I figure I might as well have it checked out & give it a good cleaning, lube & "tune-up"...After that, it should be good for another 70+ years!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i got the matching brass army one! they go for well over $200 alot of the time, parts can be hard to come by though! would you take pictures of the hinge because i need to replace mine :(

No problem! The hinge on the wooden case, or the glass face cover? I'd love to see pictures of yours as well! Mine appears to be made mostly of Bakelite. From a quick google search, it looks to date from somewhere around 42 or 43. I'm going to remove the clock so I can write down the serial number. Looks like they kept pretty good records & dating these is fairly simple...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No problem! The hinge on the wooden case, or the glass face cover? I'd love to see pictures of yours as well! Mine appears to be made mostly of Bakelite. From a quick google search, it looks to date from somewhere around 42 or 43. I'm going to remove the clock so I can write down the serial number. Looks like they kept pretty good records & dating these is fairly simple...

the case hinge please, and ive always heard they were from the 50's maybe i should do a bit more research! also i think mine is the m1 model lol but i have forgotten alot of the things about it...

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/218127-chelsea-brass-army-clock/?hl=%2Bchelsea+%2Bclock

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice! The hinge on mine appears to be stainless...probably replaced at some point, but not really sure. Here are 2 pics...attachicon.gifimage.jpg

i think thats a different hinge design, on mine when shut the hinge would be hidden inside, my dad said he thought he had it but i cant find it lol, thanks anyway!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just checked mine out & the serial number puts it at about 1952. The cool thing is the serial number on the back of the clock, on the internal movement, and the one stamped in the bottom of the wood case all match! The top of the wood case has a number stamped in it as well, but I'm not sure what it is...it's too long to be a Chelsea serial number...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mattsmilitary

Awesome find! I have a friend who repairs clocks. If you in need of advise, or places to get replacement part, just let me know,

 

Again, great find and cant beat the price!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 years later...
digi-shots

Morlock, nice clock!
 

I was searching a similar clock and saw this post.  Have you ever removed the clock from the wooden block?  Just wondered if there was any indication of manufacturer, etc. on the back of the clock housing.  
 

The clock /box I’m researching has number stamped on the upper left hand edge of the box and also another number stamped inside of the box just to the left of the clock face.

thanks!

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
SGM (ret.)

Very, very nice!

I know this is an old post, but since you're located in Maryland, I thought that I might mention that there are three "old school" clock repair shops located in Vienna, (northern) VA.  Could be worth your time to make the drive down to see if one of them could repair your clock.  Nice little town that's on the western end of the DC Metro Subway Orange Line, so there's also the option of taking the train into DC for some sight-seeing or to take a quick drive over to the Udvar-Hazy National Air and Space Museum near IAD.  The NRA National Firearms Museum is also just about 20-30 minutes drive from Vienna, and there's a huge "Gun and Knife Show" that's held periodically in Chantilly that usually has tons of militaria, too.

Just happened to have some previous work-related familiarization with the area.  Haven't had cause to go back in a number of years, but "old school" clock repair is not necessarily easy to find.  Your clock looks like it's certainly worth repairing, though.  Beautiful piece of kit!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/10/2023 at 12:52 PM, digi-shots said:

Morlock, nice clock!
 

I was searching a similar clock and saw this post.  Have you ever removed the clock from the wooden block?  Just wondered if there was any indication of manufacturer, etc. on the back of the clock housing.  
 

The clock /box I’m researching has number stamped on the upper left hand edge of the box and also another number stamped inside of the box just to the left of the clock face.

thanks!

 

 

Yes sir! It’s made by Chelsea, in or around 1952, going by a quick serial number search.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/8/2023 at 9:45 AM, SGM (ret.) said:

Very, very nice!

I know this is an old post, but since you're located in Maryland, I thought that I might mention that there are three "old school" clock repair shops located in Vienna, (northern) VA.  Could be worth your time to make the drive down to see if one of them could repair your clock.  Nice little town that's on the western end of the DC Metro Subway Orange Line, so there's also the option of taking the train into DC for some sight-seeing or to take a quick drive over to the Udvar-Hazy National Air and Space Museum near IAD.  The NRA National Firearms Museum is also just about 20-30 minutes drive from Vienna, and there's a huge "Gun and Knife Show" that's held periodically in Chantilly that usually has tons of militaria, too.

Just happened to have some previous work-related familiarization with the area.  Haven't had cause to go back in a number of years, but "old school" clock repair is not necessarily easy to find.  Your clock looks like it's certainly worth repairing, though.  Beautiful piece of kit!

Thank you sir! I will definitely look into that! The clock is still here…part of my “permanent” collection! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, otter42 said:

My question is: how's the snowblower after 8 years? 😁

HA!! Believe it or not, that thing is a BEAST! Still going strong! Of course, once I got it, it never snowed again! I service it every fall, and it’s ready to go! I used it last fall to mulch up all my leaves! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...