Sleeving clock hands

[robgraham]

Some time back I replaced the synchronous mains motor in a kitchen clock (wife's childhood memento !) with a quartz movement.

This movement has now failed and I've bought in a replacement. Unfortunately the industry has changed from 5.5 and 3.5mm shafts for the hands to 5 and 3mm, and the hands supplied are too long anyway..

I'm looking for bright ideas on a simple solution !! I do have a metal working lathe so the 'complex' idea is to turn suitable sleeves for the old hands, glue them in and drill out to size.

Thanks for any suggestions

Rob

[spamlet]

They aren't going to be taking any weight. Just fill the hole with silicon sealer/RTV, plonk them in the right position and wait for it to dry. If you need to get them off again it's only soft silicone you have to deal with. You can also buy packs of assorted hands in the 'project' shops like Maplins.

S

[Andy Dingley]

New hands. They're mostly cheap and there are many on-line suppliers.

[robgraham]

Thanks guys - it might have to be a pack of hands !

RTV was good suggestion ... but then the thinking goes on and realises that all that will happen is that the RTV will glue the hour and minute hand drive shafts together. Rob

I'm going to

[spamlet]

Thanks guys - it might have to be a pack of hands !

RTV was good suggestion ... but then the thinking goes on and realises that all that will happen is that the RTV will glue the hour and minute hand drive shafts together. Rob

You could fill the gap between the shafts with grease first: but the operation would call for a steady hand: we are only talking half a millimetre after all.

S

[robgraham]

Well the first thing is that having taken the old mechanism out, mounted the new one, found a way to hold the hands on and got it running, I decided to put a battery in the old one just out of mischief - and of course after all the faff, it ran OK, and still is

24 hrs later. It was certainly not battery problem, so it must just a bit of muck that somehow got into it and taken it apart cleared it. B********r, b******r,etc

Solution I used for the hands was to cut a narrow strip of Al foil sticky tape and wind it round the shaft. Little fiddly but worked.

By the way I'm putting up a thread called "Spectacles" which was applicable here.

Rob