Sternreiter Alarm Clock

Front and back of the clock

Front and back of the clock

Hey everyone, and thanks in advance for your time.

I recently bought a Sternreiter twin-bell alarm clock. It's a nice clock, and it seems to be keeping time fine, except for one thing - The minute hand isn't synced up properly with the hour hand. It's about fifteen minutes slower than it should be, eg: if it's twelve o'clock, the hour hand will be dead center on the twelve, while the minute hand will be still hanging around the nine. So I just have a few questions...

First of all, I'm not sure how I'd go about opening this clock. I see no screws on it anywhere and no obvious hatches. I'm assuming I just unscrew the keys from the back, and then pull the whole back panel off? Does that sound about right? I thought there'd be something other than just plain friction holding the back on, but maybe not.

My second question is what exactly to do when I get the clock apart. Again, my assumption is that it's pretty simple - I just pull the minute hand off it's center pivot thing, line it up with the hour hand, and push it back into place?

Thanks a lot for the help everyone. I really appreciate it. Looking forward to getting this clock to read properly! =)

PS: Will I ever get used to this ticking, or will it slowly drive me insane? Are there any statistics to let me know how much danger I'm in? Hahah. =D

Note from Bill:

The back may be held in place by friction as you said, but more likely the screws that hold the bells on the top of the clock or maybe the feet are holding things together. I have seen them made both ways.

As far as how to fix the hands, you have two methods here too. Most of these clocks have friction only holding the hour hand. This is the easy kind to fix - just slide the hour hand to the correct position. If the hour hand will not move, that means that it is riveted to its gear and you will have to take the minute hand off and re-install it in the correct position. This can sometimes pose a problem, though. It may be that it is too loose when you put it back on. If this is the case, you will have to tighten the center hole so it will hold firmly by placing the hand on an anvil or other solid surface and hit the center with a brass hammer. Be careful not to hit too hard - it is easy to make the hole too small! Then you would have to broach the hole back out again.

I love this ticking sound myself because it reminds me of when I was a kid and had one like this on my night stand.

Comments for Sternreiter Alarm Clock

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Thanks
by: James

Thanks, Bill! Fixed it up pretty easily; the back was just stuck in there with friction, as were the hands. =)

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