homas Ship Strike

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:51 pm     Post subject: homas Ship Strike

My family owns an uber old marine supplies store thats been around since 1867. I was digging around the antique display case and found this Seth Thomas Shipstrike. No clue how old it is. Pending on the value I would like to have it completly refinished.

Any info on it? I couldnt find anything

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 1:39 am     Post subject: Seth Thomas ship's clock

Seth Thomas built countess numbers of ship's clocks in the many years they were in business. They are well regarded and still highly collectable. Books have been published covering virtually all Seth Thomas clocks ever produced, including ships strike models. No doubt this particular model would be illustrated. It's difficult to determine its age without being able to examine it. Ships clocks did not change in style much over the many years that they were produced. Brass was the predominant metal used for the cases, but some cases were nickel plated. Models produced during the war years often had black non reflective cases. I would think that a good metal polish along with plenty of elbow grease should clean this clock case without having to resort to refinishing it. Some collectors prefer the patina acquired from shipboard use and would only remove dust. It's a matter of personal preference

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:59 pm     Post subject:

Thanks for the help! I found the clock is not working so I dropped it off. The clock maker told me that it was well over 100 yrs and this is one of the first they made. He quoted me $250 to fix it.

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:21 am     Post subject: Seth Thomas Ship's Clock

The clock appears to be a 30-hour "Merrimac" model from 1935. $250 is steep to fix relative to its street value. If it is a 30-hour model it's the Merrimac (the screen on the bottom is also a clue). Hope that's helpful.

Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 1:48 am     Post subject: Thread from the dead!

My apologies about this old thread but I have been in the Navy and haven't had a chance to get back. Sadly, the old marine store closed down but my family knew how much I loved this clock and they gave it to me. They also gave me a beautiful Howard Miller mount to go with it. Here are some pictures, what do you all think?





I took clkwrx's advice and busted out the never dull which worked well but not shiny enough... the finish has too much age and needs to be dipped. The case is a little bit damaged with some dents but the metal seems malleable enough to tap out. Id like to drop the case off at a machine shop and have them refinish it. I will leave the clock itself as is cosmetically. However as a snob audiophile with a mutual understanding of ruining a good thing I'm asking you guys if I should leave it alone.

Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:50 pm     Post subject:

I would bring it to a metal refinisher, and have them fix the case.