RESTORATION PROJECTS:

RESTORATION PROJECT
Miniature Bracket Clock by William Johnson, the Strand London, second quarter of the 19th century.

Repair and Conservation Work undertaken by James Hughes Clocks Workshop 2014 to rectify accidental damage to casework, the proposition being to return the clock to the state it was the day before it sustained the damage and not a full restoration - light conservation was the order of the day and our instruction from the client. The clock was also cleaned and serviced during this process.

1.	Front door glass was broken and missing. Now replaced using thin section genuine 19^th Century glass, cut to fit shouldered door aperture and recess.
2.	Left side panel of casework. At the front edge of this panel, the brass door lock assembly was torn away, along with a 3½ inch section of rebated mahogany. This detached section was part of a previous repair. There was also a split near to the top front edge of this panel where the entire top section of the casework was loose. All damage now repaired.
3.	Right side panel of casework. At the front edge of this panel, a section of the ebony veneer had become detached from the ground timber just below the front upper hinge. Now replaced.
4.	There was damage to the left-hand and right-hand dial mask strips. These are the thin sections of ebony veneer overlapping the edges of the silvered dial plate. Now strengthened following repair.
5.	The joints between the top (arched) section of the casework and the side panels were broken loose. The entire top section of the casework was held in place through the small woodscrews of the door upper hinges. The woodscrews had been strained because of this. The top section joint areas have been cleaned and re-glued to restore structural strength. The holes for the door hinge woodscrews (x8) have now been plugged and rebored to restore screw grip.
6.	The base panel of the casework was loose along the left-hand and front edges. There was also a degree of misalignment and gapping between the component parts of the base panel where previous repair work had been carried out. Because of the need to clean old glues from the base components during these latest repairs, the opportunity was taken to dismantle and re-align the older repairs, thereby restoring the base to its original assembly standard. The moulding strip along the top front edge of the base was missing and lost. All components of the base section now reassembled and replaced. Structural integrity of the base now fully restored.
7.	The casework has now been sympathetically cleaned to remove grimy residues, whilst preserving the patina, followed by an application of neutral tone beeswax to seal and protect the veneers and timbers. The top handle, top plate and spacer have received a light application of microcrystalline wax to protect the gilded surface. This specially formulated, mineral based wax is used and recommended by museum conservators for use on metal antiquities.
8.	A 19th Century key has been found which fits both the front and rear door locks. This key is a replacement for the missing original.