Girls Coffeeshop Talk

[FeelingTheBlues]

Originally Posted by Lisa

Oh, Carl... wish you were here to look at our grandfather clock. It was handed down from my parents, and the clock company moved it here. It had not been serviced since it was bought in 1976. The clock guy took the movement back to his shop and cleaned/serviced it, reworked the bushings (I think? Does that even make sense?) and got it set up and running. THEN I was messing around with it, trying to turn off the chimes because they woke us up at night, and I messed it up... When I'd try to start the pendulum it would run for a few minutes and then stop.

I've been too embarrassed to call the clock guy to come look at it again. I broke it in, like, two days after he'd just spent a month fixing it.

Does your clockmaker offer a warranty on his work? If so, I'd definitely call him and let him know it doesn't work. If you did something else to it and "broke" it as you say he will let you know but if it's something he did wrong (happens to everybody, doesn't it?) then warranty should cover it provided that you call him within the length of it.

Watches and clocks can be unpredictable and honest mistakes do happen, that's why we usually stand behind our work (at least for some time). I wouldn't worry too much.

Regarding bushings, you are right. Over the years the big power of a clock mainspring keeps pushing the wheels of the gear train on one side more than the other, thus digging in the plate as the movement runs. When the holes are too oval to allow the clock to work properly, we must make them bigger before squeezing a bushing in that will be the size of the original hole. Little wear can be punched with a bid staking set if it's barely noticeable but otherwise putting and replacing bushings is something I (and clockmakers in general) do on almost every clock we get.

I'd love to work on your clock but as you say, the drive is quite long...perhaps if I go to your State someday I can take a look though (it may cost you a good cup of tea though...)!

[Lisa]

Hehee, Carl - wish I could just pop that clock in a box and ship it to you. It only weighs, about 90 bajillion pounds.

Thanks for the explanation about the bushings. Yes, that's just how he described the work. He showed me the worn areas, too. I think new plates were unavailable in the size required, so he had to work with the original parts.

I just need to call the guy and have him come take a look. It can't be good for the clock to just be sitting there and not running.

[Lisa]

Omigosh, Cecilia - your work is amazing. Just beautiful. How long does it take you to create a piece like that?

[FeelingTheBlues]

Originally Posted by Lisa

Hehee, Carl - wish I could just pop that clock in a box and ship it to you. It only weighs, about 90 bajillion pounds.

Thanks for the explanation about the bushings. Yes, that's just how he described the work. He showed me the worn areas, too. I think new plates were unavailable in the size required, so he had to work with the original parts.

I just need to call the guy and have him come take a look. It can't be good for the clock to just be sitting there and not running.

I don't think you would have liked to buy new plates for your clock Lisa, they are usually much more expensive than the cost of putting bushings.

As for the clock, it would probably be easier to ship myself to your place. I could ask you to take the movement off and send it to me but I don't think that will happen!

Let me know how it goes with the watchmaker.

[gmh1013]

Originally Posted by Lisa

Omigosh, Cecilia - your work is amazing. Just beautiful. How long does it take you to create a piece like that?

X2

[Lion]

Howdy everyone...how is the New Year treating everyone? Sounds like everyone is quite busy.....

Phew...where to start,
Cecilia, sorry to hear about your heart attack and am glad to hear you are on the mend...love your bowl and you are quite the "Artist" and very talented as well. It sure sounds like your Dad needs your support even if he has "left the gate open" as they say.....

Mikki, I know it's tough to find a good job so hang in there...it will happen!!! Are you still enjoying all your very cool Vintage watches. And I can just imagine how exciting for you your upcoming play will be.....

Dawna, what a brave soul you are remodeling your kitchen in the "Dead of Winter," is it still usable during the renovations??? And I'm sure the work never slows down on a ranch just because it's Winter.....

Lisa, once again your talent is shining...what a great sketch! As for Phoebe, remember she is still finding herself and her place in the world and coming up with a portfolio of her work can be daunting...also she sounds like she might not be very confident in her abilities and talents and is a bit nervous...remember she sees how talented her Mom and Dad are and that can be very hard to cope with at her age.....

Judy, your work sure brings you challenges and stresses as well...and as for your niece and nephew as they grow up they will see how much you Love them and it will mean a lot to them...for sure. I can hear your pride and joy with each post of how proud you are of their accomplishments and your Love for them. And I'm sure your brother and SIL(do I remember this correctly???)appreciate all you do for them.....

Carl, glad to see you are staying busy and coping with the cold weather and all...also sounds like you enjoy the challenges of your job and work. It must be a lot of fun as each day brings new challenges.....

Wes, I'm trusting by now you feel better especially since you are able to play Poker with "The Boys" and you have that beautiful car to play with and go for trips into the country.....

Greg, I hope/trust your brother realizes how lucky he is to have you looking out for his best interests. And I can only imagine how tough it is for him to be on a Rig working those long hours and only getting two weeks off every now and then. How have you been feeling with your health issues and pain??? And you are lucky as well to have found a Lady to share your life with who Loves you for who you are and not because of money or materialistic possessions.....

Art and I have been MIA and I can only trust he is keeping busy down in the "Sunshine State" where for the most part it has been warm except I know the last week or so have been chilly down there for them...of course right now I would Love to have the low 50's they have been experiencing.....

Take care and stay warm and healthy to everyone.....Leo

[Lisa]

Good to hear from you, Leo. Hope the cold weather hasn't been too hard on you.

We're due for another cold blast tomorrow; supposed to be about 12 tomorrow night. No snow expected, just the cold.

[FeelingTheBlues]

Glad to hear from you Leo!

All is well on my side indeed and work is always as enjoyable, thank you for asking.

Stay warm everybody...as much as you can...

[Lion]

The weather here has been brutal with all the bitter cold coming out of Canada(just over a week or so ago we were lucky enough to have received what they call a "Polar Vortex")and I am having only one partial day out of three where I have felt decent. The pain patches are good for three days...so about twelve hours after applying a new patch I feel okay for about twelve hours and then it's back to outrageous pain!!!

As for the weather...the pattern(for over a month) has been one day of mid to high 20F's plus snow followed by one or two days of below zero temperatures. I currently have the news on TV and they just showed that we have had just over 45 inches of snow this Winter since December so far. Now...we have been averaging around 38 inches of Snow during Winter for the past decade or so and we still have about 10 weeks of Winter to go. But I'm sure glad I do not live in NorthWest Indiana(which is only about 8-12 miles away)where they get nailed by "Lake-Effect Snow" every Winter. Two days ago they received between 18-24 inches of snow.....Yikes!!!

[FeelingTheBlues]

There you go Lisa, I finished putting it back in the case yesterday at the end of the day.





This class consists of adjusting the different chiming mechanisms, cams and silent modes. I don't need to do any bushings on cuckoo clocks, Westminster clocks or that one as I've already learned how to do that on regular clocks a few months ago and the job is the same no matter how many wheels it has. When it comes to those complicated ones all we need to learn is to adjust them properly. In fact, that one is just like a regular Westminster clock (it has, actually, three different chiming melodies that you can set) so I didn't even have to disassemble the whole movement, just the dial side on top of the plate to set the different wheels.

...Mind you, it was still pretty difficult as it has a different transmission for the quarters, a night silent and different types of levers to stop it from chiming every quarter and hour. The night silent is the most important one as it's a wheel with a long cam on it and you must adjust it very precisely to make sure the last chime gets heard at 10 o' clock at night and starts again at 6:15 in the morning.

Oh, and look at that moonphase!

[Lion]

Carl, very nice...I'd love to own a Grandfather's Clock...but my only dilemma would be finding room to place it in the living room. I bet it was a lot of fun to work on!!!

I know the newer Clocks have a lot of extras but when I do decide to buy one I'd love to have an older Vintage, Antique Grandfather Clock.....

[FeelingTheBlues]

Originally Posted by Lion

Carl, very nice...I'd love to own a Grandfather's Clock...but my only dilemma would be finding room to place it in the living room. I bet it was a lot of fun to work on!!!

I know the newer Clocks have a lot of extras but when I do decide to buy one I'd love to have an older Vintage, Antique Grandfather Clock.....

I'm afraid I don't know how old it is Leo but it's at least quite a few years old as it was there before my teacher started to teach (he's been here for almost ten years if memory serves). Features such as silent modes in clocks were known for quite some time now if I remember correctly.

As for antique grandfather's clocks, you know my passion for vintage timepieces so I would definitely do the same but the price isn't very...customer friendly...

[Lisa]

Very nice, Carl. What company made that clock?

Mine has three chime choices, too - but I don't know if can go silent only at night. Chimes are either off or on. Wish my parents had kept an instruction manual. Usually they didn't throw stuff like that away, which makes me wonder if they didn't ever get one for this clock.

[Lisa]

Cecilia... do you have any more piccies of your china paintings? I would love to see more. How did you learn to do this?

[cecilia]

Wow, thats a grand clock ,carl. Nicely done.

Lisa, it takes 2-4firings before the bowl is done. It takes about 2 weeks to paint depending on pattern. But a childrens plate 2 days and 2 firings at cone 07
Ihave some small bowls i recently painted for my oldest daughter.also sunflowers :)

[gmh1013]

Originally Posted by Lion

The weather here has been brutal with all the bitter cold coming out of Canada(just over a week or so ago we were lucky enough to have received what they call a "Polar Vortex")and I am having only one partial day out of three where I have felt decent. The pain patches are good for three days...so about twelve hours after applying a new patch I feel okay for about twelve hours and then it's back to outrageous pain!!!

As for the weather...the pattern(for over a month) has been one day of mid to high 20F's plus snow followed by one or two days of below zero temperatures. I currently have the news on TV and they just showed that we have had just over 45 inches of snow this Winter since December so far. Now...we have been averaging around 38 inches of Snow during Winter for the past decade or so and we still have about 10 weeks of Winter to go. But I'm sure glad I do not live in NorthWest Indiana(which is only about 8-12 miles away)where they get nailed by "Lake-Effect Snow" every Winter. Two days ago they received between 18-24 inches of snow.....Yikes!!!

I now the feeling Leo....take an Oxy 80 and 2 10mg Norcos and I feel great for 10 hours then it stops working and in so much pain it hurts to breathe now....the cold does not help much either. We are under winter storm watch and suppose to have ice tonight.....ouch.....I hate the cold!

[Lisa]

Very nice, Cecilia! It looks like someone scattered the sunflower blossoms onto the plates... and they will never wilt or blow away.

I didn't know the paint had to be fired. Do you have to fire after applying each color?

[vitalsignsrn]

Good Afternoon :-)

Nice to see you Leo. I can imagine you're all bundled up. Its freezing! Im afraid to go outside. At least no new snow.

Cecilia, gorgeous art work. Is it a hobby you just took up or have you done this for a while?

Carl, the clock is nice. :-) I don't see many around anymore.

Dawna, I must have missed that you were doing renovations. I commend you for doing them in winter. Thats when I had done mine a few yrs ago. I understand the motivation for doing it now. Then you can have summer to enjoy the fruits of your labour. At least thats what it was for me. I found by the time summer came I was too exhausted to care. LOL I hope all is going on schedule for you.

I went to the eye doctor yesterday. Thankfully my scan was great, no tumours or pinched vessels, all looks healthy. SO relieved. My sight actually improved a bit which was the cause of my blurry vision, my astigmatism got a bit worse and will need to up my reader strength. ** big sigh ** This means new glasses. Im not that happy with what Ive seen so far. Seems the big trend is plastic and I don't like plastic. They just don't fit my face right and Im not comfortable in them. Apart from occasional sunglasses, I would rather have metal. My prescription is too high for rimless or half-rim...it wouldn't look right. They would still be too thick even using the thinnest lens available. :-(
The other issue is that I need the depth because they are progressives. And the ones I like, are too narrow.
This might take some time, I better get out looking!

I've been in this red colour kick lately. Picked up a lipstick from Estee Lauder, Forbidden Apple and a bag from Modalu UK, the Pippa bag, in red croc yesterday before I came home. I suppose winter doesn't have to be all black and ominous.

Gonna download some pics to photo bucket and see if I can fix the size to post here.

[Lion]

Originally Posted by gmh1013

I now the feeling Leo....take an Oxy 80 and 2 10mg Norcos and I feel great for 10 hours then it stops working and in so much pain it hurts to breathe now....the cold does not help much either. We are under winter storm watch and suppose to have ice tonight.....ouch.....I hate the cold!

Greg, I can surely empathize with you...as I sure do not wish for anyone to have to go through what we deal with. Food doesn't taste good most of the time and red meat is the worst.....good luck with the weather tonite. You probably will have to turn your heat up and double up on the blankets. This morning when I got up around 3:30AM the outside air temp. was -4F and that was without adding in the Windchill factor(-16F). The other nite with the Windchill it was about -27F. Okay enough about the depth of physical torture, time to get positive...I hear Spring is coming March 20th and the Flower Catalogs have begun to arrive!!!

Take care.....Leo

[cecilia]

I remember when we had our kitchen remade some years ago, that was the worst time for me. Had to stay with my inlaws and that was a challenge. :)
Nice to see you leo. Hope you have plenty of warm blankets at home. The winter is here to stay.
We have had some cold night over here as well. 4- c. And that temp is very low for me who hates winter. :) iam freezing my butt off :)
I started paint on porcelain when i was 7 years young. My mother and granny painted. Later on when my grandmother past away i inharited her china painting supplies. I still have them. Some vials are from the early 1900, more exact 1920. I had a pause for 3 years but now iam on to it again. you have to have special made kiln to fire the porcelain. it fires in a very high temp. con 018. 800 degr. I also make crystal chandeliers for dollhouses. Scale 1:12 . For that you need a per of good eyes :)

[vitalsignsrn]

Thats spectacular! You are very talented Cecilia. :-)

[vitalsignsrn]

I tried putting up a pic..but the smaller I made it the more it didn't change size. Im baffled. Anyway...My avatar is me..LMAO....If I figure out what Im doing wrong, I will let you know..LOL

[vitalsignsrn]

Lets try this one...

[vitalsignsrn]

:bang head: OFFS!!!! Anyway...thats me...LOL Sorry...its a freaking poster..I shrunk it, but its still big.

[cecilia]

Three in a row, :) looking great though. I need to do someting about my avatar aswell.
I have some posting issues also. The pics ends up up side down.

[gmh1013]

How I HATE cold weather.....Its like 24 with the wind chill which is nothing for you guys way up north but for me who likes 95 over 35 its horrible. On a sad note I lost another bunny yesterday to cancer and had her put to sleep....now we have only one bunny left a lions head who is blind in one eye....but she is such a little sweetie....she is watching me type with her good eye. She is about 5 years old and when she goes that will be it for the bunnies ....I said the same thing when my last of my 3 cats died about 10 years ago.....now I have 3 brothers again all over again.
Judy you look marvelous!

[cecilia]

So sorry to hear about the bunny Greg Our cat got ill after new year and i had to feed him my self.i even had to give him fluid subcutant. he is in good health now but he was in a very bad shape. We nearly lost him. Its heart breaking when our pets gets ill or dies. I hope this winter is over soon. The cold is giving me a hard time. I have soe electric blankets to keep me warm. They are great. You should get one Greg. :) or two.

[FeelingTheBlues]

I agree Cecilia, your bowls look fabulous!

Originally Posted by Lisa

Very nice, Carl. What company made that clock?

Mine has three chime choices, too - but I don't know if can go silent only at night. Chimes are either off or on. Wish my parents had kept an instruction manual. Usually they didn't throw stuff like that away, which makes me wonder if they didn't ever get one for this clock.

Thank you Lisa, I'm afraid I don't remember the brand of the movement inside but I'm fairly certain it's German. I'll let you know tomorrow.

Say, how about you post a picture of your clock's dial? I may be able to tell you if you have a night silent mode or not.

Originally Posted by vitalsignsrn

Lets try this one...

Very lovely picture, I like it.

Originally Posted by gmh1013

How I HATE cold weather.....Its like 24 with the wind chill which is nothing for you guys way up north but for me who likes 95 over 35 its horrible. On a sad note I lost another bunny yesterday to cancer and had her put to sleep....now we have only one bunny left a lions head who is blind in one eye....but she is such a little sweetie....she is watching me type with her good eye. She is about 5 years old and when she goes that will be it for the bunnies ....I said the same thing when my last of my 3 cats died about 10 years ago.....now I have 3 brothers again all over again.
Judy you look marvelous!

I'm sorry to read about your bunny Greg, it's very sad indeed...

[gmh1013]

Judy if you are 47 you don't look like it.....I would have guessed 34/35

[dbelle7]

Originally Posted by cecilia

I remember when we had our kitchen remade some years ago, that was the worst time for me. Had to stay with my inlaws and that was a challenge. :)
Nice to see you leo. Hope you have plenty of warm blankets at home. The winter is here to stay.
We have had some cold night over here as well. 4- c. And that temp is very low for me who hates winter. :) iam freezing my butt off :)
I started paint on porcelain when i was 7 years young. My mother and granny painted. Later on when my grandmother past away i inharited her china painting supplies. I still have them. Some vials are from the early 1900, more exact 1920. I had a pause for 3 years but now iam on to it again. you have to have special made kiln to fire the porcelain. it fires in a very high temp. con 018. 800 degr. I also make crystal chandeliers for dollhouses. Scale 1:12 . For that you need a per of good eyes :)

Remodeling is a challenge for sure. The kitchen led to the dining room, game room, living room, 3 bathrooms, a master bedroom and the dog's room.
This little chandelier amazes me!! You are so talented Cecilia!! There are so many wonderfully talented people here in the coffeeshop! I can't imagine being able to pick up a pencil or paintbrush and make them create something beautiful.