Fixing Eye bolt to old Lead longcase weight

I suppose that some people would rather throw an antique in the bin than repair one bit, after all, the repair would not be original.

Hi Chris,

How about using a oxy -acetylene torch or (a propane torch, I have not not got one so don't know if you would be able to get a small enough pool of molten lead) and create a molten puddle in the centre top, and with a pair of pliers pull the nail out you could then insert your eye bolt into the molten puddle an allow to cool, or just allow to cool drill and tap as necessary.

Regards, Neil

Thanks Neil, I think lead would likely go all over the place with too hot a flame however with propane might do it. Removing the nail is the easier bit could even snip off flush, punch down and loose with lead but the issue is what will stick with lead. if epoxy will do it then 2 holes and barbed steel bent into a loop will give a far better look.

As for absolute original restoration on all clocks...absolutely not.

Chris

This is the weight in out 1789 long case clock. Looks like they used a lot of nails around then !

Chris, you could possibly use a screw-eye, not tried this but cant see why not.

Lead is so soft just drill a small hole to depth and screw in. you could use thread-locker but probably not necessary.

John

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Likely to be much safer than the previous repair

... which looks like a rather ordinary wire nail

[Chris] If you do pull the nail; please let us know how short the engagement was.

MichaelG.

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P.S. not all screw-eyes are created equal ... try to get one with ‘full’ threads

If it were me looking for a sympathetic repair, Bazlye's suggestion (post 3), is surely the best. Not necessary to make a hole saw, they can be bought rather cheaply, like this Makita set on Amazon.

Drilling a cored hole leaves the exterior of the weight in authentic aged condition. It doesn't matter how much damage is done removing the core, perhaps with a chisel, because it will be refilled with lead (most of it original!). The eye can be re-fixed in the original way too, by thrusting the end deep into the molten lead so it's firmly gripped when the lead solidifies. Not difficult to melt lead with a DIY store blow-lamp and a small steel pan.

Dave

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Dave

Unless I have missed some important detail ... we don’t yet know how the original was fixed, nor indeed the full shape of the eye on the other weight in the pair.

MichaelG.

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This is what we know ^^^

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 27/01/2020 11:18:50

OK I decided to do something about the nail as it looked awful and possibly dangerous. This is not a top class clock by any means but there are limits. note nail pulled out easily, there was nothing left sheered in the centre so i got lucky. I drilled a 10mm hole to put a nut on so hope is at least safer.

chris

Edited By Chris TickTock on 27/01/2020 14:39:53

Edited By Chris TickTock on 27/01/2020 14:40:25

Thanks for the update, Chris

MichaelG.

Just to add if I want to age the replacement hiik a mixture oh hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar and salt will do a grand job.

Chris