Here are some photos showing the weight-driven clock drive that is a part of the Cooley Telescope mount. The clock drive allows the telescope to follow an object as the Earth's rotation makes celestial objects appear to move across the sky. Additional photos showing some of the restoration process will be added to this page at a later date.
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Clock Drive "Before"
This is what our clock drive looked like immediately after removal from the telescope pier. It was oily, paint was faded and chipped, there was dirt in the gears, the brass was dull, and it did not run well. |
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Clock Drive "After"
Following restoration our clock drive looked like this! It looks like it belongs in a jewelry store. The restorer even went to the effort of refinishing the winding knob. This is a true restoration ... the clock mechanism must have looked like this the day it was originally installed more than a century earlier. |
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The Restorer
Frank Del Greco, Novelty, Ohio, graciously offered his services and restored the clock drive. He is an expert hobbyist whose primary interest is tower clocks -- the type of devices that run clocks found in courthouse, academic building, and church towers. We can't thank Frank enough for what he has done for the Observatory. |