![]() I never noticed any glow from it when I was restoring it and I would've definitely do a check online first if it was. Also it should keep glowing all the time whether day or night. If there was radium present then the paint shouldn't react to an external light source. With this result I believed that it isn't radium but just a non radioactive phosphor painted on the face. The clock now glows brightly but slowly fades to nothing after a few minutes. I then took a torch and shined it on the clock face for 10 seconds and turned off the light. I let my eyes adjust to the dark for a few minutes and I took the clock out of the drawer and I couldn't spot any visible glow. I put the clock into a cupboard drawer for a few hours and switched off the lights. First of all I will definitely put a warning at the start of the blog post. ![]() Ok i'm going to dial this back a notch with some new found knowledge. They could also help you figure out how to dispose of it legally if that's what you want to do. ![]() They also might be able to (at no cost) figure out if there is any residual danger in your home today. You might want to consider asking your state's radiation officer about it- they can give good advice and are happy to help. I feel like there's just not enough info out there and if you changed the blog post into a discussion of these issues it could be a good thing. It was years after I tried opening it when I checked it with a geiger counter (I was playing around prepping a lab for my physics class and was wandering around the house looking for anything radioactive.) Thats when I found out about all this. ![]() I only know about this because I have a similar clock, and I only didn't do the exact same thing you did because I couldn't get the darn thing open- I sure tried. Thanks for caring! I'd encourage you to leave this blog post up, but maybe edit it to put a big warning on the beginning about why it shouldn't be attempted. granted, it is not a grandfather clock or something very complex but this is my first experience with a clockwork mechanism of any kind. I managed to take it apart right down to the gearings without much difficulty, but i am a little daunted by the complexity of this clock. they sell modern replicas of this clock online, but those are powered by batteries which are nowhere as classic as this particular one i have which needs daily windings to keep it going. I managed to identify the make and model of the clock from this websiteīig Ben Westclox history at from the examples on the website, this clock should be a style 6 model 211 alarm clock built between 1949 - 1956 so it is at least 50 years old. the luminous paint on the minute hand is flaking off even as i'm handling it (carefully) but i don't think anything can be done about that. meaning if i set the alarm at 5pm, it will ring at 4pm instead and that is NOT a reliable clock!Ĥ. the alarm setting is off by about an hour and requires calibration. the gears require my coaxing to run but it will just seize up on its own after maybe 30 seconds, could be a problem with the spring, or perhaps the gears need oiling.ģ. the mechanism doesn't run for more than a few seconds before stopping. the face is OBVIOUSLY seriously fogged up, i don't know if it's due to age or due to exposure to the elements.Ģ. i personally think that it is an absolutely gorgeous looking clock and will not be touching up on its exterior because the beauty of this clock is the ruggedness that comes with its aged look.ġ. Obtained this antique alarm clock recently but haven't had the time to do much work on it yet, but i managed to take it apart and snap some photos. For more information please read the comments below. Nevertheless I will continue to treat this clock as mildly radioactive and keep it a distance away until I can confirm it is indeed not radioactive. It only glows when I shine an external light source on to the face but it fades away after a few minutes and I have been informed that this behavior means that it is unlikely to be radium. There was no visible glow whatsoever when I obtained this clock, whether in the dark or light. If it glows regardless of whether you charged the face with an external light source or not then it surely contains radium or other radioactive substances and must be treated with care! this can happen when you open the clock and the dust from inside gets out. EDIT: PLEASE READ!!!! Before attempting any sorts of repairs to any sort of antique clock be aware that the luminous paint used on the face might contain radium which is extremely risky if it is ingested and/or inhaled.
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