Mark Frank | Overmyer & Huston Model 1 time lock, 1876 @MarkFrankclocks | Uploaded 1 year ago | Updated May 12 2024
This video outlines and demonstrates a time lock by the inventors of Overmyer & Huston, Lexington, Ohio in 1876. This was an early entrant into the rapidly expanding field of time lock makers, started by Sargent & Greenleaf with the first commercially successful time lock in 1874. By 1876 Yale had entered the business along with New Britain Bank Lock Co. (Pillard) and Hall Safe and Lock. These makers had quite expensive, complex as well as visually beautiful time locks. They were in the price range of $400 to $450, a great deal of money at the time; equivalent to about $10,000 today.
This lock has the distinction of being the first to try using commercially made pocket watch movements in place of special-built movements designed from scratch for use in a time lock by using a pair of altered Waltham size 18 movements. The inventors were trying to make a far less expensive product, using a simple design and bypassing the expensive special-built time lock movements, usually made by E. Howard, with commercially available pocket watch movements. There were several problems with their design and these are discussed in the video. The time lock never went into production. There was also a model 2, but this too was never commercially produced. There is only one example known of each model, the Model 2 is in the Mossman Collection at the General Society of Tradesman and Mechanics Museum in New York City.
It wasn't until 1888 that Yale tried this, again with Waltham movements. As with this lock the movements had to be slightly modified to make them work within a time lock. But in the case of Yale, they were simply not up to the task, as I suspect was the case with this lock, and so were a commercial failure with only a few of the Yale Model A though EE locks produced. It wasn't until 1902 that the Consolidated Time Lock Co. successfully employed Elgin Watch Co. movements. This was followed by Banker's Dustproof and Mosler. But for the most part purpose-made movements were the norm for the industry. Time locks based on pocket watch movements held a small percentage of the market. One can see the entire explanation of this lock here: http://www.my-time-machines.net/overmyer_huston.htm.
This video outlines and demonstrates a time lock by the inventors of Overmyer & Huston, Lexington, Ohio in 1876. This was an early entrant into the rapidly expanding field of time lock makers, started by Sargent & Greenleaf with the first commercially successful time lock in 1874. By 1876 Yale had entered the business along with New Britain Bank Lock Co. (Pillard) and Hall Safe and Lock. These makers had quite expensive, complex as well as visually beautiful time locks. They were in the price range of $400 to $450, a great deal of money at the time; equivalent to about $10,000 today.
This lock has the distinction of being the first to try using commercially made pocket watch movements in place of special-built movements designed from scratch for use in a time lock by using a pair of altered Waltham size 18 movements. The inventors were trying to make a far less expensive product, using a simple design and bypassing the expensive special-built time lock movements, usually made by E. Howard, with commercially available pocket watch movements. There were several problems with their design and these are discussed in the video. The time lock never went into production. There was also a model 2, but this too was never commercially produced. There is only one example known of each model, the Model 2 is in the Mossman Collection at the General Society of Tradesman and Mechanics Museum in New York City.
It wasn't until 1888 that Yale tried this, again with Waltham movements. As with this lock the movements had to be slightly modified to make them work within a time lock. But in the case of Yale, they were simply not up to the task, as I suspect was the case with this lock, and so were a commercial failure with only a few of the Yale Model A though EE locks produced. It wasn't until 1902 that the Consolidated Time Lock Co. successfully employed Elgin Watch Co. movements. This was followed by Banker's Dustproof and Mosler. But for the most part purpose-made movements were the norm for the industry. Time locks based on pocket watch movements held a small percentage of the market. One can see the entire explanation of this lock here: http://www.my-time-machines.net/overmyer_huston.htm.
![Holmes model 2[2] internal override system, c. 1882 @MarkFrankclocks](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GHDd1NqfTvk/hqdefault.jpg "Holmes model 2[2] internal override system, c. 1882 @MarkFrankclocks")
