Rock Island Army Arsenal

In 2020 we were awarded the contract to do a total preservation of the tower clock located in the Rock Island Armory Arsenel Headquarters Building. This 1867 #1 A.S. Hotchkiss tower clock mechanism is the only remaining one (of only two) of the largest American tower clocks ever made. The A.S. Hotchkiss has a 32-foot long mahogany pendulum rod almost surely the longest in the world. We did a complete preservation of their beautiful timepiece. We disassembled each piece to clean and restore them back to their original condition. New bushings and pallets were made to match the original. Using a metal scraping technique, we were able to preserve the original paint layer we found under the dirty surfaces of the plates. We also restored their four 12-foot diameter Hotchkiss dials and hands. We were awarded the Certificate of Achievement for the preservation work by the Department of the Army.